Crowned in Black: Chapter 26

The Royal charter tore toward Kalla Sahasi from the north, easily visible from our gatehouse survey platforms. Karalti teleported back from her hunt without so much as a murmur of protest, watching warily as the Hóleány - Ignas's personal ship - streaked around the castle toward the skydock.

"Well, they're requesting a formal landing permission. That's a good sign." I uncrossed my arms as Suri set her binoculars down. "Hopefully it's Janos accepting the fact that Ignas is here. Karalti, go over to the skydock and block the exit, in case the ship is some kind of damn trojan horse."

“Got it!" The dragon roared at the ship, and launched herself into the air after it, like a cat after a pigeon.

Suri, Istvan, Vash and I had to go by foot, much slower than either the ship or Karalti, which gave it plenty of time to land. I wasn't surprised to see the Royal Herald, Elizabet, standing at the bottom of the Hóleány's gangplank. What was a surprise were the two hostile-looking [Knights of the Dragon] flanking her to either side. They were sworn to the king, not the regent. The Herald wasn't in chains, but she had the strained, pale face of a captive... and I had no doubt the men behind her had been instructed to kill her if she disobeyed Janos' orders.

"His Grace Janos Lanz of Czongrad, Regent of Vlachia and true ruler of Vlachia, has a message for Dragozin Hector to be conveyed with utmost urgency," Elizabet said tightly. "By the decree of the Regent and the lords of the court, you are hereby stripped of your titles and lands, which are forfeit to the Crown. The Council of Lords, having convened in the Parliament of Vlachia, rebukes your claim to royalty and refuses to acknowledge any noble or royal title falsely gained through treasonous actions to the Crown. Refusal to vacate your current lands will be considered a declaration of citizen rebellion and will be punished with utmost severity, with… the full force of arms at the Crown's disposal."

Elizabet trailed off at the end, and pressed her lips together in a thin, unhappy line.

"Is that all he had to say for himself?" I asked her.

Elizabet gave me a long, penetrating look, then drew a deep breath and lifted her chin. "Yes, Your Highness."

One of the visored, armored guards behind her took a step closer, and reached out to grab her shoulder... only to stop as Karalti landed behind us. The rolling BOOM of her feet jolted everyone into a stumble. She lowered her open jaws over my shoulder, letting out a long, rattling hiss.

"Your boss wasn't thinking straight when he sent you two here, was he?" I said to the guards, leaning casually against one of Karalti’s hands. "But let me give it to you straight, sir knight. You lay one hand on the good Herald, and I will not hesitate in ordering my dragon to pick you up and throw you off the skydock like a tin can. Take a big step back. Herald, do you have any family in danger in Taltos?”

Elizabet swallowed, glancing to the side. “No, Your Highness.”

“Is Janos holding anyone you know to ransom? Anything like that?”

She shook her head.

“Good. Then you two boys can relay my message back to Janos yourself. Don't worry, it's really short, okay?” I made a show of drawing myself, and cleared my throat. "Dear Janos, traitor to the Crown and Vlachia as a whole: go fuck yourself."

"You dare-!" The other Dragon Knight reached back for his sword.

I didn't even have to ask Karalti. Her head darted down like a striking snake, nipping the man by his head and hauling him into the air by it. He screamed as she whipped her long, slender neck, and threw him at the mast of the Hóleány. He hit it and bounced, scattering the crew as he slammed face down on the deck with a clash of metal and wood.

"You. Get your faithless ass back on that ship, and tell your boss to prepare for war." I put myself between the other knight and Elizabet, standing chest to chest with him. "Because if he thinks he got rid of the Volod so he can have his little coup, he is SORELY mistaken. Ignas is alive, and chose me as his heir, and if Janos won't peel his flabby, treasonous ass off the throne, I'll be happy to scrape it off for him."

Karalti rumbled like a thunderstorm, and the knight backed off, not daring to turn. He snorted with rage, but he took another step, then another, and finally clanked his way back up the gangplank. The sailors hauled it back in, and within minutes, the ship departed, heading back toward Vastil Pass.

"It's a two-day flight on that ship to Czongrad’s capital at full speed." Elizabet adjusted her feathered hat anxiously. "Count Lanz has a mage there waiting for me to return with news... they were to send the message back to him via telemetry."

"Come with us to the Great Hall," I said. "We can talk there. You look like a woman who needs a stiff drink."

"A... A drink would be wonderful." The small, dark-haired woman stiffened into her usual disciplined posture. "... Thank you, by the way. Those two, my 'bodyguards', were most definitely NOT there to guard my body, unless we were talking about my corpse. I... actually don't expect why Janos thought you'd simply bow to his message and hand over your coronet. Perhaps he forgot about..."

She gestured up to Karalti, who snorted a blast of hot, metallic air over us.

"Maybe." I few different feelings passed over me. Relief, at first, because I'd possiobly saved the Herald’s life. But it was quickly followed by suspicion. I really wanted to like Elizabet - she'd always seemed like a good person - but it was entirely possible that Janos, or someone advising Janos, had just planted a spy right in the middle of my castle. I was still haunted by the fact that Janos and Pasha had known about our movements in the Bashir desert. It hadn't been Elizabet who'd tipped him off about that... but somehow, they'd known. "Tell you what: I'm going to set you up in a safehouse in Karhad for the time being. You're a target if you're here in the castle - and besides, this isn't your war."

"As you say." The Herald looked up at Karalti, then to the skydock. "Can you... can you tell me one thing? Is it true that His Majesty lives?"

"He does," I said. "In an undisclosed location for his safety."

"Thank the gods." Elizabet made a T-shaped sign over her chest, the hammer of Khors. "Alright... I'll lay low for a while. Thank you."

"I will arrange it." Istvan bowed from the neck to her. "Your Highness-"

I shot him a look.

"Uh... Your Grace, Hector," he corrected himself. "Is there anything else-?"

His next words were drowned out by the arrival bell going off on the skydock watch tower, alerting us to another incoming flight. I scowled, and turned back to search for an airship, but saw only one lone rider on a quazi gunning it for the wharf. The avian dinosaur was panting, tongue lolling as the rider, bent over flat to its back, spurred it on for the last stretch. It was coming in too fast for a safe landing.

"Everyone out the way!" I barked, already retreating in a backwards jog.

The quazi screeched in protest as it swooped in, backwinging into an awkward, stumbling trot that pitched it onto its keep and sent it sprawling in a mess of wings and limbs. Suri gasped, but the quazi - croaking and chattering its beak - picked itself up wearily as its rider fumbled with his saddle straps.

"Voivode! My prince! I come from Boros!" He yelled to us, still not detached from the saddle. "Lord Turok sent me with all haste! A Royal Fleet approaches Myszno from the north, headed straight for Krivan Pass!"

I squinted at him in disbelief... then my eyes widened as I realized the gambit Janos had played. I whirled on Elizabet, who stood pale and uncertain between Vash and Suri. "Did you know about this?"

"What? I... no!" Elizabet shook her head frantically. "No, Your Highness!"

"Istvan, Vash, please escort the Herald to the Great Hall and get ready for a fight," I said, equipping my helmet. "Karalti and I will go and scout what's happening. Suri... can you find Taethawn and marshal the Orphans?"

"Sure." Suri also glanced sidelong at Elizabet, who looked like she was about to burst into tears. "If nothing else, we can put up a defense of the castle."

"So much for Janos taking weeks to convince the privy council in Taltos." I slammed my visor down, and sprinted for Karalti. She didn't utter so much as a murmur of protest, crouching down so I could bound up to her back. She roared and ran for the edge of the skydock, wings unfurling.

"Make way! Dragon coming through!" She sang, scattering dockhands just before she kicked off and launched into the air over the valley before warping into the liminal space between destinations.