The Kingdoms of Sky and Shadow Box Set

by Foxglove, Lidiya

  “I have this weird feeling like I want to take that baby back from them. I have this gut feeling they don’t really want to take care of him. And generally, babies are something I could take or leave.”

  “I think that’s called empathy. That tends to happen when you see yourself in someone else.” She sounded a little amused.

  “I am perfectly capable of empathy.”

  “For your own people.” She smoothed my shoulders. “But that’s normal for a king. I just think it’s time to let that go. It’s time to make a better world for everyone…isn’t it? Let Seron forge the path to peace, and we’ll be right beside him every step of the way.”

  “I’m trying, my gem. I suppose it’s my own pride and selfishness getting in my way, and I wrestle with it. I love Seron…but I want to be the king again.” I barely spoke the last words, but it still felt better just to be honest.

  “I know,” she said. “He knows too.”

  Her touch was gentle and consoling, but her words were tough. Himika was the product of a long, unbroken line of kings and queens, and she was still the queen. She was my ruler now. She was also right. I needed to let them rule.

  And if Oszin doesn’t come home, I’ve already fucked it up.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Oszin

  The terrain between Irandal and Gemuru was the roughest I’d traveled in the dragon kingdom. Very rocky and shadowed. We ran into packs of rock dragons and I made attempts to ask them to take me to their king. At first, they didn’t seem to know who I meant. If we fed them, they left us alone. Then we encountered hostile groups that jeered about ‘pretty dragons’.

  “I don’t know about pretty dragons,” I said. “I am here to see your king. I am bringing back his captain, and I want to trade food and furs and such with him. King Dvaro, of the mist dragons.”

  They hissed at the high dragons who had accompanied me as guards. “Pretty dragons! Not them. Only you.”

  “Guard the prisoner,” I told them. “I’ll go on ahead.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I nodded. I had to look like I had no stake in this game except financial interest, like every dragon was the same as far as I was concerned.

  They brought me through tunnels so dark I couldn’t see a thing past the light of my lantern, to a camp with some mist dragons. They had a few tents set up by a river with some small crafts tied to the shore.

  “Human,” the rock dragons announced.

  The mist dragons all stood up in one intimidating group. There were five of them, all lean and tall men, dressed in ragged leather. “Lift your hands where we can see them and state your business, human.”

  I put on my best ‘market haggler’ face. “I’m glad to see you guys,” I said. “Man, no one told me how bad the food would be down here, and the high dragon’s don’t have what I hoped for. I’ve been wanting to deal with you the whole time, but they told me you were dangerous. Yeah, like I don’t know that line.”

  They all glared at me like they didn’t know what to make of this babble. I was definitely getting the idea that mist dragons were a hard-edged group. “What are you saying, human? You don’t want to trade with the high dragons? I thought you humans have a taste for gemstones.”

  “I mean, sure, rich women like them,” I said. “But it’s been hundreds of years since you updated the books on ‘what humans want’, right? Times have changed. It’s obvious to me, the real value down here is in mist. The rich assholes overseas will be practically fighting each other for jars of that stuff. And I know you have the best. I hope your king will think about it. Caravans of silk, spice, lumber…flowing like water through the northern gate.”

  “Is that so…” He sounded cautiously interested.

  “He has prisoner,” one of the rock dragons said.

  “Prisoner?”

  “Well, I’ve been dealing with the high dragons, as I said, and they’ve sent me along with a ship captain they’ve captured. I’m just a trader. I don’t want any trouble. But I’m hoping I might be able to work something out between you.”

  They conferred amongst themselves. “Better bring him to the king…”

  Soon, I was sitting in a small boat between two of the mist dragons. They were staring at my clothes like they wanted to touch them. I was wearing two layers of robes over my shirt and trousers, with an embroidered sash—these were Aurek’s new clothes, meant for a king, and ridiculously fine for a trader mucking around in caves. But were the mist dragons going to know the difference?

  Clearly, they didn’t. They didn’t question it at all, and I could see that the clothes were a great prize to them. While the boat sailed along, I took out my papers and pretended to read, and when I was done, I tossed them in the water.

  One of the dragons tried to grab the paper as it flew out of my hand. “Gods! Why did you do that?”

  “Oh—it was just a weekly.”

  “I would have given you five ektats for that.” He glared.

  “Ah, where is my head? I’m just so used to discarding it. Well, you can have the rest.” I handed him the whole pamphlet. “I don’t know what use it is, with print already on it.”

  “I can write a letter in all these margins,” he said. He looked a little warmer. “Thank you, sir…”

  “Asha.” I gave him my father’s name.

  By the time the trip was over, I had given all my papers with the talk of revolution out to the dragons. Of course they didn’t understand a word of it, and two of them couldn’t read or write, but they still held onto it. We reached their castle the next morning.

  It was surrounded by walls, so it could only be entered by a few gates. Inside the gates were a few acres of farmland. The castle reminded me more of old castles from my own world than the others I had seen. While Hemara and Irandal looked like their forms were inspired by the shapes of crystals and had huge windows, this castle was made of straight lines of stone and the windows were small. It was covered in moss and some of the rock was crumbling.

  “This is Gemuru castle. We will bring you to our king and queen. Be sure to show them proper deference, human. Our king and queen are not like the blind boy king’s court. Dvaro and Izeria are a true king and queen and rules are kept.”

  Huh. I wondered if or when this guy had ever actually seen Aurekdel.

  Although, fair enough on the rules. I could imagine how rumors of Aurek’s court might have spread when he was still a boy or a very young man.

  As we entered, I heard some soft harp music. The air was filled with a very light haze and I felt more relaxed even as I tried to resist. I was led into the dim hall, where the king and queen sat on thrones overlooking everyone else. They were speaking to someone else when I was brought in, a farmer asking about his crops, but he was shunted aside when they saw me.

  “Who is this?” the queen asked.

  So this is the Traitor King and Queen? I’d heard so much about them that I expected them to be more imposing. They looked to be around forty years of age, but dragons aged slower than humans, so I knew they were in fact in their sixties.

  Dvaro had a short gray beard, while the hair on his head was mostly black. He wore a golden crown and all the markers of a dragon ruler: the horns and claws. The scales on his hands were as black as his hair. Izeria looked younger, with greenish black hair and scales. She was very beautiful, in a lizard queen sort of way. I could easily imagine her turning into a snarling dragon.

  “A human trader, Your Majesties.” My escorts all bowed low and I followed suit, although not with too much deference. “His name is Asha. The rock dragons found him near the amethyst bridge. He came with Captain Merudon, taken prisoner by a few high dragons, who are still guarding him there.”

  “Merudon is still alive?” Dvaro looked like the idea made him tired. “What do you want, trader?”

  “What do you think I would want? To make more money.” I chuckled. The mist was making it easier for me to pretend.

  The mist dragons in the ha
ll were edging closer to me, curious. The women here had a rather…slinky aspect. Everything was veiled in smoke and shadow. Rock dragons were present here too, standing around in wait as servants, holding trays of food or wineskins. No one spoke much; they seemed subdued…drugged, even. I remembered being told that they were immune to their own mist magic, but the mists did have some effect on them if it was straight from the source.

  “I’ve been accompanying Trade Minister Niko of the Empire of Capamere, who, as you may know, is a guardian and a mist dragon. King Aurekdel has not exactly welcomed him with open arms. First, we went to the high dragons, but they don’t have what we really want, which is mist. I’m hoping we can work out a deal, outside of this conflict between you—a deal you will certainly benefit from. If you can get me some mist through the northern gate, I can get you a lot more than they’d get. Lumber. Paper. Silk, cotton, food…”

  Izeria whispered in Dvaro’s ear. He nodded at her.

  “We are already in talks with the Elders,” he said.

  “The Elders don’t have all the resources of the merchants of Capamere. Maybe raw materials don’t entice you? How about luxury goods. Spices from all around the world? Musical instruments? Paintings to adorn your castle in splendor?”

  “Hmm…why would you trade with both sides?”

  “That’s common enough where I’m from. We have many nations and trade flows even during war. We humans have no particular allegiance to one dragon over another. Now, mind you, the Elders occupy the northern outpost but they have no access to the best the kingdom has to offer. A great king should have the finest of clothing, to begin with,” I said, slipping off my golden outer robe. “Take a look and tell me if you’ve ever seen anything so fine as that.”

  “This is lovely…,” Izeria said, running her fingers over the embroidery.

  “You are welcome to join our dinner table,” Dvaro said. “Go and retrieve Captain Merudon.”

  “Your Majesty, Minister Niko requests something in exchange for Captain Merudon and these trade arrangements we hope to make. The woman who is your prison guard…”

  “Perina? What would he want her for?”

  “It seems he knew her when he was young.”

  Izeria spoke into his ear again.

  So she’s the woman who ‘made’ Ezeru… She definitely gave me a bad feeling, and all the whispering didn’t help.

  “Very well,” Dvaro said. “Take Perina with you and hand her over to the high dragons, and bring back Captain Merudon instead.”

  At least so far, this seemed like it was going well enough…

  I really wanted to see Peri for myself, but I couldn’t act like I was overly interested in the outcome. Two of the men walked off.

  “Show him to a suite…Ijaru,” Izeria told a young, scantily clad servant girl.

  “Oh—oh yes, Your Majesty…”

  Ijaru started walking toward a door. “Follow me,” she said shyly, barely looking at me. One of the rock dragons handed her a round glass jar with a handle, shaped somewhat like a lantern. I was just behind her; she had her tail on display and at least in Aurek’s court, a girl with a tail meant…

  But if this girl was a courtesan, she didn’t look experienced. She barely looked older than a child. Everything about her—avoiding my eyes, walking a little too fast, holding her shoulders tense—told me that she felt like she was heading toward a punishment.

  The jar looked like it was empty. But mist didn’t look like much. So inside…

  “Ah, my lady, I hope you’re not here to entertain me before dinner,” I said lightly. I didn’t want to offend her.

  She gave me the briefest, rather terrified glance. “But you are a guest.”

  “How old are you?” I asked.

  “Fifteen, sir.”

  “That’s too young,” I said. “And I have a wife at home.”

  “That—that doesn’t matter—sir,” she said. “You don’t want me t-to please you now? You must be far from home…”

  “No.” I’m not sure I was doing a great job playing a merchant anymore. A lot of traveling merchants were creeps. My mother used to complain about them coming to the door, anyway. “Is that kulum mist in that jar?”

  Her eyes were wide. “Please—her majesty asked me to—it’s—it’s my honor so I can restore my family’s good name. Please! You seem like you might be gentle, so I’d rather it was you than someone else!”

  “Are you telling me this is a punishment for something your family did?”

  “It isn’t punishment. It pleases me,” she said, practically choking on the words.

  “No. I’m sorry. I have no need of company.” I opened the door of the suite myself, and the need to end this terrible regime seemed more pressing than ever.

  As I started closing the door on her, she panicked and thrust herself through the door, throwing open the jar. Are you kidding me? The kulum mist flooded out, smelling of some alluring perfume. I tried not to breathe. Gods, I couldn’t let some poor little mist dragon girl, hardly more than a child, seduce me to avoid punishment.

  I tried to get out the door. She blocked it. I shoved her out of the way, and she transformed into a dragon. Now she was bigger than me, and she bit my fine clothes and shoved me toward the door.

  “My father betrayed the king,” she snapped. “If I don’t do this, he’ll lose a hand! Please…just be gentle.”

  “I have a wife! I’m not going to do anything! Look—if it helps, I’ll tell them it happened, but I’m not actually going to do it.”

  “But…sir…” The kulum mist seemed to be working on her now. Even as she was still a dragon, a lithe black reptile with a fierce beauty—but not the kind of beauty I was interested in. At all. Even with the mist worming its way into my brain.

  She turned back into a human. Thank the gods, her clothes, while skimpy, were made to fit around her in either form; she just had to tug a few straps tighter when she changed back. She sank to her knees.

  “It’s…it’s really okay,” she panted. “I think I want it now.” She blinked up at me. “You are really a rather handsome man…”

  I turned to the wall, my brain doing battle as my body stirred with need.

  They weren’t going to get me this way; I was a disciplined warrior and I’d spent a long, long time desperately wanting a girl I thought I’d never have.

  She tried to touch me. I shoved her away.

  “Please go,” I said through clenched teeth. “I’m just a merchant. I didn’t come here for women.”

  The door jerked open and Ijaru whirled in a panic. She was instantly on her knees. “Your Majesty, please, Your Majesty, I’m trying—he won’t—”

  Izeria was standing in the door. “If he won’t, he won’t,” she said, shrugging. “We’ll save you for next time, sweet. Go on, back to your chamber.”

  Ijaru bolted, and Izeria stepped into the room with me, shutting the door and waving away the kulum mist with a hand. Not that this did much good. First I’d been forced to lust after a frightened girl, and now, even worse, my body was whispering, Hey, it’s a mean, aging dragon queen, that’s hot.

  Izeria reached her arms toward me, her green eyes locking upon me, and a shadowy mist began to seep out of her skin. While the kulum mist just looked like a faint haze, as if incense had been burning, this mist produced dark tendrils of smoke that quickly filled the room and choked my lungs.

  “Tell me the truth,” she said. “Who are you and why are you here?”

  “I’m…ahh…” I choked on my father’s name.

  “Mmhmm…,” she purred. “You can’t lie to me.”

  “Niko did send me,” I said. “He wants a trade agreement to get Peri back. That’s…why I’m here. That’s not a lie.”

  “Peri…and nothing else?”

  It would have been nice if someone mentioned that Izeria could force me to tell the truth, I thought.

  “Tell me, or I’ll bite one of your bits off,” she said. “I won’t waste this mist
on nothing.”

  Well, I guess that answered that. Maybe it was rare magic. Well, I suppose that was flattering. “I’m…inconsequential,” I said. “That’s why they sent me here.”

  “Did you come here to kill me?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “Did you come here to kill my husband?”

  I tried to say no. It was like I couldn’t remember how to make the sound. “Rrr…”

  I slumped back against the wall as she laughed. Fuck. I’m going to die. Just like that.

  The whole enterprise was over so fast that I was in disbelief. Dvaro really looked interested in trading. I thought he would take the bait.

  “How were you going to do it?”

  “It was by no means certain,” I said. “I have poison on me. Just in case.”

  “Let me see.” Her eyes flashed.

  She’s going to make me drink it. I should have asked Aurek how it would work. Would it be over fast?

  I handed her the bottle and I had a split second to wonder if I should kill her. I had two knives on me. I was fast; I bet I could do it. She didn’t look as athletic as I was. Of course, I would only get her and no one else, but it would be something.

  “This is good stuff,” she said. “I have a proposal for you. I would like you to go through with it.”

  “With—what?” There was no way she meant what I thought she meant.

  She whispered, “I want you to kill my husband. Of course, you will take the blame for it—as you should. But I’ll spare your life. And…I will let Peri go home.”

  “You want him dead?”

  “I’ve been wrestling with this a long time,” she said. “Because—a part of me still loves him. But he drove my boy away.”

  “You mean Ezeru?”

  “Ezeru,” she said. “I see now that I made a mistake with him. He turned away from me, never realizing that I was grooming him for greatness. But I’ll start over. I sent them with dahna mist.”