The Dragons of Cinder
DAPHNE
For a moment I simply stare at the space the witch inhabited, her words winding around my brain like rope around a tree.
“Magda has never been one for long, drawn out, visits,” says Celeste, her statement traveling over me like a trinkle of silvered tongue comfort. “But just out of curiosity, what did she say to you?”
My shoulders stiffen, shock finding me as I turn on a heel and fix the Queen of Cinder with a bewildered gaze. “You were here. I find it impossible to believe that you were not listening, Majesty.”
Celeste smiles, all lips and no teeth, her braids swaying like golden ribbons as she negates her head. “Oh, I was most certainly listening. And I did hear most of what she said. But… not her last words. Those, I assume, she meant only for you. As she spoke them in your native tongue. Her native tongue. It is not a language any that are not of the same flesh may listen in on.” She cocks her head, something like envy burning in her gaze. “Yet another power that your kind possesses above all other Fae. It is an ancient tongue. One of origins. One that cannot be taught no matter the length of time spent learning it.”
With a gasp, I think of the book. Of how the words changed for me. Rearranged themselves. Became something I could understand. Something I could decipher. I nearly swallow my tongue when I realize what it is that she is telling me. The witch spoke to me in a… different language? One of her birth? And I simply understood it?
“This is all so very strange to me,” I breathe out, not really certain why I reveal so much in front of this powerful stranger.
She shrugs, non-committal. “ The important thing is that you,” she tilts her chin upward, her eyes flashing with a swirl of dark gold fire, “heard Magda’s words. Understood her wishes. You know what you must do.”
Swallowing thickly, I venture a glance toward the tent’s flap as thunder rolls above with a vengeance. Ash… he is angry.
Celeste nods as if privy to my thoughts. “The prince of Smoke and Fury is distrustful. Your arrival in the Realms is a secret only to those not in your mother’s confidence. However, the pulse of power was felt in every realm when you crossed, nevermind that most know not the source. But,” she pauses, leaning forward as if to share a great secret with me, “your people know. They will have felt it. When a Queen returns, Fae magic burns. And I promise you this, little darling, they are waiting for you. After all, you are the love that was vowed.”
My eyes heat, my back prickling. “My people?”
She chuckles, standing again and making her way toward me with a blaze of excitement in her eyes. “They have suffered long and remained hidden. Ash, your boy prince, he thinks you belong to him, and… you do. But not in the way he presumes you to.”
“I see,” is my reply, but I'm not entirely certain that I do.
Celeste reaches out, her sharp claws glinting in the light of the candelabras as she strings her fingers through my hair. “When the time comes, he will not take you where you need to go. But… I can. And I will.” Then she smiles, her eyes flashing as her pupils narrow into reptilian slits and then back into pitch black orbs, absolved of any reflection whatsoever. “But only if you can do something for me in return.”
“You want to bargain with me? I thought you said you were my mother’s friend.”
She shrugs, the tempered slight rolling off her shoulders easily. “You are not you mother. Our rapport has yet to be established,” she dictates. “Perhaps I shall tell you what I need from you first, and then you may decide. But either way, we must keep this pact secret. A promise between queens.”
Lowering my gaze, I think of Diana, cold and alone under the torture of faeries. My sweet, beautiful sister whose idea of fun was the simple brushing of her hair. She needs me. And I need her. Despite that we may not be of the same flesh. We are still connected by a lifetime of love and I will not abandon her.
This Queen of Cinder, this Celeste. She is quite frightening, and in such a way that boasts of great power. It couldn’t hurt to have her on my side. Especially in a land where I am very, very new and know nothing of the world and ways. I think of Celeste's reptilian eyes for a moment, and I am reminded of something Petra spoke of when we traveled from the Woodland Realm to Ash’s land of Fury Rekyr.
Dragons of Cinder.
I meet her insurmountable gaze with one of cool understanding. “You are a dragon,” I whisper and her grin widens.
“I am. One of the oldest there is. There are many things we can accomplish as allies, little darling. A great, many, many, things.
Mother trusted her. The witch, Magda, trusts her.
Isabel always told stories of valiant winged beasts that fought alongside the Fae, although she neglected to mention that they were Fae.
I think of Ash and how much angrier he will be when I add yet another secret to my belt. What will he say when I depart from this tent with so little to speak on?
Aquini’s words fill my ears, ‘Yours is the power of all the realms’, and I suddenly remember, my life is my own. It does not belong to Ash. If I truly am a queen… then I need not answer to anyone.
I raise my eyes and at the same time I feel a soft glow erupt somewhere deep in my back. Like a fuse begging to be lit. Celeste grins slowly, as if she can see the decision being made behind my eyes and she already knows.
“Tell me,” I say with a confidence that I don’t altogether feel. “What do you need me to do?”
She smiles, the turn of her lips curving upward so smoothly I almost wonder if I’m making a mistake. “The tithe is coming, my dear. And with war just behind it, I will need a suitable sacrifice. One of royal blood.”