The Queen of Death

43

The sun hung low in the western sky, out over the open waters of the Dragonreach as the Phoenix scudded along the Seren shoreline. As they rounded the southwestern tip of the island, a breathtaking mountain range hove into the eastern horizon. The rays of the setting sun painted the white-rock mountains a breathtaking panoply of reds, oranges, and purples.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Sallah said as she joined Kandler where he’d been standing alone at the airship’s bow. The breeze ruffled her curly, red hair, teasing it out in long spirals behind her as she faced into the wind.

Kandler nodded. “In most cases, I’d be thrilled about the sunset for an entirely different reason.”

“So we could approach this dragon under cover of night?” She looked back at the ring of fire encircling the airship. “This may be a wonderful way to travel, but we won’t be sneaking up on anyone.”

Kandler smiled at her and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. “I’m glad you found me,” he said.

“There aren’t many places to lose someone on a ship this size.”

“I meant in Mardakine.”

Sallah stared out at the mountains. “I know what you meant.”

Kandler let the comment lie for a moment, then said. “I wanted to thank you for coming along with us.”

“I told Esprë I would honor her decision. I am true to my word.”

“You didn’t have to do that. You could have gone back to Thrane empty handed, or you could have tried to kidnap her and stolen her away to Flamekeep.”

Sallah gasped. “You know, I hadn’t thought of that.” She saw Kandler’s stunned look and smiled. “I’m only joking—of course I thought of that.”

Despite himself, the thought of Sallah considering going to any means to accomplish her goals impressed Kandler—although not as much as the fact that she’d chosen the high road instead.

“I’m a Knight of the Silver Flame. I’ve been trained since birth to become the best of my Order, and I have never failed in my missions.”

“How many missions have you had?” Kandler couldn’t resist the urge to needle the woman a bit. She rewarded his efforts with a sly smile.

“That’s not the point.”

“Then what is?”

“That this was the first mission given to me by Jaela Daran directly from the Flame itself, and you presented me with two options: kidnap an innocent girl and succeed or travel with her instead and watch her die.”

Sallah grew quiet. She bowed her head and closed her eyes. “I had my orders, and I defied them.”

“Why did you do it? ”

Sallah sighed and stared out at the darkest part of the sky. There in the east, the stars had begun to come out, and Kandler could see traces of the Ring of Siberys there. He could see seven of the moons already, and the night was still young.

“Being a Knight of the Silver Flame is about far more than just following orders,” Sallah said. “We serve as a shining example of what is right in the world. We inspire others to reach for the heights we have attained and maintain. We follow a higher moral code so that we may become closer to the Flame’s purity with both our actions and our words. Kidnapping an innocent child doesn’t fit with that, no matter what the excuse.”

Kandler gazed at the woman. She seemed more beautiful than ever. “You might want to tell that to Te’oma,” he said.

“She wouldn’t make much of a knight.” Sallah gave Kandler a half smile and moved closer to him. “I’ve learned a great deal on this trip.”

“About what?”

“The world. Myself.”

“Any of it good?”

“I learned what I like in a man.”

Kandler smiled into the darkness. “The Order must not have left you a lot of time for men.”

“Not much,” she said, moving closer to him.

“You think if you had the chance to see even more of the world that you might change your mind?”

“About the world?”

Kandler leaned in and kissed Sallah. Her warm, soft lips bore unspoken promises that he knew would have to go unfulfilled for now.

“No,” she whispered into his ear. “I don’t think I would.”

“I thought you didn’t want to have much to do with me.” “That would have made life easier I’m sure. I’m not here on this airship because of you. Esprë is my main concern.

Just because I haven’t convinced her to come with me to Thrane yet doesn’t mean I never will.”

“Hope means a lot to you.”

“I prefer to call it faith. The Speaker of the Flame sent me here for a reason. I may not yet entirely fathom what it is—or which way my path lies—but I have faith that it will work out for the best if I remain strong and pure and dedicated to my beliefs.”

“The best for you, or the best for your Order?” Kandler thought of the other knights they’d lost along the way: Gweir, Levritt, Brendis—even Sallah’s father, Deothen. Had dying been the best thing for them?

“They are one and the same thing. I have dedicated my life to the Silver Flame. It is my cause, and anything that advances it—even my own death, should that be called for—is in my interests.”

Kandler rubbed his chin. “So where do I fit into all of that?”

“Wherever you would like.” Sallah’s smile turned coy. “Are Knights of the Silver Flame allowed to marry outside of the Order?”

“You’re getting a little ahead of yourself, I think.” “Humor me.”

“All right,” she said. “I’m living proof of such marriages. My mother grew up on a farm outside Flamekeep. She served as the innkeeper in her father’s inn until she met my father.”

“Did your mother convert to the faith?”

“What makes you think that she wasn’t an adherent of the Church?”

“Most innkeepers I know are agnostic.”

“Fair enough.” Sallah paused. “No, she never did. It was what drove them apart.”

“They ended their marriage?”

“The Church doesn’t permit such things. A matrimonial vow is until death. They chose to live separate but faithful lives.”

“That must have been hard on you.”

Sallah lowered her eyes. “We all have our burdens to bear.”

“Am I to be your salve?”

Sallah raised her chin and gazed at him. “I’d like that.” Kandler took her in his arms, and they kissed again. When they parted, he said. “Why tell me all this now? Right before we’re about to go meet with a dragon?”

“If we survive this, I want for us to be together. I thought you should know that.”

“You don’t think we’ll survive this.” He peered deep into her eyes.

She did not flinch. “No, and I couldn’t stand the idea of dying without telling you how I feel.”

“I’m glad you did,” Kandler said.

“Truly? ”

“I’ve been standing here at the bow for the past few hours, trying to figure out just how I could find a way to tell you the same thing.”

The justicar took the lady knight in his arms.

“Land ho!” Monja called from the bridge.

Sallah and Kandler broke apart. “She must have been a pirate in a previous life,” said Kandler.

“Do you believe in such things? Multiple lives?” Kandler grinned as he walked back down the deck of the airship with her, hand in hand. “No more than I believe in anything else.”

As they approached the bridge, Kandler turned his head to port to see what Monja was pointing at. Off in the distance, he spotted a series of floating lights. In the darkness, he would have thought they were a little more than a tightly clustered constellation of stars. When he looked at them closely, though, he saw that they moved.

He turned back to call out to Zanga, who stood on the bridge between Monja and Esprë. “Is that where we’re going?” he asked.

The shrouded woman nodded. “That is the observatory of Greffykor.”

“Observatory?” said Burch, who’d been helping Te’oma cook up a hot meal over the firepit on the main deck. “What do dragons observe?”

“Everything!” Zanga said.

“Then I guess he’ll know we’re on our way,” the shifter said, “and I hope he has something better to eat than this. I’m getting tired of leftover soarwing.”