Page 1 of Of Blood and Banes
OF FLAMES AND FALLACIES - RECAP
“It all started when?—”
“Daeja, I thought we both agreed I’d be the one doing the recap? They might not even understand what you’re saying.”
“...but…they’re looking at me like they do know what I’m saying? Oh! See! They do!”
Katerina sighs.“Fine…go on, then.”
“So, anyway. It all started when Kat found my egg buried in her father’s grave. She was so beyond excited to find me that she took me into her hometown, Padmoor, to a guy named Pillar to figure out how to hatch me?—”
“Willard,”Kat corrects softly.
“Right. Willard told her to take me back to wherever she found me because King Aaric of Arterias banned dragons long ago and executed all the dragon riders. Being associated with my kind would mean her or her ill mother could be killed. But Kat was so elated to have me, she rebelled against Willard’s advice and?—”
“Now, now. I definitely didn’t rebel. I just…didn’t know what you were.”
“Okay. Well then, her house caught on fire in the middle of the night, and shedefinitelyknew what I was then. I hatched! Her mother warned her to find Cole and take me to the Dragon Lands. We began our trek to Blackfell to find where Cole was stationed as a newly appointed captain of a military outpost. On the walk there, we discovered Kat’s father was a rebel before he died. He had an entire journal based on his studies of elemental dragons and his time spying on King Aaric at the castle in Arterias! During our travels, we sadly couldn’t save a little girl and her family from rebels setting the town of Hornwood on fire. But we did pick up a sword from a rebel we killed. And then we made it to the military outpost where Cole was. Kat had to fake being a healer’s apprenticeandCole’s sister! All while hiding me! How am I doing?”
“You seemed to have left out the part that I was engaged to Cole at one point…”
“Oh…right…so that happened, too. But long before I was hatched. They had split on bad terms and hadn’t seen or spoken to each other since then. So, we weren’t sure if Cole was going to help us. But he did. One night, I woke up to an intense urge and followed it to the forest where we found a blue flame! I sniffed it, and the next thing you know, I tripled in size! Then Kat and I were able to start communicating. Kat stayed at the military outpost while she worked with Cole in locating a map so we could get to the Dragon Lands safely. And undetected. But during her stay, the smelly, grumpy lady Marge?—”
“She’s not smelly.”
“I disagree.”
“Probably has something to do with her being Spoiled. I’d imagine consuming dragonblood might alter someone’s pheromones.
“What are pheromones?”
“Okay, we’re getting off topic here.”
“Right. Anyway, Marge found Kat’s father’s journal and demanded we take her to the Dragon Lands with us, rather than her turning us in. One man, Archie, told Kat the sword she had was a King’s Close Circle sword. When the neighboring town of Blackfell was attacked by rebels, we swooped in to save the day! Kat rescued some hostages. I ripped a guy’s head off?—”
“But we aren’t doing that again. Right?”
“Riiiight…and then Kat found out Cole was engaged the whole time and kept it a secret! So, she decided we’d go to the Dragon Lands ourselves without the map. But as I waited in the forest for her, she got caught by some asshole named Darian. And rather than ripping his head off?—”
“Yes, yes. I think they remember that part. Let’s skip it.”
“Whew, thanks! Then Cole’s fiancé arrived at the outpost and took Kat out dress shopping. But the whole time Kat thought Celeste was Darian’s ex-lover, considering she wrote him letters and was arguing with him late at night telling her she loves him. Fast forward, and Kat found out Celeste is actually Darian’s half-sister, and they share the same father—Jurrock. A few nights later, back at the military outpost, Kat was on her way to leave with me to the Dragon Lands, but Cole stopped her. He told her howsorry he was and sent her with a map, his mother’s ring, and Kat’s father’s journal. We thought he burned it, but he ended up keeping the journal because he knew how much it meant to her. But then Kat went back to the military outpost to save a rebel woman who was held hostage. And a full-on battle started between rebels and Arterians. I saved Kat and still have a badass scar to prove it!”
“Careful wiggling your wing. It still hasn’t properly healed!”
“Funny you’re telling me to be careful…anyway! Kat promised me a whole carriage full of chicken. Which…she has yet to pay. The end.”
“I thought you don’t like chicken anymore?”
“What? When did I say that?”
“You said you’ve had it so often now you’re sick of it?”
“Beside the point. Anything I missed?”
“Well, we ended up in the Dragon Lands. And found out their leader is Sethan, who is Melaina’s father we all thought was dead.”
“Okay…nowyou’rethe one missing information.”
