The Blood's Flame (The Dragons of Flareia Book 1)

Chapter 4 - Davri

The Venti Palace in the Air

26th Year of the Ocean

1st Moon

Twenty-three princesses perched upon the steps at the far end of the throne room, the two remaining Queens of Venteer sitting above them – either side of the empty throne of Sophus above them. The youngest princess was not quite a year old, the oldest way into her fifties. When Blissé materialised before them, the younger princesses exclaimed in wonder at the sight of the dragon. Blissé noted that the Queen of Gratus made a slight eye roll – a fact she would later mention to Zero when they were alone.

For now, Zero sat upon a perch at the side of the room, leaning in earnest towards the princesses. His white feathers were only slightly paler than the princesses' skin, their fair hair only slightly darker than their complexion. This made their eyes stand out – all a variation of deep blues and greens, yet none were as mesmerising as Zero's. Long ago, it was his eyes that first captured the dragon's attention – deep blue orbs dotted with stars. His divination skills, however, were what made her choose him as a familiar.

At Blissé's nod, Zero flew into the air and landed on the shoulder of the first princess, fluffing out his feathers. He seemed to shudder in excitement. Blissé knew this was his favourite part. She did not know what caused him to lose his sight, but he had told her that long ago he was able to see the world – both the present and the future. But now he could only see when he was delving into what was to come. Blissé settled herself onto the tiled floor of the Throne Room and let her eyelids fall shut, entering Zero's mind.

A flash of harsh sunlight, a flicker of bright green grass. Blissé recognised it instantly – the Evergreen of Gaiamere to the south. A peal of laughter, one soft pale hand holding a darker, calloused one tightly. The couple's hands swung between them as they wandered through the cornfields towards—

Zero blinked, and the vision was gone. He fluttered over to the shoulder of the next princess and settled down once more. Blissé was still entranced by the first vision as she was dragged into the second.

Darkness. More darkness that one could ever imagine. Blissé heard whimpering, but she could not see its source. Evil shrouded the darkness, and Blissé had to suppress a shudder as Zero blinked the vision away. She was thankful the princesses could not see these visions, so this one did not see the horror that awaited her. But Blissé also opened her eyes and watched Zero as he landed on the third princess's shoulder. He was quite visibly shaken – the vision of the second princess's nightmarish future was awfully similar to Zero's reality.

Time flew by faster than one would expect whilst watching flickers of people's lives that spanned years, and before long, Zero had reached the second-youngest princess in the Throne Room. Although she was a mere four years of age, she sat with her back straight and her head held high. Her bright green eyes – rather a rarity among Venti people – seemed as if they belonged to someone much older. Her shoulder was too slim for Zero to perch himself on, but the young princess held her arm out for the owl without being told. Zero nudged her upper arm with his head softly in thanks, before letting his eyelids flutter closed. Blissé closed her eyes along with him.

At first, Blissé saw nothing. Then, there were flashes of colour. Views of people's legs – everyone was so much taller than the princess. There was a glimpse of a white gold tiara studded with sapphires as it was placed on the princess's head. The princess standing hand-in-hand with the two Queens at the head of the Throne Room, the two older Queens locking eyes over her head. Then the vision shifted, and Blissé could see the Queen of Gratus smiling—