Page 30 of Of Steel and Scale

Mom’s eyebrows rose. “Two drakklings is rather unusual these days—was it badly hurt?”

“Barely flight capable. I patched her up enough to get her to safety but didn’t have enough silk or sealer to fix the queen’s wings.”

“At least she remains flight capable. Did she say what had attacked them?”

“No, because I didn’t ask. I was more intent on getting them to safety. But it appears to be the same foe who attacked our boat—their metal feathers litter the male’s body.”

Damon and his father dismounted. Aric went to the drakkling, while Damon walked toward us. His gaze swept me, and relief briefly glimmered in the coolness of those bright depths. “No puncture wounds from a careless claw, I see.”

I half smiled. “If one of her claws had punctured me, I wouldn’t be standing here to talk about it.”

“I’m not so sure about that. Resilience and gumption are not lacking when it comes to the females of your family.”

Mom smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should.” His gaze went to the drakkling. “How was he killed?”

“Spear through the eye.” I led the way over. Aric was already squatting next to the weapon and its gruesome prize. “The metal in the spear’s head is the same as that in the feathers we’ve found.”

Aric glanced up. His blue eyes were cold and held the slightest hint of distaste. But given his apparent abhorrence of women who did anything more than pander to his needs, he was obviously practicing deep control. “Did you question the drakkons about what attacked them?”

“No, because I was a little too busy saving Gria’s life.”

“Gria?” Damon said.

I nodded. “The young female’s name. The queen is Kaia.”

“I suppose you gave them those monikers?” Aric’s voice was blunt with barely suppressed derision.

“No,” I replied evenly. “Drakkons are very intelligent—more so than many men I’ve met over the years—and are more than capable of choosing their own names.”

His gaze narrowed, but before he could reply, Mom stepped forward and pulled the spear free from the remnants of the eye. “This weapon is hefty in both build and length and wouldn’t be easily thrown.”

“Especially from atop of a flighted bird,” I said.

“We have no confirmation that’s what we’re dealing with, especially if you’ve no description from the drakkons.” Aric pushed to his feet and held out a hand. “May I?”

Mom handed the spear over. He balanced it lightly on one palm. “It’s extremely well weighted. Whoever made this knows what they’re doing.”

“And not just when it comes to making weapons,” I said. “These skirmishes definitely reek of testing enemy waters before committing to a full assault.”

“Given the destruction of Eastmead and the downing of the drakkons, we must be dealing with a reasonably large force,” Damon said. “So where are they stationed? It has to be somewhere within reach of the continent.”

“We’re talking aboutflightedcreatures,” Aric said. “We have no idea what sort of speed or distance they’re capable of. They could be stationed hundreds of miles out to sea for all we know.”

“Yes, but we can presume they couldn’t fly much faster or longer than drakkons,” I said. “It takes the queen a day or so of flight to reach the coast from the Red Ochre Mountains.”

“Even by that reckoning, the five islands would certainly provide a flighted force a suitable base.” He glanced at Mom. “Have there been any communications from the communities there?”

His words hit like a punch to the gut. While my grandparents, one of my aunts, and two of my uncles had all made the journey to Esan for the wedding, I still had plenty of kin on Jakarra—including Garran and his parents. They’d stayed to be with Garran and his wife during the birth of their first child.

“If this force hit the islands as thoroughly as they did Eastmead,” Damon said, before Mom could say anything, “there’d be nothing and no one left to communicate.”

I shared a glance with Mom. Though her expression gave little away, I could feel the sudden fear in her, thanks to our joint connection to Veri.

“It’s doubtful any invading force could so utterly erase the inhabitants of an island as large as Jakarra,” she said, “but I’ll certainly contact them as soon as we get back.”

“If not the islands, then what about the Black Glass Mountains?” Damon asked. “You’ve no watch stations in the peaks around the Throat, have you?”

---