21. Kryll

21

KRYLL

M y boots echo along the hallway with every step I take. Trudging through the castle almost feels like I’m trespassing. It’s nothing like my castle back home. It’s all gothic and looming, like the promise of a painful death if you cross an invisible line, but there’s something about it that draws me in.

I know exactly what it is.

It’s her.

It will always be her.

I may have started this adventure with my brothers before I even knew she existed, but I know why I remain now. As a shifter, I’m supposed to be a lone ranger, but she makes me defy everything I’m supposed to be. She changes my priorities.

Marching into the kitchen, I startle when I find it empty. When Raiden reached out, he made it abundantly clear that it was urgent, no questions asked, and definitely no reasons as to why we had to hurry back. So here I am, but I’m alone.

“Where the fuck?” I murmur under my breath, straining to see if I can hear anything when footsteps approach. Whirling in their direction, I find a short woman with a white apron fastened on top of her clothes. She offers me a warm smile.

“I’m assuming you’re here for the meeting?” she asks, and I nod. “You’ll find them down the hall in the royal council chambers. I’ve already sent down a few light breakfast snacks for everyone, but if there’s something else you need…” Her words trail off as she waits for my response, but I shake my head.

“No, thank you. I just wasn’t aware there were royal council chambers,” I mumble, and she chuckles.

“If you find a map for this place, can you let me have a copy, too?” she jokes, pointing behind me. “It’s the second door to your left. The cinnamon rolls are excellent. Just so you know,” she adds with a wink, and I nod again before following her direction.

Making my way down the hallway, I strain my ears, but my shifter senses still can’t pick up on any sound, which is strange. As I approach the door she mentioned, I notice it’s slightly ajar, and when I nudge it open with the tip of my finger, I’m startled by the vision that greets me.

The room is full. Everyone is gathered, their mouths are moving, but I can’t hear a sound. Not one.

Brody spots me first, waving me into the room, and the moment I step over the threshold, I’m overwhelmed by the noise that comes with it.

“Kryll, I’m so glad you’re here. Please tell me you’ve slept at least,” Addi hollers, darting around the giant table that fills the space to greet me.

I envelop her in my arms, inhaling her scent before I even bother to try and find a response. Pressing a kiss to her temple, she leans back, peering up at me expectantly. She assesses my eyes and her eyebrows gather in concern.

“You haven’t slept either.” It’s a statement, the question no longer there as she gives me a pointed look, and I shrug.

“It’s a mess over there, Princess. It’s going to take time. Time I don’t have to allocate to sleeping right now, but it will be fine,” I insist, but that only seems to make her shake her head at me.

“You need to sleep, Kryll. Raiden too. Pushing through exhaustion isn’t going to help either of you, but that’s a discussion for later. Now that you’re here, we can discuss what’s happened,” she explains, stepping back from me, only to reach for my hand and guide me to a seat.

“How come my shifter senses couldn’t pick up on any sound until I stepped in here?” I ask, more than happy to table the discussion about my sleeping for now.

“When Arlo found the room, it already had the protective magic cast over it. I wasn’t sure by who, though, so we opted to have Brody break it down and start fresh. It’s perfect, though, don’t you think?” Addi states as she ushers me into the empty seat beside the mage in question, and I nod.

“It’s an extra level of privacy and security, I definitely think it’s perfect,” I assure her, earning myself a soft smile before she takes her seat in the larger chair at the head of the long table.

Murmuring continues around me as I take in the whole space. Raiden sits on the other side of the table, my brother beside him. The two of them have their heads lowered as they talk in hushed tones while Flora sits beside Beau, arms wrapped around her middle as she stifles a yawn. Arlo, on the other hand, is filtering through stacks of papers at the opposite end of the table to Addi, too busy to realize she is ready to start the meeting.

Glancing at my princess, she eyes him, a hint of concern flickering in her gaze as she looks over the papers he’s going through, but doesn’t interject. Instead, her attention is drawn to the walls and I take the opportunity to assess the rest of the room, but not before I peer at Brody beside me.

“Where’s Cassian?” I murmur, working as hard as I can to keep my voice low, and he shakes his head, disappointment flashing in his eyes.

“He’s not a member of her council. He can’t be here.” My eyebrows gather in confusion at the unexpected response, but he’s not done. “Even if he was, I called him, but he seems to have his hands full with fighting wolves, so he can’t come anyway.”

My lips purse. “Is this going to be a problem?”

“A problem?”

“His new role?”

He shrugs. “The reality is, we all have new roles that are taking us out of the castle for extended periods of time, his is just completely separate from everyone else’s. She says it’s going to work, and it has to, for her sake. If not, I’ll let you beat him within an inch of his life.”

“You’ll let me? What about yourself?” I retort, and he scoffs.

“Please, then Addi would be upset at me and we both know I can’t have that,” he retorts with a snicker, lightening the mood as I finish assessing my surroundings.

Other than the large table that sits in the center of the space and the chairs evenly distributed around it, there’s not much else in here. There are no windows, adding to the privacy. Instead, there are maps decorating the walls. Every town, village, or city is hung from each surface, while the center of the table has the entire kingdom etched into the wood. The detail is immaculate, except for the town farthest north on the other side of the table. It seems… tattered.

Before I can point it out, Addi clears her throat and the room goes silent. “Thank you all for gathering so early. I know it’s not the best time, but these also are not the best circumstances,” she offers, and I realize I don’t actually know what’s going on. As if sensing my thought, she moves around the table to where the damaged map etched into the table sits. “I was alerted this morning that Clementine launched an attack, devastating Summer Oak. We are still awaiting official casualties at this time, but it doesn’t look good.”

“How was she able to do so much damage?” Flora asks, frowning at the ruins on the table, and Addi sighs before turning to her friend with a tight smile.

“She has half of the kingdom’s soldiers on her side and the frenzied vampires under her control.”

“Fuck,” I grunt, shaking my head in disappointment, a sentiment shared by a few others at the table. Eager to be more than just a cursing dragon, I brush my hand down my tired face before sitting up straight in my chair. “What do we do now?”

Her pretty eyes find mine across the table as she tries to continue to smile through the mess. “That’s what we’re here to discuss. The most practical response, as far as I’m concerned, would be to disguise our hunt for Clementine as us taking a tour of the kingdom,” she explains, and my brow furrows in confusion.

“Traveling will make protecting you harder than if you were to stay here,” I state, my hands balling into fists on my lap as panic fizzles through my bones.

“Technically, if we’re discussing safety, this is already the safest option because I wanted to go full steam ahead and charge that bitch straight to her death, but Arlo is insistent that there’s a calmer way to handle this that benefits the kingdom too.”

My gaze turns to the man in question. His lips are set in a thin line as his eyes find mine. “Before you go all caveman on me, I know it’s not the most ideal scenario, but you try negotiating with this woman of yours and let me know how you fare in comparison,” he grumbles, nodding at Addi, who preens at his words like they’re a compliment. “Truthfully, though, a tour of the kingdom was coming. Continuing on with it will show that Clementine isn’t causing the queen to waver, and if we start at Summer Oak, we can help fix the damage while remaining alert for the foolish woman who thinks she can get away with this,” he adds, shaking his head in disbelief, and I sigh.

He’s got a point, they both do. I don’t like it, not one bit, but I still understand.

“Who will be traveling?” I ask, glancing around the table to find everyone looking at our leader for the same answer.

“All of us. Which is a nightmare since it’s clear you haven’t even scratched the surface over at The Council building, and there’s so much you all started yesterday which remains unfinished, but we need the security and everyone’s skills to make this work effectively.”

“Your safety is paramount, I’m quite sure we all want to be with you. Everything else can wait.”

She smiles at my words as Arlo clears his throat, dragging my gaze to him. “While I have you both here, Beau and Kryll I mean, can you just help me understand why the Dragon Kingdom stands separate from the Floodborn Kingdom?”

My eyes instantly dart to Beau’s, who speaks before I can encourage him to. He understands it all better than me. “They’ve never fallen under the same leadership. Dragon’s are… well, dragons. They’re unpredictable, and in desperate need of a space where they can roam free in the skies. The Dragon Kingdom is the best option we’ve found. My mother once explained that it was agreed upon many years ago that they would operate separately, but in tandem. Though, if it comes to battles, they remain at peace, keeping out of it because the dragon population dwindles on a daily basis and the last thing we want is to send them carelessly into battle time and time again, risking further threat to our longevity.”

This is exactly why he’s here because I would not have worded it like that. It would have been a jumbled mess in comparison.

“But you two come into battle,” Flora breathes, folding her arms over her chest as her gaze bounces between Beau and me, and I shrug. The look from Beau tells me it’s my turn to answer this one, but instead, I turn to Addi with a meaningful glance.

“It’s their choice to be here,” Addi states softly, a sparkle of appreciation in her eyes.

It’s not really enough of an answer, but to my relief, Arlo speaks again. “Thank you for that. There wasn’t any documentation I could find that explained the separation. However, right now, we need to focus on what we say to the media.”

Addi takes his redirection, rounding the table to take her seat again. “We need to keep it short and to the point. We need to devise a speech that will acknowledge the attack and announce the tour.”

“You want to disclose the attack?” Arlo asks, cocking a brow at her, and she nods firmly.

“I told them I was going to be open. I can’t backtrack on that the moment something happens that I don’t like. Besides, the citizens of Summer Oak deserve to be acknowledged and not swept under the rug,” she points out, filling my chest with pride as I take her in.

She truly is everything this kingdom both needs and deserves.

“And who is this speech coming from?” Arlo asks, but we all know the answer before she even speaks.

“Me.”