Chaos Descending by Toby Neighbors Page B

those thoughts from her head as she piled up the wood she had gathered. Then she spread out their blankets, and got food out of one of the large bags. There wasn’t really anything left to do, which also felt strangely odd. The only time she could remember their lives being so leisurely was when they had first set out to hunt Bartoom, the great black dragon that had destroyed Brighton’s Gate and many other small villages in northern Yelsia. But that trip had been plagued by her confusion about her feelings for Zollin and a constant sense of danger, knowing the dragon might appear and attack them at any moment.
    She lay down on one of the blankets and looked up through the leaves at the blue sky. There were still a couple of hours of sunlight left, and she tried to shake off the feeling that she was being lazy. Her mother’s voice rang in her head, telling her how lazy she was. It was ridiculous; there was nothing more to do, but she felt guilty just the same. Then, as her mind wandered, she thought of Prince Willam. More and more frequently her mind drifted back to the late prince who had died in the Witch's War, and what might have been. She felt guilty, but also angry. Willam could have done so much good, but he was too cavalier and had taken her rejection too personally. But if Brianna had rejected him, she often wondered, if she had truly chosen Zollin, why did she still think about the prince?
    This time it wasn’t guilt that plagued her, but shame. The truth was, she had cared deeply for Prince Willam. She had allowed herself to imagine a life with him, to be swept away by the romance of the situation. The crown prince had wanted her, and it wasn’t until after her feelings had grown real that she realized she was being used by King Felix, who wanted the power of Brianna’s pride of dragons under his control. She had finally come to her senses, only to be threatened when the king brought her parents and sisters to Orrock and vowed to kill them if she didn’t marry Willam. But King Felix had been slain by his own men, and Prince Willam died in the course of the Witch’s War, leaving her family safe in Orrock. Her romantic indulgence had threatened those she cared about most, but she still couldn’t blame herself for feeling what any woman would have felt in the same situation. Prince Willam had been dashing, handsome, and so confident. He made her feel like anything was possible.
    Zollin used to make her feel like that, but since the war his lack of ambition was like a blanket thrown over her fire. His magical power had been awesome, and she had been drawn to that power, to the wonder of it, to the adventure, from the first time Zollin had revealed his magic to her in Tranaugh Shire. Yet now he seemed like a meek conjurer. He was still powerful to be sure, but his strength was only a shadow of its former might. She was certain that she was much more powerful than Zollin was. Her ability to conjure and control fire was truly like one of the magnificent mountains they both loved so much, while his magical ability had been reduced to the proverbial mole hill.
    It wasn’t Zollin’s fault; in fact he’d sacrificed his power and nearly his life to stop the witch. He had emptied himself out to make the Five Kingdoms safe again from the evil the witch had summoned, yet she couldn’t help but miss the sense of wonder and awe that his magical strength had made her feel. And now they were going to have a baby together, a fact that was both thrilling and terrifying. Brianna was confident she could be a good mother; she just wasn’t sure she wanted to be. She didn’t want to be tied down. She would never be content to simply live out the rest of her days in the little cottage by the river. And she refused to believe that the most exciting times of her life were behind her.
    The shadows were growing long by the time she finished rehashing what was becoming a common mental debate. She looked around the clearing but there