Page 42 of The Dragon Queen

Let the males,Glimmer told me.They have the strength to do what needs to be done.

I sat back on my heels, eyeing Wraith speculatively.

Can you tell him to be careful? I need to unearth the remains of the town here to work out what happened.

Hold the crystal egg in your hand.I looked down and there it was.Prick your finger.I went to do that with my dirt encrusted dagger, but Flynn made a huff of discontent, squatting down to hand me his.

“You’ll give yourself a blood disease using a dirty knife.”

He didn’t like this. I could read his emotions more clearly, almost see his thoughts as I held the egg. He was tired, aching, still grieving his family, the wound fresh despite his cousin’s death. Now I was having us traipsing over the countryside. He half regretted showing me the ruins in the first place. That had him remembering the moment he took me to the first ruin, the feelings he’d fought to keep suppressed. Somehow he was right back in that position, having to pretend I was Draven’s queen, not his.

“I’m sorry.”

My hand went out and grabbed his arm. He smiled and there was some of the same light in it, but there were shadows as well.

“For slicing yourself up with a dirty knife? There’s no need for apologies.”

“No, for…” How did I say it? The insights the egg gifted me were a boon and a curse. I’m sorry assassins killed your family. I’m sorry Draven is forcing us all to pretend to be something we aren’t, when we would’ve had to do the same thing as I played the role of Brom’s wife. “For everything,” I finished lamely. “After the other night, the last thing you must feel like doing is scrabbling around in the dirt.”

“That’s the thing about love.” He reached over and drew me closer, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “It makes everything bearable if you can spend time with the person you care about. Blowing up ships, negotiating with dragon queens, and now…?”

He nodded at the dirt before him, and when I looked up, all thedragons and their riders were ringed around us. I hadn’t stopped to explain anything to any of them. That’s what had me pricking the knife blade to my finger and pressing the bead of blood to the stone.

I’d show all of them.

My memories of the vision were fragmented, at least partially because I hadn’t wanted to dwell on the horrors. Glimmer’s mind touched mine, augmenting the shared vision, filling in the gaps until everyone saw it. I heard the huffs of dragon breath, the muttered curses of my men, right up until the vision ended and all that was left was us.

“I need to know what happened. Those were dragon corp riders.”

“From quite some time ago,” Brom said, looking across at Soren. “Those uniforms?—”

“At least a few hundred years old,” he replied, crossing his arms. “The epaulettes, the cut of the tunics…”

“The layers of dirt burying everything gives credence to that.” Ged kicked at the soil. “So what do you want to do?”

I didn’t tell them. Instead, I moved towards Wraith, holding the egg tightly as my mind reached out.

Wraith?

My queen.

I watched his head drop down into a close approximation of a bow and that had me moving closer, putting my hand on the massive span between his eyes.

No need to bow to me.

I will anyway.

I snorted, my breath catching in my chest at the feel of his mind. It was vast, packed with experiences, perspectives I could spend my life trying to understand, and I promised myself then I would, just not now.

You know what I need?

Truth.

Cloudy pushed forward, nudging me so hard in the ribs I staggered back.

Don’t hurt the queen.

Obsidian’s growl stopped all three of the other dragons in their tracks.

---