The wind was blowing in through his hair. It had grown longer in his travels. He would have preferred being able to get a haircut before he was forced in front of his own king. First impressions were everything, they said. What was the impression he was going to give today?

Looking over shoulder he saw his fellow mages keeping their heads down, avoiding the wind that was blowing over them. Lord Cronley’s large dragon did produce a massive amount of wind. Their dragons were able to glide behind him, carrying them through the air quicker, but it was hard to keep their heads up when the wind stung their eyes.

All five of their dragons were heavily armored as they flew over the treetops. If there was another group of assailants down there, they wouldn’t be able to penetrate through the metal. He wondered if they had cleared out whatever force had taken root in the area or if they were one of many.

The smell of their burning flesh mixed with ash from Evonne and Jerri’s violent attacks. The girl seemed so shy and proper. Seeing her in action against actual people was a bit horrifying. Their attacks were precise and deadly. He hoped one day she would have the same confidence with social situations as she did in battle.

What had been happening in his country? This uprising had been bubbling under the surface the entire time and he knew nothing about it. It made him wonder how many people were truly upset at the dragons and magic users. It was another one of his shortcomings from being a rural farm boy who knew nothing. He couldn’t even empathize with them much when he never he saw any noble or magic user.

His family was suffering, though. The whole reason he had been in that forest was to provide meat and clothing for them. All the wool they produced was going toward taxes. The magistrate was getting more dismissive and more harsh as the years went on. If his family was truly close to starvation, maybe he too would have joined a group telling him they could stop the people who were causing it.

He truly doubted that the serpents even knew who was truly in charge, who was truly causing them such strife. It wasn’t the mages. Or at least, it wasn’t the mages he had met. He didn’t know how they behaved. He hadn’t been around them long enough to know any different. The only ones he had seen had been the ones that helped him during dire situations. The mages of this country very well could be out there oppressing people and he wouldn’t even know it.

The wind continued to howl in his ears as they flew on. Being on the back of Zuma like that, flying that fast, was exhilarating and terrifying. Man wasn’t supposed to go that fast. If he wasn’t strapped into the saddle around their body, he’d had flown right off. Falling through the skies, his body would make a wet smack into the ground and no one would even be able to tell who the mush even was.

Pulling his head up, he saw fields start to come into view. The heavy canopy of trees was fading behind them, fast. They h ad been flying for a few hours at that point. He wondered how long it would take them to get across the country. Behind Lord Cronley, it wasn’t taking long at all.

He knew Lord Loratyk could use two magics, and now Lord Cronley was a known dragon rider. He wondered if Enderton had any abilities or the foreign Lord Mordon. If what Lord Cronley had said was true, he doubted that the king had been blessed with any ability of his own. It wouldn’t make sense for someone who clearly lacked compassion to have been blessed with the power of it.

The farm houses were beginning to get closer together, the buildings clumping into small villages. He wondered what someone below would think if they looked up and saw a giant blue dragon followed by four different colored dragons, speeding through the air. If it was him and his family, they’d have been discussing the incident for years afterward. They were so high up; he doubted anyone was really paying attention to their path.

He missed his family. Missed his brothers and sisters. They would be shocked at everything he had done so far. His mother would probably have a stroke if she learned of the dangerous things he had been doing so frequently. If he saw her again, he would try to sanitize his deeds for her own safety.

His brother Anton would be grilling him about all the wonders he had seen, all the magic he had been witness to. It was truly a world none of them had ever known about. No matter what he would tell them, they’d be utterly enthralled.

Memories of his family played over in his head, distracting him from the impending conversation he was to have with the king. The roads began to be covered in stone beneath him as they flew closer to the central city. He hoped it wasn’t going to be a situation like what Sayori and he encountered when they approached the white city. He didn’t want to be fleeing from more dragons.

With Lord Cronley leading them, they began to descend closer to the ground. More and more villages popped up, many being connected. They were getting larger and larger. Soon, there was nothing but buildings and homes. They were in the city.

He hadn’t realized how large and spread out it was. His eyes caught the peeks of a grand castle nestled on a hill overlooking the city below. Kaden assumed that’s where they were headed. The castle was extremely large and extremely gaudy. It had gold trimming everywhere. Lord Cronley had been right. Everything was about appearances here. Even the castle had to look as if it was the most brilliant thing in the country.

If you were chasing pigeons below for food and looked up and saw that glittering monstrosity, you’d feel resentment. It’s no wonder the people were joining the House of the Serpents if they promised to take on that kind of wealth disparity.

There was a large platform near the center of the building. They passed over dragon stables that were built far away from the castle. Kaden assumed that they were flying into a landing pad, but the actual riders who stayed there were kept from the castle.

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He wondered why there had been no other riders to greet them on their entry. Either they flew in too fast or they immediately recognized Lord Cronley and let him through without issue. He hoped they weren’t about to surprise everyone.

His dragon touched down and the stone shook under its weight. A puff of dust flew around them as the large beast closed its wings. The four of them truly seemed like children behind Xada. The things that dragon had seen in their lifetime was truly amazing.

Large Ornate wooden doors flung open from the castle. A whole entourage of servants bustled around. There were even two of them rolling out a large rug toward them. Kaden slid off Zuma and joined Lord Cronley.

“I advise you all to send your dragons away. He doesn’t particularly care for them,” Lord Cronley said as the mass of people got closer.

Nodding, he relayed the message to the others and they all hopped off their dragons as well. Xada let out a huff of mist that drenched the servants in the front of the group before flying off behind the others. Kaden hoped if they landed at the stables with Xada, that the keepers would understand they were visiting dignitaries.

A now wet bard played his lute while buzzing a whistle that was attached to his face. It was an obnoxious tune that ate at Kaden’s ears. He was already exhausted by the show they were putting on. The people stepped out of the way and a group of people were marching toward them down the placed rug.

Each person peeled off to then stand and salute at the edge, forming a hall of people. He couldn’t tell if these were supposed to be well dressed guards or what. He sighed as a flow of blue and gold robes sashayed down the path.

The man was wearing a well tailor, snug vest that crossed over the front of his chest with gold embroidery. His pants were cut high into his waist, making his legs look incredibly long. Behind him flowed blue and gold robes. Each step he took was made by golden clanking shoes.

His wrists and fingers shimmered as he stepped. It looked as if he had dipped each finger into a vat of shimmering gold dust. His skin was dark, his features strong. His high cheekbones would make for a beautiful painting. Atop his head was a hat with golden feathers fanning out above.

He looked ridiculous.

They stood there in dirty armor, stained with the bug splatter that came with riding so fast. Their party looked drastically different from the display in front of them. If this was how the king behaved at every public interaction, it was making more and more sense to him why there was an uprising in the water nation.

He was surprised he never heard of this ostentatious amount of wealth and peacocking. The only thing he ever heard about the king was that he was rich and somehow that gave the man some ounce of credibility. Why did the magistrates need to tax his families farm so heavily when there was more gold decorating his fingers than his family could even make in their lifetime?

A man in a purple outfit stood up straight and said with a booming voice, “his majesty King Rodolfus Rondyne the third.”

Lord Cronley fell to his knee and bowed his head. The four of them quickly did the same. Kaden heard the clicking of the king’s golden shoes as they neared. He didn’t dare look up at the man. He had a feeling it wouldn’t do him any favors to draw his ire before he had to deliver dire news.

“Lord Cronley, what do we owe this impromptu visit? We don’t have a meeting for another few weeks.” His voice was smooth and almost lyrical as he spoke.

Without lifting his head from a bow, the Lord said, “I come with important news that could not wait.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Kaden saw the king motion his fingers up and he saw Lord Cronley rise. He didn’t know what to do, but he wasn’t about to rise without being instructed himself. So he still looked down at the ground, kneeling before his king.

“And why do you have riders from other nations in your party?”

“They are from the recent pilgrimage.”

“The one we just got a rider for?”

Cronley paused. “Yes. That one.”

“Why are they here, then? Shouldn’t they be at your temples?”

Another pause as Kaden assumed the Lord was trying to choose his words carefully. “The white city has sent them here first. They also have news from the city. I insist that we take a private meeting with them.”

“You insist?”

“Sir, it just would not be good for them to share publicly.”

Kaden heard the clank of his shoes as he saw the king stomp down. “This is not public. This is my castle. These people would never betray me by sharing gossip about what they’ve heard.”

Cronley paused once more. The king was already acting negatively toward their arrival and they hadn’t even been able to tell him the bad news yet. “Yes sir. I understand you feel you can trust them, but this is a high classification of news.”

Kaden felt a tug on his armor as the King pulled him to his feet. He was suddenly looking at the man and noticed that even his eyes had gold flecks in them. He didn’t know if that was a type of magic or if he truly had gold inside him.

“You,” he said in a stern tone. “What makes you think I should give you an audience? If I recall, you are a fresh mage, a fresh rider. Why are you worthy of my attention?”

“I—”

Lord Cronley cut him off. “They will tell you everything you need to know when we get somewhere private.”

His head snapped back to Cronley. “I will get my answer where ever and whenever I want.”

Kaden didn’t know what to say. It seemed that everything they said was being taken negatively. He gulped and tried to say something but nothing came out as his nerves made him tremble. Clearing his throat, he said, “I am just doing as Councilman Nortu ordered.”

He dropped his grip on Kaden’s armor as his hands flew into the air. “Oh, if that’s the case. Then I should take this private audience at once.”

“Thank you for seeing reason sir—”

His hand flew out again as he slapped Lord Cronley across the face. Kaden couldn’t help but jump in surprise. Grabbing Cronley’s armor, he pulled the man to him. “How dare you? I will not have any councilman or lord tell me what I will be doing.”

He tossed the lord back and Lord Cronley did little to fight back. He just picked himself back up and stood back at attention. Kaden was so incredibly baffled by the behavior. Looking at the servants, he tried to see if any of their faces revealed if this was normal behavior or not. They were all stone faced and silent. This was normal for the king.

“Throw them into the guest hall. I will deal with this message and then throw them out.” He waved his hand toward the four of them. “You sir, we need to have a talk about your behavior.”

“Yes, sir.” Is all the Lord replied with.

With a flourish, he turned on his heel and marched back down the colored rug. The people folded in behind him. Several armed guards strolled up to them and Lord Cronley shrugged before saying, “Just go with them. This will take me a few moments.”

The guards stood there with their spears and swords out, ready to attack them if needed. It was quite the display of violence for them to merely be escorted to a hall.

Reese shook his head and said, “Rich people, am I right?”