Path of The Dragon Mage (Nomad) 59. Confession (Patreon)

When Corvus landed Charm on the roof of the far eastern tower, only one person was brave enough to greet him.

Corvus took one look at the man and did a swift double take. For a startled moment, he thought he was looking at his old mentor, Solt.

The man was of similar height and build with a barrel chest and rather spindly legs. But his hair and his trimmed, pointed beard were both rich brown. He was a few decades younger than Solt had been.

But the resemblance was enough to let him know he was dealing with the Cartwright house.

To cover his confusion, he turned to Charm. "Will you be okay up here on the roof?"

"I'd rather accompany you," Charm confessed. "But hallways are much too small for me, now."

He patted her on the neck in sympathy and then turned to the waiting man.

"Noble Cartwright, I assume?"

The man looked briefly surprised before he dipped it in a courtly bow. "Ethan Cartwright, my Prince."

Corvus searched his memories. There had been a time when he studied bloodlines as a matter of survival.

Unless things had changed, Ethan Cartwright was the brother of the current Lord of the family. The Cartwrights were… Not a well looked upon house. Starella would have kittens when she found out she owed thanks to them. Perhaps that was the reason for part of her hysteria.

He covered his smile by saying, "I have come to collect my cousin. Is she well?"

"She is… resting, Prince Corvus."

Rising out of his bow, the man looked at him uncertainly.

Corvus felt a stab of pity for him. He was likely uncertain for many reasons: Corvus’s true status as Prince, the dragon he saw on the roof, and of course Starella's actions.

Corvus decided to prompt him. "I understand Starella was… distraught?"

"My wife has been tending her," Ethan said. "She thought that the girl might throw herself off the roof."

That was worse than Corvus had thought.

"Take me to her," he said.

Ethan complied. Thankfully, Corvus was not surrounded by guards on his way down, though he caught his share of stares from minor Cartwright members and servants, alike.

Seeing the servants reminded him of the evacuees that must also be in this tower. "How did your people fair last night?"

"Better than most," Ethan replied. "Because the tower is not centrally located, we were not as hard-pressed as most… Though those damn jungle vines broke many of the windows in the lower levels. I'm told that the fruits of the vines are edible, which is something."

"And your losses?"

The man gave him a surprised look as if he had not expected Corvus to care. "Thankfully light."

"I'm glad to hear it," Corvus said.

"My Prince…" Ethan paused for a moment, clearly weighing his options, if he was being too bold.

"Go ahead," Corvus prompted.

"Do you know how long it will take to clear this vegetation out of the city?"

"I'm afraid I don't. It might be here to stay," he said, lightly.

The man did not look the least bit reassured, but then gestured him to an ornate wooden door at the end of the hall. Ethan arrived a half step before Corvus and knocked on the door.

A pretty young woman in her mid-twenties opened it, saw Corvus, and immediately dipped into a bow.

"My wife, Emma," Ethan said, gesturing to her.

Corvus nodded to her, though the woman kept her eyes down to the floor. "Is my cousin fit to be seen?"

"She's been showing signs of waking, my Prince," Emma replied, gave still downcast. "We have kept the room dark and quiet to give her as much rest as possible."

"Good. If you could please prepare some strong, black tea and any sweetbreads that are available," he said. "I'll speak to my cousin, alone."

He didn't want any witnesses in case Starella… was not of a right mind.

Outwardly, Corvus tried to project calm, but inside, he was deeply worried. What would cause her to have that strong of a reaction? To fling herself off the edge? Did she think that her Air talent would catch her? Did she want to die? This made no sense.

When he saw his cousin, she was sleeping, tucked in the middle of a bed so large it made her look as small as a child. There were no cuts or bruises on her. Whoever had tended to her had dressed her in a nightgown and combed out her long blond hair loose so that it fell into ringlets down her shoulders.

She stirred as he approached, likely hearing his footsteps.

"Starella," he said softly He sat by at the edge of her bed, taking her wrist to feel her pulse. It was strong and slow.

"Corvus... where?" She stirred, looking around and frowning. "Where's..."

"You're in a room in an eastern noble tower, You're safe, Starella. We won."

She breathed in a gasp and her eyes went very wide. "The dragon—"

"He's gone."

But she shook her head. "My dragon.." She started to sit up. When he tried to push her shoulder to get her to settle, she batted his hand away. Starella wavered in place, her free hand to her forehead. "Why do I feel so woozy?"

"They gave you something to help you sleep. Starella..." He wasn't sure how to approach this. Yes, he was the clan healer, but the wives of the elders he had stepped in when people were... emotionally distraught. No one had come close to suicidal except for perhaps Neville's mother, and while her baby still lived she had an anchor to life.

Corvus had to try to talk to her about this, no matter how uncomfortable it made him feel.

"The nobles said you tried to throw yourself off the roof."

"Ugh, idiots! You try climbing down without Earth Talent," she snapped.

"Without—" He blinked, trying to catch up.

Only then did he realize her dragon egg was nowhere within sight.

A feeling of deep foreboding swept through him. "Where is your dragon egg?"

"That beast," she all but snarled. "That insane beast intends to ally with the demons, and he wanted me to join him. He asked for a name. I refused and instead gave one to my egg."

Abruptly, Corvus was aware of Charm gazing out of his own eyes as he never had before. Her focus was singularly on Starella. And there was a strange sense of hope he’d never sensed from her before. If the egg hatched, there would be another Royal Dragon in the world.

Starella continued, "Then that beast ripped my Cosmos out of my arms. He threw him away—I have to get him, but my Talents aren't working." She held up her hands, fingers trembling. "I tried to climb to him but by then the nobles had come... They saw me as a hysterical child..."

"He is still egg-bound?" Corvus's lips moved but it wasn't him who had spoken. His own voice had a raspy edge.

"Egg... bound?"

"Has he hatched?" Charm demanded through Corvus.

Looking at him oddly, she shook her head.

With a force of will, Corvus shoved Charm back. It was roughly like elbowing someone away.

"Then, there's hope." Even as he said it, he wasn't sure what he hoped for the most — that the dragonet remain in the egg, or that it be safe in that egg.

If it hatched, Starella's claim on the throne would be stronger than his own. She had never been declared illegitimate.

Starella gripped his arm. "You have to stop that beast."

"I'm working on it. One of my main priorities will be to shore up the city—"

"Oh, who cares about this horrible city?" she snapped. "You're not listening: The beast hates us. He hates all royals for killing Zriah. He wants revenge against the entire Kingdom. It didn't work here, but he doesn't care. He's insane and he won't stop. He may be heading for the palace as we speak."

"You're certain?"

She nodded then squeezed her eyes briefly shut as if what she had to say next was going to be painful. " You have to go there to warn them. You have the dragon. If I can find Cosmos, I might be able to help... but he'll be so small…"

If she could hatch the dragon at all. She was perilously close.

And there was another problem.

"You want me to warn them," he said heavily. "I don't suppose the King will take the word of an exile Prince, even one on a dragon." He chuckled. "They might think Charm was a feral. I might be Zriah reborn."

Starella looked down. She knew what she was asking of him. He did, too.

"If I go, Starella, you must manage the city in my absence," he said.

"You... you’d trust me enough to do that?"

"It's not about trust. It's about what's right. You declined Daffodil's offer. I know that can't have been easy, but it shows you know what's right."

She looked at him and then burst into tears.

Corvus was alarmed all over again. Seriously, the girl needed to be stronger than this if she was to lead.

Starella sniffled, "I can't do this anymore...  I've wronged you, Corvus."

"What? What do you mean?"

She looked at him, miserable.

"The King sent me with two pardons for removing royal dragon eggs from the palace. One for me, and one for you. I destroyed yours. I thought I didn't know you anymore... I didn't think you were fit for the throne, but I was wrong—I was a fool and I'm so sorry."

He found himself standing, backing a step from the bed. "What?"

Then he remembered his Deception skill alerted him that Starella had not been entirely truthful for her reasons to find him before. Now it lay silent. She was being brutally honest.

Starella's face was a mess. Her voice wobbled but she continued her confession. "The king said he wanted to give you the chance to prove yourself outside of the palace, but our time has run out. There are demons on the border. The Kingdom needs a true monarch... and now my dragon egg is gone and yours—"

Suddenly, the balcony and window shattered outward.

Starella screamed and Corvus turned to see Charm hanging off what was left of the balcony, peering in.

Suddenly, a young woman — his own twin except for the white-blonde hair— strode in.

"You despicable girl!" she yelled but with the booming force of a dragon's voice.

Charm looked like she wanted to slap Starella. But this was only a human illusion. Her true dragon form was hanging outside, too big to reach in.

Corvus stepped between them anyway. "Charm, no!"

Charm whirled on him. "She has plotted against you from the very start!"

"Who hasn't!" he yelled. "That's what my family is! That's what I'll return to. Why do you think I never wanted to go back?"

He could have returned the moment Charm hatched, but he'd always found reasons not to. No, not reasons. Excuses.

And why not? Zriah had trusted her kingly father and look what happened to her.

And now Starella wanted him to go back? What gave her the right to ask that of him? To put Charm in even more danger?

His anger coalesced and he whirled on Starella. "If the king had faith in me, he should have told me. Instead, he threw me out and let me figure things out my own way.”

“My mother—”

“Your mother sent me to Solt who turned on me. What makes her any different?"

"I... I'm sorry..." Starella said.

He didn't care.

It was as if a ball of scar tissue had formed in his heart. Starella's betrayal hurt, but no more than when his mother's schemes had turned on him, or his father’s cold hate. To learn that the king had done the same only prickled by now.

And as for Starella... well, that was to be expected by now.

This changes nothing, he told himself. "Get up, Princess. Make yourself presentable. Do you want to lead? Stop weeping and get to work." He heard his father in his own voice.

Corvus turned and strode out the door. Guards were waiting on the other side. Likely, all had heard the racket, but none dared to go in. They parted before Corvus.

Ethan Cartwright, seeing the stormy look on Corvus's face, wisely said nothing.

Corvus strode to the roof so quickly he nearly jogged.

Charm met him on the roof.

"What do we do now?" Charm sounded unusually subdued.

He knew what she wanted, he knew what he wanted, and he knew what duty required.

Find the egg. Go to the dungeon. Return to the snake pit that was the palace.

For once they were three separate things.

He let out a breath. He was a dragon mage. Perhaps the answer was to follow the will of his dragon.

"We go below into the jungle and look for that damn dragon egg."

Charm was quiet for a moment. "Do we tell her how to hatch it?"

She was nearly there. All she needed to do was to add the naming rune.

"No. She can damn well figure that part out herself."