Celebrant soared to the front of the group, landing before the dais. Knox had never thought anyone could make the Dragon King look small, but the Giant Queen loomed high above him. He could have been her reptilian pet.
“Come at me, slave master,” Celebrant invited.
The other dragons stayed back, either pacing on the floor or flying in holding patterns above. The Giant Queen stepped down from her dais, sword and scepter ready, still towering over Celebrant.
“How dare you come here?” the Giant Queen exclaimed.
“To illustrate that when authority can be overthrown, it will be,” Celebrant said. “And to remind the world what happens when dragons are crossed.”
“Do you think fire or lightning can harm me?” the Giant Queen challenged. “I am of the old blood. The dragons are about to mourn their king.”
“The race of giants expires today,” Celebrant answered. “Old blood and new.”
Face contorted with rage, the Giant Queen swung her scepter down with such force that it shattered the throne-room floor where Celebrant had stood. But the Dragon King was no longer there. Moving with the speed of a striking snake, Celebrant sprang up and around the Giant Queen, trying to get behind her. In one fluid motion, she slashed him away with her sword, the edge skating over his scales, failing to draw blood.
Other dragons charged the Giant Queen. Flames billowed and lightning blazed. Her sword severed the head from one dragon, and a stroke of her scepter crumpled another. In the commotion, Celebrant attacked her from behind, clamping his jaws onto the back of her neck and exhaling into her.
The Giant Queen fell heavily to her knees, her face confused. And the dragons swarmed. Her crown rolled away from the frenzy, finally settling to the polished floor like a spun coin.
Knox caught up to the others where they crouched behind the bleachers.
“Is it over?” Giselle asked Raza hopefully.
“Are we free?” Emery asked.
As if responding to the question, the silver collars fell from their necks.
“Come with me,” Raza said, moving out of hiding to the front of the bleachers. The two female servants followed.
Raza swelled into a huge white dragon with narrow red stripes, Emery expanded into a blue dragon bethorned with short quills, and Giselle became a red dragon tattooed with swirling black markings. Roaring exultantly, all three joined in attacking the Giant Queen.
Celebrant was the first to emerge from the ferocious pack. “Our revenge is not yet complete,” the Dragon King asserted. “Many other giants still resist or run free. They must be eradicated.”
He flew away from the colossal corpse, and the other dragons followed.
Except Raza, who glided toward the bleachers.
Giselle and Emery landed between the white dragon and his potential prey.
“Out of my way,” Raza ordered, his voice magnified to match his new size.
“They are children,” Emery said, her voice empowered as well. “And you are no longer in charge of us.”
“You’ve been polluted!” Raza accused. “What do you care for human brats!”
“They were young ones placed in our care,” Giselle said. The largest of the three, her voice carried the most powerfully. “They showed no aggression. What is the harm in their survival?”
“They were affiliated with Dragonwatch,” Raza said.
“Some they traveled with were affiliated,” Giselle corrected.
“At least give me the satyrs,” Raza said.
“The satyrs are minding the young ones,” Emery said. “Perhaps you have been polluted. Of what consequence are satyrs to our kind? You have giants to hunt.”
Gnashing his teeth, Raza turned and flew from the room.
“You’re not going to eat us?” Tess asked.
Emery looked down at her through reptilian eyes. “I could not have known before the transformation, but no, we will not devour you, not here, not like this.” She held up a claw. “Come.”
Emery took hold of Tess and Knox, and Giselle snatched the two satyrs. They flew to a rear corner of the throne room and set them down near a human-sized door.
“Through here,” Giselle instructed. “Take your first right, then your first left, then go through the first door you reach. With luck, you will find Rustafet waiting.”
“You’re on your own now,” Emery said. “Make your way to Humburgh and lie low.”
“Thank you,” Tess said.
“You’re welcome,” Emery replied, her eyes shifting away from Tess. “The rest of you owe your lives to this little girl. Farewell.”
Emery and Giselle took flight and soared out of the throne room.
“Come on,” Newel said, holding the door open.
“Just a second,” Knox replied, running back into the throne room. “Get Tess out of here.”
Knox knew the satyrs might try to stop him if he didn’t run at top speed. When he glanced over his shoulder, they looked confused. “Go!” Knox urged. “I’ll catch up.”
Knox kept running. By the time he glanced back again, the satyrs and his sister were gone.
He had not explained his plan for fear they would have stopped him. He had repeatedly heard from Kendra that the crowns of the five monarchs were a big deal. Wearing the crown of the Fairy Queen had allowed her to rescue Seth. Currently, the crown of the Giant Queen rested unattended on the throne-room floor.
Knox knew there were plenty of problems with his plan. The throne room was humongous, so he would be running the distance of a few football fields to reach the crown. If a dragon entered the room while he was exposed, he was toast. And, of course, the crown was much too big for him to carry.
But Kendra had mentioned something about the crowns resizing to fit whoever possessed them. If this worked, everyone would thank him for it. Maybe even praise him for it. If he returned empty-handed, hopefully at least there would be no harm done.
And if he didn’t return at all, everyone would wonder what had been going through his mind. Maybe they would assume he had cracked under the pressure.
As Knox drew nearer to the crown, he felt ridiculous. It wasn’t just too cumbersome to carry—it was the size of a house. But since he had already taken the risk, he finished the
