“A crown,” he said. “Just sitting there?”
I hooked the crown over my arm and made my way back to Seron and the lantern. The cats followed me, acting more subdued now. The crown was shaped from black rock with hair-thin veins of sparkle cut through it.
“It’s perfect for him,” I said.
“Yes,” Seron said. “Why was this here?”
“The prophecy is coming true,” I said. “I feel sure of it. Ezeru was meant to be here, and all this is meant to happen.” I looked over the crown carefully under the light and noticed symbols etched into the rock on one side.
He frowned at me. “Gives me the creeps.”
“I think it’s sort of comforting,” I said. “Like the gods are telling us what to do.”
“After centuries of war. Where were the gods during all that time?”
He had a point. What sort of gods let this many bad things happen, only to mark me and Seron as special? “I guess I like the idea that someone’s taking care of me…”
“Someone’s always taking care of you,” he said, holding me close for a moment. I was the right height to hear his heartbeat. “You know, I never got to say vows to you the way Aurek did.”
“Do you want a wedding of your own?”
“No, no, I don’t want the wedding at all. I’m glad he took care of it. But I do want you to know that I would guard you unto death and never leave your side either.”
Seron’s earnest moments melted me down to my toes. “This ‘guard you unto death’ business,” I said. “Not good enough. Your ghost better guard me too.”
“If I die first, I promise to guard you as a ghost then,” he said. “I probably won’t have anything better to do.”
I shivered. “Never mind. I don’t actually like this ghost talk.”
“All right. Speaking of ghosts, let’s bestow this creepy crown, then.”
Chapter Nineteen
Ezeru
Himika and Seron returned shortly and Himika waved me out to the hall, holding an object wrapped in cloth. “We’ve found something perfect. Hurry, hurry. Everyone’s gathered.”
We stepped out into the Hall of Rose and Ruby, and the dragons did seem restless, the room full of urgent murmuring. I’m sure they were talking about the rock dragons. I didn’t feel especially welcomed, but that didn’t bother me half as much as the effect of watching Himika’s serene ascent up the steps to the dais.
She didn’t look intimidated by the large gathering of dragons, and every time I saw her face, it seemed to strike me like I was seeing her for the first time. I was terrified of these feelings, which seemed to be increasing in urgency by the hour. My plan to ally myself with the high dragons had never accounted for something like this.
With every moment, my imagination grew more primal. More unconcerned with consequence. Every fiber in my being wanted to mate with that woman. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, this human girl.
“Thank you for gathering here on short notice,” Himika said. “I’m sure you’re all wondering about the rock dragons in the parade grounds. King Seron and I went out today to test the powers of Ezeru, our rock dragon friend, and it makes for a fascinating tale that gives me renewed hope of uniting this kingdom and my own world. You know, where I’m from, we just knew of rock dragons as monsters.”
The dragons murmured with skepticism.
She turned a small, encouraging smile on me and waved me up to stand beside her.
That wasn’t a good idea. I tried to resist.
“Listen to the queen,” Seron said.
I walked onto the stage. Not a single eye in the room was looking anywhere but at me. Himika was still doing her cute little encouraging wave. I could have sworn I told all these people that I didn’t want to be near her. I suppose they didn’t really believe that someone who looked like a man could be so close to losing control like a wild animal. No, not now in front of all of these people, but…the more time I spent close enough to smell her, the more I feared what I might do if she walked outside to speak to me alone, like she’d done earlier.
“The rock dragons have been slaves,” she said. “They’ve been scavengers. And they’ve been enemies. But what they have never been before are friends and allies. The dragons you see today are dragons that bowed to Ezeru, because they see in him someone they can truly follow and trust. I believe that the prophecy foresaw Ezeru. All dragons will find peace. Our children will never be afraid to go anywhere or make friends all over the kingdom.”
She sounded so sincere. Like she really believed the world was going to get better. It was pretty hard for me to believe.
“And today, King Seron and I are taking the first step to peace. We declare that Ezeru is the King of the Rock Dragons. He knows their language, and he also knows ours. He knows how they think, and he knows how we think. He knows that rock dragons are happy to work with and for us, if they are treated with respect, and so he will help us to build a better world for everyone. He will negotiate on their behalf these terms of peace.”
She turned to me, her face aglow. She gave me a tiny raise of her eyebrows. I think she wanted me to smile.
I’m not sure I was actually capable of such a thing. Even if you set aside the frenzied desire that her scent produced in my brain, I was not used to such crowds, such attention. I don’t even like these people. I’m only here to kill Dvaro and Izeria and save Peri…
With every passing day, this goal felt more complicated.
“Ezeru, please join me in celebrating our alliance.”
She lifted the cloth away from a crown made of black rock.
The dragons reacted with a gasp, a note of fear.
An older man rushed up to the stage. “My lady…where did you get that crown? May I see it?”
“They found it in storage, Master Erimon,” Aurek said. “Do you know something about it? Because I’ve never heard of it, and I was under the impression that I had read every word in your library.”
The bad feeling I was having about this entire situation was only getting worse by the moment. The old man squinted at the crown, looking at the inscription. “My gods,” he said. “You cannot bestow this crown on anyone. I don’t know where it came from, but…” He looked at me and then at Himika. “Gods…could it…no.”
“It sounds like you have something to share,” Aurek said.
“Lord Aurek…King Seron…” He swallowed. “I think it’s best shared in private.”
The crowd didn’t like the idea much. They were starting to shout now. “Tell us!” “What is it?” “You’re the librarian, you’re not supposed to hide anything from King Aurekdel!” It was clear the former king still had staunch supporters.
“The papers were very old, and…I don’t know.” The librarian wrung his hands. “Your father always dismissed the papers. He said we should remember King Orvenu as a great man. But the truth is, King Orvenu did have one son with his wife…and five children with a rock dragon slave. Four of them were considered simple, as other rock dragons are, and were sent away once weaned, as was the custom then. But the fifth child was very clever, like a high dragon. King Orvenu fell in love with the boy and the matter of his mistress was exposed. At no point was it good form for a king to mate with a rock dragon, mind you. Dragons are supposed to be loyal for life, and it was considered particularly base to mate with a rock dragon.”
My stomach plunged.
I had seen enough mist dragon men and rock dragon women to visualize the situation perfectly. It was never a loving act. Rock dragon women did not go into heat for mist dragon men. The desire was not returned. And I knew that mist dragons disdained rock dragons. It was only ever an act of sheer domination, one powerful race showing what it could do to those beneath it. It was a hand over a mouth, a quick and brutal release.
Who was this man?
The people were tense. “What became of this king’s son?” Seron asked.
“King Orvenu knew he would not be welcome at Iranda
l among the court, so he gave the young man his own holding to the west of the narrow caves, the castle Imaru. It is said he gave the boy the gift of a black crown and a high dragon wife from the merchant class, since no royal would acknowledge him. Two years later, assassins came for this young king of Imaru. The story says that they cut him into pieces and threw him into the river.”
“And the wife? Children?” Seron asked.
“No record.”
“So…there could have been a child with rock dragon blood descended from Orvenu,” Seron said. He looked at me.
“In so many generations, it doesn’t matter,” I said. “I don’t want to claim any crown or throne. I don’t want any of this.”
The dragons were murmuring, crying out, pointing at me.
“The next person who shouts or points or causes any sort of chaos whatsoever will go into the dungeons to stew for a day,” Seron barked, thrusting out an arm.
“Ahh,” Aurek whispered. “Commander Seron has bestirred himself.”
“But what are you saying?” one of the mages asked. “This rock dragon has the blood of King Orvenu? What about the prophecy? Does that mean he could have also healed the queen?”
Himika flushed.
“How am I supposed to understand this fucking prophecy?” Seron said. “The prophecy came from someone long dead. Orvenu is long dead. So is his son. I can’t rule this kingdom based on a prophecy. I don’t care if Ezeru has Orvenu’s blood or not. I can only look at this moment in time. And at this moment, we have a man capable of taking over and working on behalf of one of our enemy’s greatest weapons: the rock dragons. I just want to let him do his work. Queen Himika, please continue.”
“Yes, my lord,” she said, giving him a sideways look that must have given him all the confidence in the world. The commotion didn’t ruffle Himika.
“Ezeru, please wear this crown as a symbol of the new world we will build now between our peoples.”
She lifted the crown up to me.
I really didn’t like this. I was certainly not prepared for any part of it.
I knelt down on one knee and bowed my head so she could easily reach me. I could hardly think straight. I felt the weight of the crown settle on my head and then—that delicate hand brushed my chin.
The electricity of her touch made me sweat. My mouth felt dry. I felt as if I sensed the energy of her body, flowing from her hand all through me and through her. I could smell her sex. My hands convulsed from trying not to grab her.
Why did you touch me? I told you…
“Relax,” she whispered, and her gaze flicked up to mine. “Oh—” She twitched but didn’t recoil.
I knew she knew.
“I warned you,” I hissed.
“Hush,” she whispered and then smiled more sheepishly, trying to straighten the crown. “You need horns, Ezeru. It’s made to be secured around a king’s horns.”
I wasn’t used to changing small bits of myself into a dragon, but I let my horns grow. It was easier than I thought. Yes, my body liked to be as dragon as it was allowed to be.
“Perfect.” She started to pull back my hand and without even thinking, I grabbed her wrist.
Mine.
My breathing was ragged. I let go, clutching my chest.
She looked at me, slowly lowering her hand—I think my grip might have hurt her—but then she gave me a small curtsey. I just wanted to leave the stage. “Welcome to court, Ezeru, King of the Rock Dragons,” she said, as composed as could be.
The dragons applauded. I could tell they were still skeptical of this development, but at least they were polite. Seron was giving them a stern look. Aurekdel nudged him. “It wouldn’t hurt to turn on the charm now,” he whispered.
“You can turn on the charm,” Seron whispered back. “I’m not charming.”
Seron shook my hand. “Welcome, King Ezeru,” he said, but the look he was giving me was more like, what is wrong with you?
As Seron and Aurek were still speaking to the assembly, I quickly left the dais and went back into the hall.
Himika followed me.
“Ezeru?”
“I need to leave,” I said.
“Leave?” She came closer. I held up my hand.
“Stop. Why do you keep following me?”
“I…I don’t know. I keep thinking about you.”
“You have three other men to think about already.”
She made a face at me before looking chagrined. “I know. I’m not trying to think about you. My cat likes you a lot, though. I think she likes you more than me. I wonder if she knows something I don’t.”
The way she looked at me was heart-stopping.
“I’m going to leave this palace,” I said calmly. “This really is no place for me. I’ll go find other rock dragons and peel off Dvaro’s army. Then I’ll return when you have to move to Hemara to provide additional cover. Thank you for helping me figure out how to communicate with them.”
“You really are leaving?” she asked. “But—it’s so lonely out there in the caves!”
“I won’t be alone. I’ll have the other rock dragons.”
“That isn’t the same for you.”
“They are my kind. I’ll never be welcome here. You’re the only person here who sees any humanity in them.”
She bit her lip. “That’s only from watching you. I saw that they have families too. And others will see what I saw.”
“Tell everyone that I had to go, but I’ll be back,” I said.
She rushed toward me and caught my arm in her hand, then looked up at me. Her small, round face was stricken and I wanted more than anything to put my hands around her smooth cheeks. Her eyes searched mine. I wanted to tell her not to touch me, to stand back from me, but her touch was like fire, her scent more intoxicating than any mist.
“Why do you have to belong to them?” I said in a low voice.
“I don’t belong to anyone,” she said.
“You know what I mean…”
Her own breathing was coming harder. I felt her hand tug gently, trying to withdraw, and with great effort, I let her go. I’ve scared her now, I thought. She was finally getting enough sense to get away from me.
“Fare well,” I said.
And then she kissed my cheek. I felt her soft lips, her warm breath. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I grabbed her and took her mouth for my own, tasted the girl whose scent had been driving me insane. In that moment, I’m afraid I would hardly have realized it if she fought me, but I was aware that she was not fighting me. Her mouth was soft, pliable…quite willing.
Before she shoved me away with both hands.
My first kiss.
My mate. My woman. None of them burn for her like I do.
“Fare well, fare well,” she gasped, her voice splintering my heart as she hurried from the hall.
I had to take a moment to get a grip. The thought of leaving her was physically painful, but now I knew I couldn’t stay, if there was any shred of a man with self-control inside me, if I had any preservation instinct at all.
But I knew where I was going now. There were rock dragons everywhere, that I might win over to my side. So I might well search for answers along the way.
The palace Imaru, beyond the narrow caves…
Chapter Twenty
Himika
“Ezeru is leaving the castle to go look for other rock dragons, but he’ll be back when we move to Hemara. And I must be alone now,” I said, calmly, as Oszin tried to intercept me in the hall. Seron was behind him. They must have been looking for me.
“Himika,” Seron said. “Did he—”
“Oh, no, I’m fine! It’s really just been a long day and I need a rest,” I said. “My bones might feel better, but I’m still not used to exerting myself so much yet.”
As soon as I had turned the corner, I grabbed Kajira and dashed to my room, burying myself in her fur.
My grief confused me. Why should I care if Ezeru had to go? I already had more lo
ve and affection than any woman could dream of.
But…I want to take care of him, I thought. It isn’t right to turn him back out into those lonely caves! What if Dvaro comes after him?
As if that was all it was. As if the memory of his lips on mine, burning with wild passion and need, wasn’t etched into my skin now.
Oszin came into the room.
“I said, I wanted to be alone!” I said.
“Yes. For your nap,” he said, raising an eyebrow at my tearstained face. “You usually hide your tears, Moth. So it must really be bothering you.”
“What?”
His smile was gentle, which surprised me. “You think I don’t know the look in your eyes when you’re saying goodbye to someone you care about?” He tugged the door shut and sat down next to me. “I don’t know what’s going on between you and him, but…there is something.”
“I guess.” I sniffed. “I’m turning into a very naughty queen, huh?”
“No. I mean, maybe…”
I smothered a laugh. “Well…you can’t be happy about the idea of me caring about Ezeru. I am trying my best not to care.”
“I’m not eager to share you with Ezeru,” Oszin said. “Definitely not. But…something is going on here that…interests me.”
“Oh?”
“Everyone thought it would be you and Aurekdel. Queen and king. Prophecy fixes you, then you have kids…you know. Like every royal marriage that’s ever happened. Instead, it’s been one thing after another. The very idea of royalty and who should rule is in question. The status quo is being destroyed.”
I frowned. “I’m scared. It’s putting us on shaky ground. If one minute, one person is the king and the next minute it’s someone else, and then there’s a second king… I mean, pretty soon the whole place might just plunge into anarchy. And then we’d be weak. Plus, that’s how queens get murdered, Oszin.”
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