Aspen (The Dragon Kings #2)(14)

“Because a king is only as strong as his queen, and Skye could never be my queen. If I flouted tradition and sealed myself to her, then I’d open myself up as a weak king since I had no queen. It’d be a mess, really. Well, it will be a mess anyway. I don’t reign, not yet. I cannot take my place as the rightful king until my queen is presented to me. Pearl is out searching for her. It will be a few years before one is found and ready. The problem is, that name on my ankle was meant for my queen, not you. And so when I am discovered, I will be killed for ruining the kingship, and another king will be found.”

“At least Skye is a dragon.”

“Being a dragon has nothing to do with it. To keep the peace, all the dragon races have a say in who the queen is to keep the peace. Then there is the testing.”

Sid shivered, and Skye squeaked.

Aspen’s eyes widened. “What’s wrong with the testing?”

“Most potential queens die. The king before me had to watch four possibilities before one finally survived.”

“That sounds awful.”

“I’ve heard it is. I’ve never witnessed it. I guess I won’t either since I can’t have a queen.”

Skye spoke up. “Then why is Pearl out searching for one?”

“Because she doesn’t know you’ve sealed yourself to me.”

Aspen frowned. “If you’re supposed to be king, why don’t you just take the throne anyway? I mean, it seems stupid to let them kill you. Stand up for yourself. Isn’t that what kings do?”

“That would cause a war.”

Aspen didn’t understand. She couldn’t, and Sid didn’t know how to express how dire this was. Sid’s stomach became a tight knot. Even the mere thought of thousands of dragons dying caused him to want to flee.

“Isn’t it worth it?”

Sid frowned. How could she be so callous about this? She was talking about a war. One that if it started, would be his fault.

“You don’t know what you are talking about.”

Aspen stood and got right in his face. “You were chosen to be king for a reason. Show them what you are made of. Fight for yourself.”

“It’s not that easy.”

Her face flushed, and Sid felt a tightening in his chest that came from her.

She crossed her arms and backed away, her eyebrows arched. “Oh, yeah, then I guess you deserve to die. No real king would do that.”

She stormed out of the room. A few seconds later he heard the front door slam.

“She didn’t mean it,” Skye said softly.

“I know. I felt her fear as well as you did. She’s scared for me.” Sid sank down onto one of the kitchen chairs. He didn’t know how to get out of this. Aspen was right. He was going to die. He was a coward.

“As she should be. I’m scared for you too.”

Skye sat across from him.

“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Sid said.

“Maybe not, but she’s right.” Skye wrapped her hands around his and gave him a small smile.

“What do you mean?” She wasn’t making sense. How could she think that Aspen was right? She was talking about starting a war.

“Traditions change all the time. Why can’t you rule without a queen? You and Aspen can stay together until she dies, and you can still be a good king.” Skye squeezed his hands and stared at him with her wide blue eyes.

“I’ll be weak, though, because I’ll have no queen.”

“So make her your queen.”

Sid laughed. “Yeah, right. I can’t do that, and you know it. Every possibility I’ve thought of ends with both of us dying.”

“Nope. There’s another way.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s old magic, dating back to the dragon wars. Surely you know what I mean.”

“The loyalty circle?”

“Yep.”

“Skye, those seals caused thousands of dragons to die last time. I’ll not invoke it again.”

“We’re looking at a war anyway. You might as well give yourself a fighting chance. Look, it won’t be that hard to gain your supporters. You’ve got me, Theo can represent the royal tribe, you know Damien will give you allegiance from the fire dragons, and Darneil will help you without question. That’s four out of the eight without a fight. Jolantha will probably help as well. That’s five. That leaves canyon, river, and arctic.”

“But it won’t work unless I get them all.”

“I know, but if you do, the council will have no choice. They’ll have to step down and acknowledge the council of your own choosing.”

“Do you know how many dragons tried this during the dragon wars?”

“Yeah, but leadership was up for grabs at that point. Right now, no one knows anything. You should be able to do it quietly, and no one has to die. Including you. War would be avoided.”

“If this doesn’t work, whoever gives me their loyalty will die.”

She shrugged. “I’d do it for you.”

“You love me.”

“So do a lot of others. You can’t see why you were made king, but I can. You are personable, and you care deeply for others. Even now, you are thinking about what is best for the dragons, not yourself.”