Aquila slept at the wyvern hatchery. Devarius helped build her a small cottage there so she could spend all her time with the wyverns and their eggs. She loved it there. Aquila missed Devarius. She wished she could put him out of her head, but at every waking moment, she thought of him. A lot of her dreams revolved around him as well. Their relationship was new, but they’d known each other for a long time. She loved him.
She stroked her purple wyvern and kissed her nose.
“Good night, Tynaesha.”
Aquila stepped inside her small cabin. She wished she could have her wyvern sleep in the cabin with her, but wood was in low supply and they couldn’t build the homes any longer. When the spring warmed up a little, Aquila planned on going outside to sleep against her wyvern. Tynaesha was large enough now to ride, though still not full grown. Aquila still hadn’t ridden her yet. She was scared. Aquila had never been fond of heights, and as of yet, had no desire to soar into the sky.
She laid on her bed and closed her eyes, hoping it would be nice dreams of Devarius instead of the nightmares. One of her greatest fears was she would never see him again. She urged him to travel with his sister, to find the dragon stone, but truth be told, she was terrified of his leaving.
Her eyes barely closed when she heard a crash outside. She sat up, grasping the covers over her nightgown. Footsteps shuffled outside her cottage. Aquila slid out of bed, grabbed more appropriate clothes to pull over her nightgown, then snatched a dagger from her small desk. Taking a deep breath at her door, she stepped outside.
Her wyvern stood, legs back and head stretched forward, snarling at a small group of men. One of them held a wooden crate in his hands.
“The wvyern oil,” Aquila gasped.
They drew weapons.
Aquila backed against her door. She was no match for dragomen. And she didn’t have her bow. A small dagger would be good for nothing.
Her wyvern snarled.
“Stop them, Tynaesha!” Aquila shouted.
The wyvern approached the men, her purple scales glittering in the moonlight. She opened her mouth, and a great pressure of wind shot from it, knocking three of the dragomen onto the ground. The others snarled, and two of them drank vials of wyvern oil. One transformed into a fire dragoman, and the other, an ice.
Tynaesha turned to the side, using her power against the transformed dragomen, but the wind missed them. They were faster now, and they used their powers against her. Fire spiraled through the air, lighting up the darkness, and colliding into Tynaesha. She snarled as she shook off the blast, then ice struck her next. It wasn’t as powerful as the actual wyvern’s elements, but it was still strong, and her wyvern slowed at the touch of ice. Aquila screamed.
The two dragomen turned to face Aquila instead. They held up their hands, one glowing blue, the other red, and two powerful magical balls flew toward her. She closed her eyes. The magic made a hard impact in front of her, hurting her ears, but she was unharmed.
Aquila opened her eyes to see her wyvern, Tynaesha, lying in front of her. She’d jumped in front of Aquila to protect her, and took all of the damage. Aquila shook as she knelt on the ground to check on her wyvern. When she looked up, the dragomen were gone, and so were the crates of wyvern oil. Tears cascaded down Aquila’s cheeks. Her heart ached. She no longer cared about the wyvern oil, or the traitorous dragomen. Aquila only cared about her wyvern. She wrapped her arms around her wyvern’s neck and sobbed.
Chapter 17
Melonia. The city was massive, and busier than Devarius ever imagined. Peddlers and merchants lined the streets, their tables in front of them, and their wares displayed for all. Trinkets, necklaces, fruits and vegetables. It was all on display. The only thing Devarius noticed missing was weapons. But as he looked around, he understood why. No one held weapons, except for the soldiers. Devarius had been skeptical when Derkas told him to leave his sword behind, but now he was glad he listened. They would have surely been caught. No slaves held weapons. And slaves there were. Devarius saw hundreds of them roaming the streets. They were all marked by the clothes they wore, rags mostly, the same ones Devarius and Zaviana now wore.
He wanted to speak, he wanted to say something, but he knew he should keep his head low and remain quiet. Derkas walked behind him and Zaviana, and they did their best to keep their eyes away from all the commotion. They had a hard time not stopping to stare with eyes wide and mouth agape at everything in the city.
Devarius froze for a half a second when something bumped into his leg. He looked down and saw a small dragonling scurrying about. His eyes widened for a second before Derkas bumped into him.
“Keep moving. Lingering will be suspicious,” Derkas whispered in his ear.
Devarius nodded, then continued straight. Now that he knew dragonlings roamed the city, he began to be watchful in his peripheral vision. Dozens of the little creatures scurried the streets. They were small, the size of puppies to the size of dogs, and each one of them was red.
Beyond all the merchants and peddlers opened the true city in all its magnificence. The stone buildings were immaculately carved, and several of the businesses were carved out of marble or granite, offering beautiful beiges, grays, and blacks that Devarius had never seen before, at least not in such large sections. The amount of time and energy spent carving and molding the granite or marble, Devarius couldn’t even imagine. The sunslight reflected off it beautifully, giving chills down Devarius’ spine.
They continued forward, because what else could they do? They were on the wrong side of the city. The forest where they landed was to the south, but the dragon nursery was on the northern side of the city. He was grateful for all the people in the city. With so many people surrounding them, they would surely blend in, at least, he hoped. He began to wonder about the culture, and if anyone would notice they weren’t from the city. However, he kept his head down as he passed by dozens of guards.
A glimmering caught his eye, and he glanced to the massive castle. Devarius had never seen anything so large. He’d heard of the castles in Melodramar and Meldakar, but even the accounts he’d heard was nothing compared to the sight before him. Melonia’s castle was larger than the entire village of Kaed. It dwarfed him and everyone around him in its glory.
Devarius knew that’s where the emperor was. A chill ran down his spine as he looked at it. It was beautiful, but it was also haunting. The castle was made out of black marble with streaks of white running through, and in the sunslight, it seemed to glow. And the worst part, was it was at the northern most corner of the city.
“Does the castle look over the dragon hatchery?” Devarius whispered to his sister.
“Yes.”
His eyes widened. “Are you kidding? We have to go around the castle, and to the hatchery, where the castle overlooks … all without being noticed?”
Zaviana nodded.
“And you didn’t think this was a good idea to let us know?”
She shrugged. “I knew you wouldn’t come.”
He gritted his teeth. “Zavi … this is foolish.”
“It’s the only way.”
Derkas coughed, striking them both on their backs with his whip.
Devarius snarled under his breath as he looked back to Derkas. He couldn’t wait to get the mercenary alone to teach him a lesson. Devarius couldn’t believe he let his sister talk him into posing as a slave to the man. The same man who had betrayed the resistance to the emperor himself. Devarius gagged, the thought of Derkas leaving a bad taste in his mouth.
He bumped into something, and in doing so, dropped his hidden dagger from his cloak. Devarius fell on the ground to grab it and hide it in his boot before anyone noticed. A few people around them glanced his way, but otherwise didn’t stop.
A pair of small feet stood before him, wearing white sandals. The person’s toenails were in excellent condition and looked female.
“I’m sorry,” Devarius said.
“You’d better watch where you’re going next ti
me, slave,” the woman snapped.
Devarius cast his head low, but not before seeing the woman from his peripheral vision. He froze, his arms growing tense, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Devarius recognized her, it was Dasyra.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated.
He stepped around her, trying to hurry to avoid her gaze. The last thing they needed was someone to recognize him.
“Where are you going? There is punishment required for daring to bump into me. Where is your master?”
“Milady,” Derkas said. “I am responsible for this slave. I am sorry for his behavior, and I guarantee I will punish him myself.”
Devarius didn’t listen to any more. He continued forward, determined. She saw his face. He hoped she didn’t recognize him, but he didn’t want to take any chances. The longer she lingered on his face, the more time she would have to recollect. Zaviana stayed by his side.
“Slave!” Dasyra called. “What is your name? You look familiar …”
Devarius ignored her. He continued walking forward.
“What is it?” Zaviana asked.
“That’s Dasyra.”
“Who?”
“She was with us in the beginning, when we were fleeing the empire. But she betrayed us. She was scared, and didn’t want to run from the empire anymore. We all knew better. We knew they’d punish us no matter what. She believed if she went to them and confessed, they’d forgive her.”
“It looks like they did.”
“Only because she knows us. They’re using her to find us, and she nearly has. We need to get away from her before she recognizes me. We need to lay low for a bit.”
Devarius ducked into an alley, Zaviana at his side, and Derkas close behind.
“What’s going on?” Derkas snarled. “You’re drawing way too much attention to yourself. As a slave, you should have been on your hands and knees, groveling to that woman for daring to bump into her.”
“I couldn’t. Not her.”
“Why not?”
“She knows who I am, and she knows I’m with the resistance.”
Derkas’ eyes widened.
“Perhaps we should wait for nightfall before we continue. We still have to make our way out of this city, and right now the heat is on us,” Zaviana said.
“Agreed, but we shouldn’t wait too long. The more time we give Dasyra to piece together that who she saw today was me, the more danger we will be in.”
Chapter 18
Paedyn stretched as morning arrived. He sat up in bed, looked to the window at the glimmer of early red sunlight, then laid back down. His head rested comfortable on the pillow, and his thumb in his mouth. The weather was becoming colder, despite the orange sun beginning to appear back in the sky. The orange sun was still a small spec in the distance, barely larger than some of the nearby stars. Paedyn called himself a morning person, and by that—he meant he liked to sleep in every morning. Sure, there were people who called themselves a morning person because they liked to wake up early, but who needed that? Sleep was where it was at.
A knock at the door brought him out of this thoughts. What was wrong with these people? Didn’t they know it wasn’t afternoon yet? Who dared disturb Paedyn before noon. It’s like they didn’t even know him.
He sat up again, yawned, then walked over to his desk. His hand reached out to grab the small picture he had pinned to it. The sketch was beautiful. Paedyn wasn’t much of an artist, but he’d spent hours recollecting to carefully draw the image, and it turned out quite well if he said so himself. The boat had all the right dimensions, and the sail stood tall and proud. His head leaned to the side as he admired his creation. It was an exact replica of the toy boat he’d seen in the woodworkers shop in Trevium with Devarius. Oh, how he missed that toy boat. Devarius wouldn’t let him have it. All because the woodworker hadn’t finished it yet. He wondered if the woodworker made many toy boats. Paedyn wished he could travel to Trevium to buy a toy boat from the woodworker. The problem was, Paedyn didn’t have much coin, and … well—he was broke. He had a few spare coins, but most of the resistance had little to no funds. It was all unity that brought them together. They didn’t buy supplies, they created them.
Devarius had promised him a toy boat, but his friend hadn’t delivered yet. And Paedyn was beginning to become frustrated. He’d been set on having a toy boat. There were other things to keep him occupied, sure, like the actual boat he had the chance to helm, and the wonderful fire-breathing wyvern he now had. Paedyn smiled. He wondered what it would be like to have a flying boat. Paedyn wondered how it would work, surely there’d be a way to get the mechanics just right. If the sails of a sea boat used the wind to travel from one direction to the next, surely the same could be done in the sky. The wind currents were even stronger up there. He’d witnessed it first hand while riding on the wyvern.
The knock on the door repeated.
He’d forgotten someone was at the door, as he was lost in his thoughts.
Paedyn ambled over to the door and opened it.
The captain stood tall, his helm wedged between his elbow and side, and his face unshaven. Even his eyes had crust at the corners, and little red veins filled them, like he hadn’t slept all night.
Paedyn’s lips crunched together. “Is everything all right, Tynaer?”
“No, Aquila’s been attacked.”
“What?!” Paedyn’s posture straightened.
He stepped out the door, looking to the left and right, but not seeing Aquila. “Where is she? Is she all right?”
“She is all right. But her wyvern is injured badly.”
“What happened?”
“The dragomen discovered the location of the wyvern oil, and stole it. She tried to stop them, and even her wyvern attempted to help, but they were too strong.”
“Did they—”
Tynaer nodded. “Yes. All the wyvern oil is missing.”
“Take me to her,” Paedyn said.
Tynaer led Paedyn to the makeshift hospital they’d built on Adeth Peak Isle. It was the same place Devarius had stayed after his attack. When Paedyn stepped inside her room, he saw Aquila laying on a bed, bandages across her face, and her leg held up in a cast.
“Oh my word. Are you all right?” he asked.
“I was, but I’m numb now. They found some coca leaves and it really helped as well as an herb that I believe they took from your garden.”
Paedyn scratched his chin. “Careful with my herbs.”
She smiled at him. “I was told it wasn’t much.”
“Who did this to you?” he asked.
“The dragomen.”
“I heard that, but who? Which dragoman?”
Aquila shook her head. “It was dark, and there were more than one. Several fought against me, and even more against my wyvern. They used the oil and formed to attack. Tynaesha is in a lot worse shape than I. I will heal.”
Paedyn sat in a chair next to her bed. He sighed, leaning his head backward, and brushing his hands through it.
“This is not good,” he said, “how can we expect to defeat the Dragonia Empire if we can’t even keep our own men under control? This addiction they have … it’s far worse than I could have imagined.
“Devarius was right to be afraid of it. However, I think it’s too late now. We shouldn’t have let them use it to train after the last battle. It should have been only for the battle, in case of emergency, then we should have restricted it then, before it became so addictive.”
“I believe you’re right. But it’s too late now,” Aquila said.
“Well, it seems I have work to do.” Paedyn stood.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“First, I’m going to check on your wyvern. I’ll also talk with Pyro to see if there’s anything we can do to help aid the healing. And then, I’m going to have a few words with these dragomen.”
She reached her hand out, and he accepted it in his. She squeezed.
He smiled. Paed
yn had known Aquila for a long time, a while longer than Devarius, though he didn’t see the same thing in her as Devarius had. To Paedyn, Aquila was like a sister.
“Be careful,” she said.
“I will.”
Chapter 19
When the final sun fell beneath the horizon, there was little difference to the city. Zaviana watched carefully from the dark alleyways. Torches lit up everything, and she wondered if they were filled by oil along the streets, or if some kind of magic set them off. At first, she imagined them to be from oil, but when they witnessed them all turning on at the same time, it arose her suspicion.
Less people roamed the streets at night, but overall, the difference wasn’t significant. The largest benefit would be the guards not being able to recognize her and her companions as they traveled. A few of the guards knew her face, though—granted, not many. The king hadn’t trusted too many people with the inner workings of the castle. Zaviana knew all about the castle. She’d traveled through most of it, though, at the time, she was a slave. Still, she knew it better than anyone, save the king himself.
A part of her wanted to bust into the castle, confront the emperor, and end the bloody war. But she knew she couldn’t. They wouldn’t survive. And Derkas wouldn’t let her, neither would Devarius. The two of them sure didn’t care for each other, but they each had one significant thing in common: her. Zaviana knew the love each of them held for her. She could feel it. It penetrated deep, into her soul. She didn’t know how she’d earned such undying affection from each of them, but she knew she didn’t want to let them down.
As long as they could procure the dragon stone; they stood a chance. Zaviana didn’t want to admit it to anyone else, but she was worried. More worried than she’d ever been. Yes, the emperor didn’t keep the dragon stone inside the castle—but he still visited it often. She’d deliberately skipped that fact when describing to Devarius and Derkas the location of the stone. Zaviana overheard the emperor speaking of it often, as well as his daily visits. Sometimes, he would travel to visit it twice a day: morning and night.
Dragonia: Dragon Stone (Dragonia Empire Book 3) Page 7