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“Yes, My Queen, I mea?—”
“I know exactly what you meant, General Willothorn, and you havenoright.”
“Yes, My Queen.”
My eyes flew to Emric’s and I took a sip of my tea if only to hide the smile on my face. I was going to treasure the verbal lashings Esta just gave Zaire for the rest of my life. No matter how things ended here, it was a memory they could never take from me.
The queen took a sip of her own tea. “Now. I am exhausted. I am pissed off, and I am going to be very clear. So all of you listen to what I am about to say.”
You could have heard a pin drop in the room with the way the advisors were sitting and listening. Esta had not been joking when she said she was scarier in this form. I was witnessing not a girl, or a woman, but a true queen ruling. It was something my father had never allowed me to see in my life. And dammit if I didn’t adore Esta just a little bit more for this. The way she attacked the room not only with her crown, but with her eyes and words wielded as her sharpest weapons. She was cunning. Brilliant. Again, something I had known long before she came back into her human form.
Esta continued, “Because of the relationships Prince Keiran has forged with Amory, Malachi, Whit, also likely Nyx, when he is ready, he will attempt the process of how he got me to shift on them. To make sure this can be duplicated before there are mass celebrations across Dra Skor. At that point, there will be a lottery of all of us. Amory will work out the details. I will not allow Prince Keiran to do this to more than three of us a week. Not only because he is our source and our way out of this hell so his health isourresponsibility, but also because after being trapped in my dragon form for nine years and after the attack, I do not know who I can and cannot trust anymore. So getting all of us unstuck too quickly could only fan the flames of this ongoing war from within.”
“Your Majesty—” the former king tried to butt in.
“I am not done,” the queen said without glancing at him. “For the next hour exactly, you all will figure out a foolproof way for us to protect our Wylan ambassadors. Then and only then will I take any questions about how I got to be back in this form.” She paused deliberately. “To be clear, I am back in my human form because of Prince Keiran’s efforts. Dra Skor was too busy fighting and dividing itself to accomplish this feat. Though this is something to celebrate, it is also a glaring reminder that we could not do this on our own. Dra Skor was once a country who stood strong together. Unstoppably so. In the last nine years, we have allowed this to destroy us. And though there may have been a reason, we also have ourselves to blame. We have failed ourselves. Which is the worst flavor of failure to have to taste.” Another sip of her tea. “Now, what are your ideas for protection?”
My eyes went to Emric and John. John was still scanning the faces of the advisors while she spoke, as was I. But Emric’s eyes were wide. I feared he might start clapping for Esta.
Internally, I was right there with him.
For the next twenty minutes they developed a rotating schedule. Winged shifters protecting my balcony from the sky and from on it, land shifters from below. Plus two extra guards in addition to our own two guards. And then plans were made for when I traveled to the lakes, the shifter presence I would take. It seemed I would be flying with as great an entourage as the queen herself.
It all seemed a bit much. If I truly wanted to get away from anyone, even the queen herself, I was fairly certain I could manage it on my own. But I wasn’t about to say as much.
When Esta was finally pleased with the plan, she quickly explained to the advisors what happened in the lake, how I was able to get her back to this form.
“How long?” Jagen asked. “Do you need to rest? How long have you been back?”
“Three days,” she responded coolly. “I have been resting.”
A collective gasp seemed to travel the room.
“You did not trust us to know right away?” Jagen asked quietly.
Esta looked him dead in the eyes when she said, “A move was made on my life just last week, brother. I trust no one.”
He gave her a bow of understanding. Also possibly showing the rest of them his respect and concern for his sister.
Then I had to account for how I managed things from a magical perspective, and I was honest in letting them know it would be a slow process trying to duplicate what I had done. That Emric would need to be trained on how to do this also, as the energy it took to turn Esta back and amount of magic both were extensive.
“You did it,” Otis said with a shake of his head. “I cannot believe you actually did it.”
“Wounded,” I jested. “Since I rarely do not accomplish something I put my mind to. While others may shy from the long game, I rather thrive in it.”
“We should have a ball,” Morana said, eyes oddly bright from her usually blank face. “To celebrate the queen being back and your role in it.”
“I will need a few days,” Esta stated. “I am more concerned with an attack from within Dra Skor than I am celebrating the fact that I have my full voice back.”
“Of course,” Morana said with a bow. “I meant you no disrespect. As much as we have all enjoyed our sanctuaries being back, imagine how Dra Skor will celebrate this. You, My Queen, are back.”
Which was true, but at the same time, she hadn’t really gone anywhere. They’d just stopped seeing her for what she was.
By the time we left to go back to our rooms, we had a date for the ball. A plan for protection. And a queen who was taking absolutely no prisoners.
* * *
I had barely takenmy jacket off when there was a knock on my door. I opened it to find Amory and Esta. Esta again striding right into the room, her lavender gown billowing behind her. I got the impression that was just how she approached things. Without breaking stride. Headfirst.
