The Blood King

Chapter 14

Cassian

Twenty Years Ago

"Cassian watch me, watch me!" Aurora screams at me from across the fields. I smile nodding my head, watching as she jumps from the small cliff into the water below. The splash is small, but she is instantly above the water swimming and giggling, having the best time of her life.

The palace is peaceful today. My mother and father are busy getting things ready for the banquet tonight as well as the arrival of the other kings and their families. Though my father is the high king, they still rule their own lands and provinces. And one day his rule will be passed on to me.

I look to the castle behind me. It's truly one of the most magnificent castles ever created. Aurora screams behind me and I immediately turn to see her staring at a frog with a huge smile on her face. I can't help but smile at her curiosity. She has black hair like our fathers and I, and the very thing that distinguishes her as a dragonborn. Her eyes. Black and red.

My sister is younger than me by ten years. She came as an accident but she has been the prize of our lives ever since. From the moment she was born she has been stuck by my side. And will always do everything in my power to protect her and set a good example for her. I know that she admires me. It's the least I can do as her brother.

I look up to see the leader of my father's guard coming towards me. He has a serious expression on his face, which can never be good.

"My Prince, your father wishes to see you. He says it is urgent," he says. I nod my head looking over to where Aurora is. I walk over to her, kneeling on her level. She has managed to capture the poor frog and is now talking to him. I can't fight the smile that appears on my face.

"Aurora," I call out her name as I grow near. She looks to me smiling as she holds the frog to my face.

"I'm going to call him, Tony!" She shouts. I raise my brow in question.

"That's quite an unusual name," I say. She makes a face looking at the frog before shrugging.

"Well he's an unusual creature," she says. I laugh, looking over to where my father's guard is.

"Father has summoned me. Torren is going to escort you back to the grounds when you are done playing out here," I say. She nods her head in understanding with a large smile on her face revealing both of her dimples but her attention is captured by Tony. She looks back at him as I gently ruffle the top of her hair before walking away.

* * * * *

"So good of you to join us, Cassian," my father says as I enter the war room.

I look around to see men that I have grown up around my whole life and their offspring. My gaze narrows when I see Xavien. He's always been a troublemaker, keen on blaming me when he gets caught. I even see Hynden next to her father. She gives me a small smile as I pass by, bowing ever so slightly. Hynden and I have always shared a bond of sorts. She is as fierce as any man in this room. Her father never had sons, but he made sure to train his daughter like one. She will be a formidable queen one day.

I move to my father's side, acknowledging the room.

"Greetings," I say. They all bow to me and take their seats. Whatever this is, it must be serious for all of the surrounding kings to not only arrive in person but bring their heirs as well. My father is the first to speak.

"We have received word that there is tension rising in the flat lands," he says. I keep my face blank, but this is news to me. The flat lands are the lands below. The kingdom of the dragonborn have always been high in the sky, floating lands that are unreachable by those who are not one of us.