Page 138 of Dreams and Dragon Wings
Biting her bottom lip, Aurelia clearly fights not to chuckle.
Sighing, I try to relax despite the swirl of my confused thoughts. “I see I am outnumbered,” I concede.
Since I cannot rise and fret about battle plans, I instead focus on how lovely my queen looks in this moment—radiant, with pink roses woven through her damp locks to match the gown floating around her form. Her cheeks warm as I continue to stare at her, trying to drink her all in. To commit her to my memory once more.
But when I innocently ask, “Has mydrakiraturned into a mermaid?” she laughs again. That bright sound I have always loved. “No, but truly,” I add, still trying to make sense of everything. “I thought you couldn’t swim?”
“I can’t,” she confirms, reassuring me that I have not gone mad. “We are resting on the raft Glorana made us.”
Matter-of-factly, my green-clad auntie corrects, “It is a giantleaf, dear.”
“And I am keeping it afloat, of course,” Brisa yawns, descending on fluttering wings to claim a perch on my right shoulder.
Glorana, however, remains hovering in the air before me.
Belatedly, I look around for Velda. When I don’t see her, I frown. We are always a matched set, my godmothers and I.
Where could she possibly have gone?
“She is at the Aerie,”Aurelia explains within my thoughts,“helping oversee the drafting of a new peace treaty between our peoples. My father is with her. It should be ready for us to review and sign soon.”
My frown remains as I search my queen’s face.“And what about the army? The fighting?”
“We were able to disperse most of Malice’s forces before they could ever reach the Aerie.”
Brisa makes an annoyedtch. “It’srudeto carry on a conversation without us, you know,” she chides directly in my ear.
I try to shoot her alook, but speak aloud anyway when next I ask, “Is there nothing left for me to do then?”
I try to keep my tone light, but the faint sting in my chest remains. Have I truly been rendered useless during my time spent healing?
Everything has simply been… resolved.
Handled in my absence.
“Not everything has been resolved without you,na’velar,” Aurelia whispers, her face falling as she delicately plucks at the soaked fabric of my shirt. “Friedemar has declared war on us, as you may recall.”
Brisa adds, “There is also the business of this royal wedding.”
Glorana interjects, “And the giants are refusing to go home now that Malice has them riled up. They refuse to do anything at all until they have spoken with theTheryn’kai.”
I raise my eyebrows, my gaze returning to Aurelia. “But you said you were able to disperse Malice’s forces?”
“I did saymostof them,” she corrects with an apologetic smile.
Across the bond, I sense a hint of uncertainty suddenly bloom withinNa’therya’s heart. There is something she wishes to ask me, but she fears I may say no.
“I was also hoping we could fly back to the human realm and find my parents?” she whispers. “We could bring my father here, to the Living Waters.” Hope burns within her sky-blue gaze when she adds, “I know my mother has often been unfair to you.But perhaps the Great Weaver will look kindly on my father and heal him from his strange sickness just as He has healed us?”
“Of course,” I answer without a moment’s hesitation, soaking in the renewed radiance of my queen’s smile. I brush the backs of my fingers against her cheek. “Anything you want, darling. It is yours. Your parents must come to Drakara, of course. They should be here for the wedding, and they are welcome to stay after and live with us at the Aerie.”
I glance upward, trying to judge the time of day by the angle of the sunlight washing over us. “We can leave right now and be there by morning.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” Brisa huffs again, taking to the air. When she swivels to face me, her little hands perch on her hips. “You’re going to stay right here until you feel completely well. Glorana and I can go and fetch theTherya’kai’s parents.”
Glorana raises her eyebrows. “We can?”
“Yes,” my blue-clad auntie insists, staring at her sister. “Right now.”
