"That’s the plan. Let's give them something to talk about." I gave Yvette a wink.

  "Graxion, let’s show them we’ve arrived. Give me the grand tour of Port Meralon."

  The red dragon didn't need a second invitation. We leapt into the sky, climbing high over the city. Graxion let out a thunderous roar and tucked his wings, diving toward the city in a steep, whistling descent.

  As we got closer, the sheer scale of Port Meralon became clear. It was a crescent-shaped jewel of white stone, wrapped around an impressive harbor.

  We flew low—low enough that I could see the laundry flapping on balconies. The terrifying sight of an unfamiliar dragon caused panic in the streets. Soldiers and civilians froze in wide-eyed terror as we flew over them. Graxion let out another roar that sent birds scattering and horses bolting in the streets below.

  We circled the harbor once, a low-altitude power play that whipped the sails of the merchant ships into a frenzy, causing the boats to bob back and forth. Sailors yelled in panic and confusion.

  Graxion circled back over the city. Ahead of us was the castle. It was an imposing structure made from the same white blocks as the city’s walls.

  On the roof were a pair of blue dragons. Their wings were spread, ready to leap into the air. Graxion veered away before we got too close. I heard the dragons hissing in anger, but they didn’t chase after us.

  A minute later, we landed back on the hill where the rest of my force waited. Yvette looked at me expectantly.

  I couldn’t help but grin. “Let’s just say, the entire city knows we are here.”

  “Shall I call the Dragon Truce, King Roman? I don’t want Graxion to further tire himself.” Bakaan asked.

  “What is the protocol, Graxion?” I didn’t want to disrespect the red dragon.

  Graxion sat down on his haunches. “It matters not. The young are not happy unless they are constantly trying to make themselves feel important.”

  Bakaan glared at Graxion for a moment before launching into the air. As he and Monica approached the city, he issued the same unusual call that Graxion had made outside of Crossroads. It was the rhythmic, resonating summons of a Dragon Truce. It echoed off the white stone buildings and rolled across the water like thunder.

  The black dragon wheeled back towards us and landed. We waited for a response.

  Minutes passed. Then, from the inner courtyard of the fortress, a response came. A sharp, piercing cry rang out, and a massive blue dragon with scales like a winter sky leapt into the air.

  The blue dragon landed near us. Astride him was a woman with iron-gray hair and the stiff, regal posture of someone who wasn't used to being told what to do. She wore dark blue riding leathers, and her hair was tied back in a severe bun.

  "I am Countess Sizuna!" she glared at us angrily. "Who dares disturb the peace of Port Meralon?"

  23

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Countess Sizuna sat atop her blue dragon, her eyes burning with a cold, aristocratic fury that would have made most men stammer an apology. But Yvette didn't blink. She sat atop Garryn with a poise that made the Countess look positively ruffled.

  By announcing herself first, Sizuna had skipped the traditional "dance" of the Dragon Truce. It was a power move, a way of asserting that this was her land and we were just uninvited guests.

  Yvette cleared her throat, her voice ringing out across the grassy hill with the clarity of a silver bell.

  "Countess Sizuna, your greeting is noted, though perhaps a bit premature," Yvette said, her tone perfectly balanced between polite and condescending. "Protocol dictates that the party calling for the truce be identified first. As Queen of Avalon, I shall correct this oversight."

  I almost smiled. Yvette was in full 'Queen Mode,' and it was a beautiful thing to watch.

  "May I present my husband, King Roman Dravik of Avalon," she continued, gesturing toward me and Graxion. "Beside him are Lady Monica, Baron Marco of Buckwood, and Lady Sarah and Liam. I am Queen Yvette."

  She then turned her hand toward the line of dragons. "You stand before the red dragon Graxion, the black dragon Bakaan, the gray dragon Nangar, the brown dragon Dalk, and our own greens, Garryn and Ezza."

  Sizuna’s gaze swept over us, her expression shifting from anger to a shrewd, calculating appraisal. She didn't look like a woman who cared about titles; she looked like a CEO checking the balance sheet of a rival firm.

  "And this," Sizuna said, her voice dropping the sharp edge of her initial shout, "is the blue dragon Tamlin. He is a child of the sky and the protector of this harbor."

  She let silence hang for a moment, her eyes lingering on me for an uncomfortably long time. She looked me up and down, from my MMA-scarred knuckles to the way I sat in Graxion’s saddle.

  "I had heard rumors of a new king," Sizuna said, her voice dry. "I expected a pampered noble, or perhaps a scarred mercenary. You... you are neither." She looked at Yvette. "You are quite beautiful, Queen Yvette. And your Lady Monica is a striking specimen as well. Tell me, is this 'King' of yours actually virile? Or is he merely a figurehead for your ambitions?"

  I felt my jaw tighten. The woman was blunt—I’ll give her that.

  "He is very virile, Countess," Yvette replied without a second of hesitation, her eyes meeting Sizuna's with a fierce pride that made my chest swell. "In every sense of the word."

  Sizuna hummed, a sound of mild amusement. "Good. A weak king is a waste of a good throne." Her eyes drifted past us towards the cavalry on either side. She raised an eyebrow when she saw Kashko.

  She turned her eyes to me again. “Do you always travel with such a small honor guard? I see you have the famed bard with you. Perhaps you are here to entertain us?”

  The countess was trying to bluff us by pretending our army was too small to attack her city.

  “I think you will find my little army more than enough to achieve my goals.” I kept my voice even and cold.

  Sizuna’s lips curled in a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “So he does speak! And what, pray tell, King Roman, are your goals?”

  “To start, the surrender of your city. Then the acceptance of Avalon and myself as sovereign over Mersylvan.”

  “Ha! You will pay a dear price if you attempt such a foolish thing!” She raised her arm and pointed to the walls of her city.

  I followed her gaze and saw the battlements were crowded with soldiers. There were also three dragons perched on the city’s defensive wall. One was the other blue I had seen earlier. The other was the green Agatha had mentioned.

  I frowned as I looked at the unexpected third dragon. It was long and slender, its iridescent blue-green scales shimmering like oil on water. It didn't have the heavy musculature of Graxion and its wings seemed smaller.

  I turned my eyes back to her. My voice was grim. "You do not have the numbers needed to protect your city, Countess. Your city will fall and you will die.”

  Sizuna glared at me. “My family has ruled Meralon for countless generations. I do not take kindly to threats from intruders who circle our towers like vultures.”

  I looked at her for a long moment before responding. "We didn't come here to be vultures, Countess. I come to reunite Avalon.”

  “I suggest you stick to your own lands. We want nothing to do with Avalon.”

  “I wish I could, Countess, but the whole of Avalon is under threat.”

  Sizuna narrowed her eyes. “Threat? What threat?”

  “Savon plans on conquering Avalon again. King Alfonso wants to bring all the rebellious lands under his control again.”

  “Why should I believe you?”

  “That is not the only threat. The goblins in the gray mountains have begun raiding in earnest. They are accompanied by armored trolls,” Yvette added.

  Sizuna scoffed. “Goblins? They are but a minor nuisance.”

  “A week ago, King Roman defeated a combined goblin and troll army that nearly sacked the Fortress at Nander’s Pass,” Monica stated matter-of-factly.

  I could see the Countess’s mind working as she debated whether to believe us.

  “I came here to bring Mersylvan back into the fold. Crossroads has already fallen. I’m giving you the same choice I gave Baron Simon." My words focused her attention on me again.

  Sizuna let out a short, sharp laugh. "Crossroads? Fallen? Don't insult my intelligence, boy. Crossroads has stood for a thousand years. You must have bypassed it via Merden to the northeast. A clever march, I suppose, but do not lie to me about taking the 'Unconquerable City' in a matter of days."

  The arrogance in her voice was thick enough to choke on. She truly believed her vassal was still sitting pretty behind his enchanted gates.

  Yvette reached into the leather pouch at her side. She pulled out a circlet of heavy gold. Two gemstones, one blue, one white, glittered in the morning sunlight. It was the distinctive crown of the Barons of Crossroads.

  "I had to wash Simon’s blood off this circlet. It was damaged when my husband’s axe split his head open,” Yvette said, her voice dropping to a cold, deadly whisper.

  She held the crown up. Even from several yards away, the dent where my axe had struck Simon’s helmet was visible.

  Sizuna’s face went bone-white. The stiff, regal posture finally sagged, just for a second. Her eyes darted from the gold circlet to me, then back to the six dragons standing behind us. The "arithmetic of pride" Kashko had mentioned was finally being replaced by the cold reality of the powerful dragons that were with us.

  "He... Simon is dead?" she whispered.

  "The South Gate is a pile of rubble," I said, my voice hard. "Simon and his dragon are in the dirt. I’m offering you the same terms: surrender and remain the Countess of Mersylvan as a vassal of the throne. Or stay behind your walls and wait for the fire. Meralon’s defenses are not as strong as Crossroads. I don't want to destroy your city, Sizuna. But I will."

  Sizuna’s eyes turned towards the bard. “Is this true, Kashko?”

  The bard bowed his head to her before answering. “Simon and Aquilo are no more, Countess. King Roman rules over Crossroads.”

  Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the elf. “What is your role in this?”

  Kashko gave her a weak smile. “Momentous events are transpiring in Avalon. I am here to remember them.”

  Sizuna gave me a long look. Her mind was working again.

  The Countess looked toward the city, then toward the strange dragon perched on the wall.

  "I will consider your terms," she finally said, her voice tight. "I need time to speak with my advisors... and my family."

  "You have until tomorrow morning," I said.

  Sizuna nodded her head towards me. A moment later, Tamlin was in the air and gliding back towards the fortress.

  I looked at Yvette, who was still holding the circlet. "That was a bold move, Yvette. I am glad you thought to bring Simon’s crown with you."

  "She needed to see the truth, Roman," Yvette said, tucking the crown back into its pouch.

  I reached out and took her hand in mine. “You never cease to surprise me.”

  Yvette smiled and stood on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. “Don’t forget I have been training to be a Queen my whole life.”

  “You are doing an amazing job,” I said as I turned to look at the city. “Now we wait to see if the Countess is as much of a realist as Lady Agatha claimed.”

  24

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The night air off the coast of Port Meralon was heavy with salt and the quiet tension of an army waiting for a word. I stood at the edge of our camp on the hill, watching the flickering lights of the white city below. On the distant battlements, that slender, iridescent shape was still visible, a shimmering needle of blue-green against the night sky.

  "You are troubled by the child of the water, child of the ground," Graxion’s voice rumbled softly. He was lying nearby, his massive red form a dark mound of heat in the cool night.

  “Are you saying that blue is a kind of water dragon? It’s sleeker. It doesn’t look like Sizuna’s dragon. Heck, it doesn't look like it belongs in the sky.”

  "Because it doesn't," the red dragon replied.

  I turned to look at Graxion. “What do you mean?”

  "The Sea Dragons are a separate lineage. Their wings are for the spray of the waves as much as the winds of the clouds. Their scales are hardened against the pressure of the deep. In the Wars of the Merfolk, they were the terrors of the navy. To see one bonded... it is rare. They are stubborn creatures."

  I turned to look at the sea dragon again. Kashko walked up beside me, his boots crunching on the dry grass. He had a flask in one hand and his lute slung over his shoulder.

  "I was surprised to see the child of the water," the bard said, following my gaze. "When last I passed through Meralon, there were no sea dragons here. Indeed, it has been many a long year since I laid eyes on one.”

  The bard offered me the flask. I pulled the stopper and took a swig. It tasted like sweet red wine. “What else can you tell me about the sea dragons?”

  Kashko shrugged. “They only bond with merfolk.”

  "Merfolk?" I asked, turning to him. "You mean mermaids?" I pictured the half-woman, half-fish people from myths and legends.

  The elf smiled. “Yes… but not just mermaids. There are mermen and merchildren… otherwise where would the mermaids come from?”

  “Are you telling me the half fish, half-humans actually exist here?”

  Kashko chuckled. “I forget that you are from beyond the Veil. Though I am not sure what you mean by “half-fish”.

  “On earth there are myths about creatures who were human on top, but instead of legs, their lower body was a giant fish tail.”

  “That sounds… interesting.” Graxion said while the elf frowned.

  Then the bard nodded his head in understanding. “That is an interesting legend. I can see why the confusion arose. Merfolk are humanoids with wide, webbed feet.”

  “Not fish tails?”

  Kashko grinned. “No… but they can breathe underwater as well as above the water.”

  “So there is some truth to our myths.”

  “Myths and legends are often birthed from a reality that has faded over time and distance,” Graxion rumbled as he looked at the sea dragon.

  The elf reached out a hand and patted Graxion’s neck. “Well said, my friend, well said.”

  “Are there many merfolk here?” I asked.

  Kasko pointed at the city with his flask. “Port Meralon wasn't just built by men with hammers. The legends say the original founders were merfolk who chose to walk the land of Avalon. But the merfolk are few now.”

  “Why?”

  “As other races made their way across the sea to Avalon, they eventually warred with the merfolk. There were never many merfolk on the land. Most of their kind prefer to live under the waves. Some made an alliance with the humans that settled near here. Many of the citizens of Meralon have Mer blood in their veins.”

  “They intermarried?”

  Kashko nodded. “Yes, as is often the case when two peoples live and work near each other. Though there are still some pureblood merfolk in the city. And some from the ocean come to live and work in the city for a time.”

  The sea dragon spread its wings. It flew into the night sky, turning and twisting like a snake in water as it spun to face southwards. It disappeared into the darkness.

  Graxion’s golden eyes were looking towards the distant harbor. “They do not like to be away from the water for long periods of time.”

  “Do you think the Countess will fight me or join me, Kashko?” I was curious what he would say. The bard was both knowledgeable and insightful.

  The elf was quiet for a time. “The original merfolk of Avalon were very proud and arrogant. They fought against the newcomers to this land. The Countess prides herself on that heritage.”

  “You think she will choose war?”

  The bard smiled. “The merfolk that survived were the ones who allied themselves with the humans. Countess Sizuna’s ancestors… Meralon itself… survived because of that alliance.”

  “In other words—you don’t know.”

  The bard chuckled. Even Graxion let out a low rumble of laughter.

  ***

  The next morning, the sun burned through the coastal haze to reveal a flurry of activity on the grassy plain below the city walls. A team of servants in blue and white tunics had emerged from the side gate, carrying rolls of silk and heavy crates.

  Within an hour, a lavish pavilion had been erected on the field between the hill and the city. It was a bright, striped tent of azure and white, complete with a shaded veranda, low tables, and the glint of silver refreshments.

  Tamlin and the sea dragon appeared in the distance. They flew to the edge of the city and landed on the wall.

  I could see that each dragon had a rider in the saddle, but from this distance I couldn’t make them out, though I assumed one was Countess Sizuna. Tamlin stretched her neck out and sounded the call for a Dragon Truce.

  Yvette stood next to me and slipped her hand in mine. “I had a feeling the pavilion was a good sign that the Countess chose peace over war.”

  I eyed the pavilion suspiciously. “Should I worry about treachery?”

  Yvette squeezed my hand reassuringly. “Not during a Dragon Truce. To violate the truce would bring death and destruction to her and her people.”

  The two Mersylvanian dragons flew down to the pavilion. Their riders climbed down and waited for us.

  "Then let's go see what the Countess has to say.” I pulled my wife towards our dragons.

  I took Graxion down, while Yvette and Monica followed on Garryn and Bakaan. The others waited on top of the hill. We landed a respectful distance from the pavilion, as the wind from the dragon’s wings caused the canvas of the tent to flutter.