Dragon Born

Chapter 17

As promised, Halle took me for a tour around the grounds--the garden edition. Jesse’s tours in between my responsibilities were very informative, and they had been a saving grace in helping me find my way around the castle, but Halle’s tour hit a special place in my heart. We gushed over the flowers and herbs in the many plant beds we explored. I taught Halle the medicinal properties of some of the plants, while she told me which ones she favoured for her poultices and the magical properties they possessed.

We managed to end up in the Queen’s garden, which Halle assured me we were allowed to be in, despite its secluded location and the guard at the bottom of the stairs.

The garden sat atop the tallest tower; one half viewed the expansive Hister Ocean, while the other side viewed the city, from the harbour and its markets, to the red tiled homes safely contained within the walls. Beyond the walls, the plains stretched on and on, walls of a few of the neighbouring villages visible from this height.

Amongst it all, high in the sky, the Princes and their dragons practised their aerials. I spotted Daemon and his deep blue scales instantly. He moved in big, broad motions, wings eclipsing the sun as he caught the wind. He was a prime example of an apex predator and his rider was just as competent in the saddle. All I could see of Quinn was his hair, which was usually dark in the castle lighting, but today it shone like a beacon.

Raiden hopped on the nearest bench and stretched his wings out, mimicking Daemon’s positioning. He leaned into the breeze, a little growl rippling through his jowls, much like how the dragons were growling in the sky.

Halle joined me and smiled fondly at Daemon and Quinn. “He’s so dreamy, isn’t he? I know a lot of the other women prefer Camden or Alaric, but I think Quinn is the hottest. My mother told me to marry a man who could make me laugh, and I heard he has a great sense of humour. Life is too short to take it seriously all the time, don’t you think?”

“I. . .” I bit my lip, fighting the flush threatening to climb my cheeks. She hadn’t the slightest idea that I had feelings for Quinn, whether they be mixed or confused or flustering. She was speaking her mind and talking about handsome men, as women do. But did it have to be Quinn? “I suppose, but you can’t marry a man who doesn’t take anything seriously, either. How can you know if he takes your love seriously?”

Her head rotated stiffly and she fixed me with a concerned frown. Guess most people just agreed with her and moved on. “You’ll see it in the things he does, not necessarily in the things he says.”

“Oh.”

I peered up at the dragons and considered her words. Thought back to all of the things Quinn had done for me since we first met. He might have gotten carried away with mine and Raiden's future, but he did it because he cared. He wanted us to live as he did, to be waited on, fed by the finest chefs, to bathe in glorious tubs.

He had been nothing short of kind and supportive of me. When most men would abdonish the trousers I wore, the field I worked in--the very fact I walked around with a sword--he embraced it. Encouraged it, even. Not once had he ever asked me to change.

Everything he had done, he had done for me.

Daemon broke away from their formation--and angled directly for us. Halle gasped, standing rigid beside me. “They’re coming.”

The dragon made no indication of slowing down his rapid approach, either. His form grew bigger by the second, his shadow engulfing the tower and forming a pit in my stomach.

Having no idea what was going through Quinn’s brain for him to remotely think this was a good idea, I took Halle’s hand and urged her away from the edge. Raiden followed us to the open hatch and our only exit. I readied myself to throw her and the dragonling down the stairs if I had to.