Thegiant was struck from the side by the princess.Fora moment,Ithought she intended to fight him, butIsaw she had wrapped him in an aggressive hug instead.
“I’mhere,Kaleos.Youwon’t be rid of me that easy!”Kaleos’ armor strained as he returned the princess’s embrace tenfold.Iheard her groan as he squeezed the breath from her lungs.
“Hey, mind the bones,Kaleos!”Butthe man didn’t let her go.Aplank had been set between the two ships, and quickly, more bodies joined the crushing embrace.Theexuberant shouting nearly deafened me.
Ibacked away from the joyous group, and that creature in my belly hissed with jealousy, clawing at my ribs in anger.Ifelt soft fingers lace with mine and looked up to seeJunsmiling.
“Itseems like she finally found it after all these centuries,” he whispered.
“What?”Iasked.
“Home.”
Chapter 14
Tori
Thelast timeIwas in theDragonKingdom,Ihated the place.Thesecond time around,Icouldn’t believe how muchIhad missed it.Aswe passed through the gate to theObsidianKeep,Icouldn’t help but feel exuberance.Butit was tempered by our journey through the city.Theouter wall was lined with soldiers, and spiked obstacles had been placed all over the surrounding fields.Kaleoshad informed me that no attack had come to the city yet, but it was likely inevitable.
Thebulk of theDragonArmyheld beyond theReachMountainsthat separated theDragonandGoldenKingdom.Hadeon’sforces had recovered from the initial attack quickly, and they hadn’t made progress to the capital.
Isat around the massive table in one of the council rooms.Ithad been carved from an ancient oak into a map ofAdimos, and the officers placed various figures and flags all over it, denoting victories and losses, allies and, to a far greater extent, enemies.
“HaveQueensItzayanaandXarenisent their troops from the south?”Avlynasked as they gestured frantically across the table.
“Theyhave, but they aren’t engaging as much as we need.Iunderstand the hesitation, but the more they hold back, the worse it will be for them.”Thespeaker wasCommanderTulis, whoImet atTenebraeForest.
“Canwe send a cohort to him to help reinforce the troops?”Avlynasked.
“Yes, but it will take weeks for them to arrive.”
“Canwe split the group already nearAshenforge?”
“Intheory, yes, but our troops are already spread thin…”
Theycontinued to debate their strategy, andIdid my best to fade into the tapestries on the wall.Iwasn’t exactly sure whyIwas here.Iwas well trained in fighting, and to some extent, battlefield tactics because of my training with theDragonArmy.ButIwas no commander.Ididn’t know how to orchestrate an entire army.Avlynhad insistedIcome.
Theywere clearly skilled at this, but who they really needed wasAbraxas, andIwas no substitute for him.
“…don’t you agree,PrincessTori?”Isnapped my head up.Avlynhad asked me something.
“I’mnot sure it’s my place to…”
Theygave me an angry look, then turned back around.Theother leaders barely spared me a glance.Theyknow you’re a failure.
Aftera bit more debate, the others filed out, andIslowly raised out of my chair, ready to be done with this.Avlynslammed the door closed and rounded on me.
“Whatthe hell was that?Forthe first time in your entire life, you haven’t had something to say, huh?”
Ipushed back from them, my defenses rising. “Avlyn, it’s not my place to interfere.Idon’t know how to command an army.”
“Iwasn’t asking you to plan, just to support me!”Theirvoice broke in exasperation.
Iwas confused. “Youare the leader of this army.Whywould you need my support?”
Theyshook their head, tracing their fingers over the bridge of their nose just the wayAbraxasdid, and my heart twinged. “Abraxasisn’t here,Tori.Ialways had his support.I’masking these men to fight a war when their king is gone.Lastthey heard, he turned into a dragon and flew away.Youmight see how that could shake someone’s loyalty.Ineed you to be that powerful rallying point for us, for the kingdom.”
Afew moments of silence passed between us untilIcould finally voice whatIneeded to say. “I’mnot the queen.”
