Page 2 of The Dragon Queen

“Your eyes are sad again.” She stood beside me, dressed in her traveling attire and boots, looking at me with the softness of a rose petal.

I pulled my gaze away from the castle and met her eyes. “I felt no love for this place when I came here. It never felt like home,just a foreign land where I didn’t belong. But now…I will always think of it fondly because of you.” Because she was the light to my darkness, the humanity restored to my broken soul.

“Talon.” Her hand moved to my arm, but the details of her grip were indistinguishable through my armor. “You will see it again someday.” She said it with such belief and sincerity that it almost felt true.

Almost.

Chapter 2

Calista

A fleet of ships like I’d never seen departed the port of Shadow Stone. Every soldier was commanded to fight and leave the lands behind devoid of defense. There were no known enemies to the kingdoms besides the monsters to the north, and their trespass seemed unlikely. And Talon didn’t want to lose the war simply because he’d chosen to leave too many men behind.

I stayed on the same ship as Queen Eldinar and my uncle, preferring their company to Talon’s men. Talon stayed on the first ship with Commander Navarrese, but I knew he would make his way back to me eventually.

The dragons soared overhead, leaving their wings open and gliding most of the time to conserve their energy. They had no riders in case the extra weight tired them. I knew this journey would be longer than the last, so I tried to prepare myself for the cabin fever that was bound to set in. Without Talon there for company, it would no doubt descend quicker and more intensely.

A knock sounded on the door of my quarters below deck, and I assumed it was my uncle or the queen. “Come in.” I sat at thesmall table in my room, the roof so low that even I had to hunch down in certain places. I enjoyed a bottle of wine, and since I was alone, I didn’t bother with a glass. I wanted Talon to join me on this ship, but I knew his duty made him obligated to lead his men. I could join him on his, but after my time with the elves, they were the ones who felt like home.

My uncle stepped inside, ducking his head as he entered my quarters. It was unnecessary to be in his full armor when we were out to sea, but nonetheless, he was geared for war. “Am I interrupting?”

“No.” I kicked out the chair beside me. “Just drinking.”

He gave a slight smirk before he took a seat. He took a quick look around my accommodations but kept his opinions to himself.

These galleons weren’t nearly as nice as the elves’. They didn’t possess the same craftsmanship. Their only focus was function, whereas the elves had incorporated luxury as well as beauty.

“May I?” He nodded to the bottle of wine.

I nodded. “Want a glass?”

He grabbed the bottle and drank straight from it. “This way is more practical.”

We sat in silence for a while, the ship rocking back and forth slightly. The galleon was more unstable than the other I’d been on, so I felt seasickness more often.

“How are you?” I finally asked.

“Nervous.” He sat back in the chair, arms crossed over his chest.

“About?”

He took a breath then let it out slowly. “Everything. My wife is about to be in the hands of pirates, and if that union goes poorly, there’s not much I can do about it. And even if that is a positive experience, there’s everything that comes after that. I have to defend her in territories I’ve never visited against foes who have no faces.”

“If Talon trusts them, then so do I.”

He grabbed the bottle and took another drink.

“And don’t forget, we sail upon their shores with dozens of ships and dragons in the sky.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that we’re on their turf, a place I’ve never been. And it doesn’t change the fact that I’m married to the most beautiful monarch who’s ever lived.” His eyes shifted away, his fingertips still around the bottle. “I almost cut off that commander’s head.”

“Other men will appreciate her beauty. You can’t be angry about that.”

His eyes lifted to mine. “She’s my wife. I can be as angry as I wish.” His look had been so calm seconds before, but now it was ruthless, as if I was the one trying to take her away from him.

“I hope Talon will leave his ship soon.” It was a sincere comment, but I also needed something to douse his hostility.

“If he spends too much time with the queen of the elves, he’ll look weak to his men.”

---