Page 50 of Earth Dragon
“And why exactly were the old ways to be toppled?” Ewan asked. “Is it because they’re all a lie constructed by the crowned heads to stay in power? Or because the elemental magics should not be harnessed at all, but allowed to flow freely through nature?”
“Perhaps it’s a little of everything,” Shannon offered. “Mostly it’s about a redistribution of power.”
“But you believed in it, too?” he asked.
“Yes, for a very long time, I did,” she said. “Whole hearts and all.”
“Which part did you believe in? Undoing the lie of a ruling class, returning the elemental magics to their rightful place, or the power that would be yours once chaos reigned supreme?”
“I would never pretend to be innocent in this,” Shannon said. “But you have to believe me when I tell you that everything changed for me when I realized the elemental magics had chosen and were choosing the bloodlines. Before I saw it with my own eyes I thought…”
“What?”
“That it was too convenient to be true,” she admitted. “It seemed the perfect way to stay in power. Convincing the populace that your blood is the only blood that can become vessel to the elemental magics. When everyone can have magic? It made it feel more like a grasp for power than anything else.”
“I see,” Ewan said.
“Do you?” she asked. “Because some part of you must concede that it sounds plausible. And that it’s no wonder so many began to question the role of the monarchs. They’ve all been proven wrong to question that role, as I’ve already said, but I don’t feel it was wrong to do so. True power—like yours—can withstand scrutiny.”
He had to smile at that, and it made her relax a little, even though she was still on the defensive.
“And what exactly do you believe now?” Ewan asked.
“That my father must be stopped.”
“Then why did you not come to me?”
“Because… I did not know what to say,” she admitted. “How to put into words all the ways I was still forced to go behind your back.”
“You weren’t forced.”
“I was.”
“You had a choice. You could have trusted me to step between you and your father. Do you think I would let any harm come to you?”
Her hearts fluttered at the forcefulness he asked the question, at the way he phrased it. He had spoken in the present tense, as though he still would put himself between her and her father, in spite of everything. Hope flared softly.
“I was…”
Out with it.
“What were you?”
“I wasashamed,” she finally got out. “You already had so many reasons to shun me. If I told you everything, if you knew who my father was, how he had treated me and my mother. Why should you wish to tie yourself to such a family? My name is worth nothing. I’m worth nothing. You spoke of feelings that had arisen after one night together. How could I put my faith in that my confession wouldn’t break it all apart? And look at what has happened, now that you know the truth.”
“If you had told me then perhaps it wouldn’t have broken apart,” he exclaimed, getting to his feet.
“I wanted to protect you.”
“No, you wanted to protect yourself.”
“You’re right,” she nodded. “I did. Because nobody else ever has.”
“Poor you.” He shook his head. “You only have your own personal guards, a king who is risking his own neck to keep you safe within the borders of his kingdom, and a father who clearly wants you alive for all the wrong reasons, but who surely would go to great lengths to protect you.”
“No, he wouldn’t,” she shook her head. “Not if he learns of this. He will… kill me.”
The tears were back, but this time Ewan stepped forward, taking her hands in his. He squeezed his thumbs into her wrists and gently massaged the spot, making her look at him. She calmed immediately, entranced by his scent all around her again.
