“It’s the sign for the star sign Gemini,” Conrad said simply, and the solemnity of his voice made her giggle. “What?”
“You’re the only dragon I’ve ever met who’s known about star signs,” she said, filing away that new piece of vocabulary. “Sorry. I shouldn’t make fun.”
Again, that confused little smile. “Make fun?”
“I know some people—believe in all of that. Astrid guessed I was a Gemini based on my personality, she said. She was so happy when she found out she was right. But it’s all—coincidence, obviously.”
“We should talk,” Conrad said softly, gesturing to a large table with straight-backed chairs. “I think you’re missing some important information—as am I.”
“Very well.” This language was so stuffy. How had Seth made it sound so natural, so beautiful? She found herself missing him, hoping he was okay. “Before we talk, though—the wolves?”
Conrad exhaled. “They’ve been taken to some empty quarters, right across the cavern from the palace, and made very comfortable.”
“Can I visit them?”
Again, Conrad looked a little pained. “Of course you can. Of course—Lana, I don’t mean to be rude. But do you know why you’re here?”
She blinked, sliding cautiously into a seat opposite him and trying unsuccessfully to dismiss the feeling that she was settling in for a job interview. “Why I’m here?” Did he mean philosophically? She had no idea how to ask that.
“The kingdom. The prophecy.”
Lana narrowed her eyes. Accidental or not, she didn’t like it when people sounded like her father. “Explain?”
“It is the oldest piece of extant writing,” Conrad said, the serious look on his face serving to settle her vexation at the memory of her father. “Our scholars are still arguing about its precise meaning, but the basic message is extremely clear. Your arrival here was heralded hundreds of years ago.”
“My arrival?” Lana blinked, a sudden horrible suspicion arising in her. “Wait. Do you know my father?”
Conrad grimaced again, a flicker of frustration showing through. “No. At least, I don’t think so. I know little about you, Lana. Only that you were destined to arrive here from the Fog, to heal a rift within our kingdom.”
“How do you know the old book is talking about me?” She gritted her teeth, aware her use of the language was clumsy. “Surely there have been other visitors since it was written.”
“You don’t understand.” It wasn’t a criticism—simply an observation. And she couldn’t exactly disagree with him, could she? “This place… you saw it from the Plateau, yes?”
“Some of it. At the horizon, there was…” She hesitated over the word. “Gray mist, obscuring the view.”
“That mist doesn’t obscure the horizon, Lana. That mist is the horizon. The Fog marks the edge of this world.”
She frowned at him, her mind working to translate and then comprehend what he was saying. “But I was walking around in it. Surely there’s—you know, places beyond.”
But Conrad was shaking his head. “Nobody comes or goes from this place. Ever.”
“But I did.” She bit her lip, realizing too late that she was agreeing with him. “I see your point.”
“The prophecy said you’d come to us through the Fog, Lana. That you’d lead us through our greatest challenge. That you’d bring peace back to our community.”
“No,” she said, feeling her heart begin to race. “You said the scholars are arguing. That it’s ambiguous. Maybe it means something else.”
“Not this part,” Conrad said firmly. “Not the part that tells us you’re our Queen.” She felt like she’d been frozen in a spotlight, here in this strange, ancient library full of books that were suddenly a source of menace. Conrad sighed. “I had assumed you’d know your destiny when you arrived. I apologize for that presupposition—it’s caused some undue confusion, that much is clear.”
“But aren’t you the—King? The Prince?” She gestured at the silver band around his temples, and he smiled faintly as he lifted one slender finger to tap on it.
“Only a caretaker, Your Majesty. My full title is Prince Regent. I have simply been awaiting your arrival. Once you’re crowned…” He lifted the silver band a little, then mimed taking it off and setting it down. “Of course, I’m more than happy to stay on in whatever advisory capacity you see fit.”
“My dad was right,” she murmured, realizing by the confused look on Conrad’s face that she’d dropped into English. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest as pieces fell into place. Her whole life, her parents had been stiff and cryptic with her, carrying on endlessly about some mysterious magical destiny that was simultaneously very important… and a closely guarded secret that she wouldn’t be allowed to know any details about until the time was right. When that would be, neither of them could tell her. That had been why she’d left, all those years ago. Ever since she could remember, she’d had a curious mind, a desire to learn and explore, to understand the world. That curiosity simply couldn’t bear to wait. Over the years, her parents had made their disappointment clear, but they’d never actually caved and given her any concrete information about their family’s magical destiny. She’d eventually convinced herself that the whole thing had just been a silly lie, designed to control her.
Was this what they’d been talking about? Was the situation she was confronting now the reason her father had insisted she spend most of her childhood studying ancient Draconic? Had she made a horrible mistake in fleeing the rest of her parents’ lessons? Was she about to massively disappoint Conrad and the rest of his community—these dragons who’d apparently been waiting for her for hundreds of years?
“I don’t know how to be a Queen,” she said faintly, remembering just in time to use the language. “I don’t know anything about any of this, Conrad. I’m sorry. I’m—I’ve never run anything more complicated than my own life, in a totally different world to this one. Even that much is … more difficult than I can express in this language. I’m disorganized. I’m messy. I’m easily distracted—I’m literally from anotherplanet, Conrad.”