Page 4 of Shadows of Light
“It’s time you get used to a new type of queen,” Lexi said.
Before Alina could reply, a loud thud came from outside, and the earth quaked. When the walls rattled, Lexi looked at the open ceiling above.
Dragons roared as they soared overhead, but that’s not where the sound and vibrations came from. When another thud reverberated outside, more dragons bellowed as they broke away.
“What—?”
Before she could finish her sentence, the doors at the end of the hall flew open, and Brokk rushed inside. “There’s a giant in Dragonia! We have to get you somewhere safe.”
Lexi scooped Belindo into her arms as she rose. “I’m not going anywhere.”
A few feet away from her, Brokk skidded to a halt. “You can’t be out and about while a giant is loose in the realm.”
Lexi held Belindo against her chest as she threw her shoulders back and met Brokk’s aqua-blue eyes. His blond hair was in tussled disarray around his handsome, dirt-streaked face. More dirt and blood stained his green, fae tunic and pants.
Lexi debated his words as Belindo nuzzled her chin. She’d let them keep her hidden because she wasn’t ready to face the world. It had been cowardly of her, and she wouldn’t let it continue.
This washerrealm; if a giant was here, she would deal with it. “I’m the queen of Dragonia and the Shadow Realms. I willnothide. Besides, if the giant was here to fight, there would be more than one, and is there?”
Brokk frowned at her before reluctantly admitting, “No.”
When Belindo let out a tiny roar, a puff of smoke spiraled from her nostrils. The look on Brokk’s face was one of amusement and awe.
“Cute dragon,” he muttered.
“The story of her existence is interesting,” Lexi said.
When Brokk went to touch Belindo, the dragon gave him a disgruntled look and growled. Belindo looked about as intimidating as a grasshopper, but she was trying, and, one day, most would tremble before her.
“And that is?” Brokk inquired as Belindo relented to his petting behind her ear.
When another thud sounded from outside, Lexi sighed. “I’ll tell you later. Now, let’s see why the giant is here. I suspect it’s their queen.”
“Where is their queen?”
“You and Orin worked to release the prisoners from the Lord’s dungeon; she wasn’t there?”
One of the first things Lexi did as queen, even before she went upstairs to scrub herself clean and put on clothes, was order the release of all the Lord’s prisoners. Standing there, naked and drenched in blood, she watched as one lycan and a dwarf trudged up from that monster’s dungeon.
There were countless other prisoners at one time, but the Lord slaughtered most as soon as they entered the dungeon. The blood for the Lord’s fountain had to come from somewhere, and he’d used his enemies to feed it.
Now, the dungeon was crammed full of the Lord’s men. She had to order their execution, but the idea of giving the order turned her stomach.
She wasn’t ready for that, and while letting them sit down there wallowing in uncertainty was also unkind, the Lord’s men belonged there. They’d helped that monster terrorize countless others for centuries.
“I didn’t see a giant queen below, and I doubt they’re easy to miss,” Brokk said.
“They are easily detectable,” Alina agreed.
“She wouldn’t fit down there anyway. It’s the largest dungeon I’ve ever seen, but there’s nowhere to put a giant.”
Lexi shifted her attention to Alina. “Do you know where the giant queen is?”
“I do,” the speaker replied. “It isn’t good.”
“Of course it’s not,” Brokk muttered.
“Is she alive?” Lexi asked Alina.
