Last Dragon Standing (Dragon Kin #4)(24)

To Ragnar’s surprise, he didn’t doubt her words, or her conviction. He did, however, wonder at the why of it. Did she love her aunt so much? Or hate her mother even more?

“And what if Esyld has betrayed you?”

“Betraying me is one thing, my lord. Betraying my mother, another.”

Keita stepped closer. “But if I find out Esyld has betrayed the throne…then she will have a problem that even I will be unable to get her out of.”

“Isn’t the throne your mother?”

“No. My mother is the queen. But the throne belongs to her subjects.

To betray the throne is to betray us all.”

“And if Esyld has done that…?”

“Then she forfeits her life.”

Ragnar frowned. “It would be that easy for you?”

“Of course not. But the throne must be protected.” She studied the necklace held in the middle of her claw. “It is beautiful work.”

“It is. Have you ever been to the Sovereigns?” Keita laughed. “Why would I do something so completely insane as that?”

“You were in the Northlands during my father’s time. I’d say that was pretty insane. Perhaps I don’t see the difference.”

“You don’t. To get caught in the Northlands may mean a forced mating, which may not be pleasant, Lord Ragnar, but at least one is still alive. To get caught in the Sovereigns, however, means a crucifixion. And a crucifixion means I’ll be dead. Not much one can do when dead, now is there? Besides”—she crinkled her nose again—“I’ve heard crucifixions are not quick deaths, especially for dragons.”

“They’re not.” Ragnar again faced the vast sea before him. “There’s lots of screaming and bleeding and a cheering crowd. It’s extremely unpleasant.”

She leaned around and peered at him. “You’ve seen one.”

“I’ve seen lots of things.”

“I mean you’ve seen one in the Sovereigns.”

“I have.”

“Why would you risk going there? I heard the Irons loathe the Lightnings.”

“They do, but it’s hard to fight an enemy you’ve never seen.”

“I’d heard they loathe you, but I hadn’t heard they’d become your enemies.”

“I don’t know they are, but I’ve been hearing for years that the Sovereigns are readying for war.”

The princess snorted and looked out over the sea, shaking her head.

“My Lord Ragnar, the Sovereigns are always readying for war. So I wouldn’t feel too special.” She looked over at him and, with a small smile, said, “From what I understand, they’ll kill just about anybody.”

“Gods, Ren. The Sovereigns? If she’s had any dealings with them, I won’t be able to help her. No one will.”

Ren of the Chosen Dynasty watched his friend and traveling companion stare off across the small lake they’d been relaxing in while they waited for Éibhear to finish cooking the meat he’d brought back.

“Before you begin panicking—”

“I do not panic.”

“—let’s see what we can find out first. We’ll be passing Fenella in the next two days anyway. We’ll stop there for a bit. I know someone who can appraise the necklace for us, and I’d trust him quicker than that slack-jawed barbarian.”

Keita chuckled a little. “And I can visit Gorlas. If anyone knows anything—”

“It’ll be Gorlas,” Ren agreed, knowing their old friend and mentor’s reach wasn’t confined to the Southlands. That elf had connections everywhere and knowledge about everyone. He prided himself on that. “But I want you to stop worrying about your aunt for now. There’s nothing we can do at the moment.”

“I guess.”

Not willing to let Keita obsess over what she couldn’t control, a little-known curse of hers, Ren removed the wine cup from her hand and placed it on the hard-packed dirt beside them. He motioned to his hair and turned away from her.

“My hair needs a good scrubbing, not your whining.”

“I’m not a servant, Eastlander.”

“But no one does it quite as well as you, my dear, old, sweet friend.” He looked over his shoulder at her and fluttered his eyes.

“You’re pathetic,” she reminded him even while she rested on her knees and proceeded to scrub his hair clean of all the dirt and grime.

“’Tis true, but I’ve learned to accept my weakness. You should as well.”

He sighed luxuriously and let his head fall back a little more. “I guess I should warn you that when we get back to Dark Plains, we may have to deal with your cousin.”

“You’ll have to be more specific than that, I’m afraid. If there’s a feast at Garbhán Isle, there will be many cousins I’ll have to deal with.” Ren laughed. “Good point, but I was specifically speaking of, um, Elestren.”

“Oh.”

Ren was sure that Keita’s last few days at the Dragonwarrior training mountain, Anubail, were still firmly etched in her often fleeting memory.

What a bad suggestion that had been on his part. A few months of unarmed combat training were all she really needed, and she only needed that to help her get over how helpless she’d felt while in the hands of the Northlanders.