Page 36 of Until the End of Ever
Long seconds passed. Again, I was certain the dragons were speaking wordlessly amongst themselves, feeling a current, a wave, flying between each member of the pack—even the one I held by the throat.
“There is a youth who sullied the horde. It was chosen for the great honor of being sacrificed to Ba-elar,” she said with pomp and reverence, slightly bowing as the name crossed her lips. A god of sort, ten. “It further besmirched us all by running. It infects your world now. It’s ours to retrieve.”
“For sacrifice?” I clarified.
She lifted her head higher yet.
“And it’s achildyou’re hunting?” Gideon added.
Again, no response other than a prideful, disdainful glare.
“Yeah, that’s not gonna work.” I let go of Red, pushing him toward Gideon before reaching for the bitch’s neck instead. “Let’s renegotiate.”
15
KLEOS
Unsure where the dragon hunt team would show up, I marched between Gideon and Timothee’s office and the hangars containing the Guard’s vehicles on the first basement, pacing back and forth between the two, though they were separated by eight levels.
“Trainee Valesco,” Master Arion greeted me just as I strode past the Grand Hall on the ground floor. “I wasn’t aware you were in today. You missed warm-up this morning.”
A senior Guard, often in charge of our training sessions, he was only slightly less intimating than Auntie Hilda.
“Sorry, I technically am off-site this week again,” I clarified. “Master Valesco—either of them—should have cleared it? I’m only here because of the dragon hunt.”
I wished I could tell him I’d kept up with his torturous endurance drills, but well, I wasn’t much of a liar. And really, if my survival depended on my ability to run for an hour straight? I was good with just sitting down and greeting my doom.
“Ah, yes. I believe they’re expected shortly in the landing zone. We received a communication from the helicopter that picked them up a while ago.”
“Thank you!” I shouted, already running.
It only occurred to me that I should have asked Master Arion if everyone was fine when I was already halfway outside.
The Arena housing the Guard was a building modelled after ancient amphitheaters. While we mostly used the spaceinsidethe edifice, there were stands and lodges and even a royal box outside that were only used a few times a year for various games and celebrations. The next would be on the day of Poseidon, in a few short weeks.
Just like the Colosseum and other elaborate theatres, the sanded center was a platform that could open up. On ordinary days, it was mostly used for helicopters to land. Wild pegasi also liked to use it to take a nap away from most of the population, occasionally.
I wasn’t the only one to have been alerted of the team’s arrival. With a grimace, I took in the medical team, already straightening their spines and narrowing their eyes at me.Great. Just what I needed.
At last, the chopper, marked with the ornateGof the Guard over a shield and two swords, soon made its appearance, smoothly avoiding a black pegasus over the hills.
It landed perfectly in the unmarked arena, which told me Stillwater was piloting before I even saw the tall, pointy-eared protector. Of the team out today, the only other member with a license was Gideon, and if he’d been in charge, there would be iridescent feathers all over the cockpit, angry hoofprints on the blades, and he would have landed on the elders’ box.
I had to stand back as the medics rushed forward with a stretcher. The door opened in front of a half-naked, grime-covered Gideon, who hopped out before offering them a hand to help carry an unconscious shape.
I was going to go to one of the hells for the relief I felt the moment I spotted Isla’s blonde locks.
I liked Isla. We made fun of François’s accent and Irwin’s existence together. But better her than Silver. Besides, I was close enough to feel that most of her vitals were fine. She was as dirty as Gideon, passed out, and the general sense of unease taking me by the throat when I looked at her face told me she had a minor concussion. I’d have to sneak in and fix it when I didn’t have a disapproving audience.
Two of the healers lowered her to the stretcher and started their work, shouting directions at each other as they rolled her away, leaving another two behind, which meant they expected a second patient. But before I started to worry again, Silver jumped down.
I gasped, rushing towards her. “Your hair!”
The thing about Silver’s hair was, like much about my best friend, it was weird. It was pure shining silver, and every morning, when she showered, she dyed it pink. By the end of the day, it was back to silver, her natural color eating away at the dye approximatively a hundred times faster than a normal person’s would.
But I wasn’t shocked because it was half silver again. Yesterday, when I left her place, it was as long as mine. This afternoon, it was cut in a fashionable, elegant bob.
She flipped it, grinning. “You like?”
