Page 89 of Queen's Griffon

“There is no choice,” Avera said aloud. Then more quietly, “I’m so glad I got to know you.”

Simhi almost capsized the boat, jumping to her feet to hug Avera. Tears once more brimmed. Another new friend lost to this stupid quest.

“Watch out below,” shouted a sailor as a rope ladder unrolled and dangled over the rail.

Avera secured the satchel crosswise on her body before gripping it and beginning to climb. It bumped her as she ascended, making her wonder if the emperor knew what the stones truly were. Basil hadn’t, and their secret drove him mad.

As Avera made it to the deck of the ship, the lookout shouted, “Dragon in the sky.”

All eyes turned to see the mighty beast coasting above the fog, circling the continent.

Koonis barked orders. “Let’s get moving before it decides we’re tastier than that kraken.”

The ship took sail, not that Avera got to watch. Back to the cage she went, minus the satchel.

It was a miserable trip. Days and days of no daylight and rancid food. When Koonis appeared to announce, “We’re about to dock,” she could barely muster the strength to lift her head.

She was marched, bedraggled and filthy, onto the dock where a grand entourage waited. A young man dressed in silken finery took one look at her and said, “Is this the Queen of Daerva?”

“Aye, Emperor.” Koonis dropped to a knee in front of the man and bowed his head. “I’ve brought her and the stones, as ordered.” He dropped the satchel at the emperor’s feet.

The emperor’s lips tightened. “Why is she so filthy and starved-looking?”

Koonis raised his head, fear in his eyes. “Your eminence? I simply treated her like I would any other prisoner.”

“She’s not a prisoner, you fool, but my soon-to-be consort.” The emperor didn’t make a sign, and yet a soldier stepped forward, and before Koonis could protest, his head went flying. It rolled across the dock and plopped into the water.

To Avera’s surprise, the emperor bowed. “Apologies, Majesty, for your mistreatment. I didn’t think I had to explicitly tell the captain that, as my fiancée, you should have been treated like a precious treasure. Let me make it up to you.”

By the end of that day, Avera was ensconced in luxury, bathed, pampered, fed. And more surprisingly, the stones were on the dresser of the room she’d been given.

The note with them?

Please accept these as a wedding gift and a promise that together we shall stop Zhos from ruining the world.

Perhaps she could still save Daerva. The price?

Marriage to a stranger.

Epilogue

A naked Griffwoke lying on a hard, rocky ledge. He groaned as he pushed himself to his feet and took stock of his situation. The word bleak came to mind.

Last he recalled, Basil had drugged him, but then what happened? How had he gotten here? Why did he have no clothes on, but for his boots? And even those were looking worse for wear. The leather was singed as if he’d stood in a fire with them. A layer of soot covered his nude flesh.

The shelf he stood on jutted from sheer stone. Above, open sky hinted of dawn. Below… He swallowed seeing the lake of lava. He was in the volcano and in a spot even he couldn’t climb from.

He searched, though. He ran his fingers over the surface to see if perhaps there was a hidden entrance. After all, he’d gotten here somehow. He found nothing. Saw nothing. Heard nothing. Although, he did try calling.

“Avera! Simhi! Monty!” No one replied. That bastard, Basil… if he’d hurt them… Well, Griff already planned to murder the man, but now he might make it more painful. Torture wasn’t his thing, but in Basil’s case, he would make an exception.

The ledge didn’t provide much space to pace or move. It also had nothing to eat or drink, a lack he noticed as his stomach grumbled. How long had he been here? They’d entered the tunnels at nightfall, and now morning crested, meaning he’d lost hours.

And those hours multiplied as the sun crossed the sky. As time passed, he became more despondent. He couldn’t escape and faced certain death either by starvation or boredom that would see him flinging himself into the lava.

Or would the dragon be the one to end him?

A scratching noise had him peering over his ledge to see the mighty beast climbing the stone, its claws easily finding purchase.

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