Bedelth the Orange (Dragonwall Series #5)

Chapter 41 - A Trade

Kastali Dun, Celenore, and Somewhere Unexpected

Claire was shaken awake. It took long moments for the haze of exhaustion to clear. Longer still for the memories of what had happened to surface. One moment, she'd been destroying the Oshean fleet, the next, she was here. Her magic had been depleted. She'd lost consciousness and fallen from Talon's back.

She groped for Talon's presence in her mind and found it. He was there. Steady, but preoccupied. A quick glance through his consciousness told her enough. The battle was nearing its end, the Oshean troops nearly defeated. His confidence over their assured win was the only thing that kept her from panicking on his behalf. She knew better than to distract him at a time like this.

When she blinked again, it was to find Jocelyn's frantic expression. "Joce?" She frowned.

The woman took that as her cue, spilling a series of incoherent statements. "They're gone! He took them. I'm to deliver a message, but I don't believe him—he'll just kill them. What are we going to do, Claire? You cannot do what he says! It's a trick. He's going to hurt you. They're gone. I don't..."

"Wait, wait. Slow down, Jocelyn." A prickle of dread started at the base of her spine. She hauled herself up, pushing aside the blankets. Someone had settled her into bed.

"I came straight here, to find you."

"All right. Here, sit beside me." She placed her hand on Jocelyn's arm, then bid the woman to explain everything. The longer Jocelyn talked, the sicker she felt. "And you're sure he will kill them if I bring anyone with me?"

"That is what he said." Jocelyn swallowed, her gaze distant.

"Then I will go. Hand me that bottle."

"What?!" Jocelyn cried, jumping to her feet and backing away, holding the bottle tight to her chest. "No. No, you can't. That is what he wants."

"If I do not go, he will kill them, Joce. I know Kane well enough to know it's the truth."

"But...but if you go, he will surely kill you."

Claire sighed, thinking through her options. She had the staff, when before she did not. Perhaps she was finally ready to take him on. She blinked, then remembered that the staff was tied to Talon's harness. Her king was still on the battlefield. Unless she waited for him to return with it, the staff wasn't a viable option.

She swore under her breath.

If Talon got wind of this, he'd never let her go. She had to act—fast. With Talon distracted, she had to slip away now or risk losing her dearest friends. She knew her mate too well. Talon's love was fierce and possessive and it warred with his upbringing as a king. To him, the lives of Desaree, Saffra, and her Spriten handmaidens would not mean as much to him as Claire's life. As a king, he'd made many sacrifices. Their lives would be another he'd make—in a heartbeat—if it meant keeping his queen safe. It was the logical choice. Even she could understand that.

Her stomach turned rock hard. "I cannot begin my rule with their deaths on my conscience," she mused aloud, looking at Jocelyn. But it was more than that. Her ladies had become her home. Her life in Dragonwall would never been the same without them. She could not lose them.

"No matter what happens, Jocelyn, if I leave them to their fate, I will regret it until the day I die. I will always wonder if I couldn't have done more. If I chose the safe path, the guilt I live with will turn to poison and it will eat away at me until I go mad and succumb."

"But...he could kill you."

"We do not know that with certainty. But if I do not go, he will surely kill them."