A Sky of Spells (Book #9 in the Sorcerer's Ring) (12 page)

SIX MOONS
LATER

Gwendolyn soared high in the
air as she rode on the back of Ralibar, clutching on for dear life, as she
always did when she rode him, trying to predict his unpredictable temper. Ralibar
dipped in and out of the clouds, dove up and down, snorting, sometimes even arching
back. He was the most strong-willed and temperamental creature she had ever
met, and she could feel his emotions flaring within him.

Gwen was honored that Ralibar
even let her ride him. She had discovered, moons ago, his fondness for her.
Whenever Thorgrin went to ride Mycoples, Ralibar would become jealous and
territorial, and would snort and shriek at Thor, trying to scare him away. Ralibar
and Mycoples would stand off with each other, and it had been getting
progressively worse—until one day, Gwendolyn had accompanied Thor to see him
off, and they had all been shocked as Ralibar had turned to Gwendolyn, had
lowered his head and, while first examining her suspiciously, had then leaned
in and stroked her stomach with his face. Ralibar had purred softly, and for
the first time ever, he had calmed.

Thor had watched in shock as
Gwendolyn had reached up and stroked Ralibar’s face, nervous as she felt his rough
scales, ancient and a little bit moist. Ralibar had then shocked them all even
more by lowering his head all the way to the ground, a gesture meant for Gwen
to ride him.

Gwendolyn had mounted him
nervously, not sure what to expect. It had been a wild and crazy ride, and she
was uncertain whether he actually wanted her on or not. Yet, still, he had
sought her out every day since and had gestured for her to keep riding him.

For a beast who was clearly
endeared to Gwendolyn, Ralibar had a funny way of showing it. From the outside,
it might even seem as if he hated her. He was a moody and tempestuous creature,
perpetually in some sort of emotional storm, whether at himself, or humans, or
other dragons. Gwen felt compassion for him: she got the feeling that he was a
loner, a malcontent, yet she sensed that, beneath it all, Ralibar had a big
heart, and that he might just be lonely. He flew erratically, and often acted as
if he wanted Gwen off of him; yet when she tried to dismount, he threw a fit, and
thus clearly wanted her to stay.

Despite all his craziness,
Gwen had taken a liking to him; he had an odd way of getting under her skin. Over
these last several months, Gwen had grown accustomed to his moods, and had
learned to read his signs. The bond between them grew ever stronger, and it
made Gwen feel happy in a way she had not expected. She even sensed Ralibar’s
moods starting to calm.

On this beautiful summer morning,
in the picture-perfect weather, both suns shining, Gwen took her morning ride,
as she always did. Nearby, Thorgrin rode Mycoples, the two of them lifting up
into the air in the early morning sky, as they always did together, launching
off from the top of King’s Castle, their dragons intertwining as they flew.
They had developed a morning ritual, and they followed it today: they circled
the grounds of King’s Court, then circled the towns and villages surrounding
it, Gwen surveying her people, her kingdom, every single morning, to make sure
all was in order.

Gwen loved this time
together with Thor and with Ralibar and Mycoples, the most magical mornings of
her life, watching the suns rise, watched the mists burn off the land below in
all different colors. It also afforded her a bird’s eye view of her kingdom,
and more than once she had spotted some trouble down below that she would have
not seen otherwise, which made her convene her council and set wrongs right.
She had spotted fires, small villages dilapidated, people injured or struggling
with their horses and carts, roads in disrepair…an endless number of small
fixes to her kingdom. It allowed her to be an omnipresent queen. It also was
reassuring for her people to look up and see her every morning, watching over
them, setting wrongs right, riding on the back of a dragon. It enforced her image
as a woman of power.

Gwen had never anticipated
that she would fall so comfortably into the role of queen. But now that six
moons had passed since the expulsion of the Empire and her peoples’ return to King’s
Court, since she had begun the process of re-establishing her rule, she had
found that being queen came naturally to her. It had been the most glorious six
moons of her life. She had grown closer to Thor than she could ever imagine,
the two of them finally having a chance to be together every day and night,
sleeping in her former parents’ chamber, in the castle, which she had
painstakingly rebuilt.

Most glorious of all, she
was now nine months pregnant, and her belly protruded more than she could ever
imagine; she felt on the verge, any day, of giving birth. Her baby moved inside
her all the time, and she felt his presence with her every moment, as if he
were out there in the world with her right now.

She had not let it slow her
down, however. Every day she had been focused on rebuilding, with Thor, her council,
all the people she loved and trusted at her side, all working like an army to make
King’s Court as magical and resplendent as it had once been. Gwen was
determined that King’s Court become more than just a city: she wanted it to
become a beacon of hope and optimism for all the survivors of the Ring. She
wanted it to be a testament that they would all come back, even stronger than
before.

To her amazement, she had
succeeded. As Gwen looked down, circling the city, the summer wind in her hair,
she was awestruck at how beautiful King’s Court has become. It shone in the
sun, completely rebuilt and bigger than before, sprawling now for miles in each
direction, greatly expanded. It was a greater and more foreboding city than her
father had ever dreamed of. She had managed to double in size everything her
father had done, adding bigger ramparts, turrets, forts, moats, widening roads,
thickening city walls…. King’s Castle soared higher than ever, the Hall of Arms
and the Hall of the Silver were rebuilt, and even the Legion grounds were back
to what they once were. Thousands of her people had worked night and day to
bringing it back to life. Looking at it now, one could not tell it was ever destroyed.

The work went one, as it did
every day, and even from up here there could be heard the perpetual sound of chisels
and anvils and hammers ringing through the air. It was the sound of progress,
and it was a part of daily life in King’s Court now. As Gwen looked below, the
sight amazed her anew each day, and she could hardly believe what she had
accomplished. It made her feel that anything was possible. It made her realize
that even if she reached the lowest and darkest times of her life, it was still
possible to bounce back from anything—and make life even greater than it ever
was.

As Gwen circled with Ralibar,
she wondered what her father would think if he saw all this. Would he be proud?
She had a feeling that he would. He had chosen her to rule, after all, and this
would all be a testament to his choice. She wished more than anything that he was
alive now to witness all this, yet she felt that he was watching with
satisfaction.

Gwen directed Ralibar to
dive down to the left, and Thor followed on Mycoples. She flew over the outer ring
of King’s Court, a new vast courtyard, replete with formal gardens and bubbling
fountains, brand-new walls and arches. Gwen had it built of a shining white
marble, mined from an ancient quarry, and it was, to Gwen’s eyes, the most
beautiful part of King’s Court, this new courtyard which had never existed
before. It was hard to imagine it now without it.

Even more exciting was the
activity taking place down below, hundreds of workers scurrying about, working
furiously to prepare for her wedding. They had been preparing for six moons,
and the wedding had grown into a bigger and bigger affair. Scores of workers
draped flowers of every color along the ancient stone walls, while others lined
up thousands of chairs alongside a long red velvet aisle which was being rolled
out. An altar was being constructed at the end of it, bedecked in flowers of
every sort.

With the wedding just a half
moon away, people were already pouring in from all corners of the Ring, from both
sides of the Highlands, from the Upper Isles—and even from countries outside
the Ring, a steady string of dignitaries visiting from lands far away. They had
sent delegations and had crossed the ocean, and Gwen had the Shield lowered
long enough to let them cross the Canyon. Gwen looked out at the wide road leading
to King’s Court, and she saw, as she did every day, thousands of people heading
for King’s Court. They wore brightly colored robes of every color and fashion,
from every corner of the world.

Today was the day of the
summer festival, the first reaping of fruits, and they all poured in to
celebrate. There would be festivals and revelries unlike any other, lasting for
days, especially as they were also coming to celebrate the new capitol of the
ring, and to attend her wedding.

Gwen felt butterflies at the
thought. The wedding was nearly here, but a half moon away. She felt her
stomach flipping, and she hoped and prayed that the baby did not come before
then. Over the last six moons, she and Thor had grown ever closer, and she
could hardly wait to be married to him. She looked down and glanced at his
mother’s ring shining on her hand, as she always did, and felt an amazing
energy radiating off of it.

Ever since Thor had killed
Andronicus, he had been like a different person. He seemed as if he had found
some sort of peace within himself, and he had settled into domestic life with
Gwendolyn quite well. He had thrown himself into the rebuilding of King’s Court,
and of the Ring, and had trained every day with his fellow warriors, taking joy
from their presence.

Ralibar suddenly jerked to
the right and dove down unexpectedly, and Gwen held on tight as she felt her
stomach plunging. She could sense by his movements that he was ravenous for his
morning breakfast. She hugged his neck and leaned low as he turned for the
forest, diving between the trees, scanning left and right for a meal.

“Ralibar, stop!” she commanded.
“Not now!” she yelled, annoyed at his ravenous appetite.

But Ralibar, as usual,
ignored her. He swerved in and out of the trees until he focused on a target,
opened his great jaws, and snatched up a huge red deer.

Gwendolyn turned, hating to
watch.

Ralibar lifted it in its
jaws, then flew back up into the air, carrying the animal, protesting in its
mouth, until he threw back his head and swallowed it.

Ralibar then set his sights
back on the ground, and Gwen had a sinking feeling he was going to plummet
again.

“Ralibar, NO!” she screamed.

He again ignored her. This
time he set his sights on a lake, King’s Lake, his favorite. He never missed an
opportunity to skim it.

Ralibar dove low, Gwen
clutching him, and as he neared it, he opened his mouth and breathed a wall of
flame.

The flames singed the water,
steam rising off it, and as the water bubbled and heated up, scores of fish suddenly
leapt out of it, into the air, trying to escape from the boiling waters. As they
leapt, Ralibar was there, waiting, jaws open. He swallowed entire schools of
fish, flopping in his great jaws, some of them falling back into the water, as
he gulped the rest down.

Mycoples flew beside them,
but she did not bother eating. Perhaps because she was female, she did not seem
to have Ralibar’s appetite. Luckily, at least, Ralibar did not eat any humans.

A horn sounded in the
distance, and Gwen was finally able to wrestle Ralibar away, and they all circled
back around to see knights in armor holding lances and lining up on the far
courtyard.

“The tournament begins!” Thorn
yelled to her. “I must not be late!”

Gwen nodded and they all
flew back towards King’s Court. The day’s tournaments and festivities were
beginning, and she knew that also meant that people would be lining up to
petition her. It was time to begin the daily business of ruling her kingdom. As
always, it came too soon.

They both flew over King’s
Court, the dragons flew together for a moment, and Thor reached out and took Gwen’s
hand, leaned over and kissed it. Then they forked, each going their own way, Thor
to the fields and Gwen to her castle. It was time for the day to begin.

*

Thor, in full armor, charged
on his horse, galloping at full speed, his lance held out before him and his
face plate down as he charged for his opponent. Charging him was a warrior from
a land he’d never heard of, across the sea, wearing brown armor, a helmet with
a long and pointed nose, his armor a strange combination of male and plate. His
lance had strange markings, too, and as he aimed it for Thor’s chest, his lance
longer, Thor concentrated with all his might, focusing on how best to defeat
his opponent. Thor tuned in, tried to sense the vibrations of the ground
beneath him; he felt the slight tremors, and he slowed things down his mind, until
he felt the feelings of the horses, the weight of the riders, the angle of the
lance. He sensed his opponent’s intentions. From his appearance, he appeared to
be aiming high—yet Thor’s instinct told him he was going to aim low.

At the last moment, Thor adjusted
accordingly, trusting his instincts, aiming his lance high, and dodging to the
side. Thor’s lance impacted his opponent’s shoulder, knocking him back off his
horse and sending him crashing to the ground in a great clang of metal.