Page 14 of Blood of Dragons

The Guardians of Thalian are located to the north, in Riviana Star, a place you’ve never heard of because anything north of the White Mountains has never been plotted on any map—exceptthe one that I’ve enclosed. If you ever need to travel there, there’s a secret path through the mountains, but the road is long and dangerous. I don’t advise you to go there unless it’s absolutely necessary. It’s marked on your map.

Riviana Star is home to the elves, beings as old and wise as the dragons we serve. They’re generous and kind, but distrustful toward those who aren’t their own. They say more in the words they don’t speak than the ones they do. If you find yourself in their presence, be careful.

And one other thing—my brother Ezra lives in Riviana Star. You may remember him from when you were a child. He chose a life alongside the elves rather than his own kind. I didn’t ask him to stay because it was clear that his heart was set on a different path.

I know you will be a beloved queen—and the man you choose as your husband will be a revered king. I’m sorry that I won’t be there for the special moments of your life, your wedding day, the birth of your first child, for a family dinner on a cold winter night. But now my heart is with you…wherever you go.

Love,

Your Father.

I turned over the page, hoping for the letter to continue, hoping that my last connection with him wasn’t over. As I read the words, I heard his voice clear in my head, a voice I hadn’t heard in a decade. I wanted to believe he was with me, but I also hoped that wasn’t true…because he would see how much I’d suffered since his death.

I suddenly felt a surge of longing, a desperation to tell Khazmuda and Talon what I’d just read, to share with them like I’d sharedeverything else about my life. But then there was a flood of acid in my mouth, a twinge of pain and self-loathing.

SO THERE ARE FREE DRAGONS IN THIS LAND…

I folded the parchment then grabbed the other sheet, seeing the detailed map of the north, the lands beyond the impassable peaks. The tops were covered with snow all year-round, the elevation so high that it remained a constant frozen wasteland. There was no way through, and after many attempts by many explorers, it had been abandoned.

I stared at the map, seeing a world bigger than the one I’d known my entire life. Riviana Star was marked in bold, a thick forest away from the coast and the mountains. There were other places marked in ink, a place called the Wastelands. It seemed to be a desert like the Arid Sands, just on the opposite side of the mountain range. The secret passage was marked in red, a line that crossed farther west. “We can’t see them in the skies because they’re beyond the White Mountains.”

I’M SURE KING TALON HAS EXPLORED THOSE LANDS WITH KHAZMUDA.

“Yes, you’re probably right.”

THIS HAS BEEN A LONG-KEPT SECRET. I’M NOT SURE HOW THEY’VE MAINTAINED IT.

“I wonder if they’re the same dragons my ancestors tried to enslave…and they flew over the mountains.”

PERHAPS.

“I guess we should travel to Riviana Star. Ask the dragons to help us exile King Talon from our lands.”

I DON’T THINK THEY CARE FOR THE AFFAIRS OF THE LAND THEY ABANDONED.

“Do you think they’ll care about the enslavement of your kin across the sea?”

THEY MAY. THEY MAY NOT. SINCE THEY UNDERSTAND HOW IT FEELS TO BE OPPRESSED, THEY MAY. BUT SINCE THEY UNDERSTAND OPPRESSION AND ARE NOW FREE, THEY MAY NOT WANT TO RISK THEIR SCALES AGAIN.

“Yeah.”

ALL WE CAN DO IS PLEAD OUR CASE AND HOPE THEY LISTEN.

My thoughts drifted back to the black eyes that had pierced into my soul on dark nights, across the campfire in the cold, across private bedchambers. “I’m not sure what to do about Talon.”

MEANING?

“If the dragons agree to help us, then that means we’re on the same side…technically.”

BUT WE DON’T HAVE THE SAME OBJECTIVES.

“We don’t?”

YOU WANT REVENGE FOR WHAT HE’S DONE TO YOU, SO YOU WANT HIM DEAD. YOU ALSO WANT TO SAVE THE DRAGONS BECAUSE IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. HE, ON THE OTHER HAND, ONLY DESIRES TO AVENGE HIS FAMILY.

“I don’t think that’s true. Despite the anger I feel toward him, I can’t deny that he and Khazmuda have deep love for each other.I know he wants to avenge his family, but he wants to help Khazmuda too. And I don’t want him dead.”

YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO. BECAUSE DICTATORS LIKE HIM DON’T STOP UNTIL THEY’RE SLAIN. ONCE THEY HAVE POWER, THEY NEVER LET GO.Inferno stared at me, his eyes locked on my face.

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