Page 114 of Wrath of the Dragons
I don’t even know what this one means. The prophecy I received when I was a child was straightforward; there was nothing to decipher. I’m not sure if the state of her mind influences the clarity of her visions, but I don’t know how the sun can be bathed in blood, or the probability of anything else she said.
“Y-you said we have an alliance?” Finnian asks, pulling his eyes away from the woman.
“I spoke to King Erix to ensure we got what we wanted.”
“Youspoketo my father?” Zale asks as the threads of his anger are sewn. “Or you threatened him?”
“Save your anger for the battlefield, Princey. You’ll have the opportunity to bloody your sword in more than just practice rings if your mother has nursed you long enough.”
Zale’s face reddens and he stands from the couch, making sure Mae is propped up with enough pillows. “Did you threaten my father?”
“Perhaps you should ask him that question. I believe it’s a matter of perspective.”
“Perhaps I will,” he shoots out.
“Enough,” I cut in, stepping between them. “We all got what we wanted and I’m not going to babysit grown men while I have a war to fight. Either learn how to get along or keep your mouths shut.”
Finnian steps around us to fix Mae’s blanket, and Zale’s stare tracks him. “Can I get you anything, my lady?”
Mae looks at him, her frail body still racked with shivers, and shakes her head. He nods, standing to his full height and rejoining our group as we walk closer to the railing. “Does anyone have any idea what the vision meant?”
“Mae often gets confused and lost in her head,” Zale says. “I don’t know if the vision was entirely accurate.”
“She spoke clearly, even if the message wasn’t,” I respond, forcing my nerves down. The last time I received a prophecy, it led to mebeing chained up and ripped away from my dragons. “However, we have more pressing matters than visions from sleeping gods.”
I try to put it out of mind, I really do.
But the shadow that’s been following me like a dark cloud on the horizon for weeks grows darker, and I’m worried the rain will soon begin to fall.
Chapter
Fifty-six
Elowen
I rest my hands on therailing, staring in the direction of where Mae told me to investigate. I can’t see it from here, but when I think of the dense forest at the base of the mountains, I feel a tug on my ribs again. I’m supposed to be getting ready for the ball, but every time I try to direct my steps below decks, something brings me back here.
I hardly slept and spent the night lying on my side while staring out the window in our cabin. Mae’s voice echoed in my skull into the wee hours of morning. We informed Saskia, Ryder, and Zarius of the prophecy once we returned, but the only one who believes in prophecies is Zarius. He seemed unsettled, but had no theories as to what it could mean.
A prophecy is what altered the course of my life. I was born to rule Imirath and beaten before the throne. My blood has seeped into the stones of the castle, and I live within its walls, its crevices, its very foundation. My presence beats like an invisible heart buried so deep the pulse drives my father mad, knowing one day I’ll come to take what’s mine.
Some prophecies don’t come to pass for years. Others are so vague nobody knows if they truly did or are still awaiting fate to fulfill the messages given to seers. The dragons fly in the direction I’m looking but always alter their course to return to me, and I wonder if theysense something as well. Something lingers out there, and it feels like I’m swimming in dark waters, unable to see into the inky depths monsters inhabit, waiting to drag me down.
“Lead the way, princess,” Cayden says, striding up to me and leaning a hip into the railing.
“What?” I ask, clearing the fog surrounding my brain.
“It’s clear you need to see whatever is out there, and you’re not going without me.” He points at the dragons. “I also can’t climb onto one of them without dying so make your decision.”
I bite my lip. “How long do we have before the ball?” The day was spent discussing possible battle plans with Zale and Zarius, and the sun is already setting.
He pulls out his pocket watch, quickly doing the math in his head. “If we’re taking into account the several hours you’ll need to get dressed, not enough.”
I roll my eyes. “Deduct the several hours you’ll spend practicing your glare in the mirror and we’ll be grand.”
He tucks it back into his pocket. “We have an hour.”
I nod. “The dragons are uneasy so give me some time to calm Basilius before getting on.”
