Page 145 of Upon Buried Embers
Rohan told me we’re heading out before everyone else as we can fly over the lake that’s still frozen.
I look around at the other dragons in their beds, watching and waiting, and I realize if I were to never see them again my heart would break.
I’ve spent so much time with them now—talking and humming, they’re part of my daily life. Not having that for even a few days saddens me.
“We won’t be long, Elf.” Rohan reassures me.
“I know.”
“I don’t like leaving them any more than you seem to, but they will look after each other.”
Rohan helps me up onto Drogonah, and I settle in the saddle while he climbs up behind me.
“Be good,” Rohan says, and when an arm bands around me, I look to Escor one more time.
“I’ll see you soon!”
“Drogonah, fly.”
Drogonah’s wings expand, and we rise up through the middle of the mountain, those glistening veins of ore leading our way.
Riding on Drogonah will never get easier, and the height still makes me feel dizzy, but something magnificent has happened.
Because I’m not scared anymore.
In fact, I’m not holding on to the saddle for dear life as we head for The Glade, and I’m somewhat relaxed, enjoying the view, even with the freezing wind up here.
I feel free, and getting away from Darcia for the next few days will be wonderful.
I’ve avoided her, and it seems she has also been avoiding me. I’ve seen her bruised and dirty with the punishment Rohan gave her, same with Beau, but I stay far away.
I still haven’t found the courage to tell Rohan how I got those injuries the night of the snowstorm, afraid that he’ll throw me away. I did try one night while he was braiding my hair and I was flipping through the book he gave me, looking at the pictures, but when I opened my mouth to speak, I couldn’t do it.
My throat would close up and my ears would ring.
I’ve never been cared for the way he’s been looking after me. I selfishly don’t want it to stop, and I think it will if I tell him.
Rohan felt the shift and asked me what was wrong, but I managed to avoid an interrogation by asking him more about The Games at the Enclave.
Rohan holds me against him, resting his chin on my shoulder as we fly at a leisurely pace. Seated with Rohan and feeling somewhat confident—which is unusual—I spread my arms out wide, banishing those thoughts.
“What are you doing?” The gruff tone of his voice is easily heard with him being so close.
Thinking about it, since the night he told me to leave, he has been closer than usual, always finding more ways to touch me.
I lean into Drogonah’s tilts, my eyes taking in the icy lake below, and I wonder when it will start to thaw.
“Flying,” I grin, and he huffs out a laugh, his hands on my waist. After a moment, he lifts me until I’m standing.
“Ah!” I yelp, fear holding me frozen for a moment, but when Rohan squeezes my hips as he stands behind me, I know he won’t let me fall.
Trust. That’s what this is.
My smile is so wide my face aches and my arms extend out again.
“This is amazing!” I shout, laughing and feeling lighter than I ever have.
Drogonah growls, flapping his wings a little aggressively, but he stays steady.
