Frostbite (The Dragonian, #3) - Adrienne Woods Page 0,59

a fist, trying to stop myself.

The elevator ride felt like second nature now that I’d turned into a dragon.

When the door of the palace opened, Queen Margerite smiled at me; it wasn’t warm like that first time I’d come to visit, but it was there. King Helmut looked different. He looked tired, older and troubled.

I got out and the queen opened her arms. She folded them around me and my entire body just felt as if it’d had enough. “I’m so sorry,” I started to cry.

“Shhhh,” she stroked my hair. “It’s not your fault.”

King Helmut’s hand touched my shoulder gently. I looked at him and found tearful eyes looking back. “I should’ve listened to you.”

“It’s okay, Elena. He fooled us all.”

“No, I should’ve never trusted him. Why aren’t you mad?” I yelled.

“How is that going to help? It won’t bring Lucian back, and it certainly doesn’t change the way he felt about you. Believe it or not, we are happy that you are here.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Come here.” She grabbed me again and held me tight to her chest. “You were Lucian’s choice. That boy would’ve died a thousand deaths for you.”

I wiped away another tear.

“Come, I’ll take you to your room.”

I paused for a minute.

“Can I have his?”

She looked at me and at the ground. I didn’t want to take it back. I needed to be close to the things that were left of him. She finally smiled and nodded. I walked beside her to Lucian’s room. Neither of us said a word. When she opened the door that led to his room, she had to suppress her tears. “Sometimes I wake up and I could swear I hear him pacing up and down,” she said softly. “But when I open his door, there is nothing.” She touched my arm again. “I know how you feel Elena, I feel the same way.”

“You lost both your children because of Wyverns.”

“And both Wyverns are dead.” She looked down the hall and back at me. “It’s the hippogriff Helmut is obsessed with.”

I closed my eyes. I forgot that it was actually her that had killed him. She’d gotten away and of course King Helmut would want to know where she was. He wouldn’t rest until she was dead too.

“Did he try to look for her?”

“He sent out his scouts but everyone comes back empty handed. We don’t know which Wyvern city she lives in, which makes it a bit harder than it was finding Wyland.”

“Paul told me he was his brother. That he wanted King Helmut to pay for what had happened to him. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I thought it might have been something like that.”

“I just don’t understand why they had to take the Elementals with them. They were only babies.”

“Danger is coming, Elena, and I think they need them more than we do.” Her hand caressed my face. She was wrong about that. But I was going to try to stop them from getting Blake.

“Make yourself at home. We serve dinner around six.” She smiled one more time. “It really is nice to have you here.”

After she closed the door I fell on Lucian’s bed. My stomach and heart ached as I smelled his scent on the bedding. He was still here, somehow. I couldn’t get him out of my mind. The way he looked when he’d found me. Knowing that he’d heard that I’d almost kissed Paul and that he’d still tried to save me….Blake was right, I didn’t deserve him.

I lay there until Brigitte entered.

She just called my name softly and without a word she took me to the dining room which was only laid for two. King Helmut was nowhere to be found.

Queen Margerite gestured to the place opposite her and I sat down. The staff that served us only spoke when they had to offer a choice of food. They all carried the burden of losing Lucian. The rest of the dinner was shared in silence.

I found Cat on his pillow. He’d lost a few pounds, even he missed Lucian. The dog wasn’t himself and he didn’t even take the piece of bacon I offered him. He didn’t even look at it.

“He is still looking for him everywhere,” Queen Margerite said. “Bacon won’t help if it’s not coming from Lucian’s hands.” She looked back to her plate of food and carried on trying to eat.

I wanted to say something, but nothing would help this situation. So I kept my mouth shut and finished my meal in