Page 25 of Of Blood and Banes
“He ruled the Dragon Lands before I did and died in combat.”
I slide the journal across the desk closer to him. “I want to know everything.”
He snorts, leaning back into his chair. “You don’t get to know everything.”
“Then why should I trust you? When rebels have been burning down innocent towns and murdering men, women, and children?”
His eyes darken. “Hold on…”
I flinch at his choice of words.
Sethan breaks into a sarcastic laugh, sharp with a hidden anger. “You thinkweare doing that?”
“I witnessed it myself,” I snap.
Sethan glares, the weight of his stare on me heavy. With strong, scarred fingers, he quickly undoes the top few buttons on his shirt and rips the top open, exposing a few inches of his brown chest. “Do you see this?” Scars scream across his skin in jagged, angry angles—deeper than the ones that mar his neck and hands. “This wasn’t the rebels. This wasKingAaric. Iwas on your side as an Arterian, Katerina. Make no mistake. I was second in command to Jurrock, and when I discovered his letters from the King?—”
His eyes blaze, and he swallows hard. “I couldn’t believe it. Jurrock had been my best friend for ages. And when I confronted him, he brushed me off. He told me it wasnecessary. That the towns hosted rebel families and were sending provisions to the north. He convinced me the rebels were evil, and we had to put an end to any sympathizers before it got out of hand. We had to cleanse our kingdom of any traitors, before there was a full-blown rebellion in Arterias. I wanted to believe him. And for a while, I did. Jurrock had been my best friend, so I didn’t want to believe he was wrong, that we were wrong. But…we were.”
I watch him cautiously and back off his desk as he pushes out of his chair and stalks around it toward me. He passes a wall stretching high into the ceiling, each panel creating a massive picture depicting the Dragon Lands. Dark clusters of towns, villages, and a variety of landscapes decorate the wall.
A map.
I not-so-subtly scan it, eyes wandering over the unfamiliar snow-dusted mountains clustered at the most northern part of the map. Down to rich green forests spreading out over the entire continent. The lakes, rivers, canyons, and volcanoes. At the furthest southern piece of the map is Dragon’s Back Ridge, where more towns are noted, and I spot Midkeep. Black splotches jump out at me, bleeding over the outline of multiple neighboring towns. I focus on the stark explosions of ink and am unable to look away. Sethan comes to stand next to me, facing the map and waiting for the unspoken question between us.
“I…I’ve never seen anything like it,” I murmur.
“That’s because King Aaric doesn’t want Arterians knowing just how much else is out there outside of his kingdom. He wantsyou to fear us. Which…I suppose you should. But not enough to want us exterminated. Only enough to respect us and honor our requests for peace.”
My father’s journal entries trickle into my mind. He wrote the rebels had been requesting peace treaties with the King—but were met with silence.
I glance sideways at Sethan, finally asking, “What are the black spots for?”
He folds his hands behind his back. For the first time since I’ve been here, a solemnity relaxes his angry expression. “It might be better if I show you. Will you come with me?”
I hesitate.
Can I actually trust him?If he wanted me dead at this point, it would have been done long ago. We’re far outmatched here. The prophecy must provide some sort of security for me and Daeja. Though…he could have me tortured alongside Darian if he wanted to.
But Melaina trusts him. Trusts that he honors the good of the realm above all else. I suppose I should at least honor her faith by giving him a chance.
We leave his office and walk through the cobblestone streets toward the eastern part of town. Each townsperson we pass dips their head in acknowledgement, and Sethan mirrors the gesture. Despite Sethan’s every effort to mask it, a hint of a limp stalls his gait. The chatter from the town fades as we slip away from the buildings and into the cover of pine trees.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask finally, sweeping my gaze left and right through the forest. I’ve only been on the western side of Midkeep, and the trees around me are entirely unfamiliar.
“Call your dragon,” he commands, ignoring my question.
I narrow my eyes at his authoritative tone and stop in my tracks.
He turns to me, completely unamused. “Do you want answers or not?”
Working my jaw and crumbling under his intense stare, I finally tear my attention away and stare off into the forest. “Daeja? Can you meet me at the eastern part of the town in the forest?”
She yawns.“On my way.”
Sethan and I stroll farther into the forest. The sun creeps above the treetops and stretches shadows into long stripes across the ground. Something loud snaps a few yards off into the forest at my right, and I whirl toward it.
My breath catches in my throat as a large dragon stalks through the trees toward us. Its scales shimmer like ruby-red armor in the sunlight, each magnificent muscle gliding with its stride. It stops a few feet away, towering over me as its lip curls up to reveal yellow-stained teeth. A growl rumbles in its throat as its golden cat-like eyes meet mine.
