by Lola Ford
“Astra happened,” she said with a weary moan. Aldis’ face fell.
“Oh. Of course, she did,” his normally cheerful voice was tight and pained. He had told Nerie how horrid Astra had been to him as a child.
“She threw herself at Alaena and was rebuked. Then she got super formal and excused herself to me. Kiriga said that she wants to kill me.”
Nerie was playing with the edge of her shirt as she talked. The emptiness of Astra’s eyes still haunted her.
“I mean, she hates me. She’s tormented me my whole life. All she’s ever wanted was to be queen. Now that’s been taken away from her. Of course, she’d want to take it out on you. But to want to kill you? That’s low, even for her.”
Aldis was busy tracing his fingers along the swirls and whirls of Soros’ purple scales. He glanced up to look at Nerie, then smiled his radiant smile. She couldn’t help but be envious of him a little. He would’ve been a perfect king.
I chose you. You will be a perfect queen, Kiriga told her sternly.
I know, but he’s so kind. I’m really glad to have him as a brother. Besides you, he’s been the best part of finding out that I’m Soren’s daughter.
He is kind. Too kind. People would have used him. Broke him.
Kiriga was probably right. Aldis was incapable of saying no. However, it didn’t stop Nerie from doubting herself and thinking about the younger boy in their father’s throne.
We will rule together. You will be a strong queen. I will be the best dragoness.
Kiriga preened, or she tried to, until Eras knocked her over gently with his large head.
She tumbled and hissed at him, and a great choking noise came from him. The first time Nerie had heard one of the dragons make the noise, she had thought they were in serious trouble. She’d then been informed that they were simply laughing. Now, the noise could cheer her even from the foulest of moods.
Won’t Nerie be a good queen? Kiriga asked Aldis.
The boy’s eyes lit up and his smile widened. It wasn’t the first time she’d spoken to him, but she didn’t do it often.
“Of course, she will, dragoness.”
He tried to bow to her from his lofted position, but nearly went cascading down Soros’ side. Nerie managed to grab him at the last possible moment.
“Oh, she talked to me again Nerie!”
His excitement radiated around him and Nerie felt herself smile too.
It was strange to realize that not everyone was held in high enough esteem for the dragons to speak to them.
“Of course, she did, Aldis. She would have chosen you, had I not been there,” Nerie told him playfully, tousling his hair.
“But you were.”
His eyes darkened momentarily, but then he lunged forward and wrapped his arms as far around Soros as they would go.
“But I have Soros. She’s my best friend.”
And you are mine little one, she told the boy softly.
She turned her neck so she could look at the two small humans playing on her back.
Nerie was happy for Aldis. He deserved the kingdom’s love. Besides Kiriga, and her mother, Aldis was the one who she considered family. Soren still felt like the king, and Astra - well there would probably never be a relationship there. Queen Alaena was professional, but Nerie still didn’t know if she was just teaching her because Soren had commanded her to.
What about us, little one? Eras asked her.
Oh you! You know that I love all of you with my very being. You great big lizard.
She stuck her tongue out at him, and he copied, his strange forked tongue darting through the air.
You could have laid on my back, he said with false malice.
She would’ve too - had it not been covered in spines. She giggled as she mentally compared it to sitting on a pin cushion.
As usual, Soros ended up carrying Aldis back to his rooms after he’d fallen asleep on her back. Nerie hugged Eras’s large snout and headed inside with Kiriga. After trying for several minutes to get comfortable on the large pillow with the dragoness, she gave up. The night before she’d known that their time sleeping together was ending, as Kiriga now filled the whole pillow herself. While smooth scaled like her mother, her wings still contained sharp edges and she slept restlessly.
Covering the yellow dragoness with her favorite blanket, Nerie turned to look at her bed. It hadn’t moved since the day she’d arrived, but somehow, she’d forgotten it existed.
Crawling into the silken sheets and Nerie instantly felt like she was melting. The bed was soft down and she sank deep into the feathers. The sheets slid over her skin in a liquid motion. It was hardly moments after the nightly exchange of love with Kiriga and she was fast asleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Graith
Exiting the town seemed to take twice as long as entering. Or maybe it was because Graith was eager to be away from the hordes of people. He couldn’t wait to be back on his own with Zel. She teased him as he sat in a line that moved at a snail’s pace to the gate. Once through the gate he flicked Mero into motion, his little cart was jostling along down the road at as fast as a trot as the gelding could manage.
While he traveled, he bit his lip deep in thought. When he could think no more on the subject, he spoke to Zel.
Zel, what did we actually learn from Lord Arish?
Not much. That the men who took my eggs have been here. Now they are on the move. She paused, then added, That he thinks they can be trusted - more than a peasant off the streets.
Graith could feel her pacing from the way her mind raced. She was putting together pieces faster than he could.
They can’t be far from here, he acted as if they’d just left. Maybe tonight you should fly around and see if you can locate the group or pick up tracks. At the very least it could help us decide where to go.
She jumped on the idea.
I could do it now!
He felt her wings stretch open.
No! Panic swept him at the thought of her being seen. We need to keep you under cover. Otherwise the town will hunt you. They already heard you last night.
She closed her wings, but she was still poised, ready to launch herself from the ground.
I could just come get you and fly with you until we found them.
Even as she said it, she relaxed. She could sense how bad of an idea Graith thought it was.
Gently he said, Zel. We don’t know which way they went. And we can’t leave poor Mero here by himself.
Without a moment’s hesitation she said, I could eat him.
Oh yeah? Eat the only horse that can stand your stench? Graith knew she was bluffing.
I don’t smell! He could almost hear the huff in her voice.
Well, I’m not loading you up with my stuff like a lowly pack animal, and I need my stuff.
He wouldn’t. Graith had too much respect for the dragoness than to use her as nothing more than a mule. And that included carrying himself.
She didn’t respond, but he knew that had hit a nerve.
She was a dragon.
Much too exalted to be used as a beast of burden.
The rest of the trip back to her, he could feel her anger and tension. He tried to think of calming things and project them at her. Slowly he felt her relax, and as he approached the clearing most of the anger had abated, but she was still quite tense.
Mero’s ears perked up when he saw the dragoness and he lipped at her tail which was stretched across the clearing. She looked at him coolly then lifted her tail just enough to pet his ears with the still growing tip.
“See, you couldn’t eat him even if you tried.”
No, but I could eat you.
“Uh hu. I’m sure.”
She growled at him, baring her long fangs. Each were as long as his hand plus a good bit, with the exception of the front canines which were much longer. Feeling childish, he stuck his tongue out at her. She imitated him. Her tongue was long and forked at the end.
&n
bsp; For a dragon, he expected her maw to smell of rotting flesh. Instead, it had almost sweet smell. Her tongue flicked out and licked him on the cheek. It was a dry lick, and but smooth like a dog’s. The action took him by surprise - she hadn’t licked him since they had first left the farm.
“All right cut it out. You win. Let’s rest for now, that way we can both be awake when you go out searching tonight.”
All right. I didn’t rest well without you last night anyways.
He laid down in the crook of her tail and she curled around him before covering her face and his whole body with her wing. The end of her tail curled protectively around his ankle and both of them drifted off into sleep.
***
Hours later, Graith woke as Zel was having a dream. He could tell from the way her tail and wings twitched and her teeth were bared into a snarl. He laid his hand against her side, intending to wake her up. Instead he was pulled inside her dream.
Zel was pacing up and down the largest hallway Graith had ever seen. She could have easily opened her wings fully and they wouldn’t have touched either wall. The ceiling was also quite high, and even as he watched a green dragon flew above her.
His attention was drawn back down to Zel as a growl emanated deep from within her chest. As he looked at her, he saw that she was glowing a vibrant blue brighter than he remembered her ever being before. Scales forming patterns of dark and light, a few white scales here and there, giving her the appearance of the night sky. She was growling at the biggest dragon he had ever seen.
A red dragon towered over her. So large that his wings could have touched both walls, perhaps an arm-length or two short.
I thought I told you to leave Azelia.
The unspoken language of dragons was thunderous in Graith’s head.
I thought you also said you loved me Coale.
Her tail lashed, and Graith had to jump sideways to avoid its tumultuous movement.
I did love you Azelia. I’m just not ready to be a father.
Oh? And yet I’m ready to be a mother? This was a decision we made together.
It was all fun and games dearest.
Do not call me that. You said we would have a life together.
Dragons lie Azelia. Humans lie. Everyone lies. You need to learn that for yourself.
Zel let out a roar that shook the dust from the high rafters. The red dragon flexed his talons and stretched like a cat.
Are you about done? I have a date.
She lunged at him, but being so much smaller, he just let her tumble past. He jumped into the air and was flying away before she was even back on her feet. She roared again but did not give chase. Instead milky tears rolled from her great eyes.
Azelia. Come here.
Zel turned, and a black dragon whose wings did touch both sides of the hall emerged from an archway. The dragon had a pale scar running down the left side of his face, the eye that had once been there was gone. The remaining eye was a bright gold and was looking at the much smaller blue dragon.
Papa Cimmeris! Zel said, walking to him, I’m a fool.
Yes, my darling, but you’re my fool.
The black dragon had pulled her closer with a tail that seemed to go on forever. He then tucked her under his wing, in just the same way Zel tucked Graith under her wing every night.
We’re all fools at some point in our lives. How do you think I lost my favorite eye?
She giggled. It was a noise that Graith had never heard her make before, and one that didn’t seem suited for a dragon. She stuck her head out from under his wing to look at where the missing eye should be.
I think you look quite dashing. Oh Papa. How am I going to tell father?
Like the adult you chose to be little one.
He nuzzled her head.
The dream faded and Graith found himself looking into Zel’s bright blue eye that was nearly as large as his head.
You were not invited to watch that, her tone was acidic.
“I didn’t mean to Zel. It kind of just happened when I touched you. You were twitching and snarling, so I tried to wake you up…” Graith said, even as he took a step back.
Well. The past is the past.
“How did your father take the news? Was that your grandfather?”
Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him.
How do you think it went? I’m here am I not? And yes. My mother’s father Cimmeris. A black shadow dragon.
“What is a shadow dragon?”
Zel did not answer, instead she flung herself into the air. The resulting shock wave sent Graith tumbling to the ground.
I’ll be back before sunrise. I’ll let you know if I see or feel any signs of my eggs.
She was already gone from sight, but Graith told her, You know, I’m not a young man. Falling down like that could hurt me.
Zel just laughed at him and did a cartwheel in the sky before starting her search. She had decided spiral out from Dunlaith.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Graith
Graith, you might want to sit down, Zel said.
That was all the warning he got before something happened.
It was like he was suddenly in two places. Still standing in the small clearing with Mero, but also high above ground. He could still see around himself, but he could also see somewhere else. His vision there was altered. Colors were brighter, shapes sharper. Even though it was a moonless night, he could see as well as if it were noon.
Is this how you see all the time? he asked.
That had to be what was going on, he had to be seeing what she was seeing.
Yes. Now, you really should sit. I’m about to fly faster.
His body sank to the ground, but he couldn’t stop looking around.
Graith, let me control. Moving my head too much while I fly slows me down.
How are you doing this?
The same way I controlled your body before. But – opposite? - I guess. Before I wanted to be you. This time I wanted you to be me.
Graith could feel Zel’s wings strain as she climbed high into the sky, then she stopped. For a moment there was weightlessness. She turned in the air, her head pointing downward, and she plummeted. Her wings snapped open, and she was sailing. As she looked to her left, they drifted that way, her tail working like a rudder in the sky.
They had already made two laps around Dunlaith and were speeding up, covering a larger distance in the same time each lap.
Graith couldn’t believe it. Knowing that he was safe on the ground, he was exhilarated by the speed. He was able to feel the way Zel’s wings sliced through the air. He saw what she saw, felt what she felt.
They were on the fourth lap now and movement parallel to the main road heading north caught their attention. Zel flew overhead, silent. Graith however nearly yanked her head backwards for a second look.
Zel! That’s the stable boy from the city. The one who took care of Mero.
What’s he doing all the way out here? He is a child correct?
Yes.
Zel made another pass overhead. The boy was running full tilt away from the city, and as she flew back towards the city, she saw why. A small group of city guardsmen were chasing him on foot.
Zel. We must help him!
How?
Bring him to me!
Graith could feel the doubt in her mind as she dove at the boy. She scooped him up in her talons. The moment his feet left the ground, he let out a blood curdling scream.
Stop it! Zel yelled into the boy’s mind.
Perhaps too ‘loudly’ because he fell unconscious. Or perhaps he had simply fainted.
The boy’s screams however had drawn the attention of the guards. At least one of them let out a terrified shriek of their own, signaling they had spotted Zel.
Graith. I’ll be there soon. I’m going to fly away from them until they can’t see me, then I’ll double back, but I need to focus.
Graith was back in his own body in an instant. He jumped to his feet, runn
ing to the cart to get a blanket from his travel packs.
Then he waited.
He had prepared a fire before sleeping, but with the guards alerted to Zel’s presence, it would not be a good idea to light it.
He paced back and forth from the cart to the fire ring that he could just make out in the near total darkness.
How he wished he had Zel’s vision all the time.
As the minutes raced by, Graith strained his ears, listening for any sound of the guards or for Zel’s wing beats in the air.
When she landed next to him, he jumped, for he had not seen nor heard her until her back talons touched the ground. The front talons laid the boy carefully on the ground. Graith picked him up and wrapped him in the blanket he’d been clutching the whole time.
Both the man and the dragoness stared at the boy wondering if he was okay. He was breathing, normal deep breaths, but when Graith shook him he did not wake.
He must have been scared witless. What did you do to him?
Normally Graith would have asked aloud, but he was still paranoid that the guards were searching for Zel.
I think I yelled at him too loudly. He doesn’t seem injured though. We should rest, I’ll know when he wakes, and I will wake you too.
It turned out Zel didn’t need to wake him. The boy woke with the sunrise.
Screaming.
Graith was awake in an instant, his hand over the boy’s mouth.
“Shh, now lad. It’s alright.”
Recognition of Graith flashed in the boy’s eyes, however instead of calming him, the boy started to try to get away.
“Whoa now. I’m not trying to hurt you. I’ll take my hand off your mouth if you promise not to scream. The guards are still out there.”
Graith didn’t actually know if the guards were still looking for the boy after seeing the dragon take off with him. Honestly, they probably thought he had been the dragon’s midnight snack.
The boy nodded, and Graith removed his hand and let go of the boy. He scrambled to his feet, looking between Graith and Zel. After a few moments of not running into the woods, Graith decided to speak.
“Now, lad. Zel here saw you running from the guards. What’s going on?”