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I circle the fortress once, wheeling high above the group. The humans will assume I want to make a dramatic landing, when in reality I’m bolstering my courage to touch the earth.
I must do this. I am the first-born of the Bone-King. I am one of the ruling princes of Ouroskelle. The bones of Grimmaw, Vylar, and Mordessa are not in this place. My fears are unfounded and my revulsion is foolish.
Despite repeating all these things to myself, I feel like screaming, like setting the fortress alight with my hottest fire, like incinerating the King of Vohrain and his people. Perhaps I would feel better if they were ashes on the wind, like my lost ones.
But if I kill them, I will be adding to the long list of deaths for which I am responsible. I need Vohrain’s king to officially hand over the islands he promised—and I need him to tell me what happened to the Queen of Elekstan. The Princess is waiting for that news.
In my mind I can see her delicate, sorrowful features. I can hear her saying, “I would be grateful.”
Selfish and demanding though she pretends to be, she is stronger than I first thought. It couldn’t have been easy for her, a tiny slip of human flesh, to be carried off to the home of a creature such as myself. Would she mock me if she knew how terrified I am to simply land? Or would her gaze soften with pity, with understanding?
She wouldn’t have the heart to ridicule me. I’m convinced of that. She would encourage me in the quiet voice she used when she sat beside me in the cave mouth and told me about herself. I can almost hear her now, assuring me that I can do this.
Before I know it I’m banking, angling downward. My claws sink into the thick, tough grass of the bluff.
I landed. And I have not died, or bathed this place in agonized fire.
Rahzien, King of Vohrain, bows to me, and I dip my head to him, as do the other dragons.
“I expected to meet with you sooner,” he says. “But I suppose we have both been busy. And dragons tend to be slow of thought and action—unless they’re stealing wives, am I right, lads?” He glances around at his men, who laugh jovially along with him.
I choose to ignore the slight to my kind. “I trust your conquest went smoothly?”
“Indeed it did. Though I would have preferred to have your army alongside us for the final phase.”
“My apologies. It was a difficult time, and once we decided to take the captives, we had to get them back to our island quickly.”
“Of course, of course.” The King eyes me shrewdly. “One male to another—you realize that breeding another species might be difficult when the size difference is so great.”
“We’re not breeding them as humans,” puts in Varex. “We captured an enchantress who is going to transform them into female dragons for us.”
For the first time, the King looks truly surprised. “Well now. That’s something I never would have imagined. Who’s the enchantress with such mighty power?”
Varex starts to speak again, but I lash my tail against his and he quiets.
“Let us discuss more pressing matters,” I say. “The Middenwold Isles—”
“—are yours,” the King interrupts. “Despite your absence from the final conquest, your clan helped me win the war. You upheld your end of the bargain, and I will fulfill mine. The deed has already been changed, and maps all across Vohrain are being relabeled as we speak.”
I’m unsure what a deed is, but I know what maps are. I bow my head in gracious acceptance. “We are grateful.”
The phrase reminds me of the other question I must ask. “What was the fate of Elekstan’s queen?”
“That stubborn bitch?” The King gives a dry laugh. “She fought to the end. But she was overpowered, as all women eventually are, by a strong man. I stripped her naked and locked her into a pillory in the main square of the city. Had her whipped, too. Once the citizens had a chance to see her truly defeated and humiliated, I cut off her head. Couldn’t find the daughter, though. Some say she leaped to her death from the walls of the city—others say she fled south for refuge. I don’t suppose any of your dragons saw what happened to her?” His narrowed eyes scan the three of us.
Before I can stop him, Fortunix drawls, “Prince Kyreagan took the Elekstan princess to his cave.”
“Did you now?” The King turns to me. “What do you want for her? I can give you access to the Parrock Banks off the Estaphen coast. Good place for fat, juicy eels. I’m sure your dragons would love those fishing areas.”
The hunger in his face unsettles me. “Why do you want the Princess?”
“It seems she’s wildly popular with the Elekstan people,” says the King. “I’ll use her to keep them under control. Maybe even marry her.”
“I thought you had already chosen a wife.”
He laughs loudly. “I’m engaged, yes, but nothing has been finalized. Besides, who’s to say a man can’t take more than one wife? Your father told me dragons mate with each other at will during your heat, and that they don’t always couple with their life-mate during such orgies. Surely you can understand a man wanting to dip his dick into more than one cunt. The duchess I’m engaged to comes with a well-stocked treasury, but she has a condition that prevents her from bearing children. Maybe the ripe young womb of the Elekstan princess will yield better results.”
“I doubt she would breed with you willingly,” I say.
