Her power, her soul, and her energy freed.
Gone.
Ström has vaulted back down into the hole with me, standing quiet beside me as I heave a deep breath. As he raises an eyebrow at me, able to feel her energy is gone now, too, I heave a sigh, then nod for us to go. Bjorn is still up top; offering a hand, he heaves both me and Ström up from the shallow hole, so we can get going.
Moving back to where we left our stuff, we gather our fly-bags as we carefully step around the diseased trails in the grass left by the Black Dragon, then shift up.
Launching into the skies, we head for Stockholm.
The blue drakaina’s scale stashed securely in my taloned fist.
19
DANES
We arrive in Stockholm by mid-afternoon and are immediately admitted to see the Blood Dragon King. All the guards at the Grand Palace know Bjorn and Ström; me, they’re aware of, even if some of the younger ones haven’t seen me since the last time I was in residence here twenty years ago.
We are admitted to see King Huttr Erdhelm the moment we land, dressing in Kingsguard black buckled leathers now that we’re back in the palace. Our King is eager to see us and have our report, as the beautifully carvedsilberskraedoors of the King’s Throne Hall boom open now.
King Huttr Erdhelm turning towards us upon his low dais.
As we march to the dais at the far end of the hall, through the vaulted white elvish-meets-Viking space, I see King Huttr, his son Prince Halfdir, and a few of his highest chancellors and war generals are in conference. The King lifts a hand to his people, silencing them as we approach; Huttr and my cousin Halfdir rise to greet us, extending hands and shaking heartily with Bjorn and Ström.
I get squished into massive bear hugs by my uncle and cousin. I get the feeling they are beyond relieved that I’m still alive after everything we’vegone through. Dressed in black Blood Dragon military leathers with his medals and chains of office clipped to an enormous brown bear pelt slung over his shoulders, King Huttr growls as he hugs me, shaking me like a wayward puppy.
Halfdir is no less relieved as he embraces me; he’s dressed in black leathers similar to his father, but with a tawny snowcat pelt over his shoulders today. With his medals of rank clipped on his pelt, he’s wearing his best for the conference they’re in. It’s clear this is a war room we’ve stepped into; as the King motions for us to sit in three chairs up on the dais that his chancellors have vacated, we do.
The King motioning his people to go.
“Return in half an hour,” King Huttr says, and they nod, ushering out a side door so we can talk.
“So, what news?” King Huttr’s intense crimson-gold eyes pin us. Our King doesn’t ask us how we are, though we’re all dear to him. He knows a Blood Dragon’s life can be intensely hard, especially when we’re on an insane hunt such as he’s tasked us with.
A hunt we would have done ourselves, though doing it with our King’s support is far better.
“A lot has happened since we spoke last, Uncle.” King Huttr already knows about everything that went down at Jurggadden and has sent aid forces there, same as Jarl Eriksson did.
He doesn’t know how everything went down since we left for Magnussen country, however. I fill him in on all the most important points, as his and my cousin’s eyes get wider and wider.
As I tell him the details of our debacle atUnhaemmerten, then describe us being waylaid by Jarl Magnussen and how we got out of it by the Trial of Truth, our King sucks his teeth. We tell him of Jarl Eriksson’s loyalty in helping us, while Jarl Magnussen bordered on treason by detaining us the way he did, making us choose the Trial to get out of it.
Our King goes stony now as he hears of Jarl Magnussen’s deeds and attitude. When we get to the part of receiving the Icelandic drakaina’smemory via our Bone Magic, and how she saw Jarl Oggi Magnussen fly away with our identified enemy drakaina, our King is silent as graves.
My cousin Halfdir is also vicious as we finish with our sighting of the Black Dragon flying over Riksfold, giving our King its direction of flight, though we don’t know its destination.
As we end with our need to head down to Copenhagen, to trace Ström’s missing memories and find the thief woman who was liaising with our enemy Bone Mage, and see if we can get information out of her on the Bone Mage drakaina’s identity, our King’s scowl is tremendous. My cousin’s is, too, as I see Halfdir grip a buckle on his leather pants.
Both of them, furious to their bones at how all this is shaping up.
“I want you to know, none of you are to blame for releasing that dire energy atUnhaemmerten, which seems to give the Black Dragon more strength.” King Huttr has an aware glint in his eyes now as he regards us. “You were being lied to by forces we do not yet understand, but which we shall get to the bottom of, I promise. For now, what you three need to do is steer clear of Jarl Oggi Magnussen at all costs. I would have told you myself to take greater caution, heading up into Magnussen lands on your errand toUnhaemmerten. Except intelligence only reached me recently… that he is the most likely force behind the Jarl’s revolt against me.”
“Shit.” Ström’s quiet curse says it all, as everyone looks at Bjorn. If I thought it couldn’t be possible for him to hate his father more, I would have been wrong. An iron-hearted coldness has taken Bjorn again.
As I feel death move in him, right to his bones.
“My father has many crimes to answer for,” Bjorn says as he watches his King. “After our reception in Magnussen lands, I do not doubt he has been the center of all the revolting Jarl’s plots against you—to remove your strongest personnel at a critical time when there might be war. He was close to committing treason while we were there… especially with me. He wanted me dead, my King, no matter what your Blood Seal said, and he was hell-bent on getting it… despite every way I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don’t anymore.”
“Bjorn, my son, I am gravely sorry things have turned out this way with your father.” Our King leans forward, setting a massive but kind hand on Bjorn’s knee. “Know that you always have a place here at the Old Palace with me and my family—you are like a son to me, with all your hard work and care for this family, and now your life-bond to my beloved niece. I am glad you three found each other and that you seem to be making it work. I could not have chosen two better drakes to bond with my niece—though it took her long enough to see it.”
