“What is it, Shi?”
“The black dragons are rulers of both dragonkind and mankind. This lady is descended of Draneth the Wise through his youngest son, Jintau, and Princess Jora of Elderland. Lady Zallra is noble, magical and powerful. Do not underestimate her, Luc, and treat her with great respect,” Shilayla advised.
Luc didn’t really follow most of the lineage stuff, but he understood the general tone of respect and awe. Shilayla had never reacted to anyone quite like this.
Of course, Luc had never seen a dragon turn into a person before. That was high magic, indeed.
Lilly was amazed at the appearance of the woman where the dragon had been. She blinked a few times to be certain she was seeing right.
“Join us, Lady Zallra,” Candace invited, motioning to the chairs vacated by the standing knights. They had risen as soon as the black dragon had approached and now stood with their heads bowed just slightly, in respect.
Lilly stood and bent slightly in the unique blend of curtsey and bow, as she would have to Alric, though she kept her eyes up, as befit her warrior status. The woman nodded and took the seat between her and Candace that Hal had been sitting in. Hal moved over to sit down the table, next to his fighting partner, Jures.
“Please sit,” Zallra invited Lilly and Luc. They sat, as did the knights, and plates were shuffled down the table so Hal could finish his meal. A smaller plate with sweets was placed in front of Zallra by one of the youngsters who received a kindly smile in return.
“I once traveled to Alric’s city in my youth,” Zallra told Lilly, speaking directly to her for the first time. “His father was King, then, and Alric not even born. Of course, I was still a child, myself, traveling with my family. I will be glad to revisit the place and see how it has fared all these years.”
Lilly looked more closely at Zallra and realized she must not age like normal humans if she claimed so many years. All that dragon magic must prolong her life and her vitality.
“Your pardon, milady, but do you intend to travel back with us?” Luc asked.
Zallra nodded. “I do. It was foreseen that you would come and that I would go with you. It is the entire reason I volunteered to be part of my Queen’s Honor Guard when she came to Draconia with her mate, the Prince of Spies. I don’t know why, but I need to go with you to the Blind King’s domain, though after what you just told us, I believe it has to do with the Alchemists and their evil intention of breaching the Citadel. For that is a place all dragons are sworn to protect.”
“They are?” Lilly asked, wide-eyed.
Lilly had thought she’d been sent by Alric to the Veil to get the fair folks’ help. She had presumed they were the guardians of the Citadel. Could it be that it was their heartmates, the snow dragons, who were the real protectors? Or were they both responsible for the task?
Lilly decided to shelve that thought for later consideration. Right now, this woman presented an unknown quantity that might interfere with Lilly’s quest…or aid it. She needed to learn more.
“You said it was foreseen,” she addressed Zallra calmly. “By whom?”
Zallra looked Lilly straight in the eye as she replied. “By me. I have the gift, though probably not as strongly as your King. Among the Jinn, the Blind King’s powers of foresight are well documented.”
“If I may be so bold, what else did you see?” Lilly asked. She knew what Alric’s visions sounded like when he described them to her. Maybe she would be able to discern whether or not this magical woman was telling the truth by her description of the vision she claimed to have had.
“The white dragon and myself, in my dragon form, flying side by side toward the city I had known in my youth. I see threats on all sides. Enemies hiding among friends. Armies gathering all around, preparing to attack. We must stop them.”
Everyone at the table seemed to be holding their breath as the dragon-woman spoke. Finally, it was Hal who broke the silence.
“Do the Jinn know how far it is from here to there? Our maps aren’t that accurate, I’m sorry to say, for anything that far east.”
“The journey by air will take several days,” Zallra pronounced. “We will start out tomorrow. I have studied the Jinn maps in preparation for this journey. I have known I would be making it for some time now, and I’ve been taking steps to be ready. My bags are packed. I was just waiting for you three to arrive. Rest tonight, and on the morrow, we will set forth.”
Luc wasn’t sure about this woman who claimed to be a seer. Although she was undoubtedly magical, he had not been aware that there were people who could become dragons. He would consult with Shilayla before he went much farther down the path this strange woman wanted to take them on. For all he knew, she could be leading them into a trap.
“Shi, what is your take on this?” Luc asked silently on the pathway that joined his soul to his heartmate’s. “Can we trust her?”
“Yes,” Shilayla answered at once. “All dragons protect the Citadel. It is our sacred task, entrusted to us by our maker. Lady Zallra is half-dragon. She could no more break that trust than I could, even though her other half is of human-wizard stock. Though, the Jinn are known to be tricksters, at times. She may tease you, but her dragon’s heart will always beat true. We are made that way. We cannot go against our basic nature.”
“Are you absolutely certain?”
“Luc, heartmate, have you ever seen, or even heard of, an evil dragon?” Shilayla posed the question, and Luc thought hard about his answer.
She was right. There was no such thing as an evil dragon in his experience. Moreover, he’d never even heard any hint of a story about a dragon doing evil deeds anywhere in the world. Even though all his own experience was with snow dragons, he knew that even the wild ones were, at heart, good and noble creatures.
“So, you believe her and think we should follow her lead?” Luc asked, just to be certain, though he knew Shilayla’s answer already.
“I believe we must,” Shilayla answered promptly. “We need some sort of guide to get us back where we need to be. I do not know these lands, and though I could fly in the general direction of home, it would be much faster and simpler to have someone along on the journey who knows exactly where we need to go.”
Luc, Lilly and Shilayla spent the rest of the evening in the great hall talking with Hal, Jures, Candace, Zallra and a number of dragons, including Tilden and Rue, of course. Almost every dragon in the Lair, Hal told them, had come in to see the snow dragon, and the most adorable little baby dragon—Tilden and Rue’s child—had come into the hall and sat with her parents, peering out from behind their wings to stare at Shilayla.
Finally, Shilayla reached out to share one of the melons from a big basket a thoughtful server had put near her. Shilayla rolled it over to the dragon-child, who had caught it under one of her little talons then promptly raised it to her mouth to chomp noisily. After that, the little one seemed less timid around Shilayla, and eventually, she got brave enough to sit with Shilayla and share in the basket of melons.
Luc didn’t know what they talked about, but it was clear the little dragonet was chattering away at Shilayla for a while, probably asking all sorts of questions, if he had to guess. Dragon children were as curious, in their way, as any other children, and he’d grown up with Shilayla at his side, the both of them always asking questions of their indulgent elders.