Xandrie felt the same buzz she’d felt when her power had alerted her to the Feral dragon who attacked Rhey, and when she’d connected herself to Claws and called on his power to dispatch Janive.
She could reach the dragonling, if only she allowed her magic to create a circuit that flowed in and out of the thrashing mother. She laid her hands on Galdia’s belly, willing her pulse to drop and her magics to rise. She needed to be present, but not get in the way of the magics that flowed from whence all magics came: the Source. The fire rose in her, calm and soothing, a column of sheer peace. It emptied itself out of her left hand, where her rune glowed bright, into Galdia and then on to meet her thrashing dragonling.
As soon as Xandrie made the connection with the tiny creature, she felt how passionately it wanted to be in the world. It was coming at them, ready to fight and had no way of understanding that the fight might kill his mother. Xandrie let the cerulean braid of energy coil about the child and soothe his battling spirit. The little one calmed. She could have sworn he sang, but she couldn’t stop to ask; she needed to keep him calm enough to come into the world without sending his mother from it.
“Deep breaths.” Demelza mimed the breathing pattern she wanted Galdia to imitate.
Demelza looked up and smiled at Xandrie.
“Now, push. Hard as you can. You’re about to meet your dragonling, Galdia.”
Xandrie bent to Galdia’s ear and whispered. “Galden is on his way.”
“Really?” Galdia sobbed. “A boy?”
Xandrie nodded.
Galdia heaved until she was beet red and her dragonling came into the world, a feisty wee thing with a set of lungs to rival an opera singer. Demelza scooped him up and handed him to his mother, and everyone, her included, cried again and again.
They’d only made it out of the room when her friend cornered her outside, accusingly saying, “I could see it going wrong. You did something.”
Xandrie nodded.
“Dragons are animals - and animals are my thing, I suppose. I felt like it needed to stop moving so much, and I was able to make him do so.”
Demelza was practically shaking.
You’re going to be here, every time, to do exactly what you just did, I want your hands on birthing bellies. Swear you’ll help me.”
“Just you try and stop me.”
They were her people to care for now, too.
King Rhey Vasili couldn’t stop grinning. The woman who was to be his Queen had come to his Kingdom with nothing to recommend her but her wits, and in only three months she had saved all their lives, trounced the competition, won The Claiming, and now saved a dragonling and his mother. He’d hoped his partner might be any one of these things - brave, fierce, talented, to say nothing of beautiful - but he got the full package. He eyed the crown he was to place on her head. The gems encrusted around the rim sparkled almost as bright as his bride-to-be’s eyes. Almost.
The Nobles were assembled in their ancestral seats, but the Cathedral was packed to the rafters with people of every class. His household – the servants, the Guard, even Ramog his curmudgeonly head chef – all loved the woman he adored and wanted to be there as she became their Queen.
Xandrie stood tall and proud, ready to walk down the aisle to her throne and claim her title. The music filled the ancient halls and Rhey readied himself for what promised to be one of the happiest moments of his life.
Garald thundered into the hall ahead of a contingent of Warriors, every man of them oozing terror and bravado and their willingness to fight to the death. “We’re under attack,” he yelled. “We need the King out of here, now.”
Rhey turned to see where Xandrie stood, desperate that she not be in the line of fire.
The huge, wooden doors to the hall were thrown open. In the archway, a mage hovered, the energy about her glowing and crackling and bursting with life. Her hair flew about her shoulders and her eyes bore into him, rooting him to the spot. Though he was unable to turn his head, Rhey swiveled his eyes to his left and then his right. Garald was frozen as his bear self, teeth drawn and fangs extended. His entire Guard were immobilized, just as he was.
The mage flowed toward him, her feet barely touching the ground.
Rhey fought the bonds that held him in thrall, desperate that the mage not reach Xandrie or harm her in any way. He’d only just found her, he couldn’t lose her. He sharpened his will and plumbed his dragon power and managed, finally, to put one foot in front of the other.
Xandrie stepped around him, apparently untouched by the mage’s spell. “Talia?”
To the shock of the whole Kingdom, their future Queen’s arms flew around the shoulders of the single strongest magical entity they’d ever encountered; stronger than the enemy which had almost killed them all at their borders. More astonishing yet, the mage’s arms circled her frame and squeezed as hard as she could.
“You’re here,” the stranger whispered against her neck. “You’re really alright.”
Relief and delight were both evident.
As quickly as it had taken them all, the spell keeping them in place released their limbs, and Rhey sheathed his weapon, ordering his men to do the same.
Beaming, his bride was pulling the mage who, now, didn’t look all that terrifying – she was a young woman who walked a little awkwardly, tripping over her own foot. Her gaze never met anyone’s, other than Xandrie’s.
“Talia,” she said, pointing to him, “meet my future husband. You made it just in time.” Then, she added, “Rhey, this is my little sister.”
Right.
So, when she’d meant that her family was powerful, what she’d actually wanted to say was that someday, they would rule the entire world.
Two weeks ago
It didn’t make sense. Not even a little bit, actually. Every time they repeated their inane story, Talia’s head hurt.
She’d come with news - great news - but she’d wanted to tell it to her sister first, and she wasn’t there. Her parents told her about demons, dragons, and other such crazy things that didn’t belong in Malek.
After a while, she lifted her hand, and the words stopped.
Oops.
She forgot, now, how much power she had at her fingertips.
“Sorry. Please be quiet. Aleria, would you tell me what happened?” she asked her older sister.
The blonde beauty smiled sadly.
“You won’t like it. Darsen the oaf tried to rape Alexandria, then accused her of being possessed by a demon, because she pushed him back with fire. Father and Mother took his side. She was imprisoned, and sentenced, too. They tried to torture her. They couldn’t. Finally, she was rescued by a dragon; we all saw it fly away. No clue how that happened.”
That was plainly said, and made a little more sense; not a lot, though.
“Dragon?”
Aleria shrugged.
“No clue how that came about, but at least she didn’t get drowned. I don’t think she’s dead. I’ve done location spells and they had worked for a time - now, though, they’re vague, as though some shield is protecting her.”
Talia nodded.
“Come on there was no proof that…”
She lifted her hand again, this time intending to shut her mother up.