Unleash the Inferno (Heart of a Dragon Book 3) Page 11

  “What is it?”

  “I've been speaking to Lanier this afternoon. He told me that you were in need of recruits, and that you were heading to Ongalia on such a mission.”

  “What about it?” Kinna glanced at the table. Lanier sat at her right hand, silently nursing a goblet of ale, his bearded face staring unseeingly at his plate.

  “Lanier mentioned that the Pixie, Hazel, had offered use of members of her Clan. I had an idea that if we place her creatures in the vanguard for the ground assault against Sebastian—”

  “The vanguard!” Kinna exclaimed. “No!”

  At Ayden's confused look, Kinna lowered her voice. “Hazel did offer her Clan to be used in our military, but I don't intend to place her Clan in the vanguard.” She paused, considering her words before she spoke. “We may perhaps use the spy network in ClarenVale she has promised us, and weave members of her Clan through our army, but I will not draft her West Ashwynd Clan and place them on our front lines in a war which, I fear, cannot be avoided. We will have to attack, and soon. As Helga said, we must strike while Sebastian is scrambling to gain his foothold in Lismaria again.”

  Surprise flitted across Ayden's face. “Why would you not put to best use what she has offered? She has creatures from all walks—Dragons, Sirens, Pixies, Ogres, etc. They would be a great asset, particularly in our vanguard. Do you not wish for numbers?”

  Kinna shook her head. “Nay. Though Hazel has offered her Clan, she did not bring a contingent of her creatures with her. I have no idea of their wishes—”

  “But she is their leader—”

  “As Sebastian was ours, Ayden.” She hadn't meant to respond so harshly, but a lull in conversation occurred simultaneously, and several of those at the table glanced over. Kinna flushed, stepping closer to Ayden. “Do you think Sebastian took our wishes into account when he conducted the affairs of his kingdom, using his subjects as puppets?” she whispered.

  Ayden's mouth tightened. “Hazel is hardly Sebastian—”

  “Aye. But I don't know what those in her Clan wish to do. And until I do, I intend to use only allies from Ongalia to head our attack against Lismaria and Sebastian.”

  Ayden's silver eyes flashed dangerously. “Ally troops who are commanded by their own leaders, you mean.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Kinna's eyes widened in outrage.

  “Ongalians you go to recruit will be the commanders, lords over hundreds and thousands below them. Will they ask each soldier if they wish to join the Andrachen uprising? I guarantee you, they won't. That's not how the chain of command works, Kinna.”

  Fury choked Kinna. She wheeled toward the head of the table, steadying her shaking fingers against the wood grain. Everyone rose, and silence fell. Ayden had returned to his seat halfway down the table next to Hazel. His hand grasped his own goblet, but his attention was stonily on the plate in front of him.

  Kinna glanced quickly away, still furious at how he'd questioned her decision, yet embarrassed by the truth in Ayden’s argument. Leadership offered no easy answers, and though she knew she would never please everyone, she wished there was someone in this hall who could understand and sympathize with the juggling act of responsibility and command that was her ongoing burden. In the garden, she had hoped Ayden could be her pillar of support, her shoulder to cry on. Instead, he’d undermined her decisions and made her doubt herself. Again. Cedric was the only other one who could legitimately lay claim to the throne, and he had already left for Lismaria, so she couldn't seek him out and pour out her concerns to him.

  Kinna picked up her goblet.

  “To West Ashwynd and The Rebellion,” she called, willing her voice not to shake.

  “To West Ashwynd and The Rebellion,” the rest of the guests murmured. “And to the Andrachen twins,” Tristan added.

  “Hear, hear!”

  Everyone drank, and Kinna glanced at Cedric's empty chair. She felt so very alone. She's had no word from Lismaria as to the success of his mission, and dread weighted her stomach at the possibilities of everything that could go wrong.

  Kinna shifted her gaze to Ayden's implacable expression, and then at the larger gathering. “Thank you for coming,” Kinna said, as each person placed their goblet back onto the table. “Please, fill your stomachs with good food and your hearts with good company. When you are done, we will discuss the next steps we are to take in our war against Sebastian.”

  General hubbub and laughter echoed in the stone dining hall of The Crossings. A roaring fire in the fireplaces on both sides of the room cast little heat into the cold chamber, but ale flowed freely, leftovers from Sebastian's cellars, and it warmed the guests. Kinna saw no reason to limit the supplies. War was dark and comforts few and far between. Those present would be deeply entrenched in battle before much more time had passed.

  Her attention moved to Hazel. The Pixie's cheeks grew pinker with each goblet she drank, and her laughter rang louder as she chatted with Ayden. The Pixie had proved flirtatious since her advent to The Crossings. Kinna had caught her in private tete-a-tetes with two young Ogredimn who were staying at the castle, and when Ayden had entered the hall the evening before, Hazel had straightened from where she sat on a nearby bench, her gaze raking over him with interest. Since then, she had taken every opportunity she could to talk to him, touching his tunic or his hand each time she did.

  Kinna had ignored it at first, but as the day went on, she grew more and more irritated. She stared at Hazel now, who talked and laughed freely with Ayden, completely ignoring Joanna, Kinna's mother, on the other side of her. The Pixie and Joanna had been close at one time; Kinna wondered why Hazel ignored her now.

  Kinna turned her attention to Lanier. “Lanier, have you—do you know anything about Jakkob, the Ogredimn Helga is sending with Hazel and me to Ongalia?”

  Lanier washed a swallow down with ale and wiped his hand on his tunic. “I have seen the boy's skill, Your Grace. He has been sparring with some of my men in the courtyard.”

  At Lanier's expression, Kinna tensed. “What have you learned?”

  Lanier shook his head, his gaze not quite meeting hers. “I have learned, Your Grace, that Jakkob is one of the most skilled swordsmen I've ever seen, and that he will not let anyone forget it, either.”

  Kinna half-laughed. “So he is full of himself, is he?”

  “You might say that,” Lanier said, glancing at the lad who sat across from Hazel. “I have no cause to question Helga—she has usually been proven wise—but I wonder, now that Ayden has returned, if he might not go with you?”

  “And I should just leave Jakkob here?” Kinna asked. She considered it for several moments. She had no doubt that traveling to Ongalia with only Ayden and Hazel would go well. Ayden did not lack skill with a sword, and Hazel's Pixie charm would prove useful. But Jakkob would offer extra protection, and on an endeavor where the entire uprising hung on gaining Ongalia's alliance, she could not risk making mistakes. “Both Ayden and Jakkob will accompany us. Perhaps Ayden can take him down a peg or two.”

  Lanier's eyes twinkled. “I would dearly love to see them matched. Both of them have great skill with the sword; I would hate to wager on the difference.”

  Kinna glanced at Jakkob's surly expression, his thick eyebrows lowered over his food. He looked neither across the table at Hazel and Ayden, nor to either side.

  Hazel's movement caught Kinna's attention. The Pixie reached for Ayden's arm, gripping it with one hand, while she pushed a grape toward his lips with the other. Her wide mouth was parted in a giggle. Kinna's jaw cramped as she watched. Ayden calmly and firmly grasped Hazel's wrist and returned her hand to the table, releasing her arm as soon as he'd done so. He smiled politely at her before turning to speak to the person on his other side.

  Jealousy, angry and lurid green, spiked deep inside Kinna, and she felt a hot flush rise on her cheeks. Hazel was certainly not trying to hide her interest.

  Hazel popped the grape into her own mouth instead, sliding her fing
ers through her lips to lick them clean, her gaze never straying from Ayden, though he remained firmly turned away from her.

  Kinna tried to push her jealousy aside. She was preparing to embark on a mission with the Pixie, and they needed to be able to work in concert. If she allowed small grievances to flare up, it could ruin the mission, and that she could not allow. Hazel's Pixie charm would be invaluable in Lincoln's stead. Lincoln had to collect his daughter and return, though she did not know when, and Kinna could definitely use a Pixie, particularly in pleading her case with Lord Fellowes.

  But Kinna doubted herself. Once, she had made judgments, good ones, and they had usually proven right in the end. After the Channel battle, however, she felt tentative, fragile, as though she feared to breathe too hard in her position for fear of flattening the kingdom with an unwise decree.

  Tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them away, nodding at Lanier. “I plan to leave tomorrow morning for Ongalia. I'll send you word through the Dryads' trees as soon as I know what Lord Fellowes's answer is, whether he can convince King Bennjan to our side, and if we can make use of the Valley of Dragons in Ongalia.”

  “Aye, Your Grace.” Lanier bowed his head briefly. “I'll maintain our naval presence in the Channel and await your command to move into Lismaria with our men and creatures when you give it.”

  “Thank you, Lanier.” Kinna smiled at the man, whom she liked, despite his history of nearly blind loyalty to Sebastian.

  When the dinner guests were finally replete with food and ale, Kinna rose to her feet. “Honored guests, as you know, I plan to travel to Ongalia tomorrow to seek help from King Bennjan, their ruling monarch, and his nobility to help us wage war on Sebastian. His nobles, should I be able to recruit them, would offer many thousands of men to our efforts. As many of you have heard, my mother, Olivia, Queen of Lismaria, was Ongalian before she married my father, King Liam, and I go to seek support from her people. Moreover, within Ongalia is the Dragon Valley where thousands of Dragons have dwelt for centuries—including the Great Dragons of Aarkan's time. We go to seek their aid, with which we will launch an assault on Sebastian in his own chosen kingdom.”

  She looked across the table. The faces that watched her were open and willing, and Kinna suddenly found herself tongue-tied. She placed her hands on the table, stilling the trembling of her fingers, and nodded once, sinking into her seat.

  They trusted her. They would lay their lives on the line for her whim, for her judgment, because they trusted that she was the one to lead them.

  Imminent failure, like a yawning chasm, opened before her. She had not asked to lead, but leadership had been thrust upon her. Her paltry words of months ago—I want to start an uprising—laughed hauntingly at her now.

  She hadn't known what she undertook, and now that the people looked to her for leadership, she was terrified of subjecting them to pain, agony, and destruction once again... because she could not do it.

  She wanted to put her head on the table and weep.

  But she couldn't. They looked to her. She could not back away.

  At last, she'd found where she truly belonged, despite her woeful lack of experience. She was blood of the Dragons, Aarkan's descendant, and the name of Andrachen still held power in the hearts of the people.

  Kinna felt Chennuh's approval from his den in the corridors outside the main part of the palace. Her range had increased as she'd grown closer to the Dragon. At this point, she could sense his thoughts as far away as three fieldspans.

  She wanted to make sure all was in readiness for their trip tomorrow. She planned to put some blankets into Chennuh's den to create a makeshift saddle for Hazel and Jakkob—neither of them would have the heat-resistant Dragondimn skin she and Ayden did. And she wanted to talk to Jakkob about his plans after the Ongalian mission. Though Lanier had thought the Trolldimn full of himself, she hoped he might be able to promote Jakkob to leadership if he did well.

  Kinna gathered her gown and stood. When quiet descended, she smiled and thanked the audience for coming. “May the Stars guide our course,” she murmured, and they all pounded their fists on the table in accord.

  General shuffling and hubbub filled the hall again. Kinna nodded to Lanier, who had pulled back her chair, and sought out Ayden.

  He was not by his seat as expected. She found him near the doorway to the main corridor, his hand on Hazel's arm, his head bent close to hers as she blinked up at him with wide, curious eyes. His lips moved quickly.

  Kinna flushed, and the jealousy that had sparked before grew into a roaring monster in an instant. What was he telling her? He had disagreed with Kinna about the use of Hazel's Clan in the vanguard; was he expressly going against her wishes? Fury nearly blinded her; her vision tinted red at the corners. As she watched, Ayden led Hazel through the exit into the darkened corridor beyond.

  Kinna pressed her lips tightly together. She started to follow, but a hand on her arm halted her.

  Tristan smiled down at her. “I'm proud of you, Kinna,” he murmured, squeezing her shoulders.

  Kinna smiled, hesitating only a moment before wrapping her arms around her adoptive father and laying her ear against his chest. “Thank you, Papa,” she said, using a name she hadn't called him in years.

  “It's not every father who gets to watch their daughter mature from a mud-spattered imp with pigtails into the leader of an uprising, a queen in her own right.” His hand gently rubbed her back, and Kinna closed her eyes.

  “Even when she feels like she's taken on an impossible task?”

  “Especially then, Kinna.” He grasped her shoulders again, pushing her gently back, and looked deep into her eyes. “I am here whenever you need me, daughter.” His thick eyebrows pushed up in his lined forehead. “Any time, is that understood?”

  Kinna's lips turned upward in a smile. “Yes, Papa.” She kissed him swiftly on the cheek before turning to exit the dining hall.

  Tristan had pulled a soothing curtain across her fears, but they were still there, hiding behind her darkest thoughts. She sighed as she passed through the dark corridor and across the open throne room toward the Council Chambers on the other side. The torches were lit in the chamber, and Kinna assumed Ayden had gone there with Hazel. She was still angry over his bypassing her wishes and seeking out Hazel to speak to her about using her Clan in The Rebellion's vanguard. She did not doubt that such was the subject of their conversation.

  But she also wanted his comfort.

  She didn't understand how to be in charge. She felt at loose ends, overwhelmed beneath the cares of people who looked to her for decisions and guidance. For the first time, she felt a faint stab of pity for her uncle. He'd sat on a throne for so many years, bending the histories of the kingdom according to his whims.

  Cruelty littered his tradition.

  Perhaps she didn't feel so much pity for him after all.

  The glow of torchlight wavered through the cracked open door. Kinna reached the wood panel and pushed.

  Hazel's back was to her, her form plastered against Ayden's, her hands dug into his hair as her mouth locked over his.

  Kinna's heart stopped, and her gasp echoed in the room.

  Ayden pushed Hazel away, fury and disbelief tinging his features. “Kinna,” he rasped.

  “Don't—say—anything,” Kinna whispered. Her voice couldn't seem to push past her throat. Since the Channel battle, she had felt overwhelmed, alone, terrified of leading her people. When Ayden had come, she'd allowed herself the brief dream of leaning on him, gaining support during this difficult transition.

  She'd felt the distance when he'd returned, the lack of understanding, but she'd hoped to overcome it as they settled into the vagaries of leadership.

  But now—now it was all ruined. How could she lean on someone she couldn't trust, when he had failed to be the bastion of support for which she had hoped and waited?

  She turned and fled through the throne room to the corridor leading to the Dragon dens, her running feet
seeking Chennuh's den.

  Hurling herself through the opening, his heat welcomed her. He leaned his huge head over her shoulder as she threw her arms around his neck, and the rumbles in his throat comforted her as she cried against his scales for a long time.

  “Kinna, what you saw isn't what happened.” Ayden had found Kinna in Chennuh's den, and now he stood in the opening, one hand gripping the frame, the other in a fist at his side. “She cornered me and kissed me. Her—the Pixie charm she used... I can't resist Pixie charm as well as the Andrachen heirs. You can't—you don't honestly believe—that I would betray you like that?”

  “I don't know,” Kinna fired back at him, raising her bleary eyes from Chennuh's scales where she had buried her face. “You seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time to break it off. I was standing there forever before either of you noticed me. And,” she continued hotly, “if she was using Pixie charm, she'd stopped by the time she'd locked her mouth on yours.”

  Ayden forked his fingers through his hair, pacing in frustration. “Kinna, it—was an instant, just—it was the space of time between when she kissed me and when I recovered. I'm sure it must have seemed like an eternity to you, but that's all it was. An instant.” He stopped pacing and faced her. “I love you, Kinna. I love you. You know that—or I thought you did. You have to believe me.”

  Kinna raised her chin, swiping the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. “I don't have to believe anything, Ayden.” She smoothed Chennuh's scales beside her. The Dragon leaned into her touch, eyeing Ayden grumpily. Kinna abruptly whirled to face Ayden. “Did you go against my express wishes and talk to Hazel about placing members of her Clan in our vanguard as we attack Lismaria?”

  Ayden stared at her, his mouth agape. A long silence ensued. When he spoke, his voice was rough. “Is that what this is all about?” He took a step toward her.

  “Did you?” Kinna's fists balled the material of her gown at her sides. “Did you ask her or didn't you?”

  He sighed, running a hand through his too-long hair. “I did. But Kinna, because it was important for me—for Lanier—to know all that Hazel brings to our side. I wanted—”