Page 31 of Heart of Winter
“No, the war! Ollie.” She leaned forward, eyes bright. “What if there are still dragons in Drakewell? Hibernating, or hiding, or – they could win us the war!”
“Oh.” The idea hit him like a slap. He hadn’t even thought of that – though, to be fair, he hadn’t thought of much besides, well, the low, rumbling timbre of a certain king’s voice.
“Fire-drakes,” Rune observed, peeking at the book over Tessa’s shoulder before he settled in beside her on the bench. His plate was heaped with sausages and pastries, and he carried a bowl of porridge in his other hand. “Why’d they take them off the banner and replace it with a duck?” he asked, making a face. “Who wants to charge into battle with a duck?”
Tessa turned to him, still animated from the whole revelation. “We had no idea about the dragons!”
Rune’s brows shot up. “You didn’t?”
“None at all!”
Leif appeared, and shot a grim look at his brother’s back. Not angry, Oliver noted. He didn’t seem wildly jealous, more like glumly resigned.
Hilda noted him, and slid deftly down the bench, giving the prince room to settle in on Tessa’s other side. She shot Oliver a wink that had him hiding a smile in his tea.
“Leif,” Rune said, “the Drakes don’t know about the drakes.” He waved to indicate Tessa and Oliver, and even if Oliver wasn’t actually a Drake, it felt rather nice to be thought of as legitimate.
“What?” Leif asked.
Tessa turned around to face him – Rune looked momentarily bereft at the loss of her full attention – and launched into an explanation that soon had Leif mirroring his brother’s initial shocked expression.
“Theyerasedthem from history?” he asked, scandalized.
“That’s what your uncle says,” Oliver said. “He said the Aquitainian king didn’t want the Drakewell lords to know they had the power to unseat him – or his heirs, in future generations.”
Leif frowned to show what he thought ofthat. “The dragons are all dead, though, aren’t they?”
“Maybe not,” Rune said. “There’s cold-drakes in the caves of the Wolf Mountains.”
“So the Úlfheðnar say,” Leif said, skeptically.
Tessa whirled back to face Rune. “Cold-drakes?”
Glowing under Tessa’s attentions, he launched into an explanation.
Oliver caught Leif’s gaze and said, “Does anyone ride them up here? Or, rather, did they?”
He shrugged. “Knowing the clans, I can’t think they wouldn’t have tried. But most of them probably got killed for it. The Drakes had a knack, back then. Some sort of magic, maybe. A sixth sense.”
“Hm.” Oliver didn’t believe in magic, but he hadn’t believed in dragons before yesterday, either, so…
“You talked to Uncle?” Leif asked, half curious and half worried.
“Last night, yes. We ran into one another in the library.”
“And he didn’t…I mean, he wasn’t…?”
Oliver found himself smiling, perhaps too fondly, but so be it. “No. It was fine.”
Leif exhaled, shoulder slumping with relief. “I don’t know what got into him yesterday. He spars with us all the time, but he doesn’t – I mean, he really isn’t a bully.” His earnest, imploring gaze mirrored Erik’s from last night, the resemblance between them strong in that moment. “Not normally, anyway,” he added with an apologetic wince.
“Your uncle and I got crossways,” Oliver said. “And, to be fair, I’ve not been at my best. Not been as respectful as I could have been. But I think we’ll get things sorted.”
Leif smiled.
Birger strode up to the table, and both boys winced when he said, “Good morning, my princes. Knowledge awaits.”
~*~
