Page 85 of Of Scale and Blood

She chuckled softly and touched my shoulder sympathetically. “Aric insisted on a clause that states the first son born to you and Damon will, should anything happen to the currently nominated heir, take the throne once he reaches his majority rather than Garran’s heir. Until said son reaches his majority, you and Damon would act as joint regents.”

My breath caught in my throat. “You don’t think Aric is working with the gilded riders, do you?”

She shook her head. “He truly believes that his bloodline is far superior to anything we can produce, and therefore both East and West Arleeon should be united under his sole rule. He would not do anything to endanger that ambition or indeed his own rule in Zephrine.”

“But you do believe he would have taken out Garran if Damon and I produced a son?”

“Yes, I do, and we had been discussing means to prevent that happening. Túxn saved us—and Aric—the effort, however.” Mom looked away briefly, but not before I caught the sheen of tears. After a moment, she added, “I will, however, attempt another scrying; perhaps this time I will see what Túxn has planned for us.”

I touched her arm comfortingly. “At the very least, we know Rion is safe in the war room. Even if the riders’ acid does breach it, they will never be able to destroy the whole building, let alone the wall on which it rests. Not without days and days of endless attacks—and even then, only a limited number of the gilded birds wear the bands that allow them to fly during the day.”

Of course, a limited number could still cause terrible destruction, both on the wall and within the fortress itself.

Mom rubbed her arms. “I hope you’re right.”

But feared I wasn’t, if her troubled expression was anything to go by. And there was nothing I could say to that, because I felt the very same way.

I finished my pastry and licked the sticky syrup from my fingers. “I’d better go. Damon wants to attempt the spell as the moon rises. Apparently, it’s a blood moon that will add potency to the spell.”

“So he said last night, when he was here updating us on the process and the dangers.” She hesitated. “There are many pushing back against this decision—and in some respects you can’t blame them. Fear of drakkons is deeply ingrained into much of the population; it’s going to take a long time for that to dissipate.”

“But it will dissipate? You saw this?”

She nodded. “Though it will not be weeks in the making, but rather years; decades, even.”

“Did your intuition also step in while Damon was here?”

“No, but the bracelets he gave us to protect against Gayl’s mental intrusions might also ward off any seeress intuition I might have when in his presence.”

“Given his aunt apparently has similar abilities, it no doubt does.”

She smiled, walked over, and hugged me tight. “Be careful, my darling girl. I’ve already lost enough family—I do not need to lose you as well.”

“You won’t.” And silently prayed, even as I said that, that I hadn’t just tempted Túxn. I dropped a kiss on her cheek then pulled free. “I’ll see you once I wake from the spell.”

She nodded. “You can be sure I will not sleep until I know you have.”

“Damon will no doubt scribe?—”

“Oh, your father threatened violence if hedidn’t.”

I laughed, hugged her one more time, then turned around and walked out. Damon had the packs ready at the door and handed me the three smaller ones. The scents that rose from them were a thick and tangy mix that made my nose twitch.

“What in Túxn’s name have you put in these?”

He smiled, though it failed to ease the worry crowding the corners of his eyes. “Yours carry various herbs to help increase the potency of the spell and ease the physical cost on us all. The rest hold spell anchors and the like.”

I slung two of the packs over my shoulders, strapped on my knife and my sword, then clasped the third pack by its straps as I walked back out into the hall.

As Damon fell in step beside me, I said, “I take it both Kele and Hannity have been apprised of the risks involved in the spell?”

His packs clinked with every step, the sound metallic. Probably the various bowls and cups they needed to collect blood. “I talked to them both this morning, while you slept. I believe you could guess their joint responses.”

“Something along the lines of ‘who the fuck cares? I’ll be one with a drakkon.’”

He laughed, the sound echoing warmly across the everyday noises that filled the palace. “That’s exactly what they both said. In unison, I might add.”

I grinned and clattered down the stairs. The two guards saluted as we headed out the main doors, and I returned them absently, my gaze on the skies. Though dusk remained a good hour away, shadows were already haunting the deeper corners around the stables and other nearby buildings. The sky was clear and though the moon hadn’t yet risen, its bloody hue stained the very edges of the visible horizon.

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