Cole

I waited in the other room until I heard splashing in the bath. Good, she listened to me. Slave or not, the girl was my personal attendant now. She needed to look the part and I couldn't have a filthy woman in rags following me around.

Talon, where is Wyatt?

The general is waiting for you in your study.

I left my suite and headed deeper into my private wing. Purposefully, I picked one far away from my siblings and father, so they'd be less likely to bother me.

My study doors were a set of arched double doors with black iron hinges and dragons carved into the wood. I pushed the doors inward, opening them in unison.

An oil lamp sat on my mahogany desk, filling the study with a gentle, golden glow. Wyatt stood at my desk, fingers resting gently on the map spread across my desk. He still wore his armor with a crimson dragon painted on the back and chest plates. His black hair pulled tight in a bun on top of his head.

"I thought you weren't due back for weeks. When did you get here?" I asked in greeting.

"This morning. I didn't want to disturb your family's celebration." Wyatt gave me a wry smile.

"I would have welcomed the interruption." Sighing, I glanced at the book-lined walls.

There was only one place in my study where the walls weren't covered in books. I posted a giant map of the world on the wall with Telasia colored in red. Many of the smaller, neighboring countries had red X's through them, marking the kingdoms we'd conquered. They were never annexed into Telasia but remained military-occupied territories.

He called it sharing our wealth, prosperity, and strength with smaller, defenseless kingdoms.

I called it conquest.

"Actually, the all-day festivities gave me a unique window of opportunity. No one was watching the slaves here in the capital. They only cared about the ones at auction."

I rubbed my chin and nodded. Once Wyatt found out about the slave girl in my quarters, I knew this conversation would take a different turn.

"Tell me."

"I was able to get six slaves out of the capital by getting them under a paper parade costume. The colorful paper dragons. We walked through the streets until everyone was inside the amphitheater. After that, slipping away was easy."

I chuckled. "You should use my family's festivals more often. What about their collars?"

"None of them were magical slaves so a good set of bolt cutters did the trick." Wyatt lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his neck.

"And they've been relocated to your secret village?"

Wyatt nodded. "I guess once the royal armies have decimated a population, there's no reason to send guards to check on an abandoned village."

"Wyatt, what do you plan to do with them? I know you have a soft spot for slaves but it's not like they can come back. If they're recognized, neither of us will be able to protect them."

"I'm aware. I've got it under control."

I arched an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate.

"It'll only take one generation. The children, once they are grown, won't be recognizable. They will be able to return to regular society as commoners and build lives for themselves."

"And in the meantime?"

"They're self-sufficient. Many of them have learned skills in cooking, farming, sewing, and other necessary vocations. Every month, I funnel less and less money to them because they don't need it."

I stroked my chin and slowly mulled over his words. It was impossible to tell Wyatt he couldn't continue his endeavor to free the slaves in the capital. I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't let him, since it was I who freed him and showed him a slave could have a better life in freedom.

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"Alright, I trust you." I walked to the map on the wall and looked it over. There were two new red X's from the last time I'd taken a look.

I glanced over my shoulder at Wyatt. He was at my desk writing a report with a feathered quill. He must have updated the map while I was busy at the festival.

The newest red X's were on countries that directly bordered Stivalia, our largest rival. Telasia and Stivalia had been in a state of cold war for almost twenty years. King Verill, one of the most accomplished mages in history, decided to shut down all diplomatic relations with Telasia.

At first, that's all it was. But when King Verill began interfering with Telasia's conquests it became clear that our two nations were at odds with each other.

My father wasn't ready to risk an all-out confrontation, and clearly, King Verill wasn't either.

I scoffed and ran my hand over the yellow-colored portion of the map that designated Stivalia. Their landmass almost equaled Telasia's. King Verill and the rest of the Sacron royal family didn't have dragons on their side but they had some of the most powerful magical bloodlines and that made their military just as formidable as ours.

"How did Stivalia respond to these new advancements?" I pointed to the new X's.

"They sent mages to the kingdom borders. The mages watched the battle but didn't join in."

Sighing, I rubbed the back of my neck. "More intimidation."

"The Stivalia mages are more powerful than Telasian mages," Wyatt echoed my thoughts. "They won't be there just to intimidate for long."

"Show me a mage from Stivalia, or any other kingdom, that's more powerful than a dragon," I scoffed.

Wyatt narrowed his thin, angled eyes. His hand instinctively went to the golden and brass hilt of his sword.

Wyatt used an unusual sword. It wasn't like the broadswords most of the soldiers used. He had a lighter, thinner sword with a curved blade. He could wield it with one or two hands and the blade was sharper than any I'd ever come across.

Since the first time I met him, Wyatt was the fiercest fighter I ever met. Filthy and underfed, living on the streets. And he still managed to muster the strength to stand up for mistreated slaves.

"Unfortunately, Talon is the only dragon on the battlefield these days. The two of you can't be there all the time."

"The mages will strike when they think we aren't around to stop them."

"That was my thinking." Wyatt sighed.

"I'm sure my father will have many opinions on this. I'll be sent back to the frontline to deal with their intimidation soon enough." I shook my head.

Wyatt frowned. "You just got back."

"My father doesn't know when to put down his sword."

"And yet, the only way to make him stop is to take a wife and take the throne," Wyatt smirked, his dark, thin lips pulling tight across his rounded cheeks.

"You think it would be that easy?" I raised my eyebrows high on my brow. "I'll get this new information to the king and we'll see what he decides."

Wyatt nodded and headed to my study door. He paused and twisted back and forth, his armor clinking.

"Was there something else?"

"I heard an interesting rumor and I hoped you'd dispel it for me."

"What did you hear?" I brushed my hair back with my fingers.

The palace was always buzzing with rumors of this and that. I couldn't keep up with them all but some were very entertaining. Given that I just dismissed my third concubine, I wasn't surprised rumors were already circulating.

"I heard you have a slave girl in your quarters."

Sighing, I scratched my eyebrow. That was the one conversation I didn't want to have with my general.

Wyatt turned back around, his face serious and eyes dark.

"You did get a slave at the auction," he accused.

I held a hand up. "I didn't pay for her. Therefore, I didn't acquire her as property."

"That's a horrible attempt at coming up with an excuse, even for you."

"I'm going to ignore that insult and chalk it up to you being upset." I lowered my tone harshly.

Wyatt stiffened and nodded. "My apologies, Your Highness." He bowed his head. "Why would you take a slave girl?"

"Let's just say, I was compelled by a more powerful force." I chuckled and instinctively reached out to Talon.

When will I meet her? He asked.

Soon. Try and contain your curiosity. You know almost everyone is afraid of you.

She's not. She's special.

So you keep saying. My mental voice growled with the annoyance I felt toward the dragon.

He didn't need my mental voice to convey my feelings. The bond between us meant he could sense my emotions and feel them as his own.

The same was true in reverse, but feeling his curiosity about the girl didn't mean I had the faintest clue why he felt it.

"What are your plans for her? You can't be considering keeping her."

I wrinkled my nose. "No. I have no use for a slave girl. Right now, she's acting as my personal attendant... or she will be."

"But she's still a slave."

"She has her collar. She's a mage and the collar is all that's stopping her from magically slitting our throats." I rubbed my neck, imagining what that would feel like.

"Did I try to slit your throat when you had my collar removed?" Wyatt challenged.

"I wouldn't have removed your collar if I thought you would."

"Cole, if you need a personal attendant, you don't need a slave to do it."

"I don't need a personal attendant. Nor do I need a slave and I have no intention of keeping her for long."

Wyatt nodded, placated for the moment. He bowed at the waist and left me with my thoughts.

I slumped in the chair at my desk and rubbed my temple. All this trouble is simply to indulge Talon's curiosity. I tried to see what he saw in her but all I saw was a broken, passionless, shell of a person. If Talon wouldn't tell me why he was interested, I'd have to force it out of her.