Adventures in Summoning

Chapter 31

"My mate, mother," Quin repeated.

I thought the queen's head was going to explode, she looked so furious. "You would dare to mate with the enemy?" She screamed. I could see several of the other dragons behind her looking shocked at the revelation. This wasn't a good start.

"I've learned that not all humans are the enemy, only those working with Talkorn. These three helped me return from another world, fought by my side, and nursed me back to health when I was injured. They have been solid companions while asking for nothing in return," Quin retorted.

"Except to mate with you," The queen sneered, ignoring the rest.

"That was my idea," Quin admitted blandly.

"You're the future queen, you cannot have a human mate!" her mother bellowed, the sound echoing off the walls of the chamber. I had expected it to not go well, but this was getting worse by the second.

"Can we please skip this part? Talkorn will be invading soon," Helen interrupted the argument, causing the queen to step back and blink a few times at her.

"What was that?" She asked quietly.

"Talkorn, your enemy. He'll be attacking here in the morning, you should start to prepare, you don't have time to argue when you might be dead if you ignore him," Helen smiled at her.

"Mother, this is Helen, you know her as the Oracle," Quin clarified for the queen.

The queen looked horrified again. "The Oracle is a human? How can I trust anything you say?"

"Have I been wrong about anything before?" Helen asked simply.

"You could have been lulling us into a false sense of security for this very moment!" Well now the queen was just raving, and I wished that Quin had kept the mating part out of it until after the attack.

"Mother, we have all risked our lives coming here to give you this news. Do you really think so little of my judgment?" Quin's voice was losing the respectful attitude it once held and was growing in volume as well.

"You show up and tell me you mated with a human, and then ask if I trust your judgment?" her mother scoffed.

"Then you'll ignore the warning, and do nothing?" Quin asked, frustrated.

"Holl, send out a scout." The queen called over her shoulder to the stocky dark blue dragon. I think I was right about that being a sign of royalty, as he had the same copper hair as Quin and the queen. He immediately nodded and strode off towards the doors.

"Any scout you send will die," Helen called out clearly. "So, pick one you don't care about." Holl paused in his march and looked back at the queen.

"Go!" she commanded her son loudly, while glaring at Helen.

"Mother, don't do this," Quin pleaded. "There is no reason to act this rashly, we can come up with a better plan without wasting the life of a scout."

"After the way you've acted, you're the last one I want to hear criticizing me about acting rashly!" her mother bellowed, spittle flying from her mouth. If dragons could breathe fire, this would be the time for it. "This human isn't fit to live, let alone be your mate!" she advanced on me, her nails turning to talons. I hurriedly backed away as Helen and Dee ran back towards the gate.

Quin stepped between the queen and I, her wings spread wide and claws lengthening as well. "Stop mother! You will not hurt my mate!" She roared.

Her mother stepped back, her eyes wide at the defiance from her daughter. "You would side with a human over me? I can't believe you've sullied our castle with this filth!"