The Raven and the Dragon

Chapter Ten

"Thank you, my lord." Alicia smiled. It was the sort of smile you used in court, but Bo could sense real happiness, real gratitude under the polite façade. "Thank you."

The king led their group as they were escorted out of the room. He looked back over his shoulder at them. "Are these all members of your court?" he asked.

"No, not all of them. This is Botan Dhyr, our court mage, Nimah Sudani, Solomon Obote, Eve Bowen and...Kit. Just Kit."

"She's paying three of us," Nimah said bluntly. She still seemed shocked, but her smile was openly bright and excited. "Not Kit. We found him. It's an honor, your majesty. I had no idea..."

"Most don't." Bo thought he heard a smile in King Gideon's voice. "And I won't ask you to try and keep it a secret. I doubt anyone would believe you if you told them."

He wasn't wrong about that. No one was going to believe any of it, no matter how much Bo might insist he was telling the truth. They'd say it was a hallucination. The mountain air had gotten to him, or starvation. Bo would've been considering those options himself had he not just eaten, bathed, and slept well for the first time in a long time.

That, and I'm not imaginative enough to dream this up. Not by a long shot.

They were lead to a different doorway behind the gem-and-gold filled pool, deeper through the mountains. There were no windows; only torches, tapestries, and sculptures, all of similar subject matter to the ones he had seem earlier. The hall eventually lead to a door, and that door another circular room. This one was smaller, but no less impressive. The walls were more roughly-hewn, but that was counteracted by the gems visibly protruding from various parts of its surface. Even in that uncut, unpolished state, they were indicative of great power and wealth. There were even hints of metal ores running through the wall like trails of dust after falling stars, but those were more difficult to see. There was a large, blocky throne on the wall directly across from them. It looked as though it had been carved directly out of the mountain stone as they were clearing the room. There were other smaller, but still impressive chairs along the walls; four to the right of that throne, four to the left. Only one of them was occupied. A woman with dark skin, grey hair, and eyes that were clouded over with cataracts sat immediately to the right of the throne. Despite that cloudiness, Bo thought for sure she could see them as they stepped into the room and stood in its center.

"This is she?" the woman asked.

"It is." King Gideon looked at the woman as he sat down, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he did. There was fondness in that expression. "Will the rest of the council be arriving soon?"

"They'll arrive when they arrive. You know how these things are." Bo was surprised to hear a hint of scolding in the woman's voice. Was she his mother? That was the most likely explanation; only a family member could use that tone on a reigning monarch. "Come closer, Daughter of the Raven Isle."

Alicia didn't hesitate to step forward. Bo almost tried to stop her, but he knew he didn't have any say on the matter. He couldn't interfere, no matter how much he worried about her safety. He watched carefully as Alicia stepped forward until she was within arm's reach of the woman. This allowed her to reach out, resting the heel of her palm against Alicia's forehead. That wasn't the reaction Bo had expected, but Alicia didn't seem to be in any kind of pain. The woman spoke in a soft voice; Alicia replied just as quietly.

That shouldn't have bothered him, and yet there he was, picking at the hems of his sleeves and wishing he could hear whatever it was they were talking about. He felt like a child standing in the doorway, watching the adults speak and feeling sure it was about you. Bo tried to tell himself that private conversations like this happened all the time in the court—he was never really privy to everything and never had been. But he had just seen a dragon transform into a man. Once the sense of wonder faded, nothing about the situation felt safe or trustworthy.