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“And mark my words, they willnotwin. They are strong, but we are stronger. They are fierce, but we carry the true flame in our hearts. They are vicious, but we the true patriots of our kind stand united against those who would subjugate us, those who would slay us, those who would deny us our rights as the true leaders of this world!
“I call upon all dragons everywhere to rise up and cast off the shackles of the Vipera family and come with me into a new era of freedom and peace, an era where dragons once more and forever are the supreme governors of this planet, where we are no longer forced to live under the thumb of our inferiors! Fight with me, and we will fly again without fear of discovery by those who should fearus!”
The video feed pans out to a crowd of cheering dragons. Several of them have shifted into dragon form and bellow their support for Lord Brantley.
I switch the tv off and ask Petyr, “Has my father replied to my call yet?”
As though on cue, the phone rings. I answer it, and my father’s voice comes through the other end. “Aiden,” he says, his voice heavy with sorrow. “I have escaped my palace. I am flying to the Aerie now. My servants have rebelled against me. They have conspired with Archduke Saint-Germain to declare Lord Brantley the First king of dragon kind. They attempted to take my life. I… I had to kill three of them.”
I can hear the pain in my father’s voice. In his ninety-five years, my father has never had to shed blood. “Are you hurt, Father?”
“Not seriously, son,” he assures me. “I simply grieve the fate of my people.”
“Their fate is not decided yet,” I remind him. “Not while we can still fight.”
“Son,” my father says, his voice now full of weariness as well as pain. “The fight is lost. The other lords have declared for Lord Brantley. The generals have declared for him.”
“No,” I say, “I spoke with them this morning. They are still on our side.”
“Not anymore,” my father says. “When they heard of Valentia’s death, they changed their loyalties and denounced us as traitors.”
I think of the men I spoke to this morning, my friends, men I have known for decades. I can’t believe that they would so easily abandon their loyalty over a clearly false report from a man who has only his own interests in mind.
“I am suing for peace, Aiden,” my father says. “I will not stand by while our kind destroys itself through its own foolishness.”
“You can’t, father!” I cry, “Lord Brantley will destroy us!”
“Lord Brantley will not reveal us to the human world if I agree to cede the throne to him. He contacted me last week. I refused at the time, but I can’t refuse him anymore. I can’t wait while our people suffer.”
“Father, you can’t trust him!” I shout. “You heard what he said at the conference! He intends to enslave and subjugate humanity! What will happen when he inevitably breaks his promise to you and reveals us? We’ll be wiped out!”
“We’ll be wiped out within a month if the fighting gets worse,” he counters, “already, human governments have begun to take notice.”
“Father, we can’t acquiesce. We can’t give up. We owe it not just to ourselves but to the world to keep dragonkind out of the hands of that lunatic!”
“I’m sorry son.” He says, “but the decision has already been made. I will send the suit for peace as soon as I land. Please don’t try to prevent me.”
He hangs up, and I stare numbly ahead. Next to me, Brooke asks tentatively, “What’s wrong?”
I don’t have the heart to answer her.
ChapterTwenty-One
The weight of despair
Brooke
As soon as Aiden hangs up on his father, he turns to me and the few dozen staff members who haven’t fled the grounds. The grief and pain in his eyes is evident, but so is the fierce pride he possesses. He looks at us and says, “I will not give in. Lord Brantley cannot be allowed to win. He will destroy dragonkind and bring terror and death to humankind and all others who share this world. I will continue to fight him. I will continue to defend our world from the threat he represents.
“This is not your fight. I encourage all of you to leave now and return home to your families. I will not see anyone else suffer pain and death because of my enemies. Go now with my blessing and my gratitude.”
Not a single soul moves. Petyr says, “Your Highness, I speak for all present when I say that we will remain at your side until the end.”
There is a chorus of agreements from the others. Aiden smiles and says, “I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate all of the support and love you’ve given me over the years. I can’t promise you that we’ll win. I can promise you that as long as I have breath, the light of freedom will never perish. I will fight to my doom if that’s what it takes.”
There are even louder agreements from the others at that. I smile at him and say, “We are with you to the end, my love.”
He confers with Petyr and a few others to make plans. We will remain at the Aerie in the vault, which is untouched by the previous assault. It’s likely that Lord Brantley doesn’t even know that it’s here. There is, as Aiden has said, more than enough food and supplies for us to live here comfortably for as long as it takes.
