Read Online Legends of the Dragonrealm: Shade by Richard A. Knaak - Free Book Online Page B

had destroyed Melicard’s arm and face, magic that he had sought to wield in his pursuit of the vengeance against all drakes. To replace what was lost of his visage, the artisans had worked even more skillfully with the elfwood, even carving it so that it would stretch into those areas where only streaks of skin had been destroyed. The new face had been a perfect fit.
    But nothing had been able to repair the mind within until the arrival of then-princess Erini of Gordag-Ai, betrothed to Melicard when he was a youth and she an infant. The petite western princess had drawn him back to life.
    As he rode into the palace grounds, the king looked for her. She and their two children were everything to him. Princess Lynnette would be in her room practicing her lute. The young prince would be in bed at this time. Erini, though—
    As with many structures in Talak, the palace was a ziggurat—a step pyramid—albeit a very well-fortified one. It rose higher than any other building and the upper levels had several windows where the personal quarters of the royal family could be found. On a balcony overlooking the left side of the ancient stone structure, Melicard spied a blond figure clad in a blue gown leaning over to wave welcome. To an outsider unfamiliar with Talak, it might have seemed that the king’s daughter waved to him . . . either that or, assuming they were told who it was, thatMelicard had married a woman less than half his age. However, while it was true that Queen Erini was some years younger than her husband, the visual gap in their ages was due to another reason.
    The queen of Talak was an enchantress. In a realm where once all magic had been cursed, her unwanted, burgeoning powers had saved both her future husband and his kingdom from one of the Dragon Kings and Melicard’s own duplicitous adviser. Erini had become a symbol of Talak’s hope for the future, and the birth of first a daughter and then a son had only magnified the people’s love for her and often made them forget her abilities.
    But they only had to consider her true age to be reminded. Erini should have looked older, even if only a few years, but as with most spellcasters of great power, her aging had all but stopped. If not killed by accident or on purpose, the queen had the potential to live three hundred years or more, barely growing old until the very end unless she forcefully drained herself through excessive use of her abilities.
    King Melicard, on the other hand, had no such power. More to the point, not only was a spell of youth difficult for any mage to cast upon another, the effect requiring constant renewal, but the elfwood that had been used to rebuild him had gradually affected Melicard in a unique manner. He had become resistant to most spells. While that had its benefits, it also meant that magic designed to heal him in any manner, including the prevention of aging, failed. It had made for some fear on the queen’s part, even more so now.
    Talak was going to war.
    Before Melicard could return his bride’s greeting, she literally vanished. With expectation, he looked to the front steps, where Erini materialized a moment later. He dismounted before she considered teleporting herself to the saddle, which the queen had done once upon his return from the field of battle.
    “My love!” Erini kissed him passionately, utterly ignoring the elfwood and the guards. There was no pretense; she loved the man insidethe mask, for which he was grateful. “You promised to be back more than an hour ago.”
    “Details needed to be approved, Erini. I’m sending men to fight. Many won’t live. I have to see to it that as few as possible die.”
    She was not put off by his bluntness. The queen supported him wholeheartedly in this venture, although she made no attempt to hide her concern for her husband. “I should travel with you. My power—”
    “Is needed to protect our children. They are more important than me.”
    “Don’t say it like