Not that this isn’t good, but it isn’t as good as cherry or apple was the point. If he had baked them, he wouldn’t have used peaches. His would have been superior, even though he’d never baked in his life. Even if he had liked peaches the best, he wouldn’t have said so. As Will had told me, criticize everything.
The purser approached again. “Princess, the captain has requested me to inform you that our arrival in Trager is to be late tomorrow afternoon.”
Never be satisfied. “Is that the best we can do?”
He stiffened. “I will ask the captain if we can put on more sail.”
I nodded but said nothing. That was something my father had taught me. Combined with Will’s instructions to act and sound imperial, the purser had nearly shaken in fear when I asked for more. That sort of power was not only unlike me but didn’t suit me. It made me cringe inside, and I did so as the purser withdrew. But, I also found a glimmer of hope in the exchange. Previously, the pompous purser had almost acted superior to me. Now, I demanded his respect.
I walked to my favorite place to stand on the rail and noticed the old man who had come to my cabin with the information about the Blue Lady. He might have been thinking about his brother who was taken by the mages. He was watching the flickering lightning in the dark clouds to the south. I went to stand at his side but said nothing after nodding my greeting.
“You look worried, Princess,” he finally said as he turned to me.
“I am. There are things to figure out. How to best help Dire and my father, which is to say that I need to help the people of my kingdom.”
He looked off into the distance again before speaking again. While old, his eyes remained young and clear. “It must be hard for you.”
“What?”
“Being a princess and always thinking about others before yourself. For me, it would be a curse. You have very little of your own life.”
A curse. He was right. I glanced around to make sure we were still alone. There were too many ears on any ship, many of them not in sight, but still listening. My voice became softer, and I leaned closer, “Has your brother come to visit you again?”
“He has. I think he understands your message to him expressing your thanks and debt.” He paused, then continued, “But how would I know for sure since I cannot speak to him as he does to me?” He shrugged off his response with a sly smile.
“Of course,” I quickly agreed so as not to embarrass him or expose his obvious lie. He had passed on my message without a doubt. I suspected that the mages had taken only half the children with magic in his family because he shared the gift. “My offer was sincere, you know. If he, or you, ever need my help, know that all you must do is contact me. I pay my debts.”
He bowed deeply. “You are a true princess.”
I watched him depart feeling we’d somehow become friends. It was a much nicer situation than when the purser had departed my side. Which of them was the real me? Could I separate the two?
I could and would. To fail at taking home a treaty would be to fail my father and the people of Dire. How could I return and face them with that news on my lips? I would do what was required. I reconsidered what little information I’d gathered.
Beyond the obvious, was the expansion of the mage’s rule far beyond what we had suspected. Rumor said they already ruled Kondor, I’d seen an example of their rule in Trager, and knew they’d tried to murder my family to take Dire under their control. I pictured the map in the passenger lounge and realized there were only two places on it that were not mage-controlled. Kaon to the north, and the empty Brownlands to the east.
There were no people, or very few of them, in the Brownlands to the east, which left Kaon, an unknown land the north and west, separated from Dire by impassable mountains and reachable only by sea or across the northern deserts of Kondor.
While Kaon existed along a technically shared border, little was known about them. Since there was no way to reach them except via Kondor or a sea voyage, and since the Kaon had long ago closed their only seaport to foreign ships, only old texts and rumor gave clues to them.
That same mental map told me more. If Dire, Vin, and Kondor were brought under the rule of the mages, how could Kaon stand against the three? Once all three were consolidated under a single rule, Kaon could not stand against them—which would give rule of the entire region to the mages.
That implied Dire had an ally, even if we didn’t realize it. Even if the Kaon didn’t realize it.
A smile crept across my lips as I became aware that for the first time, I’d acted and thought as a ruler and warrior. I’d taken the facts of the situation that placed my kingdom in danger and found a possible ally to join in standing against Kondor and Vin if it came to war.
A mission to Kaon would have to follow the one in Kondor. A message could be sent explaining that to my father, but assuming the upcoming treaty was less than we wished, Kaon was my next venture, closed ports or not.
Without arousing suspicion, I needed to acquire information about Kaon, the ruling class, the type of government, why the ports were closed, and how to impress upon them their need to join with Dire in a mutual defense league.
I might not be such a bad ambassador for Dire, after all.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Damon
Kendra had said to me, “I’m ready to send the dragon to sink the mage ships, Damon. This won’t be easy and will tax my abilities, so I’ll need quiet and safety while I concentrate. I want you beside me the entire time for support, and in case I need anything. You also have to protect me because of the concentration required. Even a bee or snake can attack without me defending myself.”
“Of course.”
She continued without pause as if I hadn’t spoken, “Before you say anything else, understand that neither you nor I know what we’re doing. Magic is new to me. The idea of controlling a Dragon is still unbelievable. Knowing what to do and what not to is beyond what little I’ve learned. It might go well. It might not, but I’m going to ask her to attack the ships.”
That had all been discussed earlier in the morning when the air was still cool and fresh. Now, I sat in the heat and watched my sister lying beside me, both of us on the bank of the river in a patch of shade with her closed eyes as she communicated with the dragon. She had been at it all morning.
What she said to it, or how she said it without speaking out loud was beyond me. No, that was not totally true, and I knew it as soon as the thought entered my head. What she did with the unseen dragon was only a little different than what Anna and I did when we communicated without words. The only real difference was that she did it with a dragon instead of a little girl.
Not only was she communicating with a true-dragon, but she was also telling it to attack a pair of ships at sea, both with mages aboard. People would probably die. However, people had already died at the hands of the mages, more than a few—and we knew there would be many more to follow. We were trying to prevent future deaths—but that wasn’t the heart of my problem.
Right in the center of my thoughts was the one fact that only twenty days ago Kendra and I were mere personal servants for Princess Elizabeth. Our concerns of those days had been to argue about what to wear, who to speak with to learn of new rumors, and what the three of us should we eat for dinner. There were always parties and balls to plan, and who to invite. Occasionally, the king gave Elizabeth tasks suitable for her position, ones usually quickly and efficiently handled. That was the extent of our lives.