Chapter 119

FELIX

I returned to the castle feeling like a new man.

Flying over my kingdom had given me some much-needed perspective. What had once felt like an all-consuming, overwhelming task of saving my wife now felt closer in reach.

Charles was going to help me whether he liked it or not.

As soon as I strode into the throne room, though, I could immediately tell that something was wrong.

For starters, my family was there.

My mother and father stood in front of the throne dais, their faces taut with worry. Esmeralda was standing a few feet away, muttering spells over a handful of stones in her hands.

A royal messenger had planted himself before my parents, his hands trembling as he clutched a scroll of paper.

All eyes turned to me as I walked into the room.

“Your Majesty!” The messenger dropped into a low bow. “I was not expecting to see you. I was told you were still attending at the bedside of Queen Mila.”

I shot a pointed glare in the direction of my parents before saying, “Well, I’m here now. Do you have news?’

The messenger nodded eagerly. “Yes. Urgent news. From the southern border.”

“The southern border?!” I exclaimed. “I was just–”

I cut myself off before I could finish. It would be far too difficult to explain exactly how I’d gotten to Barlow and back in the course of an hour and why I had left the castle in the first place if my wife was so ill.

The messenger looked at me uncertainly. “There is a great deal of civil unrest there, sir. Like nothing we’ve ever seen.”

I frowned. “What kind of civil unrest?”

The messenger swallowed, clearly hating to be the bearer of bad news. “Riots, sir. The people are rioting.”

I exhaled heavily, my long-forgotten kingly duties slowly pressing back in on me. “Whatever are they rioting about? We should have an increased military presence there to keep an eye on the border.”

The messenger shifted his weight back and forth. “The people in that area are claiming to have lost faith in the throne after the Battle of Barlow.”

I shook my head. “How can that be? I know that Barlow burned, but we’ve been working hard to make sure the village is rebuilt. And we had very few civilian casualties overall.”

“It’s not that, Your Majesty.” The messenger looked terrified.

“Then what is it?” I demanded.

The messenger turned very pale. “The people are claiming that they… saw things.”

“What things?”

My parents were staring at the floor. I felt my stomach turn. “What did they see?”

When the messenger at last gave me the answer, I thought I was going to pass out. “They claim to have seen dragons, Your Majesty. And they are claiming that the crown is lying to them about the existence of magic in Fresonia.”

It was a miracle I was able to remain standing.

“There are even a few whispers,” the messenger continued, “that you yourself were seen riding a dragon during the battle.”

“Thank you for letting me know.” My voice came out eerily calm. “Can you see yourself out? We have some urgent matters to discuss.”

The messenger bowed again before sprinting from the throne room.

“So they know about the dragons,” I said aloud to no one in particular.

My father stepped forward. “There are ways to quell riots, Felix, but they will not make you very popular.”

I shook my head. “Under no circumstance will I be using the military against my own people.”

“It may be our only choice.” My father's face was uncharacteristically grim.

“I could also tell them the truth,” I offered. My mother and father both flinched at that.

“No!” My mother practically shouted. “It is our sacred duty to keep the secret of the Dragon Knights. Revealing the truth to the people goes against your vows as King.”

I started to pace the length of the throne room. “I made vows to protect Fresonia and to protect the Dragon Knights. I never made a vow to keep the Dragon Knights a secret.”

“Yes, but–” my mother protested.

I cut her off. “But what? Is it better to let civilians riot in the streets?”

“There is not a good solution here, son,” my father interjected. “But your duty as King is to keep the people safe. Is it safe for them all to know about dragons? What if they find the aviary and try to ride one of the beasts themselves? That blood would be on your hands.”

“That is a crazy hypothetical,” I argued. “Besides, the aviary is magically protected.”

But then again, there was always a chance that one of the civilians could have magic themselves.

“We cannot tell the people.” Esmeralda finally spoke, looking up from her stones. “I have been casting a magical eye throughout the kingdom to see what has been occurring. The easiest thing would be to stomp out the rumors before they spread too far.”

“They’ve already spread too far if people are saying they saw me on dragonback,” I reminded them.

My father looked around the throne room. “For centuries, we have maintained peace in Fresonia because we kept the dragons a secret. That is the only way to coexist.”

“It’s not.” My tone was a bit sharper than I was intending, but I was getting desperate. “And I don’t see why I am being asked to trust you when you all just betrayed not only me, but your Queen, in an act of pure treason.”

“Don’t bring what happened with Mila into this,” my mother begged. “I fear that it is clouding your judgment.”

“Just like losing Charles clouded yours?”

It was a low blow, and my mother shrank back.

I sighed and rubbed at my temples. “Look, we have no idea how big these riots actually are and if they’ll even spread. I can send a few more soldiers to the border just to observe, but I want to make it clear that we will not be using force against the civilians. They’ve lost their homes and livelihoods in the past few months alone, they’ve been through enough.”

Frankly, these riots were the least of my worries. I wouldn’t care if the kingdom was falling apart if I had no Queen to rule it with.

Worst case scenario, I could always send word to Joseph to suss out the situation in the north. If the word was truly beginning to spread, it would be pertinent to know if it made it all the way to our other border.

“Surely, there must have been other Fresonian kings who considered revealing the truth to their people before,” I said.

My father frowned. “None that I know of.”

“That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”

“Felix, please, think straight,” my mother interrupted. “Think of the people.”

“I am thinking of the people!” I roared. “All I do is think about the people! And what thanks do I get? My wife gets murdered before my very eyes!”

My father stepped forward, resting a hand on my shoulder. “Sometimes as a King, you must make a sacrifice. Believe me, none of us wanted to watch Mila die. It was just necessary.”

My head was pounding. I had to get out of here.

“I’ll figure something out with the riots, but right now, I need to be alone.”

My father stopped me before I could get fully out of the room. “And what exactly do you think you’re doing?”

I glared at my father. “I’m simply doing what the rest of this family could not.”

My father crossed his arms. “Which is?”

“Saving Mila.”