Page 3 of The Forgotten Throne

Before I could stop myself, I let out a huff of laughter, causing all eyes to snap to me. “I can assure you, Zan, from personal experience, their training is more than enough to get them through this trip.”

“There are more people than there are horses. It will be slow going with all the children and elderly,” Garold commented.

This made me bristle. He was just trying to find fault with my plan, but I couldn’t figure out why. What good did it do him to have everyone stay here when danger could arise at any moment?

“Then I suggest you give up your horse for someone who needs it,” I offered, sitting up straighter. “Unless you plan to stay here.”

The moment I said it out loud, I knew it was true. Garold believed that if he stayed behind, he might be able to convince more to stay, if not his whole clan, therefore making him their permanent leader.

Garold crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me, ignoring the fact that Dayson and May were still flanking him. “As you said, we are free to stay if we wish. I’m not convinced this is the best move for our people.”

“What would you suggest instead?” I asked, leaning forward and resting my arms on the table before me. “I am happy to hear other suggestions from any of my people.”

This was not the response that Garold was expecting, and it took him a moment to decide whether he was going to answer me. “If it were me, I would stand our ground. This place is a fortress. Its secrets are known only to Clan Leaders and the king or queen. We could easily defend ourselves.”

“Hmm, I see. Was Porvan privy to this knowledge as well?” I questioned.

Acton’s lips twitched as if he was fighting back a smile. He understood where I was going with this.

“He was a Clan Leader until recently.”

“Yes, and I believe he no longer is one because he’d betrayed our people on more than one occasion. Did it not surprise anyone that Payson left with us, but I returned with his twin brother, Paxton, instead?” I mused aloud. “It was because the apple didn’t fall far from the tree and Payson sold us all out to the Lost King, trying to offer me up as payment for him becoming a valued person in the New World order. Now, if I were to prove my loyalty to someone as crafty and suspicious as the Lost King, I would share whatever the most valuable information I had to share. What would you share with him?”

Clarity dawned on Garold when he took a moment to think it over. “The secrets to our hideout. One of the most guarded bits of information we have.”

“Yes, that would be my line of thinking. Do you still believe it’s best to hold our ground here and make a stand?” I inquired, resting my chin on my hand. “As you said, if you feel strongly about it, you may remain and test out your plan.”

Garold shifted in his seat, no longer feeling as cocky about his plan as he once had. “How long will it take us to travel to Sheca?”

In an effort to hide my smile, I turned to look at Zan, covering my mouth with my hand as if I was yawning.

“With as many people as we have, I’m guessing about five days. But if we can take some of the elderly on dragon back, it could help to speed things along,” Zan shared.

I perked up at that idea, knowing we had the dragon riders with us, and gained Ninnat as well. “How fast can we get there by dragon?”

“Half a day.”

Now it was Xio’s turn to be upset. “Why such a difference? I know dragons can fly much faster, but half a day versus five makes no sense to me.”

“If you account for the fact that you have horses for maybe half your people since they are only given to those able-bodied and working, this still leaves many on foot. The journey is through the mountains, and they are not forgiving, nor is there a path that’s been commonly used to make the footing easier. This is going to be a pilgrimage to be sure, since we either use dragons or ships to get to where we need to go,” Zan explained. “If we can shuttle the older people and possibly the children, it will bring that number down. It will still be a hard crossing for the horses.”

I hummed in agreement as I pictured the landscape where I’d first met Zan and remembered how torturous it was. “I suggest that you and I fly out today and meet with the people of Sheca so they can prepare for our arrival. Then you can start to move those who need it the most on dragon back while I lead the others the long way on horseback. I assume there is no way for us to use carts to transport our belongings?”

“That is correct, my Queen. We need to stick to the rule of if you can’t carry it on your back, you can’t take it.”

I turned my attention to Ballard, knowing he would do as I asked without question. “I know there are things we need to bring that cannot be replaced. Could you work with Sal to gather and prepare those items so we can take them over on the dragons? They are stronger than horses and can take more at once, so we can refrain from using any as pack horses. The more people we can get moving faster, the better. I truly believe we don’t have much time and he does have his own dragons to use against us.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I will start on that right away with your leave,” Ballard said, moving to stand.

With a wave, I sent him off and turned to my guardians. “I need a firm tally on how many horses we do have and if there are any that are hidden away in the surrounding area we can use. The guards need to make their way through the levels, making it clear that they need to pack what they can carry only. We are not trying to be cruel. We just want to keep them alive. My hope is that we might get help from Sheca, but I won’t rest our plans on it. Zan and I will fly to Sheca to see what we can do to pave the way for our people, then return to start the journey.”

“Your Majesty, I don’t think that is a good idea. Just the two of you can’t go,” Jade grumbled.

I couldn’t help but smile at my outspoken guardian, who was always worried about my safety. Everyone kept trying to paint him in such a poor light, but I knew better. We’d saved each other one too many times for me to doubt him. His bright green eyes, which were such a striking contrast to his deep umber skin tone, held my gaze. Without him and his dragon, Tahir, I would never have survived to become queen when one of our own betrayed me the first time to the Lost King.

“I hear your objection, Jade, but this is how it needs to happen,” I said, the finality of my choice clear in my tone.

Even though his expression didn’t change, I knew he was upset with me. I trusted him to keep his objections to himself until we were in private. Turning back to the others at the table, I said my farewells. “If you’ll excuse me, I have things to attend to. Any help you would like to give will be of great value if you choose to join us on our journey.”