Page 46 of Kingdom of Ashes & Bone
Delicately, the black dragon leaned over and took the queen in his claws, his wings beating the ground on either side of him. Men and women clutched their children to them and covered their heads as dust buffeted all of us. With a running leap, he jumped into the sky and took off, quickly disappearing above, somewhere in the Seat. I imagined the Nobles were all having heart attacks as the great black dragon swooped toward them, but I couldn’t be bothered to care.
My head shook side to side, as if my body still couldn’t process everything that had happened. The queen—how do I not call her the queen—would be gone soon, and there was another large dragon here. My boys didn’t seem to mind. And had the black dragon indirectly told me to feed Zion my blood? Or Zariah’s?
We hadn’t even gotten the other dragon’sname.
“Shift back, and we can move you,” I cajoled him. Just like when the queen had been injured, it took a while for Zion’s large dragon form to fold inwards and let his human one come through. He was covered in so much dust and grime it was difficult to tell if he was still injured in this form.
Get him on my back and hold him, Zariah told me, putting his head and neck down on the ground so we could climb up. A few people rushed forward to help me support Zion’s weight, mostly parents of the children. In short order I was clutching to Zariah’s neck spikes, Zion’s limp body held in place in front of me.
“Do you have a place in mind?” I yelled out to Zariah, but he simply took off into the air. We cleared the dust and haze that hung over the kingdom, my lungs clearing as I finally took a gulp of fresh, clean air. From above, it was heart-wrenching to see just how much damage the kingdom had suffered with the collapse of the dome. There was a glimmer of hope, however. The castle hadn’t been completely covered by the dome, so when it fell, it didn’t take much damage.
Which meant the Seat itself had only taken limited damage.
I tried to quell the frustration in my heart, but it was no use. It wasn’t fair the poorest once against got the shaft, while those rich and fed were spared most of the horrors.
I can smell your anger,Zariah scolded me.Besides, I plan to put as many people in the Seat and castle as I can until we can clean up and clear the quarters. All of them, if I can.
Warmth spread through my body, and my eyes closed in thanks. Both of my princes were protective and kind in their own ways. Zariah would bully the Nobles into accepting the refugees and the others displaced, and Zion would sacrifice himself to save children.
I loved them both desperately.
As Zariah descended toward the castle’s front lawn, it was obvious the Nobles weren’t sitting on their bottoms. They moved about with efficiency, gathering blankets and food and clothes, and tying them up in bundles. And in the middle of this project stood Freesia, the hem of her gown torn and a large smudge of blood and dirt on her left cheek.
Everyone scattered as Zariah’s massive form went in to land, but Freesia rushed forward. “Oh, finally! This will be helpful. We were stuck trying to figure out how to fix the elevators, but this solves that.” She huffed. “The other dragon ignored me when I asked him to help.”
Once again, I was struck by how fearless Freesia truly was, to just casually walk up to a strange dragon and demand help. A smile twitched my lips.
“Let me get Zion settled, then we will help you,” I told her, looking around at her organization. “This is … impressive!”
Freesia smirked. “Well, some upstart mud girl told me I was intelligent. So … I was.” She blushed, and glanced away, folding her arms across her chest.
Zariah shifted and caught his brother, no one batting an eye at their nakedness. Desperate times made you reevaluate your priorities.
“Yes, well, hurry back. We can ferry people up here for safety, but there’s likely still many trapped that need to be freed.” She snapped her fingers. “That reminds me: your brother has taken charge of your mother. They’re somewhere inside the castle.”
At my indignant look, she rolled her eyes. “It was that or leave her alone, since Ell went with you.”
A bolt of guilt shot through me at the reminder. Ell was still below the Seat, his body likely right where I’d left him. Would the tally never end?
“Oh! And we’re pretty sure you broke the curse,” she continued. “At one point up here, all of the infected Nobles fell unconscious, and ash just … fell off their bodies. When they woke up, they looked normal!”
I stared at her in shock, then fell toward Freesia and seized her in a massive hug, my eyes heating with emotion. “Thank you,” I breathed out, unable to truly express how I’d felt.
She stiffened at my touch, her arms awkwardly wrapping around me after a moment. “Yes, well … I’m not the one who broke the curse.”
Zariah cleared his throat, and I broke away. “I will come back to help you. We have to take care of Zion first. See you soon.”
Freesia nodded, and I followed Zariah up the chipped stone steps and into the palace. The castle had sustained damage, but it was still a usable structure that could hold a lot of people. Zariah carried his brother in his arms, a look of grim determination on his face. The trip to their tower seemed to take only seconds, though I knew that was impossible. I had a lot on my mind. Had I broken the curse? And how? It was wonderful news the Nobles were cured, and that we didn’t have to worry about anyone else shifting into a demon! But what about Zariah and Zion? And the queen? All of them still had their dragon powers.
Zariah laid Zion down gently on the bed and took a knee in front of it. I climbed onto the mattress next to Zion, smoothing his hair back out of his eyes.
“The black dragon said our blood would heal him,” I reminded Zariah.
Zariah shot me a glare. “No way. I’m doing this.”
Before I could protest, he grabbed a small knife from the bedside table and dragged it over his forearm.
Blood welled from the wound, and he pushed it toward Zion’s mouth.
