Page 116 of Upon Buried Embers
“Fuck,” Kaldar curses. “It is getting worse, Rohan. What are we supposed to do?”
I grit my teeth as my mind tries to focus on a plan.
“I went to The Graveyard, then after I announced I would be going to The Glade sooner, a dragon turns up, in pain and trying to escape whoever tried to capture it. It’s not a coincidence.”
“I don’t understand,” Adora says, shaking her head. “The dragons won’t hurt anyone unless provoked, this needs to stop.”
“It does,” Calian growls.
“It will if we stick to the plan,” I say, and feel all eyes on me at that.
“Can we trust his word though?” Rhett asks. “This may be more trouble than it’s worth.”
“We have no choice.”
“She’s innocent,” Calian says, frowning.
I nod. “I know she is. We’ll find another.”
Kaldar throws his hands up. “How are we supposed to do that when we haven’t found one in nearly a year? And you just saw what she did?”
“The underground,” I say, and they all pause at that, until Asseya speaks.
“At The Games?” I nod, and she sighs. “That’s risky, and we aren’t even sure where it is.”
“I know, but … not her.”
“But—” Kaldar says.
“Not.Her,” I growl, pinning him in place with my glare.
I refuse. I’ll tear them all apart if I have to.
I still at my own thoughts.
Fuck.
Kaldar and I look at each other for a moment, until he reluctantly nods.
“I trust you,” he says, “I do, but what if we can’t find another? What then?”
I don’t know.
“We will.” My tone is more confident than I feel. “Set off for The Glade as soon as the ice thaws.” I change the topic ofconversation. “We will bless Morana there and come back with a day or two to spare before The Games begin. I will go on ahead, first.”
“Because those on dragon-back are the only ones who can get there in winter,” Dorkin mutters, the first time he’s spoken here, holding papers close to his chest, glasses perched on his nose.
“They are.” There’s a large river surrounding The Glade, and every winter it freezes. Many have tried and failed to cross it, falling into its freezing depths and dying when it cracks.
So we wait until it thaws and we travel with horses on small rafts attached to a pulley system.
“Any letters?” I ask Dorkin, and he looks down for a moment before grabbing a letter with the seal of a single crow and a sword beneath it.
“He’s getting impatient.” He places it down on the table and I scowl at it, nodding.
“Any reports from our scouts?” I ask Rhett.
“Nothing out of the ordinary, but since the dragon came here I have sent a few others out.” He moves to the table and leans his palms on it, his hands dangerously close to my roses.
