Page 84 of Her Dragon Daddy Disaster
“Coups always do,” Sarah concurred. “But, Levi, I don’t think he’s going to threaten the Council.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think he’s going to blow them all up. The sovereign is a royal. Does she sit first?”
“Yes.”
“Five-second timer then. She sits. It starts. The others sit. Boom, they’re all gone. No more sovereign. No more council. No cohesive body to oppose him. It’ll be undisputed. Especially if he has enough muscle to back it up.”
“He will,” I muttered. “He’s probably busy taking out the palace guard right now. They won’t suspect a coup. It’s never been tried before. He’ll be able to get far too close to them.”
“Fly faster,” Sarah urged. “Much faster.”
Not wasting energy on words, I did just that.
We came screaming down at the palace like a peregrine falcon diving after its prey.
“Hang on!” I hollered. “This will be rough!”
The roof was still manned by guards, and at my approach, a pair of them shifted into their dragon forms, the orange and black of their scales indicating they were of royal blood.
My claws dug deep into the roof, scratching furrows behind me as I skidded to a halt, while the pair of guardians rose high, wings spread, inhaling dangerously.
“Wait!” I shouted, snapping out a wing for Sarah to scramble down from. “We’re here to help!”
The dragons paused. “Help?” the one on the left asked suspiciously.
I took on my human form, my body shrinking and changing in the blink of an eye.
“She’s in trouble. Someone is trying to kill her!”
“Kill her? Explain yourself.”
“There’s no time,” I said, gesturing to the stairs that led deeper into the palace. “Youhaveto prevent her from sitting on her throne.”
“She’s already our leader.”
“Notthat! Literally sitting down. I think someone has wired it as a bomb. Come on. We have to stop her!”
The guards looked at me warily.
“Come with me,” one of the orange and black dragons said, returning to his human form. “All of you. Let’s go.”
The six guards grouped up around us as we entered the palace, moving at a run. Sarah carried Jakub at her side, easily hefting his small form.
“Who’s threatening her? Why do you suspect this? How have we not heard any of this?” the lead guard asked as we hurried along.
“People on the inside,” I said, still catching my breath from the crazy flight over. “It has to be. I don’t know how else it could be.”
“Who?”
“His name is Malakai. He’s the head of an anti-sovereign group who wants to dispose of her. They—”
We reached an intersection, and figures jumped at us from each side. Dressed all in black and deep royal blue, they struggled to overwhelm the palace guards, using surprise ruthlessly.
“Come on!” I shouted at Sarah, guiding her through the chaos. “We can’t stop.”
“Were those Malakai’s men?” she asked as we escaped the combat and ran on down the halls toward the throne room.
