Original Stories Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction / Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness ❯ Queen ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter Ten

Queen

 

 

It was quiet, despite the earlier bloodshed. The other former slaves huddled together for the warmth against the chill of the night and for the illusion of safety. Most had removed their shackles and those few that had been unlucky enough not to have theirs come loose still felt that they were better off than they had been.

 

And so, it was with trepidation that they watched the lean, fair haired queen and her dragon approach the wagon that the female dragon had disappeared into. Though Sais had made it explicitly clear to them that no one was to disturb them until her queen awoke, Seku and Hakunazra were taking the risk of provoking her. They looked on as their queen and Riagenkai were intercepted by a man with light brown hair and green eyes. The quiet words that were exchanged between them were angry and the people drew a little closer together as if that could protect them from an angry dragon.

 

Amaras studied Hakunazra's sturdy build, sun-tanned skin, silver hair, and blue eyes. Whatever could be said about this Riagenkai, he wasn't weak. “You would do well to back off,” he said softly. “For the last three months you've helped to torture her Riagenkai and you would have helped to break her if it had meant saving your queen. I highly doubt that Farin will take kindly to your presence while her royal is resting.”

 

His gaze flicked to the young woman standing beside her Dragon Guardian. She was thin and the clothes she wore barely concealed the whip marks and burns that marred her tan skin. Gray-green eyes stared tiredly back at him from beneath lank, filthy brown hair. For a moment, her gaze shifted to just over his shoulder before they returned to him. He didn't have to turn to know that the imagi had chosen to show themselves as the younger queen's defenders. “Then would you tell her that when she and her royal are up to it, we would like to speak with them on a matter that may well determine their fates as well,” she said with a respectful incline of the head. “Until then, I think resting would be a very good idea.”

 

And, with that, she left. Hakunazra trailed after her, unwilling to let her out of arms reach. They had spent a hard year fighting her ministers for control of the courts only to be driven from the palace and into her brother's waiting arms. At first, they had thought that Jestiry was trying to help them, but when he had gotten a knife to his sister's throat it had been made abundantly clear that they were his prisoners.

 

“Seku?” he asked softly as they stopped beside another of the empty wagons. He felt a pang of worry lance through him when she leaned against the wooden support. Gently, he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

 

Her skin was so ashen it was almost gray, dark circles marked the underside of her eyes, and the clothes she wore did nothing to hide the ribs that were proof of the treatment she had received at her brother's hands. Never ending beatings and constant starvation had taken their toll and more than depleted the reserves she had once had.

 

A grim smile graced her lips. “Is it over? Are we truly free of him?”

 

“Yes,” he said.

 

There was no hesitation in his movement as he swung her off her feet and into his arms. She had seen the worst treatment and yet she was still standing even after everything they had done to her. His queen hadn't broken, but the threat of killing her was more than enough to control him. He envied Sais, he reflected, in that she was strong enough to withstand their attempts to break her and the threat against her ruler.

 

Seku sighed blissfully and leaned her head against Hakunazra's chest. It had been a long time since she had felt the strength of his arms around her or the heat of his body and she reveled in the comfort and peace it brought her. Briefly, she wondered if all Riagenkai and ruler were as connected as they were before she dropped off into an exhausted sleep.

 

Meanwhile, Sais sat inside her wagon listening to those outside, though her attention was fixed entirely on Soren. Her woman-child. Hers. She had claimed Soren as hers and she hadn't even been able to protect her from Jestiry. It had fallen to another…again. The younger woman had even saved her the first night they had been captured by drawing on the strength of the Riagenkai she despised. Something inside her wanted to curl up in shame and wither away.

 

As it was, though, she watched the woman-child sleep with her arm curled protectively around Homuna. Chimadori stared at her from her place beside her master. It was almost like the Kingen was trying to tell her something and for once she was glad that the Kingen could speak only with her master.

 

After a moment, she heard Seku tell Amaras to give her a message. A matter that could decide their fate? Well, she'd had a discussion like that a time or two in her lifetime and they never turned out to be quite as urgent as the humans made them out to be. At the very worst, she would take Farin and Farin and leave. Now that she was free of her shackles they couldn't very well stop her from transforming and taking off.

 

Her woman-child.

 

Her queen.

 

“Queen,” she said softly, testing it on her tongue. “My queen.” It didn't feel wrong as those before her had. Perhaps it was because this one had called to her across the continent when she had so willingly walked away from her post. She had made the choice to rescue the ruler of her former country. There had been no obligation to go back, but the woman-child had called to her and that choice made all the difference.

 

Maybe she wouldn't make a good queen. She was still mistrustful of full blooded humans, males most of all, and with good reason. There were times when she looked at her and saw the ice in her eyes, the coldness of her soul and then there were times when she saw a child lost to the atrocities of humanity. Sometimes, when she thought no one else was looking, Sais even caught a glimpse of a warm, good-natured girl as she took care of Homuna. The warmth in those moments made her wish she could have stopped her from being captured in the first place. If she had known that a child like her would be born to rule not even fifty years after she left, maybe she would have stayed to look after such a child. Maybe she could have found the strength to mourn her daughter and then move on, but she hadn't.

 

She hadn't known that Soren even existed until she had felt that pull, that desperation. Farin hadn't been able to protect her, hadn't been able to track down the bitch that had taken such a precious queen from him and it had fallen to her to rescue the woman-child. She didn't mind, she admitted to herself, not in the least. If Soren took the throne, maybe…just maybe she would take up her old post again. If Soren wanted her as Riagenkai, she would swallow her pride and subject herself to the Prince and deal with the stench of him. For her woman-child she could live with the past.

 

Sais reached towards her and gently traced the curve of her jaw. She had no doubt that Soren would hesitate in taking what she would freely offer. It wouldn't be so bad to serve a woman-child like her, especially if she was one of the few that could form a true bond with a Riagenkai.

 

Soren opened one eye and stared up at her. “What?” she rasped. “Something wrong?”

 

Almost unconsciously, she leaned into the touch and closed her eyes again. Sais felt something tighten in her chest at the show of trust. Even if Soren never took the throne, she would follow her to the ends of the earth to protect her.

 

“Nothing,” she replied. “You're safe. Jestiry is dead and the handlers are either dying, dead, or little pieces of meat. Go back to sleep. We can decide what to do next after you've had a proper rest.” Sais retracted her hand and let it drop into her lap. “There's nothing that needs to be done now.”

 

“'kay,” she muttered and held the sleeping Homuna closer as Chimadori laid her chin on her master's shoulder. It would be a long time before Farin woke again.

 

* * *

 

She felt the presence before she heard them. With them came a sense of urgency that tugged at her mind, willing her to wake and open completely to him. Even in the haze of sleep she could feel something fluttering in her stomach. Was this it? Had Farin finally broken free of the false Blood Seal and reached out to her?

 

Child?

 

She came awake slowly, feeling that something die in her. This voice was clear and he had not called her by her name or silver-eyes as Farin had. Whoever this was, he was different and she did not know him. He tugged at her, trying to pry her mind open to him. She gathered her defenses around her and stood between him and the path that led from her mind to Farin's. No one, save a dragon, could access another's mind so easily and if he wanted to attack the Dragon Prince through her, he would be sorely mistaken.

 

For a moment she observed the intruder. She might have been surprised at the amount of seething rage she felt, but he was an intruder and her mind had always been her last sanctuary. To have it violated in such a way made her want to strike at him, but the weight of Homuna in her arms stilled any attack she might have launched. There was no way she would expose him to that kind of raw magic. Instead, she settled on the only path left to her.

 

Speak.

 

The tugging paused, surprise emanating from its source.

 

Speak or quite wasting my time and go back to wherever it is that you came from.

 

I haven't much time so I'll make this quick. Your Riagenkai's will is fading beneath a false blood-seal. The longer you wait to establish your bond the less likely you will be to free him. You need to hurry, lest the prince disappear forever.

 

Soren felt cold grip her for the briefest of moments as she opened her eyes and stared at Homuna's sleeping form and felt Chimadori's weight on her side. Her Riagenkai, fading. Then she was hidden behind her mask once more.

 

He was trying to slip away. Well, she couldn't have that; she wasn't through with him. Without knowing how she did it she reached out and grabbed him, holding him to her barriers. He struggled then stilled as her grip redoubled on him, threatening to overpower him and snuff his mind out like a candle in a hurricane.

 

Who are you and how do I know that what you say is true? Why do you even care?

 

She could feel his hesitation, could feel his fear flowing through her. His movements stilled.

 

Tell me.

 

I'm a dragon and I serve in the dragon court under the king as an Enchanter, a Seer as you humans would say. Askerin was the one that charged me with finding you after you escaped your aunt, but the Rouge was very good at shielding you. She's special, your Riagenkai.

 

He waited, knowing that she had other questions. How did Karu know where to find me? I hadn't stepped foot off the Sanma for six months at her urging.

 

His answer was reluctant, but as he spoke she felt him open his mind to her. It was a risk, but it allowed her to know that what he said was the truth. It was also an unspoken show of trust and submission to the one they were opened to. She doubted that he truly realized the full extent of his actions and she felt a thrill of wonder.

 

You are a beacon to those that wish to be free of Askerin and the throne. I…was watching for you and you snatched my attention up once you were beyond the wards. If it had been just me, I would have left you be, but Askerin was most interested in capturing you again and forced me to reveal what I had gleamed.

 

Through his memories she caught her first glimpse of the Dragon King. He wasn't handsome by any means. He had an off place nose, large eyebrows, slanting eyes, and lips that might have been sensual on another face. A cruel joy seemed to emanate from him as he tore through Tahrin's back for trying to withhold information about her, but the compulsion to obey was…overwhelming.

 

She withdrew carefully from the memory and felt him watching her, as though waiting for her judgment. When she offered nothing, he continued, After I told him where you were, he had me relay his orders to Karu, who was playing messenger for his Queen, and he went after you. There was nothing personal in it for him. He was the one that persuaded the king to release the prince to the post of Riagenkai.

 

Alright. What's in this for you?

 

For a moment, he was silent. He wasn't ignoring her, so much as wrestling with a difficult memory. At birth, dragons are just like any other young of a race: innocent. As adults we are possessive, protective creatures. We tend to keep close the one that we have claimed as ours and anyone else that we may else come to care for. If something happens to anyone that we love, we tend to lose it. Anyone in our way will die and anything that stands is a target. If, however, we have another that we must take care of before our own grief then we throw ourselves into the care of that one.

 

He paused and Soren waited. Whatever was going on with him she could tell that the wound was a recent one and that he had not yet had time to deal with whatever it was. When he continued, his voice was little more than a whisper.

 

Askerin is a cruel bastard. My mate and child have never done anything to warrant death by combat. He ordered them to fight each other…my son is little older three months…Rina didn't want to kill him…I had to…she begged me to… He visibly pulled himself back from whatever edge he was running towards and said, I killed my mate, because she would have found death preferable to killing our child. Before she died, though, she charged me to find you, swear fealty to you, and ensure that Jorin had a chance at a life free of Askerin's influence. If the Prince dies then that chance will never come to pass.

 

She heard the words, but her mind refused to process them. He couldn't have just said what she thought he did. No, he didn't mean it. Farin was their Prince. He had to be talking about Farin, but…he wasn't. The way he looked at her, the way the words wrapped themselves around her told her that she was the one that his mate had spoken of. Even his memories held no taste of a lie.

 

Karu died because he would not give up where you had been dropped. Futile, but I think he wanted to die. You just gave him a good enough reason to. It's a pity, but his blood was used to seal the Prince.

 

She froze. Sais had come across the continent and out of hiding for her sake. Amaras had killed Jestiry because “the stakes were never high enough.” Very carefully and deliberately, she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind for later analyses.

 

She released him and he disappeared, leaving her behind her barriers to digest the information he had given her.

 

Her Riagenkai, fading. Could she accept Farin as her Riagenkai? Could she accept being queen? Memories of flying with him and the freedom and joy that she had felt flashed through her mind. He had visited her as often as he could and he had never once lied to her. They had only ever fought over…whether or not she was ready to rule. She swallowed.

 

A fool. Only a fool would have doubted the affection she had seen in him for so long. Only a fool would have thought bitterly of him when he had been searching so damn hard for her. She didn't question now that he was her dragon, didn't deny that she was his chosen even as half of her shied at the thought of being a queen.

 

She opened her eyes and she stared at Sais. “Was it…Farin?” she asked, an odd note to her voice. Soren couldn't read any emotion from her face as she shook her head and answered, “No. It was an Enchanter by the name Tahrin. He said Farin's will was fading beneath the false Blood Seal. Do you think I can trust him?”

 

“Tahrin has long been dissatisfied with Askerin's rule. Did he let you view his memories?”

 

“He gave me full access to his mind.”

 

Surprise and then satisfaction flickered across her features as she nodded. “Then, yes, you can trust him. If a dragon is willing to open so completely to another person then he has nothing to hide. What will you do now?”

 

Her gaze dropped to Homuna as she carefully sat up and shifted his weight to her lap. Chimadori raised her head and then settled her head on her thigh. For a moment she remained silent and then said, “I don't know. I don't want to lose him to a spell, but I don't know how long it would take us to get to Regenku from here.”

 

“You would be foolish to take on an entire palace by yourself and the imagi and Amaras will want to come with you. It would take three months by horseback,” Sais said gently. “I don't know that he will survive that long. I've never heard of a dragon, Royal or otherwise, that has been able to survive the deadening affects of such a spell for so long. Perhaps the Prince will prove to be the exception.” Despair settled over her like a second skin as Sais continued, “If you are afraid of death, then you don't need to-”

 

“No,” she answered. “I've never been afraid of death, Sais. All I want is to save him, to repay the kindness that he had shown me over the years in some way. Is there any way at all to help him?”

 

She hesitated and Soren felt her stomach drop. If Sais was so wary of something, how dangerous could it be?

 

“There is one way, but I'm not sure that it's a good idea. No,” she said as Soren was about to protest, “let me explain. You can command his power and touch his mind so it only natural to assume that the two of you have formed a true bond. If you reach out to him through that, you may be able to loosen workings of the spell enough that he is conscious of what goes on around him. However, there is also the significant risk that you will be drawn into it as well and…your mind shattered.”

 

“If my mind shatters then does Homuna die? Does my body die if the mind shatters?” she asked.

 

“Even should your body survive the effects of the spell, whatever magic you harbor will be released to the land from which you were born. It is the way it works with Listeners and dragons alike.” There it was again. Listener. Soren pushed it away and focused on the matter at hand.

 

If you die, then his needs will be transferred to me, Chimadori told her. Joko is getting old enough that he will be able to supply his master with some of the magic a young dragon requires to survive. I'm also fairly certain that should we need held, Josaline can draw from Sora, filter the power, and feed him her strength.

 

She frowned and looked down Chimadori. “I thought Kingen died when their masters did.”

 

Not necessarily. We are naturally a long lived race and the longer the master lives, the longer we live. You are actually my second master. My first perished in a gambling game about three years before your birth.

 

“Interesting,” she murmured, storing that information away. Then she looked at Sais and said, “Chimadori has just informed me that if I were to die then Homuna's care would be transferred to her and that she, Joko, and possibly Josaline would be able to meet the demands required for his survival.”

 

She looked down at Homuna's sleeping form. His normally joyous face was relaxed in sleep and even at nine months of age shadows were beginning to form beneath his eyes, a testament to just how much strength the manacles had drawn from him. He no longer carried the baby fat of youth and was, instead, much too thin. Despite the extra strength Chimadori had given him his body had burned itself up, but it hadn't been enough. Given another month, two at the most, he would have died.

 

Stroking his black hair gently and conscious of Sais's gaze, she weighed her choices. Homuna or Farin. If she did nothing, Farin would be no better than the living dead. If she tried to help him and failed, then Homuna would be left to Chimadori's care and Sais to be raised. It wasn't the worst of ways in which he could be raised. Chimadori would mother him to death and Sais would make sure that he knew everything he needed to. He was young enough that that in a few years, she would be no more than a distant memory and she found that she was alright with that. She looked up at the older woman.

 

“I'm going to help him, but I need you to promise me two things.” She waited until Sais warily nodded before continuing, “First: if I fail and my body survives, finish the kill. I don't want to be one of the living dead. Second: if I fail, then Homuna will need someone to guide him right. Chimadori is more like a mother hen that will look after his physical needs, but she doesn't know history or the way people think and act. I'd like you to be the one to do so.”

 

“There's no way to talk you out of it?” she asked.

 

“Would there be any way of convincing you to shear off your wings?” Soren retorted.

 

“Not really.” Yes, she thought as she held the woman-child's gaze.

 

Soren grinned at her. “Then, no, you won't be able to talk me out of it any more than I could talk you into shearing your wings off.” The smile faded. She shifted Homuna off her lap and eased him into the crook of Chimadori's body. Her familiar gave her a somber look, but did not try to sway her.

 

Her mouth felt dry as she touched Homuna's cheek again and felt her heart jump as he leaned into her hand a little. She drew back and turned to the older, grim-faced dragon. “Is there anything different that I must do because of the spell?”

 

“Nothing more than what you do when you draw on his strength,” Sais said. Soren studied her for a moment before offering a quick smile and settling herself next to her familiar with her hands interlaced over her stomach.

 

Josaline waited until Soren had withdrawn from their presence. “Are you sure that this is for the best? She is queen to Rengenku and a Listener at that. Her death would devastate more than just the dragons bound to Askerin. Add to that you have chosen to-”

 

“Enough,” Sais said, her gaze never wandering from Soren's features. “If I had stopped her she would have hated me for a long time. This was her choice to make…and, yes, it is for the best. Perhaps not for my nerves, but the best situation considering the danger to her if he shatters or dies under the false seals influence.”

 

“As you wish, Riagenkai,” she murmured.

 

* * *

 

Black. Eternal black. Suffocating black. Weightless black. Everything as far as he could see was black. Always alone, never changing. His strength was ebbing.

 

How long had he been there? Weeks, months, years? He had lost track long ago when he had failed to protect her, her he knew not any more. Her face had faded as had her name. She had been the last thing to leave him among…others and now he couldn't even remember his own name, but that was nothing new. His name had been the first to leave him in this eternal void of nothingness.

 

How much longer could he bear this isolation? How much longer would he be able to last against the fading?

 

A soft breeze rifled through his hair, startling him. That never happened. The darkness never changed, it was the eternal night that would never break. Casting his eyes around for the source of the soft breeze he was met with the sight of eternal darkness. There was nothing as far as the eye could see.

 

Turning on the spot he froze. Empty green met blazing silver. Her form wavered and flickered through the insubstantial space between them as though his mind had conjured her to prove that he was going insane, to draw up the latent memories that he had let slip away from him.

 

She was as slender as he remembered; her hair as fiery as the last time he had seen her; her eyes were just as cold and angry. The young woman-her name still escaped him-looked at him, studied his face.

 

“You're not the dragon I remember,” she said slowly.

 

He blinked slowly, not fully comprehending her words. “What?” he asked, his voice rasping from months of silence.

 

The silver of her eyes shifted subtly. “I remember you at the execution of the former king. I remember flying with you. I remember you kneeling and taking my face in your hands. I remember you saving me from another that wished to kill me for another's orders. And in all those memories I remember your strength, your fierceness. There was always something about you that made you seem untouchable, invincible.” Her voice was soft, so soft, and it washed over him like water to a dying man. “Is this what you've become? Will this be your end?”

 

“Why are you here?”

 

She stared at him, weighing her answer. “I am keeping my promise to you.”

 

Those words, so simple in their structure, pierced him and sent shivers of pain through his body and broke the hold that had held him for months. His memory restored, he looked upon her-Soren, silver-eyes, his queen-and watched as her form fully solidified.

 

Under his gaze he saw that she was still the same youth that he had rescued from his mentor and, yet, she was different. She no longer denied the truth, but there was still the shame and anger burning in her that he had felt at their last encounter. There was still so much pain in her, but he couldn't touch her until she accepted him fully as hers.

 

“Again, I ask, why are you here?”

 

Confusion flashed through her eyes for an instant. “You are my Riagenkai. I am keeping my promise to you.”

 

“Why are you here?”

 

“I want you as my Riagenkai,” she half snarled, her voice echoing harshly through the empty space of the eternal night.

 

“Want is not enough to bind me to you and make me your dragon. I am the half-blood Dragon Prince. Why should I obey one such as yourself?” he shot back, his voice gaining an old strength he had thought long since gone. “Why are you here?” Too far, too far, too far, part of him screamed as the other half screamed in triumph. Now was the time he had waited so long for and his dearest wish would be fulfilled.

 

She didn't falter. Her gaze was fierce. There was no doubt in her. “Because you're mine,” she said. “You've already claimed me as your queen and now I'm here to claim you as my Riagenkai. Kneel.”

 

The command whipped over him like a slap and he felt his knees bending before he had ordered them to. He didn't strain against it as he had with his previous ruler, instead allowing it as if this had been how it was always supposed to be. Lowering his head he waited for the next command that would bind him to her for as long as she lived, feeling both the trepidation and excitement pulsing through his blood.

 

“Speak the oath,” she commanded. “Swear it.”

 

This time he felt nothing but exhilaration to the despair he had felt before her. The words formed on his lips and almost flowed with a naturalness that might have shocked him any other time.

 

“I swear never to desert my post before your throne. I will protect you now and always. My life is yours to command, yours to take if necessary. My power is freely given and freely sworn. Any command given will never be disobeyed. You are my master and I the servant to serve eternally.” Their minds were joining, long unused connections blazing back to life, their very souls touching. He lifted his eyes to hers as he continued, “I pledge my undying loyalty to you alone. No matter the distance, no matter the circumstances that drive us apart you will always be my queen, my royal. Do you accept?” He could see her scars clear as day, a mirror to his own. She would not fail him where the other had when she came to terms with her past.

 

“I do.”

 

The words hung between them, forging the final strands that would bind them together for as long as she lived. Their gaze held for a moment before she spoke again, “How much control have you over your body?”

 

As he rose he studied her, delving a little deeper into the bond they shared. “Some, but not enough to fight. I can watch them and observe what they are doing, but I cannot resist a direct order from my sister. It will take your…physical presence to break the spell entirely.

 

“How long until you reach the palace?”

 

“According to Sais, three months by horse back if we are to bring allies with us. Jestiry was killed a few hours ago and we are free of the manacles, but everyone is still pretty weak. It might be a few days before we even begin contemplating heading out,” she answered, tugging back from the connection. As much as she had sought him and wanted this, she wasn't quite ready for him to know everything that had happened since she was fifteen.

 

He let her slide away from him and close the connection as he nodded. “I'll keep watch over things here then until your return and let you know what's happening. Have you heard from Kaji yet? I sent him out as you instructed.”

 

“Nothing yet.”

 

“Then Grent should be finding you soon if nothing has happened to them.”

 

“Grent?” she asked curiously.

 

“My first Kingen. He is quite familiar with your scent as you had been bleeding all over that place before the Rouge found you. I sent him with Kaji and his men so they would better be able to track you across the continent,” he answered with a nod.

 

“Alright.”

 

“Have you heard anything of Farin? She was with you, the last I knew.”

 

Soren shrugged and turned her head away. There was no need for him to know that she harbored ill feelings towards the other dragon that had hurt Sais so badly. “Nothing yet. I'm sure they'll seek us out in a little while after she has had some time to recover and look after her people.”

 

She looked over her shoulder and he saw hesitation in her gaze. “Why don't you get back to them? Perhaps Farin will be able to help you understand the responsibilities of bearing an entire kingdom on your shoulders. If she should ask, I would recommend that you go with her when she reclaims her throne.”

 

“But-”

 

“I can handle things from here, majesty.”

 

Her eyes flashed to his at the word and he saw annoyance flash across her features, but she said nothing of the emotion. “Yes, I really should get back. One more thing, though.” For the first time since she had sought him out he saw amusement in her gaze. “I'm traveling with three dragons now. I'm sure you'll be very pleased to meet the other male.”

 

Then, before he could question her, she faded and he felt himself being tugged somewhere close, somewhere familiar. He didn't resist.

 

* * *

 

Soren returned to herself with an abruptness that startled her and those watching her as she jerked up into a sitting position. She ran a hand through her hair and glanced from Sais's concerned expression to Chimadori's tilted head to the still sleeping Homuna. The thrust back into her own body had been unsettling to say the least and unpleasant at best.

 

“How did it go?” Sais asked cautiously.

 

“Alright. At the beginning of it he seemed a little out of it, but when I began talking about the past he snapped out of it and he remembered. Farin swore the oath to me and we talked a little,” she said after a moments disorientation. “He seemed to think that it would be for the best if we went with Farin to help her reclaim her throne if she asked for the help.”

 

She studied the younger woman for a while before she said, “I take it, then, that you were successful in your attempt to break the spell on him at least half way. What did he tell you with regards to releasing the rest of the spell?”

 

“Nothing, really, just that my physical presence would be needed to break the spell the rest of the way. Why? Is there something he omitted that I should be aware of?” Soren asked, glancing up at Sais and taking in her tense features. When the dragon didn't say anything and continued to study her, she considered what she knew of the spell that had bound Farin. It was called the Blood Seal, though Farin referred to it as an imitation of the real thing. It had stripped him of his free will, voice, and power. Karu's blood had been used to seal him and her presence was required to break it.

 

She paused, thought back over it, and paled at the answer she came to. “If blood is used to seal a dragon's will then it requires blood of a special kind to break it, right?” she asked and Sais nodded. “I would have to kill myself and somehow get the blood on Farin so that the seal would be broken.”

 

“You don't necessarily have to die,” Sais objected.

 

Soren smiled at her and then dropped her gaze to the dirty straw beneath them. “Is the Riagenkai or the ruler more important in the long run?” she asked, picking up a piece and examining it.

 

She hesitated. “The ruler,” she finally answered.

 

A soft smile crossed her lips again. Sais truly did not want her to die. It was comforting to some extent to know that the older woman did care. “Rulers share in the dragon's life, thereby extending their own, but to do so is a dangerous thing because humans are not meant to live for millennia. Any human that lives so long either goes insane or stops caring and so it is left to the Riagenkai to put them out of their misery. After that, it is up to the Riagenkai to choose the next ruler. The longer a Riagenkai has been at their post the faster they can choose the next suitable ruler and thereby maintain a stable country.”

 

“You forget that I've been a Riagenkai for longer than the stones and trees of this land have been in existence. I know all this. Why are you repeating a history lesson?” Sais asked coolly, though she already knew the answer.

 

“Rulers maintain the peace by making and enforcing the laws, but they can only last so long. Dragons, though, are immortal and are therefore more valuable to their country the longer they last,” Soren said, flicking the straw away. She glanced at Sais and saw the weariness setting into her features. “If I don't have to die then I won't, but if it is the only way to release Farin from the spell, then so be it.”

 

Sais reached across the space between them and grasped her chin between her thumb and forefinger, drawing her eyes up until they locked gazes. “If you die for him then I'll attack him. The most likely outcome for that fight is that I severely injure him before I die. Even if I were to survive on some off chance, I would then be faced with the consequences of leaving my post all those years ago and punishment for attacking one of the Royal class. So, you see, if you die, then I won't be far behind you.”

 

Shock was the first emotion that flickered through her. Gratitude was the next before she finally settled on anger. “Don't be daft,” she said shortly, pulling away from Sais's grasp. “There's no reason to be so dramatic about it. It's not like you're going to be my Riagenkai.”

 

Hurt flared through her heart. “I could be.”

 

It took her a moment to realize that the words had come from her. She dropped her gaze and began picking at the straw. “There has never been two Dragon Guardians to one throne, but so too has there never been a Riagenkai leave their post without renouncing it and dying. If I were to come back, I would merely be stepping back into the responsibilities that I left behind. The Prince would still be the primary Dragon Guardian for the throne, but I'd be there to fill in the cracks that he doesn't yet understand.”

 

Soren's breath froze in her throat. She forgot how to blink as she stared at the dragon. In a distant part of her mind she could feel Farin stirring in curiosity as she sorted through what she had been told. He touched her thoughts and sifted through the conversation. There was a feeling of disapproval to his mind that tore her from her shocked state.

 

You have expressed to me your confidence in her. If you feel that she would be useful to us then there is no objection on my part, his voice whispered to her.

 

Sais looked up at her and she saw again the dragon that had lived for ten thousand years. She saw the weariness, the anger, and the heartbreak, but she also saw the strength that had seen her through so much pain. “Alright,” she said, shocking the both of them. “If that is truly what you want, then I will accept you as my…”

 

Secondary Riagenkai, Farin supplied before he withdrew.

 

“…as my Second Riagenkai,” she finished.

 

Relief flooded her before she could stop it. The woman-child had accepted her without a fight. She stood and leapt lightly from their wagon, looking expectantly back at Soren when she didn't immediately follow after her.

 

Chimadori nudged her side, but she ignored her. “Before we formalize this, may I ask something of you?”

 

Sais nodded, not trusting her voice. Whatever it was, it had to be important for her to don the mask of ice again. Though she had seen it only a few times through their months together, she knew it well enough to know that Soren only wore it when she angry or thinking over something important.

 

“Promise me that if I show even the slightest bit of insanity or begin taking advantage of my people, that you will kill me without hesitation. Farin is far too fond of me to do anything so drastic until he is forced to admit it,” she said. “I don't want to be like the previous kings who tore their countries up at the end of their reign. I want my country to be intact when I die, so that the people might make an easier tranition to the-”

 

She held up a hand and Soren quieted, flushing as she realized she had been rambling. “I promise to kill you should you begin showing signs of insanity or you express the desire for the wealth of your people beyond what is demanded in tithes to the crown and through the noble's tax. You will not live to break your people. Does that satisfy you?”

 

Relief shown in her eyes as she smiled and nodded. She stood and followed after Sais out of the wagon. Sais moved back until they were ten paces apart. Excitement pulsed through her blood. All the royals before her woman-child had never been able to evoke this sort of emotion. Always there had been some sense of reluctance as she submitted her will to the human half of the throne. Now, though, she was certain that Soren would never take advantage of the power that she would willingly offer to her.

 

She slowly knelt until her knees touched the sandy earth, never breaking Soren's gaze. Then, she lowered her head in a show of submission and while the woman-child watched her, she began to speak.

 

“I swear never to desert my post before your throne. I will protect you now and always. My life is yours to command, yours to take if necessary. My power is freely given and freely sworn. Any command given will never be disobeyed. You are my master and I the servant to serve eternally.” The words flowed more naturally from her lips than ever before, as though this woman-child had always been meant to be her royal, her queen, and the others before her had merely been substitutes until she came along. “Do you accept?”

 

“I do.”

 

Lightning lanced through her, wrapping around her every sense and heightening them for an instant. Every color stood out brilliantly; every sound resounded crisply in her ears; every smell assaulted her nose. And then, as her senses were fading back to normal, she felt a thread of a foreign consciousness penetrate her barriers and attach itself to her mind, burying deep where she couldn't reach it.

 

Farin jerked as she felt the true bond of ruler and Riagenkai establish itself and connect them. For the space of a single moment she felt Farin's emotions as strongly as her own. Uncertainty at what had just happened, amazement at the way her senses had exploded, and a sense of…familiarity? Then it faded and they were alone in their own minds once more.

 

“That was,” Soren began as Sais rose, “just like before.” She blinked and shook her head a little to clear it. Glancing back, she found that they had garnered quite the crowd of on lookers. Her eyes sought the emerald of Amaras's and the hazel of Torun's before she allowed herself to look at the rest of the crowd. For once, the full-blooded humans weren't making a fuss about being so close to the six imagi that traveled with them.

 

Amaras turned his head and she glanced in the direction he was looking to see Hakunazra's face peering at her from the depths of another of the wagon's depths. Their eyes met for an instant before he withdrew back to the care of his royal.

 

Then her gaze wandered over the imagi and she fully appreciated for the first time just how different they were. Each had tan skin, auburn-gold hair, forest green eyes, and delicately pointed ears visible from just under their hair. Their features were a subtle mix of aristocratic elegance and lonely arrogance. Viewed separately from a distance they were indistinguishable, but when they drew together Farin could see that despite the similar colorings their features were different, though each still held the devastating beauty of their race.

 

When they turned their eyes to her she could read a hunger in them so intense that it made her want to look away, but she held steady. They dropped their gazes first and she had the odd feeling that they were submitting to her.

 

Finally unable to put it off any longer, she looked at Sais…her Riagenkai. Her Secondary Riagenkai. The blood rushed to her head and she felt faint. It was all happening too fast, too much at once. She had only intended to loosen the spell binding Farin and she had somehow ended up accepting him as her Riagenkai. Hadn't she just the other day finally accepted that she might be his queen, before… Her mind shied away from the previous night. It was too much, too fast and her body did the only thing it could.

 

She fainted.