The Dragon and the Queen by Kaitlyn Davis
Lyana
As Lyana stood, the king eased back in his chair and flicked his gaze toward his new son-in-law. Disgust curled her lips. Not only was he an arrogant prick, but he was an arrogant prick who let others fight his battles for him. In him she saw nothing of her mother, the determined princess who'd won Aethios's heart. Where she was shrewd, he was sloppy. Where she was strict, he was callous. To speak to them like that…to speak to Xander like that—there was nothing she wanted more than to put her uncle in his place.
But she had to be smart.
Though she could lock down the entire palace if she wanted to, the amount of magic a feat like that required was immense. The god stones already trembled precariously in the sky, and the last thing she needed was to prod them along. No, the challenge here would be to get to the sacred nest using as little magic as possible.
She needed to be precise.
She needed to be controlled.
This is just the sort of test Malek would love.
Inwardly, she groaned. Outwardly, she stepped forward, uncaring as the hummingbird to her right unsheathed his sword. He attacked swiftly, using his speed to his advantage. All Lyana wanted to do was take the king's sword and raise it in a block, to feel her muscles heat as she fought to defend herself, but Malek had been right all those days ago in the arena. She didn't need daggers or bows or weapons any longer.
Shewas the weapon.
And it was time to make everyone in this room understand that.
As Prince Jayce swung his rapier toward her throat, Lyana touched his soul and thought, Stop. The blade halted mere inches from her neck. Unable to see the horrified look in his son-in-law's eyes, the king sighed.
"As I said," he drawled. "You don't have a problem with the gods. You have a problem with self-importance."
The edge of her lip quirked in what she knew must have been an evil grin, though her voice came out as sweet as hummingbird nectar. "Do we?"
Without a backward glance, she sidestepped the sword and continued toward the door, leaving the prince frozen behind her.
"Jayce," the princess muttered. When he didn't respond, didn't even move, her voice went up an octave. "Jayce!"
Lyana didn’t need her magic to know Corrinne was reaching for the delicate dagger strapped to her hip—they were cousins, after all. With a little bit of aethi'kine power and a silent command from Lyana, the princess stopped cold, her elbow by her ear, poised to strike. A strangled gasp escaped her lips, and the king launched to his feet.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Still seated and with a perfectly calm voice, Xander said, "I believe we are winning the test."
"Guards! Guards!"
Four came bursting into the room with their swords raised, then stiffened. Lyana bid them step aside as she approached, and they parted smoothly down the middle. Unhurried, she strode between them and into the hall.
"Stop her!" the king shouted. "By whatever means necessary, stop her!"
Grasping on to the spirit of the wood, she slammed the door behind her and cut him off. With her magic simmering just beneath the surface, she could sense the spirits hastening toward their king's garbled cry. Compared to the mages she’d dueled against, these men and women would be easy to stop. The hard part would be finding her way to the sacred nest. As soon as they'd landed in Cytrene, Lyana had felt the subtle pulsation of power emanating from the god stone, the current growing stronger and stronger as she'd neared the castle. Once inside, she'd heard the faint chirping of birds and known the nest was close. But where? And how to find it?
Guards poured through the halls.
Lyana stopped them with a thought.
As daggers flew, she simply gripped the spirit of the metal and cast them aside. The archers started hiding along the balconies or out of sight through opened doorways. Clearly, they didn’t understand the walls did little to hide them. She gripped their souls like all the rest, leaving a trail of statues in her wake. All the while, the king's voice echoed down the halls.
"Stop her! Stop her!"
Lyana was reminded of her afternoons in Da'Kin as Malek parted the crowds of excited citizens with hardly any exertion at all. At first, she'd marveled at his skill. Now she understood that human spirits, especially magicless ones, were all too easy for her to control. Of course, in Da'Kin they'd been willing and watching her with veneration as Malek gently guided them aside. Here they were lunging for her throat. But she was no longer afraid—of using her magic, of showing it to the world, of being herself—and fearlessness was a power all its own.
Lyana grinned when she stepped into the next room. The entire wall was lined with windows, and through them the location of the sacred nest became abundantly clear. It was in the courtyard, open to the elements yet shielded on all sides by the palace walls. The intricate metal cage arched in a towering dome, beneath which a peaceful grove lay, filled with trees and flowers and, most of all, birds. She stepped outside, lured by the sight and the sudden pounding of the god stone. It was as though it sensed her magic and wanted her near.
A priestess stood waiting by the gate. Her intention had probably been to guard the entrance, but Lyana reached out with her power.
Let me inside.
The woman obeyed.
Lyana stepped through the gate, forgetting the guards and the priestesses and the wager the moment her gaze landed on the subtle crimson glow sifting through the trees.
The god stone.
Ignoring decorum and throwing aside her unruffled ruse, she ran. Already, she could sense the fire magic burning inside the stone, a blaze that only grew as she neared. Just like the other two divine relics she'd beheld, it hung suspended in the air, exuding godly glory. The difference was in her. Unlike before, Lyana now sensed the power pulsing through the sacred nest—her first true sight of rift magic. A thousand rainbow strands ran through the stone in every direction, a power unlike anything she'd ever felt, a power she couldn't even begin to understand. Perhaps she should have been afraid or hesitant, but with Cassi's confession in her head, she threw caution to the wind. If they were eggs, she had to know. If they were beasts, she had to be prepared. One way or another, she needed the truth.
Ignoring the subtle prickling on her skin, Lyana pressed her palms against the radiant ruby stone. Heat stole her breath as fire magic surrounded her. She lost herself to the power. An inferno blazed, but it didn’t burn. There was no pain. This was the pure, potent might of Erhea, the god of love, enveloping her in a divine embrace.
Except it wasn't.
No matter how much she wanted to believe, Lyana knew the truth. Her gods were real. Her faith was strong. But they weren't in these stones. They were watching from somewhere beyond her reach, guiding her from afar. Right now they whispered, It's time—time to rip off the blindfold and understand the real enemy she'd soon be facing.
Lyana reached inside the stone with her magic.
Something answered.
Flames exploded within her chest and ignited along her veins, until every inch of her body felt on fire. The pain shocked her still, her nerves so frayed she couldn't move or run, couldn't even think to break free. The spirit was unlike any she'd ever touched, human but not, forged in a furnace and fortified by an inferno that would melt even Vesevios in its blaze. This was the power of dragon blood, and she cowered before it.
"Lyana!"
Was this what Malek had withstood when he’d grasped that dragon's spirit? Was this what now shared Rafe's soul? Her chest constricted. Her skin blazed. Her blood ran like lava through her veins.
"Lyana!"
The ground trembled and she wrenched her hands from the stone, stumbling back on unsteady feet until a comforting embrace steadied her.
"Lyana," Xander murmured softly. "Are you—"
"I'm all right.” She cleared the daze from her eyes as she returned to the real world and stifled her magic. He gripped her around the shoulders, keeping her upright until her legs found the strength to hold her weight. Concern filled his eyes, but the truth would have to wait until later. She turned her attention to the king staring at her in horrified awe. "When the gods speak, not every mortal has the strength to listen. They are speaking to me now, and they say the test is done."
"What sorcery is this?" King Dominic demanded, his golden hair now disheveled from racing after her down the halls. "How did you hold back my men?"
"The divinity of the gods."
"I don't believe it."
"You don't have to," Xander said. "But you do have to keep your word. The test is done, and we passed. Now, let's make good on our wager and return to the crowd waiting outside so you can tell your people exactly what we told you. The gods will it, so who are you to stand in their way?"
"I should gut you," the king seethed.
Xander simply shrugged. "You're welcome to try."
Lyana tuned out the rest of the conversation as they made their way back through the palace. Xander was more than capable of handling the politics on his own. Her mind was still caught in the sacred nest, consumed by the god stone. Cassi had been right. They were eggs, and the creatures growing inside them were more powerful than any spirit Lyana had ever touched. They were the real enemy—and she had no idea how to stop them.
She came to in the middle of the king’s speech, not entirely sure when they'd stepped back onto the front steps of the palace or how long her uncle had been speaking. The crowd listened raptly, and the fear rising from their souls had brought her back to the present. With her magic barely contained, she couldn't help but feel their panic and their fright. So, just as she had with the ravens, Lyana released a wave of her healing magic. The golden embers cascaded over the onlookers, soothing their spirits and calming their aches. With each passing moment, the tension eased. They listened. They trusted. And her magic helped them believe that somehow, she would make it okay.
A few faces among the masses looked at her magic in mystified awe, as though they could see the glittering sparks and recognized them for what they were. After spending their lives in hiding, she had no doubt the mages would keep their observations silent. But as she took note of those few knowing looks, a new idea emerged. It would be risky and challenging, but when had that ever stopped her? If she succeeded, it would be worth it, because one thing was certain—against those creatures, she would need all the help she could get.