Eona: The Last Dragoneye

Sethon slay his family and seize his throne.

I wiped sweat from my hairline. As I drew my hand away, I caught a flash of bright white on my finger: Moon Orchid’s paint. How much was still left on my face? I probably looked like a piebald horse.

“Dela,” I whispered, glancing back at the Contraire. “Have I still got paint on my face?”

With a smile, she studied me, then delicately flicked her thumb under my eye and along the dip of my chin. “It’s all gone.” She cupped my cheek. “Beautiful as ever.”

We passed two sentries — Caido’s men, almost invisible in the undergrowth until they rose and sketched quick bows — and then the bushes and trees opened out into a spread of grassland.

In its center, Kygo stood facing us, two men guarding him, with others spaced around the edge of the clearing. There were new faces among them; no doubt local resistance. Yuso led us forward, and with a lift to my heart, I saw Kygo’s eyes seek me first — a fleeting connection of relief and gladness. Then his attention cut to Ido, his expression hardening. Even I felt chilled by the cold rancor in Kygo’s face, although his stern beauty caught in my chest like a missed heartbeat.

The ground underfoot already held the warmth of the heavy air, the sweet acidic smell of crushed grass rising around us. Kygo had undone the high collar of his tunic, and the milky sheen of the Imperial Pearl was framed against the dark cloth like a royal banner.

A length from him, we stopped. Behind me, Dela and the others dropped to their knees. I lowered myself into my own obeisance, but, beside me, Ido did not move. I looked up, dread creeping across my shoulders. The Dragoneye stood in front of Kygo. The two men watched one another silently. They were almost matched in height, each locked in the other’s stare.

“Bow,” Kygo said.

Ido’s eyes flicked from Kygo to the two guards behind him. “You do not want me to bow.”

What was he doing?

Kygo frowned. “Bow, Lord Ido.”

“No.” I saw the subtle shift of Ido’s feet as he pressed his weight into the ground. He was bracing.

Yuso’s head rose from his kowtow. Ryko’s, too.

“I said, bow!” In an instant, Kygo’s cold control was obliterated by savage fury.

“I will not bow to you, boy.”

I flinched even before I heard the dull crack of Kygo’s fist slamming into Ido’s face. Another blow, in the gut, hammered away Ido’s breath and doubled him over. He fell to his knees beside me, gasping. A vicious kick caught him in the ribs and dropped him into a hunched kowtow. Kygo stood over him, fist still clenched, the intention to keep punishing the Dragoneye in every line of his body.

“Your Majesty,” I half rose from my bow. “Lord Ido is here to train me.”

For a terrible moment, I thought he would just keep kicking.

His eyes — dark with rage and grief — found mine. It was like the village inn again.

“Kygo, he is no use to us dead!”

The killing rage snapped out of his face, although the dark grief stayed within his eyes. With a nod, he stepped back, breathing hard.

Still hunched over, head bowed, Ido looked across at me. Why had he deliberately provoked Kygo? He lifted an eyebrow. But before I could react, he looked back down and spat blood on the ground.

“Lady Eona,” Kygo said. He was forcing calm into his voice. “Rise.”

I stood, reeling from the calculation in Ido’s face.

Kygo took my hand and drew me a few steps away. His knuckles were sticky with blood. “Do you have the same link with him that you have with Ryko?”

We both glanced back at the bowed Dragoneye.

I nodded, unease hollowing my gut. “I think he is provoking you, Kygo.”

“Why would he do that?” His voice still held the sharp edge of violence. “I could have killed him.”

“I don’t know.”

Kygo shook his head. “He has nothing to gain by it. Stand beside me, Naiso.” He turned. “Everyone get up. Get back. Lord Ido, stay on your knees.”

The others scrambled to their feet as ordered, forming a ragged half-circle around the Dragoneye. Among all the hostile anticipation, only Dela’s face was troubled.

“Look at me, Dragoneye,” Kygo ordered.

Ido lifted his head. His top lip was split, bleeding into his mouth and down his chin.

“Where is the black folio? Does Sethon have it?”

Ido’s eyes flicked to mine. See, his expression said, this is all he wants.

I chewed on the inside of my mouth. Of course Kygo wanted the folio — it was logical. We could not afford to have it fall into the hands of Sethon. Yet some deep part of me — the Dragoneye — did not want it in Kygo’s hands, either. But maybe that was just Ido’s mind games playing upon me. I could not think straight.

“The folio is safe from Sethon,” Ido said. “My apprentice has it.”

“Bring it to us.”

Ido shook his head. “No. It is safe. That is enough.”

“I do not ask, Dragoneye. I command.”

“No.”

Yuso stepped forward. “Your Majesty, let me explain obedience to Lord Ido.”

“I understand your enthusiasm, captain,” Kygo said. “But there is no need.” He turned to me. “Force him, Lady Eona. Make him call the boy to us.”

My gut froze. “Your Majesty,” I whispered, turning my head away from the circle of avid faces. “Do not ask me to do that.”

“Why not?”

“You are asking me to torture him.”

He grabbed my arm and pulled me across the clearing. I stumbled after him, his iron grip wrenching me through the thick grass. He stopped and rounded on me. “What are you talking about, Eona? I am only asking what you have done before.”

“I did it before because you threatened Ryko,” I hissed. “I will stop Ido from using his power against us, but I will not use my power for coercion and torture.” I pulled my arm out of his grip. “It should not even be an option. I thought you were better than that.”

“That is a fine line you draw,” he snapped. “Did Ido come willingly with you? Or did you coerce him?”

“I showed him I had the link.”

“So when does it become coercion? When I ask you to do it?”

“Yes!”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t care. I just know that what you ask is wrong. You know it, too.”

He sucked in a breath. “We need the black folio, Eona. Sethon must not get it.”

I pressed my hands to either side of my head. “Kygo, if I force Ido to get the folio, do you think he will train me?” I lowered my voice. “If I am to fulfill the portent and save the dragons, I need Ido’s knowledge.” I touched his arm. “Trust me; we will get the black folio.”

He looked across at the kneeling Dragoneye. Ido had raised his head and was watching us. “Every part of me wants to hurt him,” Kygo said, his voice low.

“I know.”

He closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, the darkness had receded. He took my hand. “All right, we will do it your way, Naiso.”

I returned the pressure of his fingers. “Thank you.”

Kygo was an enlightened man, his father’s son, yet as he led me back to the silent ring of men and women, Ido’s taunt in the stable echoed in my mind: Why haven’t you told him?

The Dragoneye watched us approach, his jaw set.

“Captain,” Kygo said. Yuso stepped forward. “We stay here for the day and move out tonight. Bind Lord Ido and put a guard on him. Then report.”

His order broke the tension around the ring of onlookers. Bowing, they backed away from the presence of