Cole

The Great Hall had four rows of marble pillars, rising higher than any other ceiling in the palace. The white, red, and gold tiled floor was always polished and waxed. It was the only room in the palace large enough for the entire royal family and all the dragons.

Talon was already there when I arrived. He was curled up, like a sleeping dog. When I entered the hall, he opened one eyelid lazily, grumbled at me, and closed the lid again.

Rosalie rested her elbow, and her weight, on Morganna's wedge-shaped, ridged head. Morganna slumbered peacefully, light smoke tendrils curling from her nostrils.

I motioned for Sabine to stand off to the side. Her presence wasn't necessary, but as my personal attendant, it gave me reason to include her in a family meeting. If I planned to find out why Talon was so interested in her, I needed to keep pushing her out of her comfort zone.

A meeting with my father would definitely be uncomfortable.

"Where is everyone?" I asked as I walked toward Rosalie.

She shrugged. "Allistair and Dromon should be on their way..."

Click. Click. Click.

The unmistakable sound of dragon claws on the tile ebbed closer. Through the steel arch of the Great Hall, Alistair and his crystalline dragon entered. Dromon immediately went to Morganna's side and lay beside her, their backs pressed together.

King Talis and the golden Queen Dragon Amonette arrived last, fashionably late. Amonette positioned herself behind my father, her head raised, fully alert.

Whenever her golden eyes fell on me, I felt it deep in my bones. I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms.

"What is so important that it requires all of us?" I asked, addressing the king bluntly.

"I was most disturbed, Cole, by your recent reports. Stivalia is overreaching and I know that if we don't put a stop to it, they'll continue to encroach on us." The king's eyes stared at me just as hard as his dragon's.

I took a deep breath and stared past my father and the dragon. "They haven't encroached. The moment any of their mages attack, Wyatt and I are ready. You can be sure, Father, that I showed them just what dragons are capable of in the last battle."

My father's thin, pale lips curled into a broad smile. "That's what I like to hear."

"Why do I have to be here for this? Cole is the one that likes to play soldier," Alistair complained. He tilted his head back with an annoyed groan.

"If we are to go to war with Stivalia, then all of you must be prepared, whether you're in direct combat or not. The future of this family is at stake." The king's hand landed on his decorated sword hilt.

"War? Who said anything about war?" Rosalie's voice rose nervously.

"Tension with Stivalia has been growing for some time..."

My father's voice droned on but I stopped listening. I glanced at Talon. His eyes were still closed but I knew he was awake.

How long until he declares war? The crimson beast asked.

Ask Amonette. She'll have a better read on his thoughts and emotions.

You don't like it when I connect with her. You don't want her to see inside us.

I sighed and nodded discreetly to the dragon. From your vantage point of having your eyes closed, could you at least try to pick up on anything useful?

I already have.

A servants' door in the wall opened and several servants joined us in the Great Hall with trays of food. They inched around the dragons. Whenever any of the servants got close, their legs wobbled and they couldn't take their eyes off the dragons.

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Never in the history of our royal household, had a dragon gone rogue and attacked the serving staff in the palace. And yet, they all acted like the dragons were dangerous, poisonous snakes, ready to strike.

It was the very reason why I brought Sabine to this meeting.

Talon, stand up and rustle your wings. The servants love it when you do that.

Talon grumbled. He stood up and thumped his front paws on the polished, marble floor. Yawning, the dragon showed off his pearly-white teeth and rustled his wings.

I smirked as the servants visibly trembled and one of them yelped. They scurried away from Talon, taking refuge as close to the servant's door as they could without abandoning their duties. I flicked my eyes toward Sabine.

Her bright green eyes were fixed on Talon but there wasn't a single tremor in her hands or in her expression. If anything, her eyes gleamed with curiosity or excitement.

She's not afraid of you, or the other dragons, I commented.

Why should she be?

Is that why you like her?

She has a special fire.

I sighed and rolled my eyes to the gold-gilded ceiling. I still didn't know what he meant by that.

"Cole, I want you to begin organizing an elite strike team to target the mages roaming the countryside, spying on us." King Talis's voice boomed.

I turned my head toward him and nodded. "I'll get it done."

My father waved Alistair and Rosalie out of the Great Hall. Their dragons' nails clicked as they left. As soon as they were gone, a warm wave filled the hall. Talon began to hum and I heard a soft sigh from Sabine.

I narrowed my eyes at Amonette. "Make her stop!" I pointed at the golden dragon.

"It's for your benefit, Son. You're so tense and angry all the time. Amonette is simply easing the tension."

"I don't need her, or you, to settle my emotions." I snarled and turned away from my father.

The warm comfort pressed heavy against me. I could feel it breaking through my annoyance, enticing me to relax. I fought against her.

"Are we done here?" I moved closer to Talon, keeping our mind connection open so he could help me block out Amonette's powers.

My father wasn't called Dragon of the Heart for nothing. With Amonette, the two of them could create a more agreeable atmosphere. I saw it as emotional manipulation.

"There's one more matter the two of us need to discuss. It came to my attention that you dismissed your concubine and haven't found another."

"I've been flying back and forth between Vagra and the battlefields. I don't have time to cater to a high-maintenance concubine. Do you care so much about what I do in my personal life?"

The king sighed. "I worry about you not choosing a wife!"

"Then why don't you pass the crown to Alistair? I'm sure he'd love to provide you with an heir."

"Alistair is not fit to rule," my father growled.

"Since your options are so limited, then you'll have to be patient." I pushed back against the strength of Amonette's soothing energy and turned on my heel. "Sabine, Talon, we're leaving."

...

Sabine

We returned to Prince Cole's quarters and he sat down in the parlor. He immediately instructed me to remove his boots. I knelt down and pulled at the leather laces.

"What did you think of that little family get-together?"

I paused and looked at the prince. His restless eyes weren't looking at me. Sighing, I pulled his boot off and considered how to respond. I didn't want him to repeat himself, I knew how much he hated that.

"It was a lovely gathering."

The prince scoffed. "You don't have much experience with family, do you?"

"No." I shook my head.

"You really thought my father droning on about a perceived threat from Stivalia and berating me about finding a wife was lovely?"

"I do not have an opinion on it one way or the other. I'm just a slave." I bowed my head before him, keeping my tone flat and apathetic.

"I'm asking you to have an opinion about it," he clarified.

My presence at the meeting had been a formality. I wasn't there to be seen or heard but I'd seen and heard everything, including the unusual tension between the king and the crowned prince. It was not my place to comment on it.

I didn't know much about the international relationships between Telasia and Stivalia but I understood King Talis's view on Stivalia and King Verill.

"Why do you want my opinion? It is meaningless."

"As a slave, I imagine you see and hear a lot from the shadows."

I nodded slowly. This was dangerous ground to tread on but I already knew the prince wasn't happy with me for refusing to name my attacker when Dulcey locked me up to starve. If I denied him again, I didn't think I'd be around to do it a third time.

"May I speak freely?" I set his boots aside and remained kneeling before him.

The prince nodded, his eyes still staring off in a different direction.

"King Talis talks of the tyranny of Stivalia and King Verill. Using that to justify pursuing war with another powerful nation."

"Is there a problem with that? King Verill is brutal and treats any citizen in Stivalia without magic as if they were no better than slaves."

I sniffed and ran my hands up and down my thighs. "Perhaps I am not the right person to offer an objective opinion." I hooked my forefinger around the slave collar.

"I don't want objective. I want to know what you think," the prince demanded.

Why the prince wanted my thoughts, I didn't know. "I find it ironic that King Talis speaks of King Verill as a tyrant when he is nothing more than a conqueror himself. He invades other nations and claims their resources."

The prince scoffed and brought his eyes to mine. A dark shadow settled over his face and his brow and eyes contorted in a glare.

Had I spoken too freely?