Page 55 of Of Steel and Scale

The wind, Kaia said.It follows the ebb and flow of wind.

That’s odd, isn’t it?

Perhaps wishes to fly. Can’t, so imagines.

Surprise rippled through me.Do drakkons ever do this?

Young dream fly.

I centered the long viewer on the bird again. I had a feeling this onewasyoung, though I had no idea why. It was just a suspicion that the natural weight of the bird, combined with that of a fully armored rider, would take a toll on them physically. It would make sense to use those in the prime of their lives rather than risk the strength of an older bird failing at the wrong time.

Not drakkon,Kaia said.Even Jagri lift you, metal covering or not.

Jagri?

Old male. Guards breeding grounds in red mountains.

A mate?

No. Can’t catch in flight. Not worthy.

I smiled. Drakkons mated on the wing, and only the strongest, fastest males were allowed to breed with the queens.I wasn’t wearing armor when you lifted me.

Can carry hair beast with ease. You nothing.

Hair beast being a longhorn, if the image that came through was anything to go by.Carrying in claws would be different to carrying on your back. It would affect your flying dynamics, would it not?

What dynamics?

I hesitated.The ease with which you move through the air.

Horns and spines larger than you.

And I guessed if I was sitting behind them, the flow of air wouldn’t really be disrupted. I hesitated.Would you be willing to carry me on your back if it was needed? It would leave your claws for defense.

If bank, you fall.

You could catch.

If miss?

How often do you miss prey?

You not prey. Matter more.

A statement that utterly warmed my heart.What if I was roped on? Or had some sort of saddle to keep me on?

Not that we actually had a saddle that wouldfither back. It would have to be made, and I doubted we’d have the time to do that.

She was silent for a minute.I think.

Thank you.

I refocused on the invader and carefully swept the area. There were no cave entrances on that plateau that I could see from this angle, but it was obviously a sentry point, as what looked to be a triangular metal tent was set up behind the golden bird and a tied down privy pot sat farther away. Talk about a seat with a view, I thought wryly.

I scanned the other peaks within the range of the long viewer, but couldn’t spot any other sentry stations. Which didn’t mean they weren’t there—if they’d gone to the trouble of setting up one, there would undoubtedly be others. Hell, maybe the Beak was meant to be their next one—it would explain the boxes and the barrier we’d come across.

If that were the case, though, we needed to find a means of preventing them from gaining ground here without giving them a reason to suspect we were aware of them.

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