Page 142 of The Queens and the Kings
“Bad thing, Den,” she said, breathless. “This is definitely a bad thing.”
Of all the things Britt might have expected from the wyvern, returning to the pen wasnotit. The rampant fear of wyverns that ran through the mainland culture remained high in her mind as she stared at nineteen beasts, at an utter loss.
What now?
The wyvern to which she clung stood upright, trembling with exhaustion. His wings lowered. Clutching Denerfen, Britt slid down his back, tumbling head over feet, until she thudded onto the dirt, landing on her side. The hard impact sent her teeth and shoulders jarring. Pain rippled through her jaw and into her head.
“Thanks,” she muttered.
The wyverns didn’t make any noise. Not one of them. No protests, no yowls, no strange grunts or groans. The strange inactivity was as worrisome as the sheer number of them.
Did they . . . talk? Like this one spoke to her? They certainly didn’t move. Hardly breathed.
She stumbled to her feet, groaning from her protesting muscles. The lack of outright violence was one small mercy. She brushed dust off her sleeves, spinning in a circle until she faced the wyvern she rode. The intensity of his eyes roused a thrill of intuition. He wouldn’t be staring at her with such blatant expectation if he didn’t want something.
The way he studied her made her straighten.
He was different.
A vague memory of the Westlands resurrected from the sleepy reaches of her mind. While they flew, he physically reacted to something in the air. As if . . . awakened. The impression of him being utterly changed overcame her as they stared at each other. More than basic intelligence brightened his eyes.
Then again, she met him in a closed ship, amidst backstabbing sailors, fire, and abject pain. Maybe thiswasthe wyverns. His right leg lifted. Using his snout, he motioned to the ring of blood around his leg, where the metallic contraption locked him into the ship.
“Does it hurt?” she asked.
He swung around to face the next closest wyvern. A smaller one, chained to a bunch of boulders about thirty steps away. That wyvern twitched, cheeks taut and wary. He shook his back leg as well.
Different contraption.
Same redness.
“All of you?” she asked, glancing around.
The main wyvern advanced a step closer. He slammed his giant head into her back, shoving her closer to the younger wyvern. She barely managed to keep her feet beneath her.
“What are you doing?” She whipped around with a snarl. “Thathurt.”
Her irritation went unheeded. The wyvern paused and glared.
“You spoke to me back there.” She gestured to the sea. “You can speak to me here. I deserve that after setting you free from those backstabbing sailors that wanted to sell you to the highest bidder. I should have let them, you bastid.”
He snorted and pushed her closer to the smaller wyvern. Denerfen leaped off her shoulder and darted ahead. The moment he became visible, a great stirring of shock rippled through the other wyverns. Though they made no noise, it might as well have been screams.
Britt lunged for Denerfen, but his nimble flight took him out of reach too quickly. He glided to the younger wyvern, who appeared more curious than annoyed. The wyvern studied Denerfen as he flapped around the chain, the wings, and eventually settled. Denerfen breathed on the clasp, then looked at Britt.
The message couldn’t have been more clear.
She hurried across the space, keeping a wary eye on the circle of ferocious beasts. The wyvern that brought her twisted around, glancing west with a restlessthump, thumpof his lower wing joints slamming into the packed earth. No sign of Keepers thus far. She sped up her pace. The tension in the air had doubled, and she didn’t like the tightening band.
The smaller wyvern regarded her with mild curiosity as she crouched next to Denerfen. He slapped the metallic contraption with his tail, then spun in circles.
“It doesn’t dissolve in water, does it?”
The smaller wyvern settled his face next to hers. He definitely glared.
“I’ll take that as a no.”
His scowl lessened.
