Page 28 of Queen's Griffon

Her mouth opened and shut. “Perhaps it originated from one storyteller and spread.”

“Possible, but doesn’t it seem more likely they used to exist?”

“And now don’t?” Her nose wrinkled. “Were they all killed?”

“Perhaps. I don’t know if they were ever plentiful to begin with. And they might not be dead so much as dormant, like the one Basil woke in Verlora.”

“You saw it?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what makes you think Verlora has a dragon?” She couldn’t stem her skepticism.

“Because I’ve seen the bones of one long dead. When I was a young boy, my father took me to see its remains. A group excavating Mount Etna, the volcano overshadowing our capital, found its skeleton deep within a cave.” He paused and took a sip. “Although cave is a bit of a misnomer. The cavern was massive and filled with lava, a big lake of it. In the center on a jutting hunk of rock was the dragon’s skull, part of its spine, and other bones.”

He looked and sounded serious. Could he be lying? She’d not thought of him as the type. She hugged the book to her chest. “What makes you think the remains were those of a dragon?”

“A few clues. One, there were drawings inside that cave that clearly depicted a dragon. Or at least a lizard-like beast with wings. Second, the size and shape of its skull. It was massive.” He held out his hands. “And snouted.”

“How did Basil wake a set of bones?”

“I don’t know what happened that day, but I doubt they brought a corpse back to life. I do know that after those remains were discovered, the scientists fell into a frenzy studying it. Basil became especially obsessed, from what I found out later. He and pretty much every scientist began combing every ounce of literature they could get their hands on for mentions of them.”

“And what did they discover?”

“I don’t know. I was just a child at the time, and its existence was kept secret. Only a handful of people knew.” He took another swig.

“None of that is proof there’s a living dragon in Verlora,” she said.

“True, however, there’s no denying that Basil and the others did something that fateful day to trigger the volcano into erupting, and in doing so, they woke something that decided it doesn’t want to share Verlora.”

“An assumption based on nothing but a feeling.” She couldn’t help but shake her head.

“It’s a fact that the volcano stopped erupting within days. The ash would have settled within the weeks after and yet the continent remains wreathed in a dense fog. We should have been able to return to rebuild, but something is preventing us. No one who enters the mist returns.”

“Could be any number of things killing those explorers.” She didn’t mention Simhi’s theories as she wanted to hear his.

“Could be, but my gut says it’s a dragon.” He downed the glass of liquor.

“In that case, why haven’t you gathered some warriors to try to kill it?”

“What part of everyone dies did you not grasp? I can’t ask anyone to go. It would be suicide. The skull I saw indicates a beast larger than you can imagine. A full-grown man wouldn’t even make a satisfying bite.”

The idea of something so large boggled the mind. “You said few people knew of the discovery in that cave.”

“Because like you, they would scoff or panic.”

“Why tell me and not them?”

“You need to understand why Verlora is lost. Why you can’t go there. The dragon will eat you and nothing you or I can do will stop it.” With that, he slammed down his glass and walked out.

Avera pursed her lips as she mulled over what she’d learned. Did Griffon speak the truth? Did dragons really exist? Did Daerva have one of its own once upon a time? She thought of the song she’d heard as a child, “The Conquering Dragon,” Could itbe that it was more than just a story? Was Zhos a dragon trying to escape Fraegus Spire?

On the flip side, what had Basil done to wake the monster in Verlora? Could it have something to do with the missing stones?

Oddly, knowing what the threat might entail didn’t frighten her as Griffon expected. It gave her direction. A place to research.

As she glanced around the library, she wondered if it had any stories that told how to kill—or tame—a dragon.

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