Tears of War (38 page)

Taken aback, she shook her head. “You are Defenders of Galdrilene; I am not your queen.”

He bowed his head slightly. “With respect, we swore fealty to you until such time as you send us back to Galdrilene, be that today or years from now.”

Her brow furrowed. “What about your duty to Galdrilene?”

“You are our duty to Galdrilene. We go where we are needed most and this is where we are needed. Hemmen had us swear fealty to you. He wanted no misunderstanding that our first duty is to you for the honor of Galdrilene. No matter what happens here, you will be our queen and commander until you release us from our oath.”

Kalila controlled the surprise and the overwhelming love she felt for those in Galdrilene. “Thank you. Will you please send my brother in?”

The guard stepped back and her brother came into the room. Toren glanced back at the door as it shut behind him. “They take their duties seriously, don’t they?”

Kalila smiled. “There are none more loyal than the people you will find in Galdrilene.”

He nodded but said nothing as he glanced at the mages behind her and she knew he worried about his future there. He pushed his hand through his sandy hair and took a deep breath, his green eyes steady on hers. “Everything is ready. People are already arriving. They know they are coming for something important and attendance is required, but they don’t know the reason for it.”

“So early?” Her nerves tried to rise up again and she shoved them back down.

He smiled the familiar crooked smile she’d grown up seeing. He was barely a year older than her and they’d always been close. To see him now, a king and soon to be a Dragon Rider, made pride well up in her. Toren would find everything he needed in Galdrilene to grow into the man he was meant to be. “There will be a feast afterward, so there is no reason to worry about the morning meal. No sense putting it off.”

Kalila took a deep breath and let it out slow. “I guess you’re right.”

He held out his arm to her. “Would you be so kind as to accompany me, my queen?”

She took his arm and gave him a small smile. “I will make you proud, brother.”

He reached for the handle on the door and pulled it open. “I know you will.”

They made a procession down the corridor. Five Defenders in front with the mages following directly behind Kalila and Toren. Another fifteen Defenders brought up the rear. As they passed one of the doors, Kellinar fell into step on the other side of Kalila.

When they reached the throne room, Kalila saw more Defenders lining the walls mixed with palace guards who looked at the Defenders with distrust and confusion. Kellinar hung back near the side door they had entered from. Toren sat in the throne on the dais and Kalila stood to his right, one hand on the back of the chair. Her mother and five remaining sisters stood on the steps to the dais. Her mother had hugged her fiercely when they finally met again but she hadn’t uttered a word.

She stood staring with empty eyes. Kalila knew her mother must be devastated by the loss of her husband; even so, life went on. One couldn’t walk around in a catatonic state. Now Kalila saw where Larna and Drisa had gotten the trait to just shut down and stop fighting.

Slowly, the room filled as nobles dressed in their best filed in. Quiet, nervous conversation filled the hall and tension hung thick in the air. It only took Kalila a moment to understand why. Surely everyone in the city had seen Shryden land the day before. She was used to the sight of the dragons, but it must have caused chaos in the city.

Gasps replaced the murmured conversation in the room as the assembled nobles and their wives caught sight of Kalila. Several sideways glances were sent her mother’s way. Understandable, since Kalila stood where her mother should have until Toren selected a wife. This wouldn’t be the last of their surprises this morning.

When the big doors at the end of the room swung shut, Toren stood and the room fell silent as everyone bowed low. When they stood, Toren inclined his head a fraction. “Thank you for coming promptly. There is an announcement of great importance to be made.

“As I am sure you are well aware, a dragon landed here yesterday.” Tension filled the room to the breaking point as everyone seemed to hold their breath. Toren continued, “It appears the legends that have been passed down for so many generations are only partially true. Galdrilene is not a crumbling ruin. It is in fact a thriving nation.”

Whispers ran through those gathered and Toren let it run for a moment before raising his voice to get their attention. “The dragons of Galdrilene are called Guardians. It is their duty to protect and help.”

Kalila watched disbelief cloud the faces in the room.

“Some of those legends were unfortunately true. There are black dragons. They and their riders are everything our legends told of.”

The fear in the room thickened. Kalila glanced at Lalani. Outside of a slight furrow between the mage’s pale eyes, her face remained impassive. Toren took a deep breath. “Another thing our legends were wrong about is magic. It does not drive the user insane.”

“How can you know this?” Kalila recognized Haden’s voice. He stood at the front, his muddy brown eyes full of distrust and anger. “Are you taking the word of whoever came with that dragon?”

“Do not speak out of turn Lord Haden.” Toren scowled at the man. “I am not trusting the word of the man who came with the dragon. I am trusting the word of my sister, Kalila, who thankfully has been returned to us. She has seen the black dragons and their riders. Our half-sister, Sadira, is one of them. The scars you see on my sister’s face are the work of Sadira.”

Kalila lifted her chin as all eyes turned on her.

“She has also been to Galdrilene. Kalila can use magic.”

A collective gasp went up as the crowd pressed back. Toren ignored their reaction. “I can also use magic. More than that, I have been called to hatch a dragon.”

Kalila shook her head slightly. If they moved back anymore, they would crush the people at the back of the room.

“As such,” Toren continued without pause, “I am required to step down as the King of Markene. I cannot perform my duties to Markene and reside in Galdrilene at the same time.”

All of the nobles began to talk at once, looking at one another fearfully. Lord Haden alone stepped forward, brushing his collar length brown hair back. “Then who will be king?” he asked, triumph in his eyes.

Toren leveled a look at him. “As the sitting King of Markene and holding the throne by right of inheritance, by the laws of this nation, I have the right to name my successor.”

Haden squared his shoulders and took another step forward. Apparently his desire for the crown overruled his fear of magic and dragons. The crowd behind him leaned forward, all eyes flickering between Toren and Haden.

Toren drew himself up and Kalila felt a warm rush of pride. He looked so much like their father at that moment. His eyes swept over the gathered nobles. “My sister, Kalila, will assume my station. Markene now has a queen.”

Amid more gasps and shocked stares, Toren stepped away from the throne, removed his crown and set it on the seat. Ignoring the rumblings of outrage, Kalila stepped forward, picked the crown up and placed its heavy weight on her head. Toren knelt to one knee, “My queen.”

Lord Haden lurched forward, the veins in his face standing out. “You can’t do this! A woman on the throne? Markene doesn’t have a queen!” The formal speech of court fell away as he took three more steps toward the dais, his hands clenched into fists at his side. “Markene will be in shambles. No one will accept it!”

As he approached another step, Defenders moved to block his path. Kalila glared at him. “Toren was well within his rights to appoint me to the throne. It mentions nothing of male or female in the law.”

Haden’s face turned redder. Maybe she should have brought a Healing mage as well; he was going to burst a vessel somewhere if he kept this up. “That the appointed to the throne is male is implied in the law!” he spat.

This was a make or break moment. If she wavered even in the slightest, the confused nobles in the room would side with Haden and she would lose the throne. Kalila pulled herself up and looked down her nose at him with an icy stare. “Implied or not, it is not specified. I am a direct blood line to the throne. I am sorry that you hoped to wrest control of Markene, but it will not happen.”

She looked up and swept the room with the same hard look. “I am my father’s daughter and I have every right to assume this position. It is according to law and by the wishes of my brother, the former king.”

“But…” Another lord’s voice rang out. “We have never been ruled by a queen. The people will revolt.”

Kalila shook her head. “Because something has never been done before in this nation, does not mean that it cannot be done. Change comes to our world whether we like it or not. Shadow Dragons ride the dawn. Sadira will bring them here. She is more powerful than you can imagine and the magic she uses is twisted and evil. I have no wish to see Markene fall to her or see any of you placed in the agony I suffered at her hands. I will not back down. I will not allow Markene to fall,” she dropped her gaze to Haden’s face, “and I will not stand by and allow this nation to be ran into the ground.”

She looked again at the other man who’d spoken. “As far as the people, how they react depends largely on you. If the nobles accept it, the people will. If you do not accept it, you run the risk of them supporting me and turning on you. If it is a gamble you wish to accept, then by all means, take it. Remember though, commoners are often far more accepting of change than you are. Their lives are ever in flux and change must be embraced by them. They care more of feeding their families and keeping a roof over their heads. They have no time for the petty intrigues that plague the lives of pampered nobles with too much time on their hands.”

More murmurs ran through the gathered people and worried looks filled more than one face. She’d struck a chord with them. Did they really want to take a chance on the preferences of the people? Kalila had always been a much loved daughter of the king by the people. They had adored her as child, loved her as a young woman, and mourned her loss when she went missing.

Haden tried to leap forward and was stopped by the Defenders who wrestled him to his knees. Kalila stepped down from the dais and approached Haden. He glared up at her. She kept her face smooth as she gave him a frosty look. “I will give you this one chance to swear your fealty to your new queen. If you do not, I will be forced to exile you since I would not be able to trust you.” Not that she had any intention of ever trusting him.

Haden glanced back at the others and she followed his look. More than one edged away from him, already showing where their loyalties would lie by putting distance between themselves and him. Haden turned back to her, anger raging in his eyes. Slowly he bowed his head. “I swear fealty to you my…queen… My house and my life are at your command and disposal until my death or you release me from my oath.” The last was said through gritted teeth.

Kalila almost laughed in his face, but managed to hold her emotions in check and maintain perfect composure. “Your pledge is accepted, Lord Haden. Your life and house are under the wing of my protection.” Sure they were. He pledged his allegiance to her now but it didn’t take a Spirit mage to see he would plant a knife in her at the first opportunity.

Haden climbed to his feet, turned on his heel, and stormed out of the room shoving past those nearest the door. The room seemed frozen for a moment as everyone stared at her. As it thawed, one by one the rest approached and made the same oath and then filed like a herd of sheep into the great room of the castle where the servants laid out a massive feast.

As the last left the room, Toren stepped to her side and touched her arm. “You handled that well sister. Better than I would have. I believe you indeed have what it takes. Markene is in good hands.” He turned and looked at Kellinar, still loitering near the side door. “Do we stay for the feast, or should I get the few things I have gathered and prepare to leave now?”

Kellinar motioned toward the great room. “I don’t know about you, but I haven’t eaten yet today and I have every intention of enjoying the food Markene has to offer.”

Toren smiled and offered Kalila his arm. “May I escort you, my queen?”

She nodded and looked back at her younger sisters who stood in a confused bunch, looking to their mother for direction. “Come along, girls. I don’t believe you will find much help in mother, she appears to have given up.”

Reluctantly, they left her side and moved toward Kalila. Her mother watched them go and turned the other way, leaving through the side door. The mages and Defenders arranged themselves around them as they moved into the great hall.

Kalila ignored the sting of her mother’s departure and moved to the head of the high table, taking the tall-backed chair. A servant approached her, hesitation in her every movement. She set a bread board on the table and curtsied low. “I beg your pardon, your majesty, but is what you said about magic true?”

Kalila nodded at the woman. “Please stand and tell me why you ask.”

The servant stood, her eyes on the floor and hands clasped tightly in front of her. “My…my son. He made a ball of light out of nothing two months ago. I have kept him hidden, terrified for his life. I know I should have turned him in but…” she looked up at Kalila then, desperate tears shining in her eyes. “He is my only child. I couldn’t…”