Seron

“A priestess?” Gilbert said. “Rothair has a priestess?”

“Yes,” I said. “I saw him press a crystal to her sigil. Her name is Emi. She seemed frightened and reluctant, but as we know, if those sigils activate, she will have to obey him.”

“And vice versa,” Phoebe said. “Priestesses have just as much power over their guardians as—”

“But Rothair is old. And scary,” Gilbert said. “And an asshole. And a mage.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Phoebe crossed her arms.

“I’m serious,” Gilbert said, in a more somber voice. “He and Emory were working together. Emory…was sadistic. He cut off my hand—not in defense, or in battle at all. It was…deliberate. Just…for fun. Just because I’m doing—better now—doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten. And Rothair was fine with all of it.”

Rin put a hand on his arm. “I know you haven’t forgotten,” he said gently. “No one would.”

“A potential priestess,” Forrest said. “That’s all she is as long as Phoebe’s around.”

“Gah!” Phoebe slammed the table. “So all they have to do is kill me and Rothair becomes a guardian instantly?”

“You’re not easy to kill, pet,” Niko said. “They’ll have to get through all of us first.”

“But I need to get near the northern gate to get control of it. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise what?” Abel asked.

“What do you mean, what? Bad things happen!” Phoebe said.

“Hmm,” Abel said. “I think the gate has become irrelevant at the moment. The gate was made to keep the dragons and humans from going to war with each other. The priestess could shut the gates until she and her guardians could negotiate to restore balance. But right now, the dragons are at war with each other. What’s the answer to that? Himika and Seron are the ones with the prophecy.”

The crown. Had it always been this heavy?

The past few months were someone else’s life. A dream where I was a man named Tanu and I had no control of myself. But it was a very vivid dream. I had almost cut out Oszin’s tongue. I had come so close to getting Oszin and Ezeru killed. I had helped Izeria’s men find dozens of rebel mist dragons, leaving them to horrible fates. And Aknu…

I couldn’t believe I had let that happen. I had deaths on my head. A penance to pay.

I felt like a total damned failure of a commander. Losing a man in battle, that was one thing. Losing one’s own mind to a spell…

All I could think was that Aurekdel wouldn’t have fallen to that spell so easily. This was my fault.

“So, here we are again,” Aurek said. “Izeria lost Seron, but she still has these Elders on her side, and all of her mist dragons, and some rock dragons. And they know that if they kill Phoebe, they win. We need to kill her and Rothair. That’s all there is to it. I would lead my dragons down there right now.”

“I like your enthusiasm,” Rin said. “But…”

“Who will lead the armies?” Forrest asked.

“Seron…?” Himika put a hand on my arm, and I realized they were all looking at me.

“Of course I can do it,” I said.

I got a round of solemn faces.

“I can do it,” I said, more insistently. “I want to command. I want to face her and purge myself of this…experience.”

“You were under her control for months,” Oszin said. “I think you need a break. And so do I. I was stuck in a cell. I don’t think it should be Abel or Forrest either. They’re such obvious targets. Gilbert already killed one potential guardian, and Rothair will be dying to kill one of you. Of course, this is just my opinion, but…”

“I could lead the armies,” Abel said. “Rothair won’t kill me.”

“Rothair won’t kill me either,” I said.

They don’t trust me, I thought.

“Abel! Don’t get cocky!” Phoebe said. “I bet Oszin’s right. Maybe Minister Avo could lead but you could send Merrick with him. He knows everything you know, right?”

Raia and Merrick had clearly become a couple, although they remained coy if you asked them about it, and they were sitting right next to Abel, but he still said,

“Not quite. I still have a wealth of experience beyond what Merrick knows.”

“Ouch,” Raia mouthed.

Merrick shrugged. “I’m used to it.”

“That isn’t insulting,” Abel said. “It’s just a fact. If we don’t send someone to attack them now, this winter will be very…”

“Dull?” Niko suggested. “C’mon, we can’t just keep waiting this out. They’ve done enough damage. We’ll never have the ideal time, so the time is now.”

“Agreed,” Forrest said.

“Sending Minister Avo sounds sensible to me,” Phoebe’s mother said, glancing at her beau, a man named Erik who had a small rabbit farm on the south side of town. Erik, probably wisely, was so quiet that even when he joined us for dinner it was easy to forget he existed.

Phoebe sighed. “Mom, no one asked you.”

“Well, I still have opinions.”

“You sure do.” Phoebe threw up her hands. “Well, I have something to say. I’m pregnant again.”

“What?” Forrest asked. “Really? You just had Rina.”

“It’s been six months!” Phoebe said. “And Mari said priestesses are very fertile, so I guess I’m doing this again.” Despite a glib tone, she was beaming.

“Did anyone know this?” Rin asked, looking at the other guardians.

“No, I told you all just now,” she said.

“That’s wonderful!” Gilbert said. “I bet this time it will be Rin’s and it’ll be a boy.”

“Gil! That’s what you said last time! You just cursed me…” Rin’s head slumped into his hand.

“It’s not a contest,” Niko said.

“You’re the one who wanted to make bets on it last time!” Gilbert said.

“I bet it’ll be mine again.” Niko laughed dryly.

Everyone seemed plenty festive thinking about another child. I glanced at Himika. It hadn’t really sunk in yet that she was pregnant with twins and that we knew they were crystal dragons. As soon as she felt my eyes, she looked up at me with the most beautiful smile, that unfolded slowly and a little shyly.

“Seron,” she said. “Would you take a walk with me? I’ll show you around the village. There’s a full moon tonight.”

“Of course.”

“We’ll be right back,” she said.

Himika seemed to sense that I was overwhelmed by the gathering. As I stepped out, with her hand in mine, she seemed to glow under the moonlight.

“Your Majesties,” said the guards—one dragon and one human—bowing at us as we passed through the door.

Himika led me up a path that ran alongside a stream. The town was built onto the side of a hill, so we climbed steps, but we were already close to the highest point. “You can see the whole town from here,” she said. “It’s a very small town but the houses look so cozy, especially when we’re at the top of the hill and you can see candles in all the windows and they cast such a nice light on the snow.”

“Did you just describe the town to me?”

She laughed. “I guess I did. I’ve been touring the country with Aurek for too long.”

“I do that sometimes too,” I said, and it reminded me that there were unexpected pleasures in sharing the people I loved.

She squeezed my hand. “Do you want to talk about anything?”

“I’ve never been that into…talking.”

“You are still you.” She smiled and moved my hand to her belly. “They’re only moving a little right now…”

I felt a small flutter under my hand that instantly made me feel the weight of what had happened in my absence. “That’s…”

“That’s your son or daughter.” Her eyes shone and she suddenly covered her face. “There were days I really thought you wouldn’t be here when they’re born… Days I lost faith. And I saw that in Aurek too. His face would go distant. We thought you might be gone forever. I still can’t believe you’re here.”

I wasn’t sure how to say what I was afraid of. Many of the people never wanted me to be king. And now I’ve been gone for months, corrupted…

“I am…the king,” I said. “And you are the queen of the realm.”

“Yes…?”

“I want to lead the armies against Izeria. I want to be like the warrior kings of old. I’ve always been at my best when I have an army behind me, and now I need to prove myself. If we win this conflict and I sat it out, the people will never trust me to rule over them. I have my own honor to avenge.”

“They will! Of course they will!”

“No. They won’t. You’re just saying this because you don’t want me to leave. Fair enough, I don’t either, but it’s something I have to do.”

“So you’re going to leave again?” Her expression turned fierce. “At least wait until your babies are born!”

“You want me to wait months? We’re at war!”

“Can’t we send an initial force? Draw them out or something?”

“We don’t want to draw them toward Phoebe,” I said.

“Is being a warrior really more in your nature than seeing your children?”

My chest felt tight. “No…but…how can I tell my future heir that I stayed home during the most pivotal battle of our lifetime? A king can’t be selfish like that. I have to have the trust of the people.”

“When Aurek put that crown back on your head…” She swallowed. “You looked like he was shackling you. There was no joy in your face.”

“Blood is blood,” I said. “I’ll do what I have to do. And I don’t want anyone to say I’ve done a bad job. Damnit…don’t make me feel so bad about it. I know you understand. You were raised into all of this.”

“I was,” she said. “I know. As a queen, I admire your honor. As a wife and mother, I absolutely hate it. I was worried sick for you every day.”

I took both of her hands in mine. I couldn’t stand how small she seemed. She was quite a scrappy little thing, but in the end, she was just a little human girl. Even when I first met her, I could hardly believe such a perfect image of a princess existed. I was so flustered around her then. Her face was so regal in the moonlight, her dark eyes so earnest. She glowed with the life inside her—crystal dragons, growing every day.

“You truly are…my light,” I said. “More than anything, I want to swear to be by your side. But now I feel as if I can’t swear anything to anyone. I already failed you.”

“You were attacked,” she said. “She wanted Ezeru, right? It could have just as easily been him, or anyone. Oszin was a captive too. Sometimes our enemies get the upper hand. That’s just life.”

“If I had a stronger will, you wouldn’t have had to save me…”

“Yes,” she said. “I did save you. But I had help, too. And so what? You have other strengths. All of you men are so proud and reckless that I want to put you in a dungeon.”

“And you’re not reckless at all,” I said. “The way you came riding on Aurek’s back. Pregnant! No saddle.”

Her blush was apparent even in the shadows. “Well…we don’t have a saddle.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Seron!” She threw her arms around me. “Okay. Go fight one last battle. Fine. One battle—you can get the whole thing done before I go into labor, right? You have a couple months. Win back the north.”

“I will. I promise,” I said. “And when the babies are born, I’ll be holding your hand.”