Page 11 of The Dragon Queen
“He gave me what I needed to reclaim the throne…but only at a heavy price.”
He tilted his head slightly as he waited for me to share the truth.
“I will not live long enough to enjoy my victory. It’ll be fleeting and swift…and then be gone.” Captain Blackstorm was the only human friend I had in this world. My one friend was an elf, and the other was a dragon. And I would never insult Calista by calling her a friend when she was so much more than that.
He said nothing, absorbing that announcement with hollow eyes. “You agreed to the terms, so that must have been what you wanted.”
“When I sailed to Bahamut’s lands, I was a different man than I am now.”
“You’re right,” he said. “I can see it when I look at you. I can’t put my thumb on what’s changed, but everything has changed.” He continued to stare at me with a gaze of pity. “Nothing can be done?”
An invisible hand squeezed my heart and nearly crushed it. “Something can be done, but I’m not sure I can do it.”
“If it were me, I wouldn’t hesitate,” he said simply.
I smirked slightly, imagining if I were the one he had to betray. “I doubt that.”
“I’ve lived longer than any pirate because I’ve never hesitated. Think about yourself, Talon. Everyone else can be damned.”
I bowed my head, the guilt suffocating.
“Just do it, Talon. Don’t think about it.”
“You shouldn’t give advice when you don’t know the task.”
“Because I don’t want to know,” he said. “I just want you to live. I want you to rule from the throne that was stolen from you. I’ve been trading at the Southern Isles, and the place is not what Iremembered as a kid. The Southern Isles used to be the pinnacle of beauty and prosperity. Now, it’s a place of ruin.”
I lifted my head and stared at him, my heart heavy with ache. “What do you mean?”
His eyes were steady on mine, his pulse visible in his neck. “You don’t know.”
I flicked my eyes back and forth across his face.
He didn’t answer me, letting the silence hang between us.
I didn’t press for an answer because I wasn’t ready to hear it. Wasn’t ready to discover what had happened to my homeland, the place I still visited in dreams. With its mighty oak trees, its olive trees in the courtyard, the grapes we harvested from the fields with pride. I wanted to show it to Calista, but now, there was nothing to show her.
“What do you need from me, Talon?”
I stared at the tankard I hadn’t touched, remembering the nights we would spend here together, talking surface-level bullshit for years…until I’d told him about Vivian. “A hundred ships sail here from the north.” I lifted my gaze to his. “I need a place to house my army before I move for the Southern Isles.”
He released a loud sigh before he chuckled under his breath. “A hundred ships…that’s ten thousand people.”
“Approximately.”
“You think we can accommodate ten thousand people?” he asked incredulously.
“If I sail anywhere else, my uncle will know my intent,” I said. “All I have is the element of surprise. He assumes I died decades ago. He’ll be unprepared for my army, as well as my vengeance.”
“Perhaps. Or perhaps he’s heard the same tales as I have…”
A rock dropped into my stomach.
“And he’s been waiting for this moment as long as you have.”
I swallowed, suddenly terrified I was leading my people into a trap.
“I will host your men, not because I want to, but because I have no choice. We both know I’m no match for the army you bring to my shores.”