Page 80 of Of Steel and Scale

But like Gria, you’ll never say no to a meal.

She rumbled in response. I suspected it was amusement. As the huge mouth of the cavern drew closer, Kaia tucked her wings close to her body and swooped on. The wind and the rain dropped away as the darkness fell around us. She shifted her flight position, moving her rear legs forward, and gently landed. I wiped the rain from my face then raised a hand and created a small ball of flame, sending it tumbling into the darkness ahead. Between us and the entrance into the main breeding ground lay a surprising amount of rubble, and none of it appeared to have come from the walls.

I scanned the roofline and spotted jagged teeth of rock—rock that looked more like the floor’s redder earth than the black of the walls. I frowned and, as my ball spun into the main cavern, flicked my fingers wider to increase its intensity.

The light played across the black stone walls and highlighted the layers of bleached, broken, and heavily chewed bones scattered all about.

These weren’t ordinary bones, however.

They were the remains of all those who had once called this place home.

Drakkons.

This place death,Kaia said.

It was, and not just because of the bones. There was only one way in and out of this cavern, and that was probably the reason so many drakkons had been killed here. Drakkons had teeth and claws, but neither were any good against a foe capable of commanding earth and quickly cutting off the only exit.

No like, she added.

I didn’t either. I might not have seeress abilities, but there were ghosts in this place, and they whispered of pain, confusion, and the agony of a slow, starving death.

Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them away. There was nothing I could do about the past, but I sure as hell could change the future to ensure nothing like this ever happened again.

I drew in a deeper breath, then said,You can’t stay here. It’s too dangerous. You’ll have to find a roost on the windward side of the mountain. At least there you’ll be able to see anyone approach and have time to escape.

Another rumble. Escape wasn’t exactly in her plans. Not if she thought she had any chance of bringing one of the bastards down.

We go?

Yes.

She turned and lumbered back to the entrance. At its edge, she hunkered down and then launched skyward, her wings pumping hard as she fought to gain height against the wind and the rain. The various landmarks far below us were all but indistinguishable, though I heard the roar of the Crystal River Falls—even above the fury of the storm—as we swept through the middle of the island. The only landmark that was truly visible was the brooding darkness of the blackwood forests that clung to the sides of the steep ravine sweeping from the toes of the Helvede Range to the first of the crevices that half ringed Illistin.

I couldn’t see Illistin itself.

Couldn’t see the port beyond it.

I closed my eyes, hoping it was nothing more than the rain and the fog, but deep in my heart I knew the truth. Illistin had been destroyed just as thoroughly as Eastmead had.

But why?

What in Vahree’s name did such destruction gain them?

Even the Mareritt didn’t go to such extremes, and they were a warrior race with an unshakeable belief in their own superiority.

Can you see anything, Kaia?

Death. She paused.Gilded ones here.

What? Where?

Deepen link. See.

I closed my eyes and reached deeper, strengthening the connection between us without going as deep or as full as I had before. When I opened my eyes, my vision was a weird mix of hers and mine. It was a somewhat nauseating sensation, so I quickly closed them again and just concentrated on what she was seeing. On the ground far below, there were two lines of metal tents—twelve in all—sitting atop the ridge just outside the main town. They were widely spaced, and each one had a gilded bird tethered outside of it. They were all hooded, and there didn’t appear to be any sort of sentries standing about. Perhaps they didn’t need them. Perhaps the senses of the birds were sharp enough to alert their riders of any approach.

That thought had barely crossed my mind when one of the birds looked up and squawked.

Rise, I urged Kaia.

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