Page 24 of Fire Dragon
Chapter Four
“Well, that tweaks the kitten’s whiskers.” Emma sighed, as her gaze slid away from Liam’s intense expression. He’d just told her the gist of his rather lowering conversation with Santos.
“Sorry to lay this on you, but I felt you should know. Santos broke a rule here by telling me.”
“Understood.” She planted her hands on her hips and took a moment to process the dire nature of the information. She’d just barely become a dragon-rider and now it would seem the future of the continent was settled squarely on her shoulders, or rather hers and Liam’s.
She couldn’t help but chuckle.
“What’s so funny?”
“I always dreamed one day I’d help save the world. Now it seems I’d better or else.”
He caught her arm gently just above her elbow. “One day at a time. Right now, we have a caravan to get safely to south Saanvale. Wait a minute, I just remembered. You’ve never been on a caravan drive before, have you?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Ah. No wonder you were bouncing around when I first saw you.”
“Exactly. I honestly thought it would be a long time before I did. I figured I’d be stationed at Blue Lake South for the next century.”
“Walk the line with me then. You’ll enjoy it.” With his warm hand still holding her arm, he turned her toward the tail end of the caravan. “I always do this. Not every caravan driver does, but I like to get a good look at the dragons involved, see what they’re carrying, make sure my security teams are in place throughout the entire length and meet some of the tourists.”
“Does it help you connect?” She knew the drivers, as needed, communicated with all the dragons in the course of the journey telepathically to transmit flight information and what crosswinds to expect. But in his dragon form, Liam would also be able to instinctively sense if anyone was in trouble.
“I don’t know about connecting. But I do gain a better feel for the overall size of the caravan, so I know how far to cast the shield.”
“I find it all so fascinating. Do you think dragons developed these abilities because of the winds of Dusane? Or were the powers always there?”
“I’ll leave that one to the scientists and the philosophers. I’m just happy to help.”
She glanced at him and smiled.
But he only looked confused by her expression. “What?” he asked.
“That’s one of my favorite qualities of yours. I’ve always tried to emulate it.”
“Which quality?”
“I’d call it an acceptance of life and of who you are. Does it ever bother you that your gifts have led you to serve as both dragon-warrior and caravan-runner?”
“No. Not at all. I’d say I’m built for it.”
Yes, he was.
Immensely.
She forced herself to draw a deep breath and to ignore the weakening sensation at the back of her knees.
She walked beside him for what turned out to be a mile-and-a-half before they reached the last group of dragons. These belonged to the ADF security team that served both in battle training and on the long caravan runs. Each had their regiment’s
insignia of a golden eagle tattooed over several of their shoulder-level dragon scales.
Emma levitated swiftly to touch the scale bearing the eagle. In turn, the dragons tossed their heads as a form of greeting. She’d had each as a battle partner during her two years of training. Many of the lesser dragons in the ADF also served on the caravan security teams.
They like you.Liam’s voice slid easily into her mind as she continued to do the same with all six dragons. Liam tracked with her.
Well, I adore them, one and all.They’ve told me more than once if I wasn’t so tall, I’d be their mascot.
