One more lift of the scepter—she twitched her lips into what she hoped was a pleasant little smile. This time, there was a great rustling from the audience, and Lana felt hope spring into her throat as she realized they were all beating their wings, not quite hard enough to lift them off the ground, but certainly enough to stir up a wind that tousled her hair and sent her ceremonial cloak flapping. Applause. That was applause. Did she dare to hope that the coronation was almost over?
Conrad stepped forward, his expression even more austere than usual as he held her crown aloft. She’d been surprised by how simple it was, when she’d first seen it. Given how absurdly ornate the rest of the palace was, she’d been expecting the crown to be so crowded with gemstones that it would break an unsuspecting monarch’s neck. Instead, it was an elegant band made from a single piece of silver, with delicate twists and curves in the metal that made simple, beautiful patterns. It had been quite a relief, actually. This was something she was actually looking forward to wearing. The Prince held it high now, and she straightened her back, lifted her chin as he placed the crown reverently atop her head before stepping back and swooping into a low bow. Behind him, she saw every dragon do the same, the soft light of the cavern glittering from their opalescent scales.
Every single dragon in the mountain, bowing to her. It was humbling… and as she stood before her subjects, Lana felt the full weight of this new responsibility settle onto her shoulders, perhaps for the first time. And as it so often did these days, her mind strayed to Seth. She was so grateful to have someone like him in her life. She’d learned so much from him already, just listening to him talk about his pack, about what it meant to lead them. She hoped their relationship would only continue to evolve and deepen as she stepped into her role as Queen, here…
So many dragons spread out before her. Where were the wolves sitting, she wondered? It had seemed odd at first to learn that important ceremonies all took place at the very bottom of the cavern… but when she’d come down here, she’d quickly realized why. From here, looking straight up, there was an incredible view of the entire cavern, with the distant circle of sky in the absolute center. And there was room for absolutely everyone to be present… which they were, it seemed. She couldn’t see the wolves in the crowd. No matter. She’d find Seth later, once all the official stuff was out of the way and the celebrations had begun.
But the day wore on into the evening, and still no sign of the wolves. Lana tried to be patient, but the worry was gnawing at her, her mind distracting her with worst-case scenarios. Were they even here at all? Was it possible she’d misread something—had they refused to attend for political reasons, perhaps? As a demonstration of their frustration at how slow the diplomatic process had been?
It wasn’t until well after the coronation that she finally found an opportunity to get Conrad alone—she’d been wary of asking the question too loudly around the other dragons, mindful that many of them were probably feeling a little sensitive about wolves being present at the coronation. There was music and dancing taking place on the great stone floor of the cavern, and she’d finally managed to slip away from the dance floor to one of the dozens of little rooms that lined the floor’s edge.
“We’re alone,” she said, gesturing around the little room she’d pulled Conrad into—it had some ceremonial purpose, though she’d quickly lost track of what it was when she’d been given a tour earlier. “You can collapse for a minute, if you’d like.” Conrad was putting on a brave face, but she’d gotten to know her advisor quite well over the last few weeks, and she could tell that he was utterly exhausted.
“That would be nice,” he said faintly, and she laughed aloud as he half-sagged, half-fell into a high-backed chair, his eyes sliding closed. “My word. What a day.”
“You have done wonders here, Conrad. Truly. The logistics… unbelievable. The catering alone.”
He gave her a wan smile, waving a hand dismissively. “I have a good team.”
“And they have a good leader.” She’d gotten that one from Seth, she thought, smiling—which reminded her. “Speaking of—where are the wolves? I haven’t seen them all day.”
Conrad opened his eyes, a frown re-creasing his brow. “The wolves? In their quarters, I’d imagine.”
“What do you mean? Did they head home already?” She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. She’d been hoping she might be able to pressure Seth into dancing with her. But Conrad was sitting up, looking worried.
“I thought you were aware. The wolves weren’t invited.”
A cold lump settled into her stomach. “Tell me I have misunderstood,” she said slowly, trying to keep her voice calm.
“Lana, this is a public event—perhaps the most important one in decades. Every single dragon is here. At least a third of them believe that the wolves are responsible for the disappearances we’ve experienced… and as for the rest, well, they wouldn’t dream of having a wolf present at a coronation. There’s already enough unease about them staying in the palace.”
“So you just—didn’t invite them?” Her heart was pounding. “Conrad, that’s the worst insult I can imagine.”
He spread his hands, looking aggrieved. “Then you aren’t correctly imagining the response of these people—the people you have pledged to serve—to being asked to tolerate wolves at a coronation.”
“Tolerate! Do you know how you sound?”
“No, Lana, I don’t.” Conrad’s expression was cold all of a sudden—she recognized the mask he wore to save face when he was unsure of himself, hated seeing him use it on her. “All I know is that if there were wolves at this event, there’d be a riot. And that’s no exaggeration. Do you have any idea what kind of chaos you caused by inviting Seth and his patrol into the Palace?”
“Chaos?” She threw her hands up. “I talked to dozens of dragons, none of them so much as mentioned it!”
“To their Queen? Of course not!” Conrad took a deep breath, clearly frustrated. “Dragons are polite, Lana. They’re hardly going to tell you to your face that they’re unhappy with a decision you made.”
“Why not?” She wanted to shake him—and by extension, every dragon she’d met that night. “Are you saying I can’t trust anyone?”
“No, I’m saying you need to learn to speak their language.”
“I don’t have time for this,” Lana snapped, turning on her heel and feeling the ceremonial robe drag and catch at her heels. She’d so enjoyed that feeling when she’d first tried it on… now, the thick velvet cloak only felt like it was weighing her down. “I have to go and find Seth and hope like hell he accepts my apology.”
“Fine,” Conrad said tiredly. “Leave your own coronation celebration halfway through, why not?” He hesitated, just for a moment. “I’ll cover for you.”
“Good,” she snapped, too angry to even consider thanking him. She was the Queen, wasn’t she? Queens didn’t have to thank people. “See that you do.”
But by the time she reached the palace, she had an awful feeling she knew what she was going to find. Empty room after empty room… Lana walked, then ran through the palace housing, calling Seth’s name over and over. There was no trace of any of the wolves in any of the rooms she knew they’d been using… nobody in the palace at all, in fact, with all of the staff down at the coronation. She was alone, she realized, standing in the empty dining room where she’d first shared a meal with Seth and his pack. Completely and utterly alone.
She shrugged off the robe right there, not caring about where it fell, and strode through the empty palace in a daze, heart pounding hard in her chest. She couldn’t bear to be in this place for another second … the itch to move on was back in full force, and she felt like if she didn’t get air under her wings in the next five minutes she might actually die. On the palace balcony, she paused just long enough to look down at the dragons below, celebrating their new Queen. Well, let them celebrate. She was getting out of here.
It felt incredible to stretch her wings and dive from the balcony, catching the air just in time to pull up and start winging her way hard towards the slender beam of weak sunlight that pierced through the mountaintop and into the great hollow cavern. Up, and up, and up… her wings were burning, and she could still feel the ache of the not-quite-healed wounds she’d sustained, but she knew they were strong enough to take her where she needed to go. Finally, she reached the top of the cavern… and without so much as a backwards glance, she powered her way up through the passageway, and back out into the fresh air for the first time in weeks.