Page 54 of Kingdom of Ashes & Bone
I pushed dirt until it stuck under my fingernails, rocks and debris opening red lines on my hands and cracking my skin. Stubbornly, I pushed through until the pain made me pause, falling on my butt to rest and try to shake the sting out of my hands.
Zariah shuffled forward, and made quick work of finishing. He patted the top of the mound a few times with his massive claws, ensuring the dirt was firm and secure.
Without another word, he slit his forearm open with a claw and held it out to me.
I couldn’t help that laugh that bubbled forth from me. “A bit of a raw deal, isn’t it? One of us always has to be hurting in order to fix the other. Unless that’s the point of having three of us?
Zariah huffed and pushed his bloodied arm at me, impatient.
“No offense, but I want to hurt right now. You know? Fixing me physically won’t fix what’s in here.” I placed my palm over my heart, pleading with him to understand. “Today, I just want everything to feel how I feel: hurt and broken.”
Zariah whined but didn’t push me further.
I could tell from his tone that leaving alone in the desert was the last thing he instincts wanted to do, but that fact that he was willing to try if it was what I wanted eased a bit of the pain in my chest.
Was that the strange noise again? Zariah jerked, so at least I knew I wasn’t hearing things.
“What is that?” I asked. “I keep hearing it. It sounds close, yet … not.”
The large nostrils on Zariah’s snout flared as he swung his head back and forth, trying to scent out the source.
I don’t smell anything. It is probably the ground shifting under us where the tunnels collapsed.
Hmm. That made sense. “Yeah. I guess.”
I’m going to find Zion. I need to confirm some rumors I’ve been hearing, and make sure he hasn’t passed out from exhaustion yet. Do you wish to remain here for a bit?
“Just for a little,” I answered. “Then you can come get me.”
Zariah pushed his snout into my neck and nuzzled, then jumped high into the air and pumped his wings. I watched him fly back into the city, passing Sabrathan in the air on his way out. The queen was still unconscious, clutched loosely in his claws.
Goodbye, draklings. Don’t die.
I laughed, the first one of mirth I’d had since all of this had begun. It was good, solid advice from the blunt dragon.
Thank you. Good luck,I called out. Zariah said his goodbyes as well, and I faintly heard Zion. By the faint tone of his voice, he sounded as tired as Zariah had feared.
My stupid, self-sacrificing dragon princes. They made me smile.
My eyes closed as I relished the feel of the sun on my skin, a sensation I’d never known until that fateful day when I’d ‘met’ the dragon.
“I think you would have liked each other,” I said out loud, as if Shava and Ell were next to me, also sunbathing, and not lying in a pit to my left.
“Though Zephyr—” I froze, my brows pinching together. WherewasZephyr? Had he been down in the tunnels when they’d collapsed? Perhaps that was for the best; he wouldn’t have seen what happened to Shava. Then again, I wouldn’t wish death in the tunnel on anyone—dark, crowded, slowly running out of air or bleeding to death, depending on if you were injured when it all fell in or not.
Guilt squirmed in my veins. I was so, so lucky compared to most.
“I know you loved him and all, but he was a dick. Though he didn’t deserve to die like that. Nor did you. Or you,” I added as an afterthought, thinking of Ell.
I’d never seen a sunset before because the dome had always blocked it. I took my time to watch it now, gazing in awe at the vibrant reds and golds that shifted in the horizon as the sun slowly conceded to the moon and its stars. By the time darkness was just settling over the desert, Zariah returned with Zion on his back.
And food.
“Eat this. Zion says you haven’t had anything today.”
My eyes rolled at my two nursemaids, but I took the large drumstick and tore off a large chunk of meat, warm juice dripping down my chin. Gods, it was so good. Would I ever get used to the taste of fresh meat? I didn’t think it was possible.
I glanced at Zion and shot him an accusing look at the dark circles under his eyes.
