The Glass Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #2) - Gena Showalter Page 0,99

wrath?

Pagan trotted over to me and sniffed my leg. My first instinct was to jerk away, but I bit my tongue. She flapped her wings and lifted to eye level, staring at me, unnerving me. I’d only ever seen Leonora’s dragons after they were fully grown—monstrous beasts bigger than giants. These little dragon pups, though... I hated to admit it, but they were oddly adorable, their scales as smooth as glass.

I maintained eye contact until Pagan decided to fly a circle around me and perch on my shoulder. She kept her gaze straight ahead, as if I wasn’t even there. Heat radiated from her, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

Would she grow up to wreak destruction across the world? Or, was Ashleigh’s love strong enough to change the future, holding history at bay?

The latter was...possible. The princess didn’t love me, and yet she’d already changed me; I would be a fool not to bet on her success.

Keeping my movements slow and measured, I reached up to trace my fingers over Pagan’s foot—scales, talons. Upon first contact, she tensed, but she didn’t try to stop me or fly away. I petted with a bit more pressure. I could feel every individual scale, one stacked next to another.

As time passed, no one came to the door. I grew incensed. Surely King Philipp had heard about Ashleigh’s attack at the tournament. Why did he not send a servant to check on her? Why did he not check on her himself?

I’d heard rumors suggesting he was sick. Still. He should care enough about his daughter to check. Instead, he treated her as a nonentity.

I experienced a pang of sympathy. I had to give credit to Princess Dior, though. She came to check on Ashleigh twice, refusing to leave until Ashleigh slipped a note under the door, assuring her all was well.

At last the clock chimed midnight. Not my clock, though. The toy left in rubble. I’d done enough recognizance to know the king and his staff were asleep now. “It’s time,” I said.

“I’ll pack a bag.” Ashleigh yawned and tripped around the room, stuffing things she’d procured before my arrival into a satchel. A bit of food, a canteen of water, a couple of blankets, toiletries, and clean clothes.

She’d wanted to pack earlier, but I’d asked her to wait; that was when I’d thought the king would visit.

I took the bag and hung the strap over my shoulder, then led Ashleigh to the balcony. Moonlight bathed her, the sight stunning, turning her into a dream. A cool breeze drifted past, laden with the fragrance of night blooms.

The dragons joined us.

“Follow my flight path exactly,” I said, and I prayed they understood.

As I took Ashleigh into the air, flying her away from the palace, the dragons soared behind us, following.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you for giving the babies a chance,” she said, wind whipping her hair against me.

“It wasn’t the dragons I decided to take a chance on, Asha.” I glanced over my shoulder, checking their progress. They must have seen something below and hoped to investigate, because they’d begun to descend.

I put my fingers to my mouth and whistled, gaining their attention, and the duo ascended once again, heeding my request. That simple action inundated me with hope. This arrangement might actually work.

Eventually, we reached the stable, a dilapidated building with rickety wood and a cracked roof ready to cave in at any moment. Or so it appeared. In reality, the structure was brand-new, built with enchanted wood cut from a magical tree; it would never fall.

Before I landed, I told Ashleigh, “I am going to entrust you with a secret. One you must keep.” Could I trust her?

“I don’t know if you should,” she lamented. “What if Leonora tells someone? You said it yourself. She and I are two different people. Sometimes I can’t stop her.”

It was a risk I had to take. “The stable was built around a mirrored cage. Inside that cage is Princess Farrah, who killed a princess of Azul in order to steal her magical voice. Farrah then compelled me to kill Queen Everly’s sister. As punishment, Farrah is forced to relive her crimes again and again as they appear on the glass.”

“I’m sorry for your pain,” she said, patting my hand.

“What makes you think I hurt?” Her accurate estimation unnerved me. “You’ve seen me kill many others. Why would any of this bother me?”

“Because you loved Farrah, and she betrayed you. Because you’d judged the victim innocent and