Becoming the True King and Queen (Forbidden Child Book 2)

The Village of the Dragons

After leaving the Snowy Range Arctic Pack territory, Skylar and James were centered in the middle of the group. Sadie and Dylan taking the lead. Sadie had studied the maps and was the most prepared for the journey. Jerrika, Mitch, Abby, and Dalton took their places to protect the Queen and King from any danger. 

They had been traveling well over three hours when Skylar mind-linked the group, "We need to take a break and eat something. I am not tired, and I want to reach the council as soon as possible, but I know we can't push ourselves into sickness."

James answered back, "Sadie, is there somewhere that is safe that we can stop at soon? Becky packed us a snack and lunch. I am with my wife. We need to pace ourselves and watch out for danger."

Sadie stopped running, which caused Skylar to run into her rear end. "Sorry, I should have warned you that I was stopping. There should be a pack of Arctic wolves up over that ridge. We can send Mitch ahead to ask if we would be welcomed and able to meet with them." 

"Something in the air is shifting; I feel like there is something brewing up ahead. I think we should all just proceed there together in case it hits faster than I feel it will," Mitch answered. 

Jerrika nodded, "I think we should always stay together. We sent as many packs as possible announcements to prepare for our pending arrival. When we had left this morning, all of the replies we received had confirmed that we were welcomed. However, I am worried that some will not return them or won't receive them; we should proceed with caution. The pack that Sadie is mentioning did say they were looking forward to our arrival. The fact that it should be at the end of our journey instead of the beginning. I hope that will not cause any alarm." 

Abby and Dalton kept quiet. They had married only two days ago and hadn't been able to spend any time alone. The stop would possibly provide a little alone time for them. The two were mostly agreeable, with the rest of the group being the youngest members of the Royal party. 

 As they headed for the ridge to the southwest in the opposite direction they had been traveling, what appeared as a blizzard began to form around them, slowing them down slightly. "I knew something was coming, but I wasn't expecting rain or snow," Mitch stated. 

Jerrika let out a growl that echoed off the mountains around them, "Someone is coming in our direction." 

Abby circled, facing the outside of the circle in a protective stance to keep her queen and king safe. Dalton followed suit with his new bride. Something was still off about their surroundings; the blizzard shouldn't have appeared out of the blue without any warning, and it wasn't cold at all. 

Dalton smelled the air, "This isn't a blizzard. It's ash, not snow." 

Mitch stiffened, "Whoever is nearby is in danger. They smell scared."

"Sadie, what do you sense?" Dylan asked. 

"Someone is pushing on my mind, trying to enter my thoughts. They keep trying to get past my wolves to communicate, but I can't reach out to them. Maybe we should shift and see if we can reach them," Sadie answered. 

Skylar growled, "No if anyone is to shift, it will be James and me. So you are to stand guard and keep us safe." As she finished her thought, she shifted, not waiting for anyone to abject. She left James no choice but to follow. 

"Hello, who is there?" Skylar called out through the ash. 

A whine could be heard before the words could be understood, "I am Trey. My village is on fire. We need help to put them out. Will you please come?"

"Trey, how were you able to locate us?" James asked cautiously. 

"I am a dragon. We can sense the goodness in others." Trey replied. 

The rest of the Royal Party transformed, and everyone dressed quickly, following Trey back to his village. 

Skylar used her ice powers to freeze as much of the fire as she could as they arrived. James used earth to cover the frozen fires and to put them out. The other members of their party used their powers to put out the fires as well. After what seemed like a couple of hours, they had finally dowsed all the fires. 

"Thank you for all your help. I don't know what we would have done without your help," a young female dragon walked closer to the group. As she noticed Skylar and James, she bowed in front of the Elementals. 

Skylar and James exchanged a confused look, "It was fortunate that we were passing by so close and could be of assistance. I am King James Mason of the Elemental Wolves. This is my wife, Queen Skylar." 

The young dragon rose from her position and smiled, "I am Daisy, the princess of the dragon kingdom. Our kingdom has heard a great deal about the two of you. You are more than just the King and Queen of the Elementals. You are..." 

"Daisy, do not keep our guest waiting out here. Please bring them to the palace," A male voice rang out over the smoldering debris of the village.

Daisy's eyes widened, "I apologize for my father, King Theodore. He isn't aware that you are the Royal Family of all Royalty."

Skylar and James yet again exchange a confused look. Daisy lead them to the doors of their palace. Every guard, citizen, and soldier fell to their knees at their arrival, bowing down to them. The only person still standing among them is who Skylar could only assume was King Theodore. He hadn't turned to greet them as they had approached. 

"Father, let me introduce you to King James and Queen Skylar Mason of the Elementals," Daisy said softly. 

King Theodore turned and bowed down as well, "The pleasure is all mine. Please forgive me for my disrespect. I am King Theo of the dragon kingdom." He rose slowly and held out his hand to James. 

James shook his hand, "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am not sure that we understand what the princess meant when she said we are the Royal Family of all Royalty." 

"Please come inside," King Theo turned and walked through the doors with James by his side and the rest of their party following behind. "Daisy, will you have Katie fix our guest some tea and cookies? King James, all magical creatures all over the world have heard about you and Queen Skylar. There have been rumors for many moons that there would be a rise in Elemental Royalty. The king and queen will be very powerful and will rule over all magical creatures throughout the world." 

James shook his head, "I have never heard about this. I have only been informed that we are simply the Elemental king and queen. That was a shock to us as well." 

"Will you please tell us where this rumor originated?" Skylar questioned. 

"There are two books known as the Lupinomican and Bestiary. The prophecy says that when the true king and queen take the throne, the two books will merge to become one. The Bestiary has been in possession of our family for many generations. About a month ago, I was in our library looking for the book; I watched the book begin to deteriorate before my very eyes. I knew then that it was only a matter of time before the true king and queen would be revealed. I began asking around the other kingdoms, and the chameleon dragons informed us of the two of you," King Theo explained. 

Sadie sat on a nearby chair and closed her eyes, "Now it is all starting to make sense. The Lupinomican has been changing for weeks and adding all the mythical creatures from all over the world; we couldn't explain why this was happening. We know that the Moon Goddess has been misplaced from her throne for some time, so we couldn't explain the changes to the book. I have tried to study it, but it was getting so big that I could no longer keep up," Sadie paused to turn toward Dalton, who was carrying their pack. "Dalton, will you bring me the Lupinomican?"

Dalton nodded and opened the pack removing the book and presenting it to Sadie. King Theo had to sit down as the book began to glow.