Page 76 of Queen of Legends and Lies
Dragons ruffle around me, shifting their majestic wings in acceptance of my presence. I run my hand gently over the warm scales of those who welcome my touch, inclining my head respectfully to the ones who prefer distance.
Even with their eyes closed, when I’m not using dampening as a shield between their emotions and mine, they can always tell where I am. The same way I always know where they are.
Perks of the dragoncaller bond.
Gently, softly, delicately, I convey a simple concern.Does anyone else want to go out into the night and stretch their wings with me?To ensure I get my message across, I project an image of flying across the ocean while imagining the cool breeze on my skin.
A flight to Aclaris on my own isn’t impossible, but a roundtrip by myself in a short period of time would be exhausting.
Dame’s melodic trill reaches my ears.
Her eggs are keeping her restless. Chirean can deal with them for a while.
I approach the beautiful reddish-brown dragon. Her pale yellow underwings flutter in anticipation.
Dame’s golden eyes practically sparkle, like she appreciates the welcome distraction from brooding over her nest.
I smile as I step up onto her raised foreleg and climb onto her back, settling down in the nestle between her shoulders.
Her powerful muscles bunch beneath me. She’s more than ready. Eager, even.
With a mighty leap, Dame launches us into the sky. The wind whips through my hair as we soar above the palace, the world falling away beneath us.
I lean forward, savoring the rush of flight and the momentary escape from the weight of my responsibilities. As we leave Tirene’s capital city behind, I relay the cryptic messages from the gods to this dragon as best I can.
Dame’s confusion echoes my own. She does not deal with gods, but she trusts me.
Hours pass as we fly in contemplative silence, the landscape blurring beneath Dame’s powerful wings in a whirl of green and brown hues. There’s nothing up here to distract me. I can trust in this dragon to take us where we need to go. I am just a rider in this part of the quest.
The ocean gives way to land, the sound of surf slapping against the beach intruding on the silence.
In my peripheral vision, I sense a flicker of movement. I squint, straining to identify the shapes in the distance.
“Dame, do you see that?” I push a visual of the borders beyond Tirene’s waters through our link. “It looks like an army.”
The dragon’s keen eyes confirm my suspicions. A ripple of angry disgust rises up. She spies a vast army and their auras…and they reek of corruption.
My stomach churns with unease. Rows and rows of herds, tents, boats…they just keep stretching on and on.
Dame angles her wings toward a jagged precipice. The area where Celeste said the caves would be. Thankfully, it’s nowhere near the corrupted army or Flighthaven. It’s a remote section of land, full of rocky outcroppings.
Sand-colored stones.
This is it. Just like Hallr said. Down there, somewhere, is the entrance to the cave.
I let Dame know we need to go lower, and we leave the higher, thinner altitude. As we descend, I keep an eye out for anyone or anything that might notice us.
This land belongs to the drachen now. They could be hiding in any shadow, any crag of rock, any cave opening…
So far, we encounter nothing else. Nothing to worry about.
For now.
We land at the edge of the outcropping, the late summer air raising goose bumps on my skin. A frigid chill mixes in with the damp air. Like a breath from underground.
Senses on high alert, I dismount in the darkness and unfurl my wings. Instantly, my vision sharpens, and I spare a moment to survey our surroundings more closely. Satisfied we’re alone, I impress on Dame the safety of the sky and the danger of staying on the ground. I also assure her I will reach out if I need anything.
Dame lowers her head to my eye level, then exhales a puff of steam in my direction. The indignant expression she shoots me is eerily human, and I get the distinct impression if she couldtalk, she’d tell me she’s not a damn dog ready to obey my every command.
