Page 85 of Of Blood and Banes
A voice nearly as old as the Gods whispers inside my head as the dragon narrows its yellow eyes,“You housssse Sssspoiledssss. Wear and sssssummon the great magic. Wield dragonbladessss. A ssssinful ssspeciesss you are. Why sssshould we let you live?”
I remove the sword from its tail in a show of good faith, the dragon roars in pain as I do so. Its orange blood seeps from the wound, trickling down its shiny red scales and pooling on the pale cobblestones.
As I look the dragon in the eyes, I sheathe my sword and speak aloud, “We are a sinful species, that much is true. But many innocents live here. Children who haven’t yet been tainted.”
“You take our young, too. Ssssstole my eggsssss.”The dragon’s voice tilts more into something feminine as it stalks a few steps toward me, lowering its head to look me in the eyes.
“We are not the king of the south,” I explain. “He is the one who steals your eggs. And we do not condone such actions.”
Daeja growls as she sides next to me, ready to lunge if the she-dragon threatens. The fire dragon drags her gaze from me up to Daeja, locking on her eyes as a silence falls between them. Whatever they discuss, both of their pupils blow out and thennarrow before the red dragon retracts her head, taking a few steps back from us. Daeja stretches her neck forward, lowering her head over mine. The movement alone conveys an entirely universal meaning.
Mine.
Daeja’s jaws part as a deep grumble vibrates in her chest, shuddering the blood in my veins. The red dragon dips her head, staring at the ground as she backs away from us. Her hind quarters back up into a building, and she pauses before looking up at me.“Ssssave our kind,”she whispers inside my head, before launching into the sky.
I squint through the wild dragon’s gusts up at Daeja towering over me.“What did you say to her?”
Daeja finally tears her gaze off the dragon disappearing into the distant clouds and angles her head to touch her nose to my forehead.“Something along the lines of, ‘if she takes another step closer to you, I’ll destroy her.’”
“Leading by fear, I see?”I rest a hand on the column of her throat.
“She knew who I was. Most of the dragons do. But they think because I’m younger than them, they can sideline my requests. But you are mine. And I will not tolerate someone threatening you.”
I smile and turn to face her.“Are you hurt?”I brush my fingertips gingerly across her midnight black scales. But they shine as they always do, free from any blemish or wound.“You…you don’t have any injuries? You absorbed that fire?”
Daeja lifts her wings, glancing at the perfect webbing. Well…aside from the single hole when she saved me back at the battle in Arterias. She shakes her wings and spine like a dog ridding itself of water.“Felt warm. But aside from that, I’m fine.”She lifts her head, eyes snapping to the distance.“A’nala saysthey’re running the last wild dragon out of town. I think we’re safe.”
“Katerina!” a familiar shout echoes in the town square.
Daeja and I turn back to the bunker where Marge emerges. A little at a time, more and more people spill out of the bunker, scanning the skies.
Marge’s eyes widen, pointing at something in the distance. I follow her stare. Massive flames stretch into the sky, engulfing buildings and razing several of them down to the foundations. A wooden beam falls, swinging across the street and slamming into the base of another building, transferring the fire to more homes and shops across the road. As the townspeople cry out, witnessing the rapidly spreading fire, I spin around and find every direction bursting with flames. And not just any flames—dragonfire.
“A’nala and the others are going to evacuate people. She’s saying we need to head south out of town—it’s the path of least flames,”Daeja rumbles.“But we need to go now, before it cuts off the path and we’re trapped.”
Godsdamnit. We might have chased off the wild dragons…but this is different. We can’t ask for the flames to recede. To spare these people who built their entire lives here. Where generations grew and died. Where memories lived and breathed.
In the distance, where flames meld with the buildings, a shadow flickers within the blaze. The startled shouts of the crowd behind me fade away, until the only thing surrounding me is the sluggish, painful pulse of my heart. The sporadic dance of flames slows as that shadow of a person turns sideways.
It’s her.
I can’t make out the details of her clothes, nor her expression. But I know it’s her all the same. And hanging from her hand is the small doll I know has a tear in its arm. The very one I buriedback in Arterias. She takes one small step. Then two. Until she disappears out of view and into the burning city.
As soon as she’s gone, alarmed cries and murmurs snap into the background around me. As I swing my attention over to Marge, she’s already watching me. Her eyes say it all.So, what are you going to do?
A new group races down a street and spills into the town’s center with Archie, Melaina, Gavin, Nolan, and the Arterians. I recognize Cole at the head. His gaze sweeps to Daeja before he finds me.
“Everyone retreat to the south!” he calls out across the chaos. Something about the calm determination on his face convinces the crowd, and they follow his lead as he points down a specific street. He pats people on the back, ushering them to go. “Stay calm, but move fast.”
The throng of townspeople shift and sway as they all move toward the street Cole suggested. Marge squeezes my shoulder before hobbling over to join the rest of the crowd, Archie leading her away. I watch them go, creeping fear and self-doubt racing through me. Daeja stands next to me, her wings still stretched and ready for the moment we need to fly, but her attention focuses on the townspeople disappearing into the distance.
Even if they all survive, they’ll have nowhere to go. And in the thick of winter? It could be an even more painful death than dragons. And a slower one.
This is up to me.
Icando it.
Dipping my head to stare at the ground beneath my boots, I drop down to a knee on the street. I press my left hand to the stones. With all the pleading I can summon, I beg for that magic to come to me. Trying to pull the pulsing energy from the fire surrounding me. But each teasing flick of the unseen magicbeyond my vision taunts me. Gods, I swear I almost sense itlaughingat me.
