Sighing, he dragged a hand through his hair and yanked it from the tie. The strands pulled too tightly at his scalp when he already had a blistering headache. “What is it?” he spat.
“There’s more, Sultan,” Abdul replied. He pitched his voice low as if what he was about to say would anger Nadir.
It likely would. Everything did these days when there wasn’t an icy woman next to him soothing the anger in his soul.
“Out with it then.”
“The King of Wildewyn has requested another audience. He would like to end the war before it begins.”
“What war?”
“The one we started when the Beastkin attacked us. Wildewyn is standing by their… animals.” Abdul carefully chose the one word that would get under Nadir’s skin. “He wishes to speak with you directly and come to an understanding, apparently. The messenger he sent wasn’t particularly forthcoming with his king’s plans.
He was too tired to deal with this. Nadir squeezed the bridge of his nose. “I am also uninterested in continuing a war that will only hurt both of the kingdoms. Return the messenger to the king and tell him so. We will not be launching any other attacks upon his kingdom unless they attack us first.”
The advisors stilled. One whose name he couldn’t even remember cleared her throat. “Tis a little too late for that, Sultan. The people are calling for blood once again.”
“Our last battle ended with nearly the entire kingdom being burned to the ground. Or do I need to remind them that dragons fought above their heads only a few moons ago?” He lifted his hands and slammed them down on the table. “It is our duty to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
Abdul shook his head. “The only way to ensure that is to make sure there isn’t another dragon to attack us out there. Until then, there will always be the threat that she will return.”
“Must I remind you that she is my wife?” Nadir’s words cracked through the room and slammed back down on him in an echo he couldn’t get out of his mind.
His wife. Sigrid. The woman who had awoken his soul, and then betrayed it with a simple action that made him want to both wring her neck and drag her back to his side so she wouldn’t be subjected to war again.
He shook his head and continued, hissing the words at his advisors in hopes they would understand he refused to budge on this. “I will not speak of this again. If there is a war to be had, then we will talk of it then. But until the moment Wildewyn is on our doorstep, I will not entertain the idea.”
Abdul leaned back in his chair with a sadistic smile that Nadir knew all too well. It was the expression the old man wore when there was a fight to be had, and one he knew he would win. “That’s just the case, Sultan.”
“What?”
“The Wildewyn King’s messenger also stated there wasn’t any choice in the matter. That the king himself will be coming to Bymere, and that he asked the Red Palace be ready to accept him. Whether we are willing to host him, or not.”
Gods. This was the king he’d met who seemed so cool headed? Nadir had only met Hallmar once, but the man had seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. He’d admired the king’s grasp on politics and how easily he twisted words into something that could be conveyed as kindness but were really an insult.
How could such an intelligent man be so foolish as to think he could waltz into another kingdom without repercussions? Especially a kingdom that desired a war with his.
Nadir leaned his forearms against the table and stared down at the smooth marble. “Why would he do that? Someone, explain.”
Abdul drummed his fingers against the table. “It is our impression that he wants to show Wildewyn is capable of handling a war. Such an act can only be viewed as a threat.”
Anger simmered beneath the surface of his skin like a living creature, writhing and coiling until he could barely think. “That would be a foolish thought, and I don’t think Hallmar is a fool.”
“Why is that?”
Nadir didn’t know if Abdul was asking why he thought Hallmar wasn’t a fool, or why it would be a foolish thought. Either way, the answer was the same.
He looked up from the table, sensing his eyes heat. He knew they had shifted from man to dragon. The yellow gaze sweeping across all his advisors and membrane flicking down over the color to wet the slitted orbs.
“Because we have a dragon. And no one threatens a kingdom with a dragon to protect it.”
3
Sigrid
Wind stroked her scales with the lightest of touches. This was when she was most comfortable, when she was most confident. Nothing but the clouds and the air. No one to distract her or who needed her attention.
Sigrid drifted on a current of air, wings stretched open wide and eyes scanning the valley so far below her. The clouds obscured the visions of emerald green waves every now and then, but that was all right. She enjoyed looking at the puffy white clouds as well. In a way, they were soothing. Although they were sometimes disorienting, it also meant that very few people could find her up here.
Camilla’s legs tightened at the base of her neck. There wasn’t much but spines for her friend to hang onto. Just a few flimsy handholds, and that meant it was a little too easy to fall.
Not that Camilla couldn’t just change into an owl. The time it would take to change would save her from a plummet to her death. But still, it was frightening to not be in control.
Sigrid craned her neck to glance back at her sister. A smile twisted her snake-like lips when she saw Camilla had her arms outstretched and her head tilted back. The wind twisted in Camilla’s braided locks and made her shirt billow out around her like a cape.
It was a beautiful sight. And one she needed before they began to land in Greenmire Castle. This was why she was doing all the work. Every small bit of responsibility was worth it when she could see her sister happy like this.
They were finally, finally free.
She focused on landing them safely on the cobblestones in the castles center courtyard.
The white marble spires of the castle stretched up around them with delicately carved arches lifting up to mimic the tall peaks. Trees tangled through the carvings, giving the entire castle an otherworldly look. Both castle and nature were linked together in a way that no one else could mimic. It was beautiful, and it made her homesick for a time when Camilla and she would run through the halls of this place as children.
They hadn’t been free then, although it had felt a little bit like they were. The Earthen folk had tolerated the Beastkin children with wry smiles and empty threats when they misbehaved too much. But they hadn’t ever struck the girls as they might have their own children.
Now, Sigrid saw that it was still a life of captivity. They were looked at with a fondness in the same way someone might look at a pet.
The insult still stung. She had seen these people as an extended family who had appreciated her. Who had wanted to take care of her, and make her happy.
But the older she had gotten, the more she realized her childish fantasies were far from the truth. Letting go of that illusion was far more difficult than she could have ever imagined.
Landing hard on the rocks, she huffed out a breath and lowered her head so Camilla could dismount. They’d have to figure out a better way for them to travel together. Sigrid actually liked having someone who wasn’t an animal with her.