Page 64 of The Forbidden Dragon King
“Good? Venerated? Aye, I hear the stories. They’re lies.”
I remember Aurelius kneeling in front of his brother’s shrine.
I don’t know what to believe.
“What happened?” I ask, tentatively.
Daire’s wings tremble, but his back straightens.
He still doesn’t look around, as if he can’t face me and talk about this.
Has he ever been able to talk about this before?
“Maximinus is a sorcerer. He was born with powers unlike any within the Draca Kingdom,” Daire says so quietly that I have to strain to hear him. “One of his strongest innate powers is to control and manipulate metals. It’s what makes him hold such power in the Shadow Court over everyone, even King Aurelius. It’s also how he poisoned the fae lands with iron, slowly weakening the magic of the land and the Winter Court. People grew ill with an incurablepandemic, as if cursed iron had entered their bloodstream. From being young, all I remember is unnatural illness, weeping, and death. When Tarquin betrayed our alliance and led his oh so bloody glorious campaign against our court, everybody was too weak to defend themselves. There was no First Fae War. It was a decimation. A genocide. They didn’t intend to leave anyone alive. I fought but I was only a kid, and I saw my da, followed by my ma, then…everybody…burned to bloody ash.”
A tear trails down my cheek and then another. “How did you escape?”
“Did I? The Winter Court was melted like snow, until nothing was left in the morning light, and it often feels like I vanished with it.” He hesitates. “Ma screamed at me to savethe kidsand babes. It was the last thing she ever said to me. So, I did. I led them out of a secret tunnel, and somehow, we managed to survive together, meeting up over the years with other survivors. Then I trained them up into soldiers.Bandits, shifters call us. I marched onto my first battlefield, however, when I was thirteen and killed hundreds in the name of trying to win peace back for those kids.”
“But it didn’t work.”
“Nay, it only brought on a decade of bloody war. And now, loss, conquest, and…” Daire gestures at the bars. “Aurelius doesn’t believe — or won’t — anything bad about the brother who raised and protected him.”
My brow furrows. “What did he need protecting from?”
“Who. And that’s not my tale to tell. If you see mekneeling and obeying my enemies, however, please don’t despiseme. I’m your Alpha. It doesn’t make me less of one to save the lives of those kids, who I once rescued from the Winter Court and are now captured soldiers here in the camp. I’d kneel in front of Aurelius a thousand times for their sake or yours. Being a king should never be about possessing power because power is a gift. So, giving it up for the sake of my people isn’t shameful.”
He twirls around to face me.
I expect his cheeks to be as wet as mine are but am shocked that not only are they dry but his eyes are like frozen lakes.
“Aureliusthinksthat he has won, just like his brother did.” Daire’s lips twist into a deadly smile. “Dragons only care about conquering lands and possessing people like they are treasure. Maximinus wants to own and break us. Aurelius believes that he can use us like pawns in this game of Shadow Kingdoms. Isn’t it time that kids of death and suffering like us win? How about instead of being used as pawns, we secretly manipulate and control the board instead?”
CHAPTER NINE
Freya’s Bedroom, Shadow Court
Freya
One month later…
I yawn,waking up in my nest in Aurelius’ palace in Bael. I indulge myself for a long moment, rolling around on the soft mattress, which is built with golden, velvet blankets and ornate cushions embroidered with flames.
It smells deliciously of smoky leather, since I stole one of Aurelius’ tunics and hid it underneath my pillow.
The room is tiny withstone walls and floor, and beamed, arched roof. The thin light of dawn is filtered through a silk screen, which is decorated with ruby, pearl, and jade dragons, over a plain pine chest at the base of my bed.
I smile, when I glimpse the oak shrine in the far corner. It is small but carved in the shape of two noble wolves: My parents.
I’ve never been able to imagine what my parents looked like before; they were blurred in my mind, whether in human or shifter form. I have only the faintest memory, which over the years has remained shrouded in shadows.
Now, Aurelius has given me a depiction of them that looks as special as if they were royalty. Candles flank the shrine on either side. At long last, I have somewhere to grieve for them. Somewhere to pray for their souls.
Aurelius carved the shrine himself on the journey to Bael, presenting it to me at the same time that he showed me this room.
It’s the most precious thing that anyone has given me.
And a shock.
