Page 21 of House of Embers
“As long as it doesn’t mean that horrid dress again, then yes.”
Delle laughed. “Noted.”
“Are you going to follow me the entire way?” Kerrigan asked as they climbed the stairs.
“As you were trained, so was I. If you’re not taking soldiers with you, then you will permit me to watch your back. Whether you like it or not, you’re royalty here, and some don’t want that. You might be dangerous in your own right, but you aren’t immune to ambushes.”
“Fair,” Kerrigan admitted. She slowed until she and Delle were on the same step. “Tell me who I should be looking out for.”
“That is a long list.”
“It’s a long walk,” Kerrigan said.
Delle nodded and began to explain all the dynamics of the court and how every group probably wanted Kerrigan dead. It was a daunting but interesting conversation and made the arduous trek up to the top of Ravinia Mountain go quicker. Delle was a fount of information, and Kerrigan would use her to her advantage.
But at the sight of Tieran, Kerrigan stopped hearing Delle. He was magnificent, with midnight-blue scales that rippled in the early morning light. He was smaller than most dragons of his age, but he made up for it in speed and stealth.
Kerrigan rushed forward and threw herself on her dragon. “Tieran!”
“Miss me?”he asked into her mind.
She laughed and swatted at him. “Don’t get cocky.”
“You are the one who dropped through a portal and disappeared for weeks, then return as if nothing happened.”
“Yeah, my bad. Can we fly?”
“Well, I can. Did you also sprout wings on your adventure?”
Kerrigan rolled her eyes. “You’ve got jokes.”
“Indeed, I do.”
“Is Netta coming with us?” Kerrigan asked.
Netta appeared around the corner, her bright red scales lighting up the sky like a wildfire. Fordham’s dragon was bigger than Tieran but still nimble. She’d always been mischievous. In fact, when Kerrigan had wanted a dragon, it had always been Netta. She and Tieran had butted heads for years—they still did at times.
“You’re joining us,”Netta said into her mind.
Kerrigan glanced up to see a rider already on her back. Wynter sat stiff-backed on the dragon, her ice-white hair up in a plait over her shoulder. “You coming?”
“I sure am.”
Kerrigan mounted Tieran with ease, racing up his leg and landing on his back. The adrenaline rocked through her, and she felt her training kick in like she hadn’t missed a single step.
“Ready?” she asked Tieran.
His response was to follow Netta into a deep dive off the mountaintop. Kerrigan leaned forward against his back as the cold air bit at her cheeks in the free fall. He pulled up just short of the ground, and she let her arms fly wide as he moved into a hover.
No matter what happened in her life, flying had always been the thing she loved most. As a Dragon Blessed within the House of Dragons, she had been in charge of taking care of dragons who livedin Draco Mountain. She’d flown with dragons since she was a littling. It had never ceased to amaze her.
“Netta says she and Wynter will sweep right. We can sweep left and meet in the middle,”Tieran said.
“Sounds good.” Kerrigan waved at Wynter and veered away from her across the valley. “Do you think that the Society knows we’re here?”
“If they don’t yet, they likely will soon.”
“Yeah,” Kerrigan muttered.
