Page 45 of Of Scale and Blood

“Ah fuck,”I muttered. This wasnotthe news anyone wanted to hear, even if it was also not unexpected.Even if we could fly out immediately, we wouldn’t get there in time to protect the city.

And with only three fire witches on drakkons, was that even possible?

Can call more, came Kaia’s comment.They will come.

But they have no defenses against the weapons of the gilded riders.

Are faster. Can distract.

It’s too dangerous, Kaia. I don’t want to be responsible for their deaths.Not when their numbers were finally in the healthy range after all our years of hunting them.

If mate give fire, we have weapon.

Magic isn’t always that easy.Nor is it always that successful.

You trust mate?

Yes. Because I instinctively did, no matter what his secrets or how dangerous they might be to me and mine. And it wasn’t just because Mom’s second sight said he meant us no harm. It was that deeper, an unspoken, connection, perhaps, or even a promise that had been silently made, and one that held trust hard to my heart.

I hoped he didn’t break it. I really did.

Get more flamers, magic give us fire, we kill gilded ones.

I couldn’t help but smile at her optimism, even if I didn’t share it.All of which we can’t do yet, so please don’t call in the cavalry until absolutely necessary.

What cavalry?

A large force of mounted warriors who ride to the rescue.

We fly to rescue.

We do indeed,I replied with a mental laugh and returned my attention to the scribe screen.

No,my father was replying,but you can give a sitrep. Hopefully, they have at least evacuated all citizens and relocated the remainder of the fishing fleet.

And, hopefully, the fiery, acidic spray the gilded riders used hadn’t caused carnage in the underground shelters Hopetown’s council had been creating for its citizens.

It’ll be afternoon before we get there.Which would mean it was going to be a very long day for our new drakkon riders.

I’ll be here.

And no doubt Gayl would be on the wall above, feverishly remembering all that was being said so she could tattle to Aric. I hesitated, then added,Can we send out a wider call for more fire witches? The more witches we can mount, the greater our chances of success against the riders.

Sent out messages yesterday, when you were still unconscious. Apparently your drakkon was nagging your mother.

What nagging?came said drakkon’s question.

Constantly asking the same question over and over.

Nag you, not mother.

I snorted and signed off, then tucked the quill and screen back into the pack and retrieved a light cylinder. After squeezing through the vent’s opening, I slung my packs over my shoulders and turned on the light before moving deeper. I made quick progress through the roughly hewn tunnel, reaching the first of the old lava tubes in good time. This particular one was spectacular, thanks to the forest of lava stalactites that hung from the roof and the thick black “high lava” lines that ran its length. The air was warm and still, smelling faintly of sulfur and damp earth. The latter came from the main tube, which was the oldest and biggest of all the tunnels and had long ago been reclaimed by mosses and string ferns.

Though there was no sign of the others yet, I could now hear the soft echo of their chatter and knew, through that nebulous connection between me and Damon, that they were only a few minutes ahead of me now.

I continued on until I reached the side tunnel that snaked up toward the old aeries. The heat gradually increased as I drew closer to the aerie, and sweat trickled down my spine. Though no one truly understood the reason why this section of the range was so much warmer than the rest, it was thought to sit above a deep but still active lava tube, and that this area, with its multiple fissures, allowed the overheated air to rise more easily. Which was no doubt why the drakkons had hatched their eggs and raised their young here for eons—that and the soft bed of sand covering the rock, a relic from the time when much of this area had been an ancient seafloor.

I caught up with everyone just as we neared the entrance into the aerie. Damon must have caught a wisp of my trepidation, because he stopped abruptly and turned around. “What’s happened?”

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