Alador stood staring down at Latiera. The baby looked so normal at first glance. Her hair was coming in and so far it appeared to be silver. Not like an elder or a mage overtaxed would have, it was silver with that true metal sheen. Her eyes staring back of him were very aware. Intelligence glimmered in the deep blue eyes.
“How do you keep getting out?” he whispered down at the baby.
For a week, Nemara had put Latiera to bed in her crib. In the morning, they would wake up with the baby nestled between them. Alador did not know if she was manifesting herself between them or some other magic was occurring. What he did know was that somehow the baby was leaving her crib and sleeping with them once her parents were asleep.
Tonight, he planned to stay awake to learn how such a young mage could use the level of power that would be required to transport herself out of her crib. He left her in her crib and dropped the level of light into the room to shadows. Alador moved to Nemara and laid a kiss on his queen’s brow.
“We will find out tonight,” he reassured her.
Nemara grinned. “You are the one who is worried about it. Not me.”
“Yes, because a baby shouldn’t have that kind of power.” He glanced back at the crib as if expecting her to be floating about.
“I am sure there is a simple explanation.” Nemara reached up and squeezed his hand.
“I am doubting that. We shall see.” He kissed her, the tender touch of his hand to her face matched the caress of his lips. As he pulled back, he smiled down at her. “I will let you sleep.”
He tucked her in and lowered the lightstone by the bed. Alador had set a chair in the farthest corner, making sure the lightstones in the room were at levels where the chair was heavily shadowed.
He spent the time going over decisions that needed making tomorrow. Having been king for about four months now, he found the job more tiring than working out in the sparring arena. He had no idea how Luthian hadn’t gone mad. The open court was the hardest. The people could bring all their concerns and complaints. The biggest issue he continued to see brought forward was the racism.
Despite his claim that there would be no more exclusion of training for potential mages, the bias remained. Then when you added the half breeds between Daezun and Lerdenians, there was little tolerance. He had dealt with everything from racial pricing to violence. He had known the changes he was making in Lerdenia would not be well received, but it had gone way beyond his predictions.
Alador had changed the taxing to equal levels for every tier. Before, the higher the tier, the less tax you were levied. This put the major burden on the three lowest tiers. It had just insured the circle of poverty and inability to rise higher in the tiers was maintained. The upper tiers had risen up in anger and flooded his court with complaints. He had been forced to threaten them with reduction of tier status to gain compliance. He had no illusions, he knew they would try every way they could to avoid paying their share. The lower tiers were celebrating, the ease of taxation would mean an increase in economic spending that would benefit the entire city.
Alador was broken out of his deep thoughts by a strange noise. He immediately looked up to see a hatchling dragon on the rail of the crib. The blue eyes reflecting in the dim light glanced around before climbing down the rail of the crib and disappearing from his line of vision. Before, Latiera had only changed to her true form when held by a dragon. This was the first time he was seeing her change by her own will.
He was not surprised when the hatchling appeared on the bed near Nemara’s feet. It scurried up beside Nemara’s head and disappeared under the covers. The little lump became bigger and ceased moving.
Alador stared in wonder. He moved to the bed and lowered the cover slightly. Latiera looked back at him with a big smile. She held her hands up to him as if asking him to pick her up. Alador just shook his head in amazement.
He sat down on his side of the bed and took one small hand. If she could do this at such an early age, they were in trouble. From helping to raise his sister, he knew that at about 4 turns, small ones tended to get into everything and throw tantrums. What was going to happen when their child had her first tantrum? Would she turn into a dragon and bathe one in steam? Would she use powers she had not learned to control?
He would have to get hold of Keensight right away. Alador had only vague memories of hatchlings and their care. He picked Latiera up and carried her back to her crib. He laid her down and covered her with her small blankets.
“Stay there,” he commanded firmly. Latiera just waved her hands and babbled up at him.
He was King and yet Alador knew that Latiera had no idea what that even meant. He went to his bed and slid under the covers. He lay his head back and sighed deeply. He was under no misconceptions, Latiera would be between them by morning. He chuckled to himself, … and he thought being King was hard.
Haven't read the original tale? You can find all five books at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/B00PNBH4HS
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