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“It doesn’t matter!” Father shouts, “what would you have me do, son? Fight to the last man? Fight until Lord Brantley grows impatient and reveals us to the world? I will not see anyone else die over a squabble for power!”
Brooke speaks then. “Your Majesty,” she says, “with all due respect, your choice to surrender is selfish and a disservice to yourself and your people.”
My father looks at her in shock. I am not shocked. I know from experience how brave Brooke is when the circumstances call for it.
The circumstances definitely call for it now. She meets his eyes and continues, “What we do now will determine the future of this world. If we refuse to fight, we show everyone that all evil needs to succeed is to overcome the will of those who are good. They need only brute strength and good men and women will fold. If we fight and win, then well, that’s clearly a good thing. If we fight and lose, then we live on as martyrs in the minds of those who will come after us and rise up against the evil of tyranny and oppression.”
My father is silent for a moment. Finally, he sighs and says, “I’m sorry. I can’t do this. I can’t put anyone else at risk.”
She nods and echoes my own thoughts. “Well, Aiden and I will, your Majesty. If you choose not to stand with us, then I respectfully suggest that you stay out of our way.”
He looks between us in shock. “You really mean to keep fighting?” he asks.
“We do,” I say.
He looks between us again. Then he sighs and shakes his head. “Then I will not stand in your way. I only ask that you think of those who must die to support your resistance.”
“I think of them always, Father,” I assure him, “as you taught me.”
We get my father a room. Once he’s settled and resting, I meet privately with Brooke.
“I’m going to have to challenge Lord Brantley in open combat,” I say, “it’s the only chance we have of winning. If I can get him to agree to a one-on-one fight, then I might be able to save thousands of lives and even win this war.”
“Can you beat him?” she asks.
“I believe so,” I say, “Lord Brantley is not known as a fighter. You know him to be a coward. However, he will not fight me himself. He will choose a champion.”
“Who?”
I shrug. “Anyone he feels will be able to defeat me in single combat. There are very few dragons who could match me in size and strength, but I have only limited fighting experience. He will likely choose a veteran of war.”
“But dragons don’t fight in dragon form,” she says.
“No, and I’m hoping that inexperience will neutralize the advantage a soldier would have in combat with me. Either way, this is our only chance. I have to try.
She nods. She bites her lips, and I see tears threatening. I pull her close to me and say, “I love you, Brooke Patterson. You are my true mate, and my fated mate. Whatever happens, I will love you for all of eternity.”
She grabs my shoulders and buries her face in my shoulder. I can feel her shoulders shake with sobs, and tears well in my own eyes. I hold her until I feel her still with sleep. I lay her in bed, then head to my office and send two emails, one to Lord Brantley, then one to Petyr informing him of the message.
To tell the truth, there’s very little chance this will succeed. Lord Brantley is days away from solidifying a complete victory over our forces. My only hope is that he will hate my family and me enough that his hate will blind him and he will give us our only chance at success.
I receive the response I hope for within an hour of reaching out to him.Your foolishness knows no bounds, heir of Red Aerie. I nominate Walter Dragumov as my champion. You may know him as the general responsible for consistently and effortlessly defeating Vipera forces on the field of battle these past eighteen months. I look forward to watching him destroy you.
I know of Dragumov. He is a strong dragon, nearly my size. I’ve only met him once. He seemed polite enough at the time, but of course, this was before Lord Brantley rebelled. I have heard that he’s a fierce warrior.
He’ll have to be. I fight not only for my own throne but for the freedom of all of dragonkind.
I recall Valentia’s prophecy and I can only hope that I really am the Chosen One
ChapterTwenty-Two
From the Ashes
Brooke
Lord Brantley glares across at us, lips pulled back in a sneer. His daughter Amelie looks at me with naked hate. I don’t understand that. She clearly doesn’t love Aiden. Why would she care that he loves me and not her?
I realize fully then that this is all about pride. The Brantleys believe that they deserve to be the most powerful dragons on Earth. Lord Brantley feels he deserves the throne. Amelie feels she should be the envy of all other beauties. Knowing that Aiden would be an even stronger king than his father galled Lord Brantley and knowing that Aiden prefers me to her infuriates Amelie. They’re taking out a personal vendetta on Aiden and his family and getting innocent people killed in the process.
