Oh Maker.
Was that… was that totally inappropriate? Now I felt stupid and I prayed he’d think it was Kendal, although that was a stupid thought; she was still unconscious in a ball at my feet. An awkward silence stretched for too many minutes and I wondered if I should apologize.
I didn’t stroke the king like he was a horse! What in the Hades was I thinking?
When Jade City rose up in the distance, in my head I started gathering the words for an apology. We’d gotten here much faster than I thought we would, flying over hundreds of small stone cottages in the outer city. The solid wall of jade stone greeted us as we flew right over it.
Guards in the towers saw us approaching and blew a long deep horn, signaling our arrival.
King Valdren dipped lower, bringing the rooftops closer. I held my breath as I took in the view of this magnificent city. It was absolutely breathtaking. Children ran through the cobbled streets with flowers, pointing up at the sky. “The king! The king!”
Shopkeepers poked their heads out, and I tried to eye some of the crafts at the market, but we flew by too fast. Jade City had the most beautiful jewelry in all the realm. They were famous for their dragon fire-glazed glass beads. Even with the early hour, the city was bustling with activity, and as much as I wanted to sightsee, there was an urgent matter at hand. I was covered in a dead man’s blood, with Kendal now cognizant and quivering at my feet.
We neared the giant Jade Castle, appearing to glow a mint green from the sun’s rays. It was truly a sight to behold. Solid jade, five stories high, and wider than nearly all of Cinder Village. It was fireproof, arrow-proof, and just about everything else—the safest place in the kingdom. The king flew around the castle and to the back, near what appeared to be a training ground. There were stables and wide-open fields, and men running around putting on armor and swords. The call from the gate must have been a war call. Or maybe the king mentally called them. I did not know the range of his abilities.
He lowered us onto the grass, landing softly. A guard rushed forward, eyes wide as he took in my appearance. I was still clutching the king’s sword with white knuckles and was covered in dry, sticky blood.
“My lady! Are you hurt?”
I shook my head. “Help her first.” I pointed to Kendal, who popped her head up and looked around the courtyard at the men preparing for war. Her eyes grew larger than a barn owl’s, and her bottom lip shook.
“Let me help you down, miss.” The guard reached for her and she accepted his outstretched hand.
As he was helping her down, a short, sturdy woman with a sharp chin and brown hair that was pulled into a tight bun rushed forward. “Oh, my dear!” she cooed over Kendal.
I leapt out of the saddle like I was jumping off of a tall rock and stood before the king. He immediately started his transition back to human. His men took the saddle off of him and I gave him my back, unsure I could withstand seeing him fully naked from the front. I might faint like Kendal if that were the case. He stepped out from behind me wearing nothing but a baggy pair of trousers and looked down on me with an unreadable expression.
“Are you okay?” His question was full of compassion and concern, and I wasn’t prepared for it. I also wasn’t prepared to see the definition in his abs up close.
My heart hammered against my chest as I remembered sticking the human Nightfall warrior in the gut. I nodded, and then reached down into the grass, wiping his blade clean.
“Thanks for letting me borrow that,” I told him, deciding that an apology for stroking his skin now would be way too weird. Best we both forget it happened.
He cocked his head to the side, his green eyes flashing yellow as he appraised me. His gaze roamed over my leather hunting suit and the blood that covered it. “If I don’t make you my wife, I might have to put you in my army.” His tone was joking, but I couldn’t help the lopsided grin that graced my face.
Could I join the Royal Army? Become a Drayken? The thought opened up something inside of me that I never had before.
A dream. A possibility. A future with importance.
Before I could respond, the woman with the tight bun pulled gently on my arm.
“Come on, dears. The battlefield is no place for a lady.” The stout woman shooed me forward and I reluctantly followed after her, unable to get the king’s words out of my mind.
Was he serious about me joining his army? Because I would be so down for that.
“I’m Annabeth, the head housemaid here at Jade Castle. You must be the prospective wives from Cinder Village?” she asked Kendal and I as we walked away from the men running around with weapons and mounting horses. I wanted to turn back, to go out into battle with them at Gypsy Rock, but I knew it wouldn’t be allowed.