Page 31 of The Dragon Queen
King Barron remained quiet, looking down the table between his sons to the opposite end where other guests would be sitting at a dinner party. “Kael, we made a deal with Astaroth and the rest of his kin. Until that is fulfilled, he will not leave.”
Kael looked at Jairo again, like that was his best effort.
“Then let’s fulfill this oath,” Jairo said. “And rid their curse from our soil.”
For a man who sat upon the throne and safeguarded a city of people, Barron was deeply apathetic. “Until they find the Realm of Caelum, the alliance must remain.”
Blood rushed to my head like I’d stood up too quickly, when I was still confined to the cupboard. A jolt of terror and nausea flooded through me, and it was so potent it made me flinch. I nearly knocked the door open accidentally.
They didn’t hear the commotion or were so deep in the conversation they didn’t notice. “And when will that be?” Jairo asked. “Because our people are dying or starving. We’ll run out of food and will have no way to bribe the soldiers who serve us. I don’t think you understand what’s at stake here, Father. Your body hasn’t changed, but it seems like your mind has.”
King Barron flashed him a cold stare. “Astaroth believes they’re close in their discovery.”
“How close?” Jairo demanded.
King Barron didn’t answer. “And if the Death King moves against us, we need Astaroth and his kin to fight with us. The dragons are only submissive because of their dark magic. And without the dragons, we’re not strong enough to face a king that rides upon a black dragon and commands the dead.”
“Talon Rothschild is not the Death King?—”
“I believe otherwise.”
“Your guilt has festered into paranoia?—”
“I feel no guilt for taking what is mine.”King Barron raised his voice slightly, giving his first sign of emotion all evening. “Bolton Rothschild’s line never should have had the throne in the first place, not when their ancestors broke their oath to the Ascension of Kings.”
“If you believe Talon Rothschild is the necromancer, then why not fly to the Death King’s lands and burn him?” Jairo questioned. “We take our army of dragons across the sea and confront him with an army he can’t defeat. An army of the dead can’t touch the sky. Whether the Death King is who you suspect, let’s be rid of him.”
King Barron stared at his goblet before he grabbed the bottle of wine and refilled the glass. He took his time, drawing it out as he considered his answer.
“Once that’s done, we aid in the search for the Realm of Caelum. Astaroth and his kin get what they want, and we get what we want. Our soil will heal, and our people will flourish. You’ll be regarded as a hero who defeated the famine.”
King Barron took a drink before he licked his lips. “Perhaps you’re right, Jairo. Maybe it’s time we took matters into our own hands.”
Jairo looked at Kael, who stared back with a renewed vigor in his gaze.
Their mother remained indifferent, like this eternal life had only imprisoned her in misery.
King Barron took another drink and stared down the table like the conversation was done.
I’d learned so much that evening. If I’d tried this the following night or the one before, I would have missed all of this. Just watched a silent table.
The butler returned to the room with his hands behind his back. “Your Majesty, Astaroth has returned from his travels and wishes to have a word.”
Jairo looked at his father. “Perhaps he has good news.”
“Perhaps they’ve found their beloved tree,” Kael said.
The mother appeared numb to all of it.
“Leave the room,” King Barron said. “I will speak with him here.”
The sons gave no protest. The mother rose from the table with cheeks the color of snow. They all walked out and left King Barron alone at the head of the table.
I felt nervous, like I was the one who was part of the conversation.
Several minutes passed, and in that time, King Barron sat there alone, the fire in the hearth against the wall burning with a gentle flame. There were portraits on the wall, him in his king’s uniform, along with his sons in their own portraits.
WHAT’S HAPPENING?