by Lola Ford
I like it here, Kiriga told her softly, still not moving from her spot.
I do too, Nerie said as she walked slowly to her rooms. Kora and Karsen both waved wearily to her, promising to see her in the morning.
She knew they would wake her bright and early, just as they had done every morning since she had arrived. But the smile that ghosted her lips vanished as quickly as it came as thoughts of returning home entered her mind.
I don’t want to go back to the palace, she whined to the dragoness.
I don’t either, Kiriga’s tone echoed her own.
Father will come for you, Wyla said, her mental voice tired.
He can sleep on the roof too, Kiriga said, a little less than halfheartedly.
You know Father. I’m almost One Hundred and Thirty and he still treats me like a hatchling sometimes. He was itching at the thought of you even coming here. If you don’t go home on schedule, he’ll be here to escort you home.
Wyla chuckled at the image of her father, strangely silly looking in her mind, flapped his wings like a bird looking down on his two daughters.
The three women who were Nerie’s maids while she stayed with her Uncle and his family, helped her undo her dress and proffered her a pair of soft pants and a loose shirt that made the perfect pajamas. Her Aunt Valria had no qualms about her daughter wearing pants and had happily found Nerie several pair to stash away for the return trip.
While Soren hadn’t giving her a set deadline of when to return, Nerie knew that the king would summon them back through the elder dragons. Either Soros or Eras would contact her and Kiriga when it was time to return home.
Only, it didn’t feel like home. Not in the same way that being here in Cian with Kora and Karsen did. It nearly had, when Aldis had been there, but since he had been sent away it felt hollow. Her cousins were fun, and young, and couldn’t seem to get to know her fast enough. They wanted to share their lives with her, and it was less than pleasing to think about returning to the palace where Astra lurked, Aldis was missing, and her own mother was having trouble finding time to see her.
***
Two more days flew by, Karsen showing her their library, and Kora introducing her to their stables. Kiriga had snorted derisively at the small mounts, saying they didn’t even look capable of holding themselves up - let alone their riders. Each evening as their meal was served, Sylas and Valria would ask about what the young adults had done that day.
***
It was the afternoon of a cold but sunny day when Nerie was called back to the palace.
Kora and Karsen had been showing her the valley that separated their town from Lutesia, the neighboring country. In the distance the city of Veles mirrored Cian, with the great maw of the valley spreading between them.
Kiriga, Nerie, Eras spoke to them. From this distance his voice sounded hollow, like someone shouting down a long corridor. You must return to Roria at once.
Soren finally wants me home? Nerie asked light heartedly, sighing.
There has been an attack in Alluvia.
He said it like the name should mean something to Nerie and Kiriga, but they just couldn’t place it, until Wyla’s voice chimed in softly - Galean.
Galean was the next oldest after Wyla and lived to the north by the sea. He was Alluvia’s guardian, in the same way that Wyla was for Cian.
Is Galean all right? Wyla asked worriedly. I didn’t hear anything.
Yes, he’s fine. But Kiriga and Nerie must come home now. Soren only just got the news and that was his first reaction.
Eras’ voice was tight, and Nerie had turned away from her cousins to focus on what he was saying.
We will leave within the hour, Nerie said.
She left the dragons to speak among themselves, turning to Kora and Karsen. They had quickly learned the face she made as she spoke to Kiriga and they had fallen into a conversation of their own while they waited. When Nerie turned back to them, her face was pale.
“We need to get back to the estate. There’s been an attack in Alluvia. Soren wants me back in Roria - Tonight,” she told her cousins as they looked at her.
“Of course,” Karsen said briskly, sitting upright on his mount, turning and leading Nerie and his sister back to the manor.
Nerie kept in constant contact with Kiriga, who told her that Sylas had been informed, and packing was underway. Kiriga was ready as three of them galloped into the courtyard, Nerie quickly dismounted and ran to her rooms to change into her riding gear.
Her dress tore slightly as she rushed to get it off, but it didn’t matter. As she tugged on the leather breeches and boots her hands shook slightly.
Situra was a peaceful country.
She had never heard of an attack. Sure, a riot or two from the far corners of the country over taxes a few years back, but that had ended in Soren listening to the people and cutting taxes in that region due to a drought.
Kora and Karsen, along with Sylas and Valria were waiting in the same courtyard that she had landed in the first night. Kiriga was in her harness and Wyla stood watch on the fire heights of the walls.
“I’ll miss you,” Nerie said awkwardly looking at them. It was strange, coming into their lives and leaving with little warning.
Kora threw herself at Nerie, starting to sob, “We’ll miss you! I’ve already asked daddy when we can come visit you at court!”
Nerie hugged her tight, smiling. Then they were suddenly in the middle of a group hug and Nerie was more than a little warm. But it wasn’t uncomfortable. This was what a family was like. They were her family.
Nerie, we need to go, Kiriga said, shifting her weight between her front legs. We are already going to be flying in the dark a good part of the way home.
Hugging each person tight then letting them go, Nerie was already climbing her way up Kiriga’s side before tears started to drip down her cheeks.
The small family stepped back as Kiriga lunged into the sky, becoming small dots as Nerie watched them. Then Kora was off, running into the building, reappearing moments later, on a balcony. She scaled her way to the fire heights with Wyla. Her arm waved franticly as she reached the end of her climb. Nerie waved back just as enthusiastically as Kiriga turned in a wide swoop, heading back towards Roria.
Wyla did not follow. Instead, she sat upright, watching them disappear into the distance.
Goodbye little sister. Goodbye Nerie.
CHAPTER FORTY
Graith
Graith wasn’t sure when he stopped looking back at Kelna worried that they were being followed, but he had at some point. The road before them was quiet - desolate even. No houses or farms lined the road, only the river to the north and empty sprawling hills with occasional stands of trees to the south.
Onward they traveled - to the east and Tesia, the capital. The only possible destination for the ship carrying Zel’s eggs.
Alix rode Zel like a horse, and Graith alternated between riding Mero and walking between the horse and dragon. He worried that they would be seen by travelers, but after catching him thinking about it one too many times Zel comforted him.
We are far from any town. If anyone sees us - I will kill them.
He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to thank her or rebuke the idea so instead, he did neither - rather he just let it move out of his mind.
They traveled for two and a half days until the road took a sharp turn to the south, while the river continued to flow eastward.
Which way? Zel asked, looking over at him.
While the road had been barren thus far, it wasn’t guaranteed to stay so, and there had been stretches where there hadn’t been any trees for Zel to hide in, and it seemed like going south the trees continued to thin. They could see far into the distance that to the east the trees became thick following the river.
Graith paused, unsure of the path to take. Then he remembered the map found weeks ago in Zel’s cave. Digging it out of one of the pockets of a saddlebag he spread it out on the stone road to stud
y.
He moaned aloud. The road from Kelna continued southeast around a giant bog before splitting into two and running to both Tesia and Veles. But the road swung wide - and Graith was unsure how long it would take to follow. Not to mention that the closer they got to the split, the more people he was sure would occupy the road - and there were a couple of small villages along the way.
“Forward,” Graith announced after several quiet moments of deliberation before motioning Mero forward.
Within hours they knew why the road had turned south. They had entered the bog. Frozen in the frigid weather, the icy water and mud was a dangerous route to take. Slipped hooves and paws lead to mud splattered riders, and grumpy horse and dragon.
Their pace was slow, and they kept as close to the river as possible. More than once Graith wondered if they should turn around now, head back for the road. But every step towards the capital was a step away from the road.
Zel went hunting that evening. She returned with a small and scraggly deer that Graith didn’t think would feed the two of them, let alone leave enough to share with the dragoness. Zel heard his worry, and calmed him, saying that she would hunt for herself later.
Alix tried to search for wood for a fire but found nothing but soaked logs and wet leaves. Zel stepped in, and after Graith cleaned the deer, she tried to roast it with her flames. The result being that the meat was cooked unevenly, pieces charred to a crisp and others so rare that Alix thought the deer might just get back up and walk away.
As Graith bit into a particularly burnt chunk and winced, Alix saw. The boy nudged the pile of wet leaves at his feet, then looked up and said, “It could be worse. We could just have nothing to eat.”
Graith flushed slightly, embarrassed that the boy had noticed, but then nodded agreeably. He turned the piece in his hand, looking for a less crunchy piece, and tried again.
“It could be worse,” quickly became their motto going through the bog.
“It could be worse - we could be here without Zel.”
“It could be worse - we could be frozen.”
“It could be worse - we could be lost.”
***
After the third day of travel through the bog, Zel left Alix with Graith and took flight into the cloudy sky. Her pale white blue hide blended in with the overcast sky. She didn’t say where she was going but promised that she would keep in touch with Graith.
Several hours - with little progress forward - she returned. Her eyes were yellow, and her tail lashed as she landed in the clearing just ahead of them.
“Zel!” Alix shouted weakly. He had started shaking not long before, and Graith hoped to get him back on Zel’s warm back shortly.
As they approached her, she told Graith, The bog goes on for another four or five days of travel. Are you alright continuing?
He snorted in annoyance. He was tired, hungry, and more than anything cold.
“Do we really have a choice? Sounds like we are already in the middle of it.”
He felt Zel’s anger and annoyance at his response, but Graith didn’t care. Well, it wasn’t that he didn’t care - he simply was too tired to moderate his feelings. He knew she was trying to help, didn’t want them stuck in this bog any more than they did. But it felt hopeless. What else could they do? Loop back to the road and continue south? It wasn’t worth the time.
They reached her and she settled down. Alix resumed his now familiar position on her back, snuggling into the hollow just between her wings, trying to soak in some of her warmth. Graith took a minute to clean Mero’s hooves of ice, mud, and stones. The big horse didn’t mind the cold, the ice and snow however, he did. Graith made Mero promise after promise about clean stables and warm gruel when they got to the capital.
Graith was worried about the gelding. With little available for the horse to graze on he had lost a lot of weight. His eyes were sunken in, and Graith could feel his ribs under thick fur. Now knowing that they still had days of travel to go he feared for a moment that the horse wouldn’t make it through.
Graith put more effort into foraging for Mero as they traveled the rest of the day and that night, he had Zel warm water up to body temperature for the horse. Mero ate with gusto and nosed Graith for more when he was done.
“I’ll collect more tomorrow buddy,” he promised, scratching Mero’s ear and looking around. The hollow they had settled into for the night was treeless and knee deep with mud. There was nothing remotely edible for Mero.
***
The days continued on like that. Raw or burnt meat, fireless nights, and a cold so deep into their bones that Graith thought he would never get warm again. He also noted that Zel wasn’t eating. The few animals she was able to catch for them really weren’t enough for them all to share. Her hide faded from the sky blue it had been to a pale, unhealthy gray.
Graith developed bright red sores on his hands from the cold and saddle sores from riding on the horse constantly. He had stopped walking as he couldn’t make it through the mud without becoming exhausted in minutes.
After the fourth day Alix couldn’t spend more than two hours on Zel’s back without needing to huddle under her wing for a bit to recoup body heat. His thin frame shook like the few dead leaves that still hung to the trees that surrounded them.
Finally, eight days after entering, they made it out of the bog.
While all four of them would have happily gotten miles away, Graith insisted they camp at the edge of the bog for the night. The trees thinned drastically, and he had no idea how far away the nearest town or farm would be. It would do them no good to have made it this far, only to be seen now, so close to the capital.
That night, once the sun had set and the moon rose, Zel went scouting to gauge the distance remaining to Tesia. Flying as high into the air as she could, she pulled Graith’s mind with her. The absolute disconnects between his body and mind terrified him, as it had the first time they had flown together, but this time he adjusted much quicker. He imagined himself sitting still and focused on his breathing.
Even though he could feel the cold wind on her hide, and the muscles in her wings and tail burn as she flew, he tried not to interrupt.
She flew them along the river, and they could see several small farms dot the horizon. It slowly turned into a suburban area that was surrounded by low walls. A few miles in, a second much larger wall delineated the start of a city so large that it took Zel almost five minutes of flying to reach the far east side.
This must be Tesia, the capital of Lutesia, Graith said amazed. Kelna, the largest city he’d ever seen could have fit within the first and second wall, several times over. We are almost there Zel.
He could feel her heartbeat quicken and saw as her eyes frantically searched below them.
Graith. I can feel my eggs again. What am I going to do?
I don’t know Zel. The same trick from Kelna won’t work here. You can’t even get close to the main city. There are no trees for you to hide in and we don’t have the cart this time.
He felt as if he were drowning and realized that Zel was struggling to breathe.
It feels like inches again Graith, and it feels like I’m going to miss each of them too.
The image of her little egg tumbling in dark water filled Zel’s mind.
You must trust us Zel. Alix and I will get your eggs back, even if we have to follow them to the ends of the world.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Graith
Once Zel had returned from her scouting flight, Graith and Alix quickly huddled under her wings. In the time she had been gone, they had chilled even though they had been pressed up against Mero. The large horse had lost too much weight and was barely keeping himself warm.
Alix was asleep within moments, his energy once seemingly endless now exhausted. Each day Graith was reminded time and again that Alix was still a child. He hadn’t known what he was getting himself involved in when he joined the small group.
As Graith lay pressed against Zel’s w
arm hide, he could hear Mero pacing around the large clearing they had found. Mero was gratefully eating the sparse grass that marked the end of the bog. He was shaggy and unkempt and Graith didn’t think that the large horse would have made it much further in the swamp.
You know, I think you’re right, Zel said suddenly, I wouldn’t eat him.
She was trying to be lighthearted, but it came out flat. Graith could feel her emotions in a strange cascade of interest, doubt, hope, fear, hate, and worry. They flickered back and forth, her mind restless. He was worried about her, they had lost a lot of time going through the bog and every hour they lost was an hour farther away her eggs were.
Zel shuffled uncomfortably, her wings clicking together over her back. Graith could feel her ribs where he laid against her side. That worried him more than anything, if she became too weak to travel what would they do? She shifted again, heaving a sigh as she was unable to get settled.
Would talking about your home or family help you relax? Graith asked Zel, unsure of what the dragoness needed - other than a large cow and a restful sleep.
No, she said tersely, then after a moment and realizing that Graith was only trying to help she continued, I was a disappointment to everyone in Etria.
Her voice was dark, her emotions darker. Graith thought that if a dragon could cry, Zel would be sobbing.
Even Cimmeris? Graith asked, hoping that would at least stir some good memories. He seemed to care about you deeply.
Grandpa Cimmeris does love me, Zel said, but her mood did not lighten. I was supposed to be his protege. I was too distracted - I let myself be led along by Coale.
Graith could tell thinking about her grandfather made Zel happy, but the thought of Coale which lead to thoughts of her eggs kept her mood black.