The Rise of The Dragon Queen

Chapter 11

Dralnith led me to the library. I chose to sit down at the table, but he didn't sit with me. Instead, he walked toward the window and looked out at the dragons that were still collected in the garden.

"We got new intel," he began. "The squad I sent to the border returned with some terrible news. It seems that the queen has been stationing men at the border wall. When the dragons fly over, they are shot out of the air and injected with something while they're down. After that, it seems like they no longer have minds of their own."

I remembered when Vixia and I crossed over the border wall and they tried to shoot us down. I then thought about the lifeless eyes that all of the other dragons had.

That must be why they were so different.

"Is there anything Vixia and I can do to help?" There was silence for a moment. Dralnith turned around and I saw the serious expression on his face. His eyes seemed to pierce through me when they met mine.

"I've been wondering something about you. If it's true, then you are helping already."

"What is it?"

"You were imprisoned at one point, weren't you?" I felt my shoulders stiffen at the question. My face and the tips of my ears began to burn as I looked down at my lap. Memories of laying on the cold floor came flooding back.

Do I lie? How the hell am I supposed to respond to that? Unable to find an answer, I remained silent.

"Ketsuna, you have no reason to fear me. This is a serious question, and I need you to answer it honestly. I promise I won't do anything like that to you." My gaze wandered from my lap back to his face. While he still looked serious, I could tell that he was being honest with me. I finally nodded.

"Yes, I was. I don't know why, though. I was freed when a dragon came in and burned the whole village." To my surprise, Dralnith let out a relieved sigh.

"I see. The dragonlord has returned to us. Although, you are not exactly what I envisioned when I read the documents about you."

"Wait, dragonlord? What do you mean?" Dralnith walked over to me and sat down across from me at the table. He clasped his fingers together, resting his hands on the tabletop in front of him.

"Long before my rule, a being was created from magic materials provided by the dragons. My father, the king of Draladen at the time, was determined to make a being that could reign in the dragon's power in case of an emergency and keep them safe. Not long after the project was completed, Draladen was invaded by Zaledrid. Zaledrid's king saw creating a being with that much power over the dragons as a threat. So, when Zaledrid attacked, they took the young dragonlord with them. We hadn't been able to locate them since, at least not until now."

Over the course of Dralnith's story, I had focused my eyes on his hands while the words ran through my mind. When he unclasped them, my attention was snapped back to the reality before me as I looked at his face.

"How can you be so sure it's me? Aren't the dragons friendly to everyone?"

"I wasn't sure at first either, but since you came to Draladen, the amount of dragons that have headed into Zaledrid has decreased. Combined with how you interacted with the dragons before, I know there's no mistaking it. Ketsuna, you are the dragonlord that we lost."

"Wait, this doesn't add up. Then why was the village I was kept in on Draladen's side of the border? Also, if I am the dragonlord, why did they throw me in a prison in the first place? Why didn't they just kill me?"

"Zaledrid held that territory previously. They abandoned the area after the attack that set you free and built the border wall beyond it. Also, if they had killed you, the dragons would have gone after anyone that harmed you. You are made from them, so they are your kin. I assume the guards started treating you poorly, considering how everything was burnt down."