"Stand up, friend," Bastian said.
The man straightened. "Are you not the ruler of the Blue?"
He was, he supposed. "We will not take part in the battle between the Black and the Red." Bastian gestured toward the children. "We are harboring refugees right now. We do not have the manpower to fight, nor the dragons. We only have one full-grown dragon. What can we do in a battle against many others?"
Another man burst through the doorway. "Very little, but we want to fight." It was Marden, the leader of the Black Guard. Bastian hadn't seen him since before they'd left for Malum in search of the people of Hutton's Bridge. "We have been trained for battle. It is what we want. Let us march in the name of the Blue. The Black have risen. Long ago they were our allies. We will stand with them again."
"Is this truly what you want?" Bastian asked. "The dragon will not fly out with you. There will be no additional support offered."
Marden squeezed his hands into fists. "We hate the Red. If they should succeed in defeating the Black, then we will all be under their cruel rule. I have a family, too. I will not let the Red harm them."
His brother Barden stepped out from behind him. "We saw the Black dragons here. Everyone in Ashoom knows they are still our allies. Otherwise we'd be dead."
Bastian nodded. "It is true that they helped us when we were rescuing the children from Malum. But I don't know enough about them to guarantee your safety. I don't even know if they want our help."
Marden ignored Bastian. Instead, he held out a hand to the man in gray, who took it solidly in his. "I know who you are. I did not know the Watchers still existed after the Vulture’s Tower was destroyed in the last war."
"Some survived, and they kept the old ways alive. We have been waiting for the next war to begin and our scouts assure us it has. It is the time to rise to arms to protect our children and families. Will you join us?"
The two men looked to Bastian, eagerness burning in their eyes. They wanted war, and it appeared it had begun. "I won't fight,” he said firmly. “And neither will my dragon, but all we have is yours. Take whatever supplies you need."
"And healers," Elinor said. She smiled. "I will talk to those in my guild and request their assistance. I know they will agree."
The man in gray bowed. "I am Donovan. Do not forget it. You will be hearing from me again." He clicked his heels together again and left the throne room, dragging Marden and Barden in his wake.
"Those two have nothing better to do than follow trouble, do they?" Bastian asked Elinor.
She shook her head. "It appears so. Yet I have a feeling this is something bigger than any of us can fathom."
Bastian had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He was afraid she was right. He looked at the children, who'd gone back to playing. Would they ever have the chance to grow up in a peaceful world, or would battle and dragonfire surround them forever?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tressa stretched her arms and legs after a long day of riding Fi during the daily scouting. So far there'd been no more sightings of the Red since the Black had driven them from the battlefield days ago.
Granna and Mestifito had sequestered themselves from the rest of the camp, trying to decide what to do next. Spies had returned from Road’s End, the town closest to the Red Throne. They had counted numerous Red dragons training for another battle. Their elevated numbers made the earlier battle seem like a minor skirmish. Every night the council met to discuss the situation. The Red army was larger than they'd imagined, and they weren't sure how to proceed.
Tressa was embarrassed she hadn't been able to change into a dragon again. Fi assured her over and over that this was normal. It was part of the learning process. Not every person could control their dragon after the first change. Tressa had witnessed Henry's difficulties with controlling his dragon side before he'd been so brutally killed by the Blue queen, Stacia. Yet Connor seemed to have no trouble changing between human and dragon. Tressa wanted to be like him.
She hated not being in control of herself, fearful and hopeful every breath that she might change. In her dreams she could fly again. It was the most exhilarating experience she'd ever had. She wanted to feel it again. She wanted to burst through the clouds, letting the wet wisps cover her body until she flew into a sunbeam and dried off.
"What were you thinking when you changed?" Fi asked Tressa. "Maybe that will help you to do it again."
Tressa tapped her chin with a finger. "I remember thinking I was going to die. But that wasn't the first time I feared death since leaving Hutton's Bridge."