Crowned in Black: Chapter 52

For the first time in a thousand years, Litvy fell under the shadow of dragon’ wings. The newly freed Solonkratsu flew in dizzying patterns above the city, exulting in their newfound freedom as Karalti held court in the parade ground in front of Litvy Castle's Great Hall. My Queen stood tall as the flight leaders of the Eyrie garrison landed ahead of us, each dragon touching down and bowing their heads. Skyr Delmonte, Skyra Tanghe, Skyr Martens and Skyr de Neve all left their saddles as a unit, throwing rope ladders down to the ground to dismount. Once they were free of their dragons, the four of them - two male, two female - delicately stepped around us and went to pay their respects to Karalti.

"Hail, Queensrider." Skyra Tanghe, a handsome Jeun woman with tightly braided black hair, pressed her fist against her brow, then clapped it firmly to the left side of her chest. The others followed suit, saluting in the tradition of their Order. "We cannot begin to thank you enough for what you have done.”

“It’s our pleasure to finally break the Geas. Serving under Ororgael and Lucien was a guaranteed bad time,” I said. I stood at ease, hands clasped in front. “Needless to say, I’ve got some questions.”

“No doubt.” Delmonte reminded me a lot of Grigori from my vision. He was tall, with stiff, close-shaven blond hair and a hard jaw. His eyes were hardened, but full of grief. “And yes. Not only Lucien, but Arnaud as well. We lived as best we could, but who ever truly lives as a slave?”

“None of us knew when we joined the Order,” Tanghe affirmed. “And once we were bound by the Geas, our private thoughts meant nothing and could not be expressed. It's as if we lived our lives from a distance, watching ourselves obey any order the Knight-Commanders wished. I feel like myself for the first time since I took the Trials."

Behind us, the four dragons - one pearly white, one emerald green, one sky blue, and one a delicate rose color - lowered their heads close to the ground and partly fanned their wings, vibrating them as they crooned to Karalti in solicitation. Karalti rumbled back, and the four dragons crawled to her in submission. My Queen was a little awkward in the way she rubbed cheeks and twined necks with them, but the heavy, sweet perfume of her body and blood saturated the air with the scent of nightblooming flowers. The smell seemed to pacify the four dragons even more. The males - silver Ishilteth and rose Kivrakh - pressed affectionately against Karalti’s sides and huffed along her shoulders and neck.

“Ooh. This is flattering. And maybe a little umm… intimate?” Karalti somehow looked - and sounded - both extremely uncomfortable and extremely smug at the same time. “All this attention. My head’s gonna swell up like a big balloon.”

“Yeah.” A pang of jealousy distracted me from the words of the Skyrdon in front of me, but when I shook myself out of the fog, I noticed their attention was also drawn to the dragons.

"What is she doing?" Delmonte asked. "I've never seen Ishilteth act this way before."

"That's because your dragons have never been free. This is how males are supposed to act toward their Queen."Karalti turned her muzzle toward the group of us, her crests flaring. Delmote took a step back, as if expecting chastisement. “There’ll be a lot of changes you humans will have to get used to. From now on, this flight is no longer the ‘Order of St. Grigori’. It is the Shey’rhu Karalt’, the Flight of Karalti the Black Opal Queen. You all have nothing to fear from me - I know that you were all bound to the Diamond Pact, and your actions were not your own. But in my flight, my people are not to be seen as glorified battle mounts to serve the needs of humans. You will have to adjust to many of OUR needs. I will never permit my people to be enslaved again."

"Yes... yes, my Queen." Delmonte and the others saluted stiffly, slightly taken aback. Skyr Martens, the blue rider, looked to me. I smiled and discreetly pointed back to Karalti.

"Hector is your commander, but I am the leader of this Shey’rhu," Karalti continued, as her sisters pressed in against her, weaving their necks protectively as they stared down at their riders. "What happened to my mother, and her mother, and those before her... it will never happen again. But if you swear to us, we will lead both dragons and humans to a better future. One without geases or pacts or Drachan."

"Then it's true? The Deceivers really are returning?" Skyr de Neve furrowed his brows, glancing between me and Karalti.

"They sure are." I nodded. "And now that two of the Nine are awakened and freed from their prisons... it'll be sooner than later."

De Neve made the sign of Kyrie and Liric over his brow, and frowned. "Then we are doomed. If not for the Caul of Souls, we would have lost the Ancient War, and the world was teeming with dragons back then. And yet, they still lost. Now we have only a handful here. Over a hundred of our number were killed in Revala, and the Matriarch was too ill to be able to replace the riders. There are perhaps five hundred more dragons across the ocean in Lys."

"Yes. Lys already has a strong and unbound Queen, though she is very old. Isharet the Scarlet." Skyr Delmonte remarked. "The Lysan dragonrider customs were very different to ours."

Dragon knights in Lys? That stirred a vague memory, but I couldn’t remember where I’d heard that before. "Good to know. We'll talk about it later. For now, I want your affirmation that you swear to me and Karalti for the future."

"Of course, Commander. I swear my Flight and my dragon's wings to you." Delmonte didn't hesitate.

"We can never make up for the sins we have committed against Ilia, Revala, and her people," Tanghe replied. "But perhaps we can fight on the side of righteousness at last. I pledge my Flight and my dragon's wings to you, Queensrider Dragozin."

"And I." De Neve saluted.

"Skyra Tange speaks true when she says our sins cannot be purged. So if my fate is to die flying against the Drachan, so be it." Skyr Marten drew herself straight, and saluted. "I pledge to you, Queensrider Dragozin, Karalti the Black Opal Queen."

There was no alert telling me I had new units available in the KMS. I looked back to the five dragons inquiringly.

“We are in agreement.” Kivrakh’s rumbling voice broke into my mind. “The hatred of the Trauvin and those who serve them sings in our blood. We swear to our new Queen, daughter of Usta the Betrayed, and to you, Knight-Commander.”

[You have gained eight new Heroes: Cyril Delmote & Ishilteth the Silver; Aurelie Tanghe & Dayana the Blue; Erik Martens and Shimset the Green; Thibault de Neve and Kivrakh the Rose.]

[You have gained new units: The Dragon Knights of Shey’rhu Karalt (formerly the Order of St. Grigori)]

“That’s what I wanted to hear.” I sucked in a deep breath, and looked up toward the dragons still wheeling overhead. It was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen… and also one of the most intimidating. Not because of the dragons themselves, but because of the sheer responsibility they represented. We didn’t have an Eyrie, for one thing. And for another… Karalti would go into heat soon. Within a week. “Welcome aboard, Captains of the Shey’ru Karalt’. I assure you that we’re going to take it to the Drachan before the Drachan take it to us.”

***

I'd never set foot inside Soma's castle before. It had always felt like his territory, but now I trod the blue-carpeted corridors confidently as the whole lot of us made our way to Ignas. The guards in front of the solar saluted, then opened the doors ahead of us. Soma led the way inside. Karalti had shifted down and walked to my left, Suri to my right. Admiral Lostra, Ur Gehlan, Rin, Gar, Vash, Istvan… they had all come to speak with His Majesty.

The Volod sat at the head of the long table inside the solar, a blanket resting over his lap. Rutha was to his right in her wheelchair. Both their faces - the sighted and the blind - turned toward me as I strode ahead of Soma and made a beeline for Ignas.

"Hector!" Rutha opened her arms. "By the gods - I can't believe it! You and Karalti truly did it! The dragons, free at last! Do you have any idea what this means for Ilia? For the world?"

"Kind of," I replied sheepishly. I bowed to Ignas, even though he couldn't see it, and went over to Rutha to hug her, drawing a deep breath of her soft lilac perfume. When I leaned back, I realized she was dressed up, and she had some blue and silver lining her pale violet eyes. It was the first time she’d worn either her perfume or makeup since Violetta had thrown her limp, broken body from Tempest’s back. “You look great, Rutha. I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

Rutha flushed, and bit her lip. She glanced guiltily at Suri - but Suri just shrugged, and Rutha flushed harder. “I… thank you. I didn’t expect anyone to notice but… it seemed appropriate to doll up at least a little, given the scope of today’s victory.”

“Indeed. Not that I’m one to ‘doll up’ myself.” Ignas's head turned, tracking me as I stepped back from Rutha and turned to face him. The Volod still looked sickly, but his spine was straight, his sharp-featured face settled into dignified lines. He offered me a hand. “Congratulations, Hector.”

“Thanks.” I wasn't sure if I was supposed to shake it or kiss his ring or something, so I settled for giving it a soldier's clasp and leaning in to hug him. Ignas stiffened in surprise, then laughed as he reached around to clap me on the back.

"Ahh, my son. Remember all that ghora shit about you not being ready to be named prince of the realm?" Ignas grinned as I stood back up. He was still missing a few teeth. "Two miracles in as many days, Hector. You, Karali, Suri, Rin... all of you achieved the impossible. Myszno is safe, and Vlachia will soon be back in the proper hands. I cannot begin to thank you all enough."

"I'm only glad we were able to make out. Ororgael set a trap for us. And… uh… speaking of Ororgael…" I cleared my throat and turned to where the others were clustered near the door. Karalti, standing tall and proud, her lean, wiry arms crossed over her chest, booted feet planted solidly against the tiles. Suri, hands on hips, chin lifted with subtle pride as she watched us interact. Gar, who was pretending and failing not to seem emotional. Rin, who wasn't even trying to hide it and was dabbing at her eyes with a kerchief. Lord Soma, who was trying and failing not to stare at Karalti's ass. Vash and Istvan, shoulder to shoulder, Vash with his arm discreetly resting across Istvan's lower back. The top commanders of my army - OUR army. The Free Army of Myszno.

"I didn't want to tell anyone this while we were concentrating on the fight," I said, nodding to the crowd before looking back to Ignas and Rutha. "Because it would have distracted us from the battle. But Ororgael is dead. As in, really dead. And I’m not sure that’s a good thing."

A soft gasp went up from several throats, in front of me and behind.

“What do you mean, ‘you’re not sure that’s a good thing?’” Vash asked, taking a step forward.

"Because Lucien is worse.” I turned back to face him. “I didn’t kill Ororgael: Lucien did. The three of them tracked us to Solnetsi's Dragon Gate using Ororgael’s connection to the Pearl of Glorious Dawn.”

“Fuck. So that’s how they knew where we were,” Suri mused aloud.

“Yeah.” I nodded to her. "It was my fault: I should have realized the Pearl was still connected to him. He set things up that way. But even though he was gaming the system, there was one thing he didn't count on - that there is always a bigger, dumber asshole."

“Why would Lucien kill him?” Rin looked to me, then Gar.

Gar shrugged. “Why do power-hungry assholes do anything? They’re assholes.”

“Pretty much. But there’s more to it, I think.” I gave them a brief recap of what had happened at the Gate: the way it had been modified to use Solnetsi and Lirenian both to trap the dragons of Lirenian's line into the Diamond Pact, the battle, Lucien's betrayal, Solnetsi's release and the destruction of the Eyrie.

"The danger isn't over," I finished, grimly. "Violetta’s AWOL. Casper and Nic are AWOL. Hanging Star was missing from its vault, and I have a notion that Warsinger has been moved to Ilia. Lucien wasn't perma-killed by Solnetsi, either: he's respawned somewhere, and he has the Godslayer. If it could perma Ororgael, it could kill any of us stone dead.”

“A weapon that can destroy even the immortal. What a terrifying prospect,” Istvan said.

“Yeah. And now Lucien fucking Hart has it.” I shuddered as my memory flashed back to the sound of Lucien’s wild, insane laughter. “That guy... I dunno, man. That dude gives me the creeps in a way Ororgael never did. The Big O was honorable, in his own way. I think he really believed he was doing the right thing. Lucien doesn't give a fuck about the right thing. And Nicolas is just as big of a psycho as Lucien is.”

"Nicolas, the giant," Ignas mused. "He was the one who took my eyes. That I remember."

“Right. And both Nic and Lucien are right up Squalor’s alley.” Suri sighed. “Whatever it is.”

"I’ve been able to learn some stuff about it.” I paused for a moment, wondering how much I needed to tell the people here. “Squalor is like the Overconsciousness of Archemi, but it’s made of hatred and malice. And unlike the Overconsciousness, it's sentient AND sapient. It knows it exists, it hates that it exists, but rather than just admit that it hates existing and killing itself, it's projecting its hatred onto us. It won't stop until it's destroyed everything. This world, its people, the entire reality." I looked around the group. Suri and Vash both nodded in understanding, then Karalti. "Still: I think we took a big step toward fighting Squalor today. And we're about to make another one. Soma, Rin, Gar... is Withering Rose ready to insert her heartstone?"

All three engineers looked at me in shock. Soma cleared his throat. "Ah... well, my Prince, the Warsinger is not operational yet, no. Technically, we could insert a heartstone into her, but we don't have a viable candidate."

"We do." Karalti unfolded her arms and turned a piercing look on Soma, Rin and Gar. "We found the missing Heartstone in the Eyrie. It now has a soul stored within it. My mother's. Usta the Pearl Queen volunteered to become the heart of Withering Rose."

Vash's eyes widened. Behind me, Ignas bowed his head and made the sign of the hammer over his chest.

"That is... " Soma flushed and fumbled his words as he made the same sign, the Benediction of Khors. "We will absolutely prepare the Warsinger to receive this gift, my Queen, as swiftly as we are able!"

"Will it work?" Gar's brow furrowed. "The Warsingers were Drachan powered. Seems like if a dragon's soul was gonna work, all the Warsingers would have been dragon-powered instead."

"I don't know," Rin said, shaking her head. "I don't see why it WOULDN'T work, if the Queen dragon's soul is powerful enough."

"This one is," I replied firmly. "Zero doubt in my mind. Usta will be able to animate Withering Rose."

Suri looked particularly thoughtful. She rubbed her palm against her mouth, looking down as she processed that. "Well.. as Rose's pilot, I'm honored. It'll be a pleasure to work with her, Karalti. I’ll be sure to tell her that as soon as I’m able to interface with the Warsinger again."

"I think it was the right thing for her to do," Karalti said quietly. "Even with everything she went through, mother's soul beats like a living heart inside of the crystal. She wants to defeat the Drachan more than anything.”

"Same. Can't fulfill my destiny as Empress of the bloody Shalid if these bloody great void shits keep getting in the way." Suri grinned. "Can't wait to meet her."

“Me either.” Karalti smiled at her, but I felt a bittersweet note thrum through the Bond. Without any hesitation, I went to Karalti and pulled her into a hug. She leaned into it gratefully, tucking her head against my chest.

"That is quite a lot to digest," Ignas said. He set the blanket aside, and used the table to get to his feet. "In that case, then, only one thing remains."

I looked back to him, still cradling Karalti in my arms. "Taltos?"

"Taltos," Ignas affirmed. HIs fingers tensed on the surface of the table. "And Janos. Will you lend me your arms?"

"And legs?" Rin blurted.

Vash and Istvan burst out laughing. Suri grinned, and Rin flushed. "Sorry."

"Arms, legs, AND wings," I confirmed, giving Karalti a gentle squeeze before letting go. On one condition. You let me punch Janos in his dumb fucking face at least once."

Ignas inclined his head. “I believe those terms are fair.”

"Then let's process the 3rd Fleet and get our ships ready to sail for Taltos," I said, reaching up to thump the top of my helmet. "Because I don't know about you, but I am one-hundred percent done with Janos of fucking Czongrad."