Reyr the Gold (Dragonwall Series # 2)

Chapter 45 - The Claws of Fire

Kastali Dun

Talon wondered which was more difficult: admitting to one's wrongs or apologizing for them. An apology was a gesture, an entry into the unknown. Apologizing was like tossing an egg into the air and hoping it would be caught. No one liked uncertainty, least of all him. The only thing that felt worse than apologizing was admitting to one's wrongs. He feared his faults. He couldn't bear to look weak or inept. He could not afford to feel vulnerable.

After thinking it over, he decided that it took greater fortitude to admit to one's wrongs than it did apologizing for them.

He sat at his desk within his study, staring at the blank sheet of parchment before him. He owed Queen Jade both an admission of wrongdoing and an apology. A deep rumble in the form of a chuckle escaped his chest. At least apologizing to Queen Jade in writing would be easier than his apologies had been with Claire.

He opened his desk drawer and removed Queen Jade's folded letter. She had sent it to him shortly after Cyrus demanded the Stones. He opened the letter and skimmed its words. Queen Jade called him things like inept, rash, and naive. Perhaps he was all of those things and more. Removing the Stones from their protected location was likely the poorest decision he had ever, or would ever make, as Dragonwall's king. Look at all it had resulted in. Queen Jade was correct in her writing about that. But what if...

His mind drifted to Claire in wonderment. How might things have been different if Cyrus had never sought the Dragon Stones? Would Claire be happy at home with her family eating pancakes and drinking coffee? Would she be safe? Surely that was a better place for her. He sighed as he considered it. His life would have been simpler without her, but now that she was in it, he could not bear the thought of never knowing her.

He shoved the letter away. Everything happened for a reason. His mistakes were part of the path he was destined to take; the gods blessed him by placing Claire on that same path. His decisions might not have been the best, but he had made them. He owed Queen Jade an apology at the least. Procrastinating would only make the task more difficult.

He set to work. It would be best to start with the apology portion. That would show him as a humbled individual in Queen Jade's eyes. He spent a few minutes on the effort, writing something from his heart. As he read over the single line, he realized that it was still too terse. Well...he was a man of few words. No, such a short sentence would not suffice. To make up for it, he elaborated on his poor judgement—Queen Jade would like that.

Women! He rolled his eyes and grunted before continuing with the last lines of the letter. He would leave no room for argument: He intended to visit Queen Jade in Esterpine. He would leave the capital as soon as he tied up loose ends, six days would be enough. That would set him to arrive by the end of next week. It would give him enough time to meet with her, discuss business, and make it back just in time for the Fall Tournament. There was no need to go further into detail regarding the reason for his visit—she would know why.

Reaching into his pocket, he removed the weighty leather pouch with the Dragon Stones and spilled them onto his palm. This wasn't the first time he had interacted with them and it probably would not be the last. He felt the power the Stones possessed. It seeped into him the way a magical tonic might, warming his hand first before spreading to the rest of him. As the magical energy pulsed through him, he clenched his jaw, holding fiercely to his resolve. When he glanced down at them, how innocent they looked! They sparkled up at him in the candlelight, surfaces dancing with the sole purpose of enticing him. Odd that one should be black while the other was gold. Was there a reason for it? Had fate connected them to these stones?

Tucking them away once more, he set about proofreading his letter to Queen Jade. When he was happy with it, he left it on his desk for morning. He glanced outside. It nearly was morning. Several hours had passed since Claire had gone to bed. In the meantime, he had already had a bath and cleaned himself up. With his letter complete, he stood up and went to check on her.