Page 20 of My Dragon Lovers

“We’re going to have to keep this quiet though, aren’t we?” Brock said.

I nodded. “I’m hoping that by the time they realize what has happened we’ll have figured out something important. They have to know more than they’re letting on. I can’t believe that their people have been dying and they have no idea who is responsible,” I said. I just hoped that I was right, because if I wasn’t then I might be gifting Kyra to whoever had killed Jade. There was a suspicion that I hadn’t shared with her yet because it was too terrible to voice, and she had been through enough already without having this weighing on her mind either. I figured if someone wanted Jade dead then they would likely want Kyra dead as well, and perhaps they had been angry that they had missed out on the opportunity.

But we would get him first. I wasn’t about to let him take the woman I loved.

Chapter Fifteen

Kyra

When Aidan got an idea in his head it was hard to dissuade him from seeing it to the end. He was a creature of momentum, like some great boulder that rolled down a hill and wouldn’t stop until it met an immovable object. I can’t say that I was greatly enthused by returning to my father’s thunder. I suppose I felt afraid that they might still be in thrall to him, worshiping the memory of that man who had almost broken the world apart. However, I wasn’t content to sit around and do nothing either. I hated when my anger was impotent, and the last thing I wanted was to pace around the ruins waiting interminably for something that might never happened. Aidan was right; there had to be some kind of clue out there, and we weren’t going to find it by sitting around. Besides, the longer I waited there the more frustrated I would get and I would probably end up starting a fight with another dragon, and that would be a whole other drama.

So, before the sun rose in the last vestiges of the night we flew away from the ruins, not telling anyone where we were going. This was reckless of us, of course, for if anything happened to us then nobody would have the faintest clue where to look. But in our youthful abandon we didn’t think about the consequences. We only thought about what needed to be achieved, and how best to go about that.

The journey we took was shorter than the flight to the human world, to my home. It struck me then, as I straddled Aidan’s back and the curt wind blew through my hair, that I would never see again the home in which I grew up. That building was nothing to me now, just a remnant of a life thatI would not be allowed to live again. It was strange that some walls and rooms could bring forth such emotion, but it was as though a tether had been cut and now I was floating in a void, aimless and adrift. It had been like that for most of my life really. Given that I had never known my father I always felt as though there was something missing from my life. The ties that bound me to this world were fragile. Another had just been snipped away. The only thing holding me down now were the love I had for Aidan and Brock.

Was it enough to keep me there forever?

We soared over forests and valleys, following a winding stream for a time. It looked like a silver snake slithering through the world. Occasionally we saw remote homes where humans who wanted to shut away the world lived. If they saw formless shadows streaking through the sky it wouldn’t matter, for who would they tell, and who would believe them?

We were flying along aimlessly, with no trouble at all, when suddenly Aidan reared up. I only just managed to keep my hold, otherwise I would have gone tumbling through the air and fallen to my doom. I looked past his shoulder and saw that two dragons had come to meet us. They looked formidable with their angry eyes and open mouths. Aidan and Brock roared and showed their bellies, a sign that they did not mean any harm and did not have any intention of fighting. The dragons looked suspicious, but they swooped around us, making sure that no other dragons were waiting to ambush them, before they guided us to the ground. There, we all shifted.

“Who are you and what do you want?” their leader said. She was a tall, formidable woman with sharp eyes and a stern manner. She walked with confidence and poise, as though she knew exactly who she was and her place in the world. I envied these qualities, and wished that I possessed them for myself. The man beside her was strong and thick, reminding me of a brickwall. I assumed they were lovers. There was that kind of energy about them. I had been blind to these things once, but as I grew up it was as though a mask had been lifted and I could now see things that had been hidden from me before. I wondered if there was anything like this, anything that would suddenly come to view as the years passed.

“I’m Aidan, this is Brock, and this is Kyra. We come from Kadie’s thunder. We’re here to help. We’d like to track down the killer,” Aidan said. He was putting on his authoritative tone. It was a voice that mimicked his elders. I knew it was hollow, but nobody else did. The woman’s eyes twitched.

“We have already told Kadie that we do not require their help. It is typical of them to be so arrogant to assume they know what’s best for us,” she snarled. “Go back to your thunder and tell Kadie that we can take care of our own,” she turned away and I could see the moment slipping away from us. I knew that I was going to have to do something drastic, so I stepped forward and I did something I hated, something that made the words feel like poison on my tongue.

“Wait, please, your people aren’t the only ones who have died. My Mom did as well, Jade… I need your help to avenge her. I’m Kyra… daughter of Ilvar.”

The words fell like a hammer. The woman paused for a moment and then turned, studying me to ensure that I wasn’t lying. The man beside her looked troubled. His gaze shifted between us both, and then he fell to his knees, bowing before me. The woman was still uncertain. She walked towards me and her hand shot out. Hard, slender fingers dug into my chin. She pushed my head back and tilted it around, gazing into my eyes. It felt as though I was being lifted in the air. For a moment I thought she was going to rip my neck off, until she saw something inside me, some part of him.

She took her hand away and fell to her knees. Her dress flowed across the ground and she bowed her head. “Forgive me, I did not realize. I am Lacey, and this is Han. We are your humble servants,” she said.

I looked at Aidan and Brock uneasily. I wasn’t used to being treated like this. “You don’t have to do that. Please. I’m just Kyra. I just want some help in figuring out what happened to my mother.”

“Of course,” Lacey rose and took on a far gentler tone. She clasped her hands together and tilted her head to the side. “Han, go to the village and get them to prepare a feast. This is a remarkable day. I wondered if we would ever see you in the flesh, Kyra. We have been waiting for you for a long time. Please, come with me and be welcomed into our home.”

I followed Lacey as we passed through a thicket of trees. It was a short walk into the village, where I saw houses filled with industrious dragons. The place was blooming with life, unlike the ruins of the other thunder, where all signs of dragons were hidden. People were laughing and joking with each other. There was a fierce fire burning, but it was not a funeral pyre. It was a fire which people could gather around and share stories. This felt like a true community, and as we approached they looked at us with intrigue.

“My people, please, I require your attention for a moment. A miracle has happened. We have a most distinguished guest. May I present to you Kyra, the daughter of Ilvar,” Lacey said, her tone rapt and reverent with awe. I shrunk back into the shadows, but there was no escaping this attention. Everyone rushed towards me, a sea of faces who bowed and welcomed me, treating me as though I was something special.

I wasn’t.

I stood there and smiled politely, just wishing that it would all be over soon. There seemed to be a never-ending stream ofthem though, but eventually this stream died out and they all passed. I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling overwhelmed.

Han then came to us and gave us plates of meat and cheese. “Come this way Kyra, we need to speak,” Lacey said. Aidan and Brock motioned to come with us, but Lacey held up a finger to stop them.

“I need to speak to the daughter of Ilvar alone,” she said.

My heart sank. All my life I had been fighting against my lineage, and yet here I was being defined by it. I breathed through my teeth and told myself that I just needed to get through it.

*

Lacey took me to a building in the middle of the village. She shut the heavy wooden door and smiled, offering me a seat.

“You might like to know that this was your father’s home,” she said.

“I see, well, I’m not really here to talk about Ilvar. I’ve come because my mother was killed and I’d like to know who was responsible. We heard that some of your dragons were murdered as well.”

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