Queen Glaciana Frostborne Alpineglow's Arc

Chapter 23 of 33

That evening the court filled the great hall. Glaciana stood before them with Victor at her side and the dragon curled behind them in the courtyard beyond the doors. She did not wait for the murmurs to settle. "I carry the king's child," she said. "Your heir. The dragon knew before any of you. Now you know from me." For a breath the hall held still. Then a shout went up, and another. The elders who had pressed her for years to marry and secure the line now bowed their heads. Servants clasped hands. Someone wept near the back wall. Three winters of cold had taught these people to expect loss. Instead their queen gave them a future. The relief in the room was so thick she could feel it press against her skin. Victor's hand tightened on hers. He said nothing to the crowd. He never wasted words on a room that already understood. But he leaned close to her ear. "They believe it now," he said. "All of it." Then he drew her toward the courtyard doors. The dragon lifted its head as they came near. Its scales caught the torchlight, silver over ice-blue. Victor placed his palm on its snout, the way he had that first day. "Swear it," he said to the dragon. His voice was low and hard. "Not just to me. To her. We rules here. You guard her and the child before you guard me. Please.” The dragon's great eye moved to Glaciana. A sound rolled up from deep in its chest, slow and deliberate, like a vow spoken in a language older than the mountain. It lowered its head until its snout nearly touched the stone at her feet. The bow was plain. Every guard along the wall saw it. Garrett, her captain, stood straight-backed by the door and watched the beast kneel to his queen, and his hand came away from his sword hilt. Glaciana stepped forward. The dragon's breath washed warm over her face. She was not afraid. She reached up and laid both hands against the cold scales of its snout. Then she leaned in and pressed her lips to it. "I accept," she said. "You are ours now. And we are yours. Thank you.” The dragon rumbled and pressed gently back against her hands. Behind her, the hall had gone quiet again, watching their queen kiss the creature that had frozen beneath their mountain for years. When she turned to face them, no one flinched. The dragon had sworn. The queen had claimed it. The bond was made in front of every witness who mattered. Victor put his arm across her shoulders. "It's done," he said. "They saw the child. They saw the oath. No one will question the line again." Glaciana looked out at the faces of her court. She had come to this kingdom's throne alone. Now she stood with a king, a dragon, and a child on the way. And her hand drifted to her belly, and a new weight settled there. She was no longer protecting only herself. Victor’s hand followed.