His gaze darkened. “Hell never have you.
“Why does he hate me so much?
“He doesnt. You threaten him. The dragon knows, he would never admit it, but I think hes afraid of you. He took both of her hands. “You challenge him. You refuse to submit. Thats why he wants to break you. But I swear, hell never hurt you again.
“How can you swear that? Its impossible. She felt as if her chance for a life with Markus was slipping through her fingers like the sand in Yargazons hourglasses. “No matter how much you refuse to see it, hes hurting you. Destroying you. She made herself say what she had come to tell him. “Tomorrow, at the summit, I will stand with you. But when all is decided and done, I wont live where your general holds sway.
“Youre my wife. You must go with me.
She let go of his hands. “You cant take me against my will, not with the Aronsdale army here.
His face turned cold in a way she had never seen before. “Do you think to marry the son of your king?
“Markus, dont.
He was staring as if she were a will-o-the-wisp that would disappear any moment. Although he spoke with anger, she heard the pain under his words. “As long as I live, no other man will call you his wife. Ill never release you from the contracts.
Allegra felt as if she were breaking in two. Talking to him hurt too much. Softly she said, “Then Ill live my life alone.
She turned and left then, before her heart could shatter.
CHAPTER 27
THE LOST CONTINENT
In the sharp clarity of a desert morning, in legendary Quaaz, the warlords gathered. They came from five lands: Aronsdale, with its rolling hills and lush meadows; Harsdown, a place of cool autumns and apple orchards; Taka Mal, where ancient legends saturated the land; Jazid, with its starkly beautiful mountains spearing the sky; and the Misted Cliffs, whose emperor had reached out the long arm of his power from the snowy cliffs of his home to the burning deserts.
By mutual agreement, they met in the Topaz Palace, in the Hall of the Dragon-Sun, nominally hosted by the royal House of Taka Mal, though the Quaazeras were in exile from their own city. Every leader from the assembled armies attended, with no exception, to ensure none tried to kill the others. The Hall gleamed like a sunrise. Gold-veined pillars bordered the room. Arched windows spanned the walls, and sunlight poured across a floor tiled in red and gold. Outside, the fabled gardens exploded with color. Blossoms spilled out of flower beds and trailed over trellises and stone arches. Fountains sculpted like dragons breathed arches of priceless water instead of fire.
King Jarid entered the hall with his retinue, austere in dark trousers and a white shirt. His hair grazed his shoulders, thick and streaked with gray, but it didnt hide the scar on his neck. Prince Aron walked at his side, the same height as Jarid, broader in the shoulders, brown hair curling over his ears. Hale and strong, bursting with youth, his face unmarred by lifes pain, he was the ultimate Dawnfield heir. Watching him with a mages sense, though, Allegra wondered if he would rather be practicing spells than sitting in a war council.
Allegra entered with Markus and four guards. They took their places at the far end of the great oval table and stood next to their chairs, with Jarid between Allegra and Aron. The Dawnfield prince glanced at her and flushed, then looked away as if it hurt to see her. Maybe she was naive to think they would have matched each other so well. But they would never know. Impossible as it seemed, she loved her husband. She could neither stop what she felt for Markus nor become a woman of Jazid. She saw no more hope for the two of them than she did for a peace settlement.
Markus stood next to her, his gaze burning with a wildness nothing could tame. He wore dark clothes instead of armor, but nothing could disguise the warlord within him. Next to the men of Aronsdale, his fierce presence simmered.
King Muller led the Harsdown retinue. Dawnfield violet and gold edged his white surcoat, though it bore the jaguar emblem on the chest. Muller wore Dawnfield colors because he had no claim to the colors of the House of Escar, which had ruled Harsdown before him. Ebony and blue symbolized the House of Escar. Cobalt-blue: It was what gave the emperor his name.
Colonel Arkandy Ravensford, the man who had found Allegra among the sleeping army yesterday, came with Muller. A gray-haired man walked on Mullers other side, someone so well-known, even Allegra recognized him. Sphere-General Samuel Fieldson, formerly of Aronsdale, now commander of the Harsdown forces.
When the queen of Taka Mal entered, the force of her presence blazed. To say Vizarana Jade Quaazera was arresting was akin to saying the lava in an erupting volcano was warm. She wore a gold silk tunic and trousers, with a dagger at her belt. Weapons were forbidden at the summit, but no one challenged her. She raked her gaze over every man in the room as if sizing them up and discarding the results. Allegra wondered if it had occurred to all those kings in Taka Mal and Jazid who were so intent on choosing wives to give them strong, fierce, powerful sons that they might end up with strong, fierce, powerful daughters instead.
Drummer entered with Vizarana, his appearance far different than when Allegra had last seen him. He wore gold trousers and a light shirt with topazes on the cuffs. His yellow hair gleamed. Although he walked with crutches, he moved with a natural agility that made Allegra suspect it wouldnt be long before he recovered. Compared to all the brooding lords here, he was sunlight. If he felt self-conscious entering this place of towering warriors, he gave no sign.
Two Taka Mal generals flanked the queen and Drummer. The older man with silvered hair dazzled in his red and gold uniform, with a sash across his chest that bore five disks enameled in sunrise colors. The other general looked so much like Vizarana, he could have been her brother. But she had no siblings, which meant he was almost certainly Baz Quaazera, her cousin, the commander of her armed forces. Given the pride that blazed in his eyes, Allegra doubted he would ever rest until he took back the Topaz Throne for the queenor died in the effort.
The Jazid warlords came next.
The Taka Mal retinue had just stopped by their chairs when the color suddenly drained from Drummers face. Following his gaze, Allegra felt as if ice formed within her. Yargazon was entering with Ardoz and Bladebreak. She wanted to bolt from the room, and it took a great effort of will to remain.
Yargazon regarded her coldlyand with satisfaction. Her clothes covered the welts he had left on her body, but he knew she felt that measure of his revenge.
The General glanced at Drummer, and the prince stared back, his hands clenched on his crutches. In that instant, Allegra wondered how Markus could live with himself, giving Yargazon free rein. Fast on the heels of that thought came another: How had Markus turned into a decent human being given the father figures in his life? Maybe good existed in Yargazon and Ozar, but Allegra knew Ozar Onyx only by his deeds, and she would never see anything but Yargazons brutality.
Markus, too, was staring at the General. To anyone else, his face may have looked impassive, but Allegra saw the tightening of his lips, the twitch of his eyelid. It had to be excruciating, knowing he could be condemned to death for what Yargazon had done. She had little doubt Vizarana would demand Markuss execution, and Cobalt still wanted him dead.
It wasnt until she heard Markuss indrawn breath that she looked at the other men with the General. No, not the men
The boy.
Like his father before him, Ozarson dressed in black. His dark hair gleamed. Allegra didnt know if the other leaders here had expected him to attend, given his young age, but she felt certain Yargazon had tried to forbid it. With Markus as a hostage, no one could override the Generals authority except Ozarson. The boy must have insisted, which meant he had stood up to Yargazon.