Page 189 of Upon Buried Embers
Pain rattles through my stomach, like a sickness, and I press a hand to it. Rohan stays at my back, axe in hand, wary and alert.
“Stay close,” Rohan says, and I nod. Drogonah flies overhead, but with how thick the trees are, we can barely see him.
Something is wrong though.
A man was seen. Wearing the king’s sigil.
What Sigrid said could be true. The king’s involved somehow.
I suck in a breath, the air not… clear. Not… pure.
I stop in my tracks.
“What is it?” Rohan demands, turning and looking at where I’m holding my stomach. “What’s wrong?”
I swallow, taking shallow breaths. “The thing that hurts the dragons? The poison that sends them to sleep? What is it?”
“Nighturn?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“It’s like a green vapor. Asseya once told me she used a certain kind of plant on a person that sent them to sleep to heal themwhen she was with a demon. I’m not sure if it’s the same thing, but it’s harmful when our dragons inhale it in the air, why?”
“It feels wrong here.”
“What do you mean?” His eyes drop to my stomach as a sharp pain spears through it. “Did I hurt you?” He asks, jaw tight as he places a hand on my stomach. “Fuck, did I hurt you, Elf? Last night…”
“No, no,” I reassure him. “It feels like something’s here that shouldn’t be, but also pain. There is so much pain in here, Rohan.”
“In the dragons?”
“I think so.”
“I knew you could sense their emotions. It’s how you talk with them, isn’t it?”
I nod. “I can feel it. Hurt, angry.”
Rohan looks around, jaw tight. “Where do you sense this?”
I glance through the trees, not really pinpointing a direction. “I don’t know, it feels everywhere but not.” He looks at me sharply. “I don’t know, Rohan.” My voice takes on a desperate lilt, worry and nerves rattling through me.
“Fuck, it’s okay, we’ll find it.” Rohan tilts my chin up. “You’re okay. Let’s keep walking, just let instinct guide you.”
My fingers curl. “What if I can’t? What if I take you in the wrong direction? What if—”
“Breathe, Little Whisperer.” I do, looking up at Rohan as he places a gentle kiss on my forehead, holding the back of my neck. “You can do it, breathe and focus.”
I take a breath and nod. If Rohan believes I can do it, then I can.
We walk through The Glade and it’s so eerily silent. There are no distant roars and rumbles, no snapping of branches or trees as the dragons pass, no flapping of wings as they take flight.
I’m scared for myself and Rohan, but more than that, I’m scared for the dragons here.
Sudden anger overwhelms me, and I grab Rohan’s arm, halting him just before three dragons come barging through the trees, surrounding us, teeth bared, growling. Rohan puts me at his back, protecting me as he spins us in a circle slowly, raising his axe in front of him.
A blue dragon has blood seeping out of his shoulder, and the smaller green one has a limp.
“Calm!” he orders them, voice full of dominance.
