Page 41 of Crown of Ashes and Awe

“It is law. Blues must be destroyed upon hatching. They cannot be allowed to take to the skies.”

Lennon’s joy fled. “The prophecy?”

“The prophecy.” Nogel’s grimace said he was as sad about it as she was. A true devotee of dragons.

She was suddenly nervous and looked pointedly at Morrow and his men. “And what of you? Are you duty bound to turn us in?”

Morrow shook his head. “The king is not my master. I have a mistress whose interest lay in getting the princess safely to the palace.” He let Nogel speak for himself.

The young dragon rider shrugged. “Killing your blue won’t undo the curse now. And I’ve already seen one dragon die under my care. I would not see it happen again, especially to this beauty. The men I answer to are in the South, and I may never get the chance to return.” He shrugged again, then looked to Tearloch.

Tearloch hated to give the woman bad news, but she had to know. "If you think the people of Hestia are a danger to you and your dragon, the DeNoy are doubly so. They've worked hard and long over the centuries to prevent our doom. If they welcome you with open arms, they'll be hiding a blade. Count on it."

Griffon exhaled loudly. "We'll stick with the plan. We'll leave tonight." To Tearloch, he murmured, "Thank you."

“Don’t thank me yet…”

19

MUST STAY IN CHARACTER

Iwrapped my arms around me and went outside to get the smell of Minkin’s blood and hot flesh out of my nose. But smells weren't the only things overwhelming my senses, and I needed to get away from all of it. So, I went back to where we had planned to set up camp, sat on the ground, and cleansed my nose and lungs with a pull of cool air and the taste of fragrant grass.

Griffon was a glorious creature. I had never expected to see a seraph with my own eyes. Their kind was only mentioned in ancient texts, and I assumed they were the stuff of aging men’s dreams—the type of aging men who sought to make our history more interesting than it truly was. The kind of men who provided fodder for religions and tales to frighten children.

The image of a winged Tearloch came to mind for no reason at all. If I imagined him shirtless, it wasn't much more of a stretch to add a pair of wings behind his wide shoulders...

Now that I was alone, I spoke again to Demius, for my own comfort. "I found it, Demius. The blue dragon. And still, we have no idea how we will die. But I will find out. Moire is real. And if she’s real, the prophecy must be real...”

I imagined him there, standing beside me while I searched the stars and imagined what he would say in return.

Assume nothing, child… Learn for yourself…

“Who are you speaking to?” Tearloch glanced around, then lowered himself to sit beside me, with his back against a wall of rock. He held a large chunk of meat in each hand and offered me one of them. The dragon had burned half of the bird, so they’d slowly roasted the other half over the fire. With so many hungry men about, I hadn’t expected any portion for myself.

“Demius.” I shrugged. “It helps me feel as if he’s still with me.” I took a bite of the meat and was surprised by the delicate flavor.

"Your books omitted the fact that moon stalkers were delicious?"

"Never mentioned it."

"Must not have been a large library then. A dozen books?"

"Oh, no. A thousand at least—" I bit my tongue when I realized he'd been fishing for information. My disappointment was a sudden pang in my stomach. "You might have asked."

He reached over to lift my chin. "That was unworthy of me. Forgive me."

"Go ahead," I said, as he slowly pulled his hand away. "Ask what you really want to know."

"I want to know what your books said about the blue dragon. If they were as old as your master, they should have had some answers.”

"You want to know if we have any hope."

"Yes."

"So do I. That's why I'm going to findher...and ask her."

"Then I'll make sure you get the chance."

---