Page 21 of The Dragon Queen
His eyes found mine again, staring at me with dark eyes that never needed to close. “I’m dreading this for a lot of reasons.”
“What are those reasons?”
“Besides your safety, I don’t want to see how my homeland has changed. My memory has preserved it as it was, a warm paradise with olive trees and red geraniums and wine with good people who enjoyed good music and danced until the sun peeked over the horizon. The grand hall was lined with portraits of the great men who came before me. The maids would cook our meals. But occasionally, my mother would make us dinner, and her cooking was simply the best. Perhaps the people were nice to me simply out of respect, but it seemed like their love and admiration were real. The markets flourished with more than just produce and fresh fish, but pots and portraits and colored rugs. There was always an excitement in the air, a joy that was infectious. Children could explore the streets and alleys on their own in complete safety. The only crime we had was petty theft, usually pickpockets in the streets. Their punishment was mild, serving as free labor to compensate for what they sold. Murder, rape, violence…weren’t too common.”
I listened to every word, imagining a world so different from my own. Even when my father was king of Scorpion Valley, he’d still had to make hard decisions all the time. Had to decide how to punish men who decided to ignore the laws of the land. I’d never witnessed the violence, but I knew my father had regularly sent men to their deaths. Talon’s description made his homeland sound like a mythical place that belonged in a dream.
“I don’t want the horrors I find to destroy that memory.” He bowed his head. “For all these years, I’ve told myself it hasn’t changed at all.”
“Even if it has changed, your memories never will. That’s something he can never take from you.”
He gave a slight nod, but his eyes still possessed their sorrow.
“And you can restore it to what it once was.”
His eyes remained elsewhere, and he became lost in thought once more.
It was a pain that I couldn’t fix, a sadness that I couldn’t carry in his stead. But there was nothing I wouldn’t give to make it all go away.
Once the galleon was stocked with all the supplies they’d gathered during their run, it was turned over to us. We would deliver everything to the Southern Isles and disembark from the ship at the dock. Talon knew the way back to the island, so he would take a small fishing boat to the meeting spot in an alcove to the east and meet with the galleon.
We gathered our supplies then met with Ethan and Queen Eldinar and Uncle Ezra at the end of the dock.
Ethan gripped Talon by the shoulder. “She’s a good ship with a good crew—and you’re in charge.”
“Thank you.”
“I’d join you, but it would be unwise to leave in all this chaos.”
“I understand.”
He nodded toward me. “Your woman has a hard spine. I see why you like her.” He winked then walked down the dock back toward the mainland.
Talon turned to Queen Eldinar, but his eyes flicked away more than once. He was a confident man who didn’t shy away from direct eye contact. Whether you were with his friend or his opponent, he stared you down. But it seemed like he couldn’t look the queen in the eye for more than a few seconds. “We’ll return when we have the information we need.”
“Take care of yourself.” Her gaze shifted to me. “Both of you.”
“We will.” Talon gave a nod before he approached the ladder on the side of the ship.
Uncle Ezra came to me, dropping his guard now that Ethan had walked off. He gave me a slight smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Please be careful.”
“I will.”
“You’re brave, and your father would be proud of that.”
When the softness entered my lips, I pressed them tightly together, caught off guard by the emotion that his words provoked. We rarely spoke of my father. “Thank you.”
His hand went to my shoulder, and he hesitated before he brought me in for an embrace. His palm flattened in the center of my back between my shoulder blades, and his chin rested on my head. His armor was so hard it was difficult to believe there was flesh underneath. The touch was brief before he stepped aside and let me go.
Queen Eldinar moved her hand to my shoulder. “May Riviana be with you.”
“Thank you.”
She smiled before she removed her hand.
I climbed up the ladder and joined Talon on the deck. He was already working with the crew to prepare the ship to depart. The last thing I wanted to do was be on a ship again after such an arduous journey.
Talon moved to the wheel while the crew untied the ropes and lowered the sails. The enormous ship started to move, and Talon expertly guided the ship through the cove and between the galleons that had anchored in the waters. He called out orders to the men to turn the sails and change their height, and once we were out on the open sea, he full speed ahead.