The Dragons Blood Key: Legend of the Dragon's Blood Key - Book 1 by Linda L Barton Page B

known;
maybe I could have saved him.” His mind flowed back to that
terrible day.
~~~
    “Roupert, the King, she has killed the
King!” Dalmen cried out as he
rushed to Roupert’s side.
    “What are you saying? The King is not dead;
I was just with him. He said that he wanted to rest, so he went to
his bedchamber.” Roupert studied the young guard's expression,
trying to understand why he would say such a thing.
    “I swear to you, the King is dead, and our
Queen has been taken hostage . She
is taken to the dungeon as we speak,” Dalmen said breathlessly with
tears filling his eyes.
    “Quick, we must save the Queen,” Roupert
pulled his sword from its sheath and ran toward the stairway, which
led to the underground dungeon.
    Both men ran as quickly as their feet would carry them, each
saying a silent prayer that Queen Privlana was unharmed. As they
reached the opening to the stairway, three small, winged creatures appeared, blocking their entrance
to the stairs.
    “Move out of our way,” Roupert demanded.
    “No, Sir Roupert. You are not to save the
Queen this day,” one of the creatures held out her hand.
    “What are you saying? Why would I not save
the Queen?”
    The little creature flew up closer to
Roupert, close to his ear. “My name is Syrea, of the Lillients . I have orders from Queen Privlana. I
shall confound this other guard so we may talk.”
    Syrea waved her hand at Delman, causing him
to fall into a trance. “You will return to your quarters and not
remember seeing Sir Roupert, nor us.”
    Delman nodded his head then blindly turned
and walked toward the guard’s quarters.
    Syrea and the other Lillients took off down
the corridor. Their wings seemed to glow brighter the faster they
flew.
    “Quick, follow us; we have no time to
waste,” Syrea shouted back over her shoulder.
    Roupert followed the three Lillients down
the corridor and in to a hidden
passage, which led out of the back of the castle.
    “Where are you taking me?” Roupert asked as they went through the dark
passageway with only the glow from the Lillients lighting their
way.
    “Wait, we will be there soon,” Syrea said as
she exited the passageway out into the forest.
    After several minutes, they came to a
clearing and sitting in the center of the clearing was a large
golden egg.
    “Is that what I think it is?” Roupert gasped
as he walked toward the egg and kneeled down in front of it.
    The three Lillients flew over to the egg and
landed on the soft grass next to it.
    “Yes, Sir Roupert, this is the child of King
Ashlym and Queen Privlana. This is Prince Frier.”
    Roupert looked at the egg and suddenly
realized what the Lillients expected of him.
    “You wish that I protect the young Prince,
don’t you?”
    Syrea nodded her head. “Yes, he must be kept
from the Evil Queen. She must not know of his existence. For if she were to learn of him, she would surely kill him.”
    “I don’t understand. How did this all come
to pass?” Roupert asked, feeling as though his entire world was
collapsing around him.
    Syrea told Roupert of how Alona had tricked
King Ashlym and had killed him with the Dagger of Destiny. She then
told him how Queen Privlana had come into the bedchamber and caught
Alona about to force a drop of the King’s blood into the Blood
Stone.
    “But what of our Queen, should I not try to
save her?” Roupert’s eyes burned with rage.
    “No, before Alona was able to cast her
spell, Queen Privlana transformed into her Dragon form and cast a
spell herself. She cast a spell
protecting the members of the Dragon family from death by turning
them to stone. Then she put a protective spell on the Blood Stone
so that Alona could never use its power, and the power of the
King’s blood as her own.”
    Syrea looked at Roupert with sadness in her
eyes. “Queen Privlana is now under the power of Alona. She has our
Queen locked away in the great dungeon, trapped in her human form.
Alona has cast a spell over her so that she may