“I’m nervous, Fel,” Syla said as they flew through the barrier and toward the capital, the mist not enough to keep people indoors.
Bangs and thuds sounded as repairs went on near the docks, in the city, and also in the castle. The flag of her family,a quarter-moon on a starry blue background, flapped in the breeze. That didn’t entirely assure her that General Dolok or another outsider hadn’t claimed the castle, but at least it hadn’t been ripped down and replaced with another family’s flag.
Unlike with the stormers, people weren’t trained to look up often here—thanks to the shield, their lives didn’t depend on it—so Wreylith was close to shore before anyone noticed her.
“Dragon!” someone cried, pointing up.
More shouts followed, calls for weapons or to get inside.
Syla waved, and Wreylith flew lower so people would be able to see her and Fel on the dragon’s back.
“That’s the princess!” a child called, fearless as she pointed. She was a little older than the girl who’d finagled healing for her mother but reminded Syla of her. “Princess Syla isridingthe dragon.”
Instead of heading straight for the castle, Wreylith banked and flew around the city, staying low, showing everyone that Syla rode her.
I’m not sure if this is a good idea or not.Syla smiled and waved but also watched for potential enemies.
Your people must see you—and that you’ve earned a powerful new ally. They will wonder and be eager to hear tales of how this was done.
Shall I mention how I first proved myself to you with Vorik in the wheelhouse?
Certainly. Sexual prowess is not as great to achieve as battle prowess, but it signals the worthiness and power of a female.
I’ll be sure to have theKingdom Journalwrite an article on it.Syla imagined Relvin’s reaction at being asked to print such a thing.
When people realized they weren’t in danger, they flooded the city streets, coming outside to look up at Syla and Wreylith. Many peered toward the harbor and beyond, probablywondering if the barrier had failed and more dragons were coming, but the misty sky was free of other winged beings.
“Princess Syla has tamed a dragon!” someone with a booming voice that traveled far claimed.
Tamed?Wreylith exhaled smoke.Really.
Don’t incinerate anyone, please. Claiming the throne will be easier with the support of the populace.
Hm.Wreylith did another lap of the city.
“Princess Syla!” a chant went up. “Princess Syla!”
The introvert in her wanted to shrink away from all the eyes turned in her direction, beg Wreylith to fly to the castle, and put an end to the show. But she needed the people to see her, didn’t she? And her new ally.
“Queen Syla!” the man with the booming voice called.
“She rides a dragon, just like Queen Erasbella did!” an older woman yelled.
Huh. Someone else who’d read the less public version of her great-great grandmother’s tale. Or maybe the woman was old enough that she’d been a girl when people who’d been alive to witness it had told stories.
“This is a good plan,” Fel said. “The dragon has a surprising flair for the dramatic.”
“I think dragons are all dramatic by nature.”
We cause awe in those we encounter,Wreylith stated.
“I won’t argue with that,” Fel muttered.
Wreylith turned for a final flight over the city and angled toward the bluff that held the castle. Syla adjusted her spectacles and could make out Royal Protectors in blue uniforms lining the courtyard walls and standing atop the towers. It looked like every soldier in the castle, if not the city, was up there. Some of those men had fired at Wreylith before, when she’d first taken Syla from her room in the castle, but the dragon flew toward them without fear.
Two men in the black uniforms of the Royal Fleet appeared on the flat rooftop of an industrial building at the base of the bluff. They pointed crossbows toward Syla.
She swore and flattened herself to Wreylith’s back, hoping their quarrels would fly over her.
