Page 95 of The Dragon Queen

“Lady Fast, he did what he was directed to,” Draven replied in a grave voice. “What he thought he must if he was to keep the three of you.” He looked out over the growing crowd as the tents emptied. “All of you safe. He attacked our dragons with war machines and?—”

“Is there anything left?” Lady Fast clung to her two daughter’s hands, but that was the only moment of weakness she allowed herself. When Draven didn’t answer, she looked to the rest of us, but I flinched when her eyes met mine. Dark and full of sorrow, they’d seen things I could only imagine, and I didn’t want to stare at them any longer. I forced myself to, thinking it was the least I could do. “No, there’s not.” Her lips thinned. “Of course, there’s not. That idiot uncle of yours. What would a bunch of ageing ballista from hundreds of years ago do against the Royal Riders? Well, did he die well?”

Georgia, the younger daughter, began to weep quietly, but their mother forged on.

“Very bravely,” I replied. “He made sure that we would find you with his last breath.”

“Of course, he did.” Lady Fast tried to smile and failed, her hands shaking as she felt around for a handkerchief but couldn’t find one. I stepped forward, handing her my own and she clasped my hand for a second, then took it with a nod. She dabbed at her eyes, but that seemed to break the dam holding back her tears. “Of course, he did, the bloody fool. So, my husband is gone and so is the castle?” I nodded again, feeling my heart sinking by the second. “Dear gods, what will we do?”

“Rebuild,” I said, reaching around desperately for some good news, “with help from the crown. We need strong, functional garrisons on the border between the duchies. We can lend you men, supplies, and coin to bring the castle back to its former glory.”

“You’re her, aren’t you?” The lady asked me that through a veil of tears. “The queen-in-waiting. He had a lot to say about you, did the duke.” She looked past me to Draven. “He was offering lands, wealth, everything to the man who could bring him your queen and her dragon’s head.”

I felt like I was thrust right back into the icy depths of that lake, every part of me suddenly shockingly cold. I knew I was an inconvenience, but… to offer a bounty for my head? That was another thing entirely.

“I’d be grateful if no one thought to fulfil the terms of the bounty,” I squeaked out.

“That won’t happen.” Ravenna took my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Not if you can help the other women the duke has taken hostage. Rout out the rotters who are willing to sell out their king for the prospect of gold and land and help those being coerced into this fight. Every woman in Harlston will be on your side if you can promise them protection.”

“I’d promise that anyway,” I replied and Lady Fast nodded slowly.

“Yes, I think you would. Now…” She turned back to Draven. “Can you take us back to the ruin of our home? If it’s as bad as you say it is, people will need our help.”

We turned to do just that, but Ged came marching up with a familiar looking man in his grip. James wore the uniform of a Royal Rider, but the insignias had been swapped out, a Harlstonian raven hastily pinned to his neck. The disgraced rider was thrust forward, his knees kicked out from under him, forcing him to lay prostrate in front of his king.

“Before we do that,” Ged drawled, “what do we want to do with this idiot?”

Chapter 46

We were going to try James in an impromptu military court session in the ruins of Castle Fast, apparently.

Rex suggested I work with the women when he got the news. Jade had helped us transport the hostages back to the castle, but each dragon was forced to take several passengers to get everyone away from the awful camp. Lady Fast and Ravenna had leapt into action, organising for runners to be sent to nearby villages to get more supplies and healers to converge on the ruins, but that wasn’t before they spent a moment mourning the loss of their father, her husband, their home. Georgia’s sobs were like a gut punch and yet somehow easier to bear than Lady Fast’s impassivity. She took everything in, every brick that had fallen, every person that had been hurt, and I couldn’t help but take that as a silent rebuke, even though that wasn’t her intention. No, attending the trial of the dragon rider would be a welcome distraction from their pain.

“You stand accused of desertion,” Rex said, standing in front of the mass of riders who had converged to see justice done. “Stealing crown property.” Was that the dragon eggs or Jade himself? “Kidnapping.” James flinched at that one. “And last of all, treason. What do you have to say in your defence?”

“I…” The man swallowed, shook his head, and then as he looked out at the crowd saw that he had no allies here. His jaw muscle flexed as he straightened up and faced Rex down. “I have nothing to say in my defence.”

“Defence?” Draven stepped forward. “No, but an explanation? I think you owe me that.” James’ throat worked, trying to obey our king’s order, but he was cut off before he could respond. “Why?” That was the question we all wanted answered, and so every eye focussed on James. He went even paler under all that attention. “Why would you betray your country, your king?” He looked at Jade. “Your own dragon.”

That was what broke James. His whole body sagged as he dared a sidelong look at his dragon.

“The duke offered me everything I wanted.” We had to be perfectly quiet to hear his confession. “I could keep Jade…” His hand rose and then fell again. “But be freed of the keep. Free to… find a wife, own land.” James snorted at that. “Promised us plots all across Skane, the other duchies, if he got into power. I didn’t need to live like a fucking monk in the keep surrounded by men. I could live a life like any other man, raise a family, and all I needed to do was come to the duke’s aid if he needed it.”

I heard his words, but struggled to process them. Part of me had been asking why since the moment we discovered this treachery, but none of the possible explanations I’d come up with included this. Such a small thing to lure a man away from his sworn duty, and yet… Wasn’t what he described what everyone wanted? I scanned the other riders then, catching the tension in some of their stances, the way they shifted restlessly, and I wondered how many others had been tempted by the same offer.

“Well, if there is no defence to consider, we can move straight to sentencing,” Rex said.

“And I know how that will be decided.” James looked at Draven wide eyed, growing paler by the second. There was none of my lover in the king right now. He was the crown incarnate, distant, disapproving, and about to deliver justice. “Jade.” The green dragon moved forward then, riders parting to let himthrough. “You are your rider’s first victim. He used a dragonstone amulet to coerce you into doing these terrible things, assaulting your mind, using the bond between you as a leash to force you to obey.”

Draven marched over to the accused, tearing the insignias from his tunic, both from the corp and his uncle, and throwing them into the dirt. Next, the man’s jacket was stripped from his body, leaving him standing there in just a shirt and pants.

“You will decide the fate of this traitor, this abuser.”

And with that, he stepped backwards.

James turned then to face his victim, his executioner. His hands rose, fluttering like moths through a breeze, but he never managed to touch the dragon. Jade jerked his muzzle out of the man’s reach, rejecting this overture entirely.

I’d been here before, watching on as criminals faced dragon justice, but for some reason, I couldn’t find the same rage I had when my stepfamily faced down the dragons. Perhaps because James’ motivations were so much smaller. He just wanted a life, one with his dragon, where the two of them could settle down and be happy somewhere. For that, he was willing to do something so desperate as commit treason. There was a lesson here, I was sure of it, but the true nature of it was still to be revealed.

---