Page 43 of Kingdom of Ashes & Bone
It had been eerily quiet since the wall fell, but that was changing. The moans and cries of hundreds of wounded filled the air one by one, desperate for help. I steadfastly kept going, knowing that I’d be able to help everyone else more if I could make sure Zion and Zariah were all right. In their dragon forms, they’d easily be able to lift the rubble and save everyone!
Zion! Zariah!
I stumbled into my first dragon before I saw him, tripping over a large golden tail and falling hard on my hip. Wincing, I brushed the ash away to reveal golden scales underneath.
“Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
I didn’t know which prince it was, but it didn’t matter. I followed the ash-covered lumps until I found his head, and stroked the ridge above his eyes gently. Massive slabs of broken dragonstone covered his body, likely from the dome’s collapse. His position was odd and twisted, like he’d been hunched over something right as everything had gone to hell, and now he was stuck. It looked horribly uncomfortable.
“Wake up. Please.” My voice wavered, and I took a deep breath to collect myself. I had to be strong.
Golden eyes cracked open at me, slit like a cat’s.
“Hey. Are you in there?”
Mari.
Zion’s tired, pained gaze met mine. The dragon groaned, and tried to get his feet under him, pushing down against the ground to try and gain purchase. Golden scales covered in ash rippled and strained, but the slabs on top of him only moved a few inches. The dragon sagged back down, defeated.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get you out. Are you OK otherwise?” I asked, desperately praying he was.
His large eyes blinked at me.
Tired,he managed.
I kept stroking down the ridge of his snout. “I know. Just hang in there. I’m going to find Zariah, and he’ll get you out of here. He’s more used to his dragon form than you are, so I’m sure he’s fine. Everything will be all right.”
Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
Leaving Zion buried there was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, but I couldn’t save him by myself. I couldn’t even begin to try.
Zariah! ZARIAH!
I spun around, but there was no telling where a dragon was buried underneath all of this mess and confusion. If only I couldsee, then this wouldn’t be so hard!
ZARIAH!I called again, desperation digging a hole in my heart.
Stop screaming. I hear you.
Relief flooded my veins and I staggered, my knees weak at hearing him alive and well enough to sass me with that cocky tone.
Where are you? Zion needs help! He’s trapped under the rubble!
Zariah swore in my mind.All right. Stay where you are; I can scent you out.
I hurried back to Zion’s side, squeezing back tears as other survivors straggled around me. Sitting down on the dusty ground next to Zion, I put my hand flat on his face and tried to find a clean path of my clothes to wipe the grime from his eyes and snout. My clothes were covered in dust, my fingers curling into fists as I realized not a single inch of me was clean.
No one was clean. The only clean streaks of skin around me were the tears tacks on everyone’s faces, cutting clean paths down their cheeks from sorrow and fear.
His eyes cracked open again, and his tongue shot out, finding a gash on the underside of my arm I hadn’t noticed and licking the blood off.
I winced at the pain, but didn’t pull away. The cut healed, and the fog in his eyes lifted a bit.
Mari. I’m sorry. You should help others.
His gaze was fixed on the dozens of people walking toward the rubble, all of us appearing like ghosts covered in gray ash. If the circumstances were any different, it would have made my heart soar to watch how they all worked together to free the others who were still trapped. Artisan quarter, bread quarter, stone quarter, mud quarter … you couldn’t tell under the dirt and grime. We were all the same.
But I couldn’t bring myself to leave Zion’s side.
