Page 95 of The Throne's Undoing

At the sound of Medenia's voice, the beast lifted its head and peered in their direction, and as its ruby-red eyes landed on her, Kallie stumbled backward and shook her head as she kept her eyes on the beast.

The sun bounced off the animal's irises so vibrantly that it looked like a roaring fire was aflame within them. Yet, as the creature looked upon Medenia, nothing but kindness sparkled within. Kallie could sense Medenia observing her intently as if the princess wasn't sure if she believed Kallie's answer. But while Kallie may have lied about many things over her lifetime, she was not lying about this.

When Medenia tugged Kallie forward, Kallie was tempted to dig her heels into the dirt. But alas, she did not. She trudged forward, reluctantly and helplessly.

Kallie could not understand what she was seeing. One of its paws peeked out from beneath its stomach as it lay on the ground, and it was larger than Kallie's head. The animal had the snout of a wolf, but as the two women approached, it stood, stretching its wings out wide. And as it pressed its paw against the ground, large, sharp talons protruded from it.

Kallie gasped in horror, yet Medenia led them closer. The creature cocked its head, its eyes narrowing and nostrils flaring as it scrutinized Kallie.

"This is Nyrri," Medenia announced, smiling and looking adoringly upon the animal that could quite possibly eat them whole. She released Kallie's arm and approached the deadly beast. "We found her when we were traveling, and we are fortunate to have found her when we did. Without her, all of us might have died. Isn't that right, Nyrri?"

The creature nuzzled into the princess's hand in response.

Medenia continued, "Since we have taken her in, she has scared many of my guards away. But you have nothing to fear. Although she can be dangerous, she is sweet at heart."

"How?" Kallie croaked, the question slipping from her lips.

Medenia glanced at Kallie, astonishment registering across her face at the question. But while the princess may have been shocked at hearing Kallie's voice, Kallie's attention was purely on the animal. The more Kallie observed Nyrri, the more she quickly saw the beauty of the beast.

Nyrri's eyes were so expressive that Kallie could see almost every emotion drip from them as she experienced the world around her.

The creature spread her wings out again as she nuzzled Medenia's hand before tucking them against her sides. But before Nyrri tucked them away, Kallie glimpsed the scars across the membrane of the wings that the sun's glow illuminated. Itwas clear that the creature had suffered a great deal of pain throughout her life.

Without realizing it, Kallie had taken a step forward, a hand extended. Nyrri shifted closer as well, extending her snout toward Kallie. When Nyrri did not bite Kallie's hand off and instead closed her eyes before nudging her hand, Kallie stroked the bridge of her nose.

Medenia offered Kallie a sad smile and said, "We're not sure how she came about or what she is exactly. Based on the information we have gathered, the Frenzians seem to be partaking in some sort of experiment. During the attack at your wedding, Domitius--" She paused abruptly.

Kallie stared at her unmoving hand as a ghost of an unidentifiable emotion came and went. She could feel Medenia's gaze boring into her but refused to meet it.

Instead, she swallowed and continued petting Nyrri's nose.

Medenia cleared her throat and continued, "He ran off into an underground tunnel. When we found you and the others down there after the king had caused the tunnel to collapse, we saw...things. Terrible things. Malnourished animals that had clearly undergone some sort of horrific testing. We believe they're trying to create a weapon from them."

As Kallie stared at Nyrri, her eyes widened as she finally realized what the creature reminded her of. A worn illustration in an ancient text surfaced in her mind, depicting an animal with brilliant scales, a long tail, and a large snout. Even the red eyes made her think of the helmets the Frenizans wore.

"Dragons," Kallie whispered, her hand falling.

Medenia grabbed Kallie's hand. "Do you know something? Did--"

Kallie shook her head as she blinked at the princess. She hadn't meant to say anything, but she couldn't take it back now.

"No, I..." Kallie cleared her throat. "I had spent a lot of time with Rian in the royal library. He has a deep interest in the creatures and believes they aren't truly extinct. When I had mentioned it to my fa--"

Kallie's brows twisted as the word got stuck in her throat.

Nyrri gently shoved her hand, and Kallie returned to petting the beast as she pressed forward. "When I had mentioned it to Domitius, he dismissed Rian's interest, thinking it a mere childish obsession."

Medenia hummed. "Well, now we know it was not merely some childish obsession."

Kallie nodded absently, unsure of what to think of the beast.

She was unsure of many things. She had known that the Frenzians were protecting important knowledge, but she had never imagined that the existence of this creature was part of that.

Were these experiments that Medenia spoke of the reason that the king wanted Kallie to formalize an alliance with the Frenzians? To gain access to whatever knowledge created Nyrri? But then why had he dismissed it when Kallie brought up Rian's research into the legendary creatures? None of it made sense.

"How did she end up with you again?" Kallie asked after a moment of pondering.

"On our way to Frenzia before the wedding, we found her caged among a group of Frenizan soldiers near the Borganian border. From what Graeson and the others relayed, most of the soldiers did not make it out alive."

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