Page 55 of The Last Dragon King
The king was an impatient man, I’d learned, but that only made me want to make him wait longer on me.
After I finished my transformation, I stepped out of the thick bushes, breaking some of the branches on my way.
‘Perfect day for flying,’ the king said when he saw me.
I gave him the equivalent of a dragon snort and eyeroll.‘Remember, my Royal Guard contract states that if I die, you must bring my body back to my mother in Cinder Village.’
He chuffed,‘I would never let that happen, Arwen.’
I sidled next to him, giving him a long side look.‘Now you care whether I live or die? You’ve come along way, my king.’
A month ago, he’d imprisoned me and threatened to kill me. I was determined to never let him live that down.
‘I told you, I regretted my actions from when we first met. I thought you were here to kill me!’he snapped.
Shooting my wings open, I pumped them as I fast as I could.‘Nope, just a girl from Cinder Village who can’t fly!’I kicked off the ground at the last word before I could lose my nerve.
Terror shot through me as the wind resistance pushed against my wings. I faltered, but Drae’s voice was in my head to comfort me.
‘You’re doing great, just breathe and focus on your wingbeats.’
I sucked air in through my dragon nostrils and then looked down to see Drae directly under me.
‘I’ll catch you if you fall.’
Shaking my nerves off, I focused on what his wings were doing. Up, pause, down, pause, up, pause. I mimicked what we were doing, which was a lot slower, smoother, and controlled than my frantic fast flying.
‘That’s it,’he said.
“Go, Arwen!” Joslyn’s voice from down below reached me and I grinned.
Drae veered to the left, heading for the farmland outside the palace gates, and I swallowed.
‘Are you sure?’I asked him.
Only select members of the Royal Guard and house staff knew about my transformation powers. To fly over farms would get people talking. Only a full-blooded royal dragon could transform.
‘I’m prepared to address questions about you and your abilities,’was all he said as we flew over the castle gates.
I’d never flown this far, or this long, but I pushed away my anxiety and followed him. We glided over rows and rows of wheat, then the golden fields turned to purple lavender, and finally he began to descend over a group of willow trees.
We were maybe a half hour walk from the castle. It had been a nice short flight. Not too long for me, but just enough that I felt confident and wanted more. As we lowered, I peered down to see where he was taking us and my heart leapt into my throat.
Between the circle of four giant weeping willows were a handful of gravestones. One was large, as you would have for an adult, and the other four were small.
Four children.
This was where Queen Amelia and his unborn children lay.
‘I don’t know why I brought you here,’he said suddenly in my head as he landed before the small graves. A basket of clothes was beneath one of the trees, and I wondered if it was because he flew here often and then shifted into human form.
I swallowed hard, landing roughly next to him, trying not to fall over as landing was not yet something I had mastered.
I didn’t know what to say yet, so I just stood beside him, staring at the solid green jade headstone with gold engraved writing.
Her Majesty, Queen Amelia.
Beloved wife and mother.
