Dragon Blood (Completed)

The Queen's Command

Chapter 10

A knock on the door distracted him from his mental agitation. A Bluescale guard let him know that the queen was awake and requesting an audience. Zane could see the stress in the guard's eyes. It worried him that the queen's condition was not improving.

He approached the room where the queen lay with caution; a strange apprehension was creeping in his chest. The sight of her was starting to make him nervous and edgy. He told his guard to stay in the outer room, out of Paige's sight. She was too weak to deal with the sight of dragons who'd harmed her. He didn't want to have the reminder of the attack thrown in her face when she should be resting.

Just before he entered the small room where she was recovering, he heard the lithe sound of merry giggles. When he entered, Paige was still in bed, but she had another visitor—Lilly Redblood sat on the edge of the bed.

"Highness," he said stiffly, standing in the doorway, bowing.

Her brown eyes bore into him, like she was trying to unlock his secrets. She smiled crookedly in spite of her swollen face, disarming him, and drawing him closer. "So formal, Prince of Blackskin," she said so softly, Zane almost couldn't hear her. He moved closer, taking the chair next to her bed where he and Dean had slept the night before.

"I was just telling the queen that when she's recovered, she'll have to come visit me at Redblood so I can show her our famous Bloodmoon Caverns," Lilly said proudly.

"They are quite a sight, but I don't think they compare to the Blackskins' Eternal Flaming Waters." Zane then turned to Paige. "It's an underground waterfall that flows into a lake so crystal blue, it looks like the eyes of a Bluescale, but the mysterious part is the falls are as red as Lilly's hair. No one knows how the waters turn from red to blue."

"I've heard stories of both." Paige gave a small smile.

"Well, I should let you take care of business." Lilly squeezed Paige's good hand. "I'll check on you later."

"It was nice to meet you, Lilly."

"Where's Dean?" he asked after Lilly left.

"Maze took him to help set up for the burning ceremony."

"That's good. You'll be feeling better soon."

"Zane, stop with this ridiculous sentimentality." He was going to say something else, but Paige silenced him. "Has someone contacted my mother's family?"

"I told the other royals that you wanted that looked into, but we were waiting until after the ceremony."

"This can't wait. Shouldn't I have an errand boy, or someone to do this when I ask, and not when they feel it should be done?"

"I don't know. I heard Theo Bluescale wasn't in his right mind toward the end. He fired a lot of the staff close to him, afraid they were out to get him."

She said a word in the other language she spoke and closed her eyes tiredly. "I don't have the time or the energy to set up a whole new staff."

"Why do you have to be such a pessimist?"

"Dean is my responsibility. I have done everything in my power to keep him safe, and that's what I have to do until I take my last breath. Which I hate to say is going to be soon."

Her eyes were glassy with tears. She looked more fearful than when she'd seen Drake. Zane was struck by her youth; she was just a child herself. So young to be taking care of a boy Dean's age. He could see the weight of it in the heavy set of her slender shoulders.