The Warrior King

Seventeen

As we descended, I noticed a large retinue of soldiers. They all stood at attention, not one of them moving. When we finally landed, they saluted as one.

We landed in a large clearing outside of the city walls; behind us, loomed a large ornate gateway. It was open and traffic traveled in and out. At the gate, were two sets of two soldiers, monitoring the comings and goings; on the castle wall, archers patrolled.

When Aries finally touched land, Tristan signaled for Ross to come over. He helped me from the saddle and this time I slid down Aries' belly and into Ross’ waiting arms.

”Well milady, what did you think of your first dragon ride?” Ross asked, a gleam in his eye.

”Honestly, I can't wait to do it again, ” I admitted. Ross grinned and I couldn't help but to return the smile.

”That will be all Commander Casely, ” Tristan said tersely as he dismounted. Ross gently transferred my body to Tristan and saluted. As he was walking away, Tristan called after him. ”Oh, and we will need to speak of that stunt in the air.” Ross cringed and nodded before going over to where James had landed his dragon.

Tristan set me on the ground and while I wasn't as shaky as before, I still leaned heavily on Aries.

”Here let me help you take off the chest plate and jacket, ” Tristan said. He undid the buttons on my jacket and when I shrugged out of it, my arms felt like springs released from the weight. He deftly undid the fasteners that held the chest plate in place and I took in a very deep breath. ”Feel better?” he asked with a smile. I nodded.

”Much better, thank you. I've never had a literal weight lifted from my shoulders, ” I joked weakly. Aries seemed to grumble at my bad joke. ”My apologies Aries; you deserve better after that remarkable flight.” Aries turned his long neck so that his head was right in front of me. I could feel his hot breath and his black eyes stared at me. Without really thinking, I reached out and rubbed one of the ridges above his eye. Soon, I noticed that his eyes closed and he seemed to be making a humming sound.

”I’m not sure what it is with you and my animals, but I certainly like it, ” Tristan said, running the other eye ridge.

”Speaking of other animals, where is Silas?” I asked, looking around. ”Is he running from the Wheat district to here?” If so, even at his fastest it would still be a few days before we saw him.

”No, he would never forgive me if I left him behind, ” Tristan answered. He pulled his pack from across his shoulders and knelt on the ground. I watched in shock as he opened it and out popped the smallest white wolf puppy head. The puppy gave a squeak before managing to jump from the pack and then took off racing to the nearby forest.

”Was that in your pack this whole time? Wait, was that Silas!?” I asked in an octave higher than my normal range. Before Tristan could answer, Silas ran out from where the puppy had disappeared. He trotted over to us and stretched his giant wolf body. ”But how?!” Tristan shook his head.

”I am afraid that an explanation will have to wait. I am needed urgently in the throne room, ” he said. ”Shelby will see that you and Brielle get situated. I'm afraid this will take up most of my day until after dinner.” He said that with a certain amount of reluctance. I just nodded and watched as Shelby and Brielle walked over to us.

”I'm sure it is something I will probably need to become accustomed to, right?” I tried to say lightly, hoping my hammering heart wasn't obvious. Tristan looked a bit guilty but then Delaney and James came up to him holding the reins of three horses.

”Tristan, we must be going, ” Delaney said, putting a hand on his arm. I stiffened, jealousy rising up at her use of his name and feeling comfortable enough to touch him. Tristan pulled himself up to his full height and nodded. Before he took the reins from James, though, he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close. I put my hands on his chest to steady myself and looked up to his clear gray eyes. They darkened and the next thing I knew, he was kissing me, his full lips soft on mine. I kissed him back and when he pulled away, I may have let out a soft whine at the loss of contact. His eyes went from gray to black in that moment. He probably would've leaned in for another kiss but James cleared his throat and Tristan let go with a sigh. He took the reins from James and mounted the horse, all in one fluid motion. He nodded to Shelby, who was now standing next to me and then spurred his horse into a gallop with Delaney and James close behind.

It was my turn to sigh now and Brielle put her arm around me.

”Don't worry, love, ” Brielle said. ”We will get through this together.” Shelby nodded and ushered us into a carriage with the Warrior Kings coat of arms on the door. Once we were settled, the carriage began to move.

As we passed through the massive gateway, Shelby leaned over to me and asked, ”Are you ready to see your castle?”