Chapter 130

FELIX

I practically sprinted out of Esmeralda’s chambers all the way to the castle courtyard, where a majority of our guards were quartered.

“I need your help!” I called out to the captain of the guard as I jogged over to him.

The captain, an older man who had trained me in swordfighting when I was young, looked at me curiously. “Is there something wrong, Your Majesty?”

“Yes,” I said, finally able to catch my breath. “Mila is missing.”

The captain’s eyes widened. He took a step towards me and lowered his voice. “You mean to tell me that the Queen is missing?”

I nodded. “We need to send out a search party. Immediately.”

The captain turned to his men and started barking orders. I sank against one of the stone walls, exhausted.

If Mila’s body was missing, that could only mean one of two things: one, that someone was sick enough to steal her body from Esmeralda’s chambers; or two, that she was still alive.

In terms of my sanity, I was going to stick with the latter.

My first instinct was to sprint for Ignatius, but then I remembered the current state of my dragon. As much as he would want to, my dragon was far too sick to fly.

This search party was going to have be done the old-fashioned way.

The guards all mounted their horses, the creatures whinnying with worry and stamping at the ground with their hooves. Despite the fact that Fresonia had a rather impressive highway system, it was still faster to sift through the forests and villages on horseback.

It had been a long time since I’d ridden a horse myself. Normally, I preferred dragonback. But I was determined to be a part of this search party, and so I dutifully swung myself up on one of the royal steeds.

I supposed in some ways riding a horse was like riding a bicycle: you never really forgot how.

With one last shouted order from the captain, we thundered out of the castle and into the countryside.

I was assigned a small battalion of the most experienced guards at the palace. I suspected that there was some concern about sending me out into the streets right after my wife was kidnapped, but the men knew better than to try and stop me.

We rode out into the hills that backed up to the castle, not terribly far away from the dragons’ temporary aviary. I felt a rush of sadness when I thought of Ignatius, curled into a ball, too weak to move.

“Where to?” I called out to the guard leading our particular group.

“There’s a small village about five miles from here,” he shouted over his shoulder. “It’s the nearest civilization for miles. If they took her in this direction, they would have come through this pass.”

I gave him a sharp nod of agreement and we galloped forward.

Riding horseback was a bit freeing. It wasn’t terribly different from riding a dragon, but the pounding hoofbeats drowned out whatever thoughts might be circling around in my brain. It was almost peaceful. I decided that once I found Mila and all this trouble was sorted out, I would teach her how to ride.

As we approached the village, however, I could immediately tell something was wrong.

The tangy smell of smoke was the first thing I noticed–an acrid stench that filled my nose from a mile away.

“Are there wildfires in this area?” I asked the lead guard. Christopher, I learned, was his name.

“No,” Christopher said grimly. “There are riots.”

Something coiled in my stomach, and I didn’t think it was the smoke.

We slowed our pace as we trotted towards the village. As we passed over another ridge, the tiny town came into view: thatched roofs and terracotta walls, vast farmland, only one road running through.

And dark, thick smoke, billowing out of the center of town square.

“Fall in!” Christopher shouted, and the guards quickly surrounded me.

“Apologies, Your Majesty,” the guard closest to me said. “We can’t have the people in this village know that you’re with us if they’ve resorted to burning things.”

I wanted to protest, but I knew it would get me nowhere. These guards were sworn to protect me and would never allow me to put myself in danger.

“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth.

Christopher bowed his head towards me, as if to acknowledge my warring thoughts, and led our tight circle towards the village.

“Royal knights!” Someone shouted as we approached.

Even from within my protective circle, I could see that the village was a mess. The buildings were graffitied over and windows were smashed. The burning was coming from a large bonfire in the center of the village, where it appeared that a large stack of hay and cloth were set ablaze.

Villagers tentatively peered out from their windows, and a man who had clearly been elected as town spokesperson approached us.

“Welcome to Olsenville,” the man said without an ounce of welcome in his voice.

Christopher gripped the reins of his horse a bit tighter. “We are looking for someone. A young woman. Light brown hair.”

“Sounds like a lot of women,” the villager said suspiciously.

“She would have been sick or weakened,” Christopher continued. “She was kidnapped a few hours ago and we believe she may have been brought this way.”

“No one’s been here since we chased the police out of town,” the villager said.

“Chased the police away?” Christopher repeated. The other guards surreptitiously tightened their circle around me.

“We don’t trust what them royals have been up to,” the villager said. “We hear talk of dragons in the south. If there are dragons, we have a right to know!”

“Is that why you’re burning your tithe to the crown?” Christopher asked.

That’s what all that hay was–their royal tithe.

“I need to know if there are dragons afoot so I can protect my family,” the villager stated. “And shame on the King if he’s lying to us.”

I could feel panic rising in my chest. Christopher managed to keep his cool and finally said, “Thank you for your help. We’ll carry on.”

I waited until we were clear of the village before daring to speak.

The sight at the village had been just like what I’d seen in Barlow–scared civilians turning their fear into anger. And I was their rightful target.

My instincts had been right. The people were afraid of what the presence of dragons could mean for their futures, livelihoods, and safety, and the only way I could ever move forward was to tell them the truth.

A truth that could cost me everything.

“I… I have to return to the castle,” I stammered out. Before anyone could respond, I turned my horse around and galloped away.

I made it over a few hills before the overwhelming loss hit me. I had lost my wife, my dragon, and now my kingdom was being torn apart from the inside out. It was all my fault, and I had no clue how to fix it without Mila.

I bent over the neck of my horse, feeling the creature’s heartbeat, and allowed the wind to wash over me.

I stayed like that for a long, long time.