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“What do you mean?” I asked. As I did, the ember in my chest glowed more brightly.
More and more dragons filed into the room, both lesser and royal. All looked worse for wear. They carried their babies and children with them and shared the same despair.
Nico blew out a long breath and turned his neck slowly while closing his eyes. The council watched on and gasped as he did. “Alpha,” he said with a solemn vow on his breath.
I felt my eyes widen and my heart thrummed overtime. I stepped back from them all, punched in the gut by what they were saying and what it meant.
Surely they were mistaken.
I was a lesser, an orphan, a nothing slave to these people, meant for service in one way or another until I died in service or my body gave out from too much labor and too little food.
“Soren? Jude?” I asked, hoping my other mates would have the sense enough to save me from whatever was happening.
Jude walked over to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “My love and my mate. The mountain has chosen. This is the start of a new era. One where there is no lesser and royal. One where you, beautiful, golden, you, are our alpha.”
Soren met my gaze. “The new alpha of the dragon clan,” he announced loud and proud. I thought the other dragons would laugh me out of the lands, especially the High Council members who had once hated me.
But instead, they all echoed Soren’s proclamation.
“Not me,” I said. “It can’t be me.”
Soren smiled. “The mountain has spoken. There has been an imbalance for far too long.”
Volmir stepped forward and took one of my hands in his. He had tears in his eyes. “My grandfather was around the last time the mountain spoke to us. He told us stories. He said there would one day be a bright and shining sun who ruled us all. Seems as if he was right, alpha. The time of the High Council is over. It’s time for us to go.”
“What?” Soren asked the man.
“We have ruled this clan for too long and clearly have made some mistakes. A lot of them. We will retire to the Eastern mountains where dragons go to rest and be at peace. Lead them well, Freya. It’s what you were born for.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
I couldn’t believe they left like that. Without a word or an argument. One moment, they were complaining that they knew I was the whole problem and that the mating essentially doomed them to…to something. But they had been the ones to tell me I had to mate the royals. The High Council had made the proclamation and now they were done?
“I-I don’t understand.” Everything was calm, the caves were drastically damaged, but there wasn’t a single rumble of the mountain. The former High Council members were filing out like commuters on their way to catch a bus. They would try to collect their hoards, of course, but with so much destruction, they would not be able to. And they’d committed to leaving.
“It’s all right, my child.” The familiar voice came from right beside me, and I turned with a cry of joy.
“Hilda!” I threw my arms around her and gave her the biggest hug I had available. “Where have you been?”
“With them.” She waved behind her at a group of bedraggled lessers. “Anyone who the High Council considered a problem, they locked in one of the deep caves. I tried to get a message to you, but I couldn’t until now. Are you all right?” She stepped back and held my arms, studying me. “Never mind. Don’t answer that. You’re glowing.”
“I’m still confused. But if you mean am I happily mated to all three of my royals, you’re right.”
“Not royals anymore.” Jude approached us, Soren and Nico at his sides. “You are our alpha and there is no more High Council, no more royals.”
“No more lessers,” Soren said. “You are our alpha, and we all follow your lead. Have you read the book yet?”
“The book?”
“My grandfather’s journal. I left it beside the bed this morning.”
I turned in a circle. People were walking around as if in a daze, some speaking to one another but most looking shell-shocked. Everything was a huge mess, and it would take a long time to clean it up, but somehow, I didn’t mind those things. Because the mistakes of the past couple of generations had been wiped clean and we had a new start. I didn’t know if I was qualified to be alpha or even quite what that meant, but I knew I needed to step up. Together with my mates, I would learn what I needed to help everyone to become what they should be.
No more lessers.
No more royals.
No more councilors.
