Bedelth the Orange (Dragonwall Series #5)

Chapter 7 - Ceremony Plans

Claire looked at the faces gathered around the conference table. She sat at the head; Talon had insisted on it. She knew why. He was hoping to acclimate her to the position of ruler. From her right, he continued to speak, walking them through their plans.

Talon's Shields were present, as were Byron and Tamara. Desaree, Saffra, and Jocelyn had also been invited. While they wouldn't play any role in battle, they'd become a part of Talon's inner circle. But...what distracted her most were the Dwargs.

Dwargs!

It was still surreal. She could barely take her eyes off them. The first time she'd seen them, her mouth gaped widely enough to be embarrassing. How many queens turned flytrap at the sight of something surprising? Well, she had.

Could anyone blame her? They were Dwargs! And they were everything she'd expected them to be, exactly like the dwarves she read about growing up. Short in stature, built thick like tree trunks, with long beards, merry faces, twinkling eyes, and booming voices. They were messy and fun. What she liked most was their lack of concern for pleasing others. They did what they liked, and lived in the moment. That was something she appreciated, something she wished she was better at. These days, she was too concerned with what everyone else thought of her, and try as she might, it ate at her.

Seeing them was something of a dream, and she'd loved them immediately, but Berbik was her favorite. Not only was he the most sociable of them, he'd plied her with stories about his kind, which she'd eagerly inhaled when time allowed. He sat here at the table today, with his comrades. Each time she caught his eye, he gave her a huge grin beneath his beard that swallowed up his face, turning his eyes squinty.

"We're relying on the lake, on Saffra's brew, to do the majority of the work for us," Talon was saying. She forced herself to focus on his words. "Given Taylynn's warning, her sending Claire here, we must prepare for the worst."

Taylynn had insisted on sending her here. She often wondered if there was more to it than simply acting as a failsafe—being present in case their plans went awry. Perhaps the princess had anticipated what Claire would do, attempting to save the unborn hatchlings. Perhaps she'd seen the necessity of it. Or...Claire was merely overthinking things.

After all, there was plenty that could go wrong.

Those dragons out on patrol, those who simply weren't around during the correct window of time, or even those who drank the lakewater later, shifting the timeframe of effectiveness, could retain enough awareness to pose a serious threat. All it took was a single dragon's fire to decimate a city, destroy thousands of lives. She needed to be there to protect them.

"Our forces will be in the sky, ready to neutralize any existing threats," Byron was saying. "We've got the most experience in this sort of combat," he added. "Despite our previous losses, we should be able to handle a few dragons, more even, if Her Majesty, Claire, is in the city protecting its people."

"I will ensure the city's inhabitants are safe," she promised. "No fire will touch them."

Byron nodded then glanced at Tamara, his mate, before he continued outlining his portion of their plan. In the time Claire had been away, Byron and Tamara had been voted in as the newest leaders of Fort Squall. She was proud to see Tamara stepping into the roll. But she was also devastated, knowing what it had cost, knowing that Reyr had lost his twin brother to the dragons.

He'd been so heartbroken. He'd disappeared entirely after the battle with Kane and the dragons. She'd only gotten him back, after his unexpected return to the capital, and then it was decided that she would journey into the forest. She'd parted from him all over again. It had been an absolute treat when he'd appeared in Esterpine to surprise her. Still, it felt like they didn't get much time together these days. Not like it used to be.