Page 19 of Dragon Rider (Rise of the Dragon Master)

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“Holy hell!”

I had lost count of how many times I’d gaspedholy hellsince I arrived here…

The thumping of my wild pulse rushing through my veins reached me at the same time that my heart began to slam against my ribcage, and I felt as though oxygen was running low, but nothing could pull my attention from the image before me.

My usually green iris rimmed with yellow, narrowed like that of a reptile, turning gold. The rational side of me was freaking the hell out. However, the intuitive side of me accepted the sight as though it was something it had always expected to happen. It welcomed it.

Blinking over and over again, I took a much-needed breath and forced my mind to settle, quieting the voice of alarm and allowing the other to grow stronger.

Leaning away, I took one last look at my glowing Dragon eye, then faced the magical city before me, twinkling in the darkness. I realized a very startling detail. The lights that made this place look so enchanting weren’t torches at all. It was literally magic.

Curiosity coursed through me as I stepped closer to one of the rock walls, reaching for the torch to confirm that there were no live flames on it. Yet, the wall shimmer with a soft yellow hue as though the sun was reflecting on the sea. My head turned to catch the rest of the market, and even the castle now behind me. Everything gleamed the same way, and I knew. Somehow, I knew… It was night vision.

This place was actually fully overwhelmed by the darkness of the mountain, and the night that spied us from the top, but I could still see just like a Dragon could. It wasn’t clear why, but I was certain of that.

Swallowing, I felt a rush of adrenaline course through my veins, and suddenly, I wasn’t looking at the city from the ground anymore, I was looking at it from above. When my head lifted, I covered my left eye with one hand to find a Dragon gliding through the cave, on its way to the honeycomb lairs. It was Vyper.

Once my hand dropped, I saw myself from the sky, a miniature version of me, and his gaze swept the city until it showed an unending set of stairs carved into the mountain. It led to the lairs. Vyper glanced up again, and I watched the entrance of his cave become larger and larger until he glided into it, landing in front of an adult Dragon.

He was showing me the way there.

I regarded the castle behind me for a few moments, then faced the path set before me again. Instinctively, I understood what was happening. My essence knew. It wasn’t insomnia or curiosity that had gotten me out of bed, what called to me, pulling me to this place. It was something far more powerful.

With a new determination, I began walking again, making my way to the place Vyper had indicated, and mentally prepared myself for the trek ahead.

Stopping only a couple of times to catch my breath along the way, I climbed all the way up to the honeycombs. I wasn’t sure if I was more awed or intimidated as my neck strained to look up at caves that extended like a ring at the top of the mountain, but I couldn’t stop now.

The earthy and rocky pathway narrowed under my feet, spanning only like three feet wide along the verge of the lairs, but extending as far as my eyes could see.

Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Do NOT look down…

Vertigo hit me like a mother the moment I looked down, and I stepped back, pressing my back against the rocky wall. It felt like I was perched on the ledge of the Empire State Building. Now I knew how Spiderman felt.

“You got this, Brax,” I hyped myself up, and began to walk forwards, focusing only on the lair I thought I had seen Vyper fly into earlier.

Movement came from ahead, and I looked to the right to see a large-ass Dragon’s head slowly peeking out, like it could sense me coming. Red and black hues extended over the scales, and dark red slitted eyes focused on me.

Holy shit. She was going to have me for dinner.

She? I wondered, looking at the elongated but graceful curves of the neck and chest, yeah definitely a female.

With a steading breath, I pushed forwards, carefully walking on the three-foot wide ledge while approaching the first cave. My heart thundered in my ears, but I kept going, passing the red Dragon.

She lay in the cave with both arms draped over the floor before her, claws striking the ground in a steady and lazy manner while her eyes followed my every step. The creature watched me move like a lion watched an ant make its way across the grass. A gleam of curiosity entered her eyes, yet I was nothing but inconsequential.

Thank God.

The breeze created by her breathing fanned my skin while I crossed, but I remained focused on the goal—reaching Vyper’s lair.

One by one, the Dragons in the honeycomb began to peek out of their grottos with my approach. Each observing me keenly, even those all the way across on the other side of the mountain.

My eyes lifted to a new giant spying a glance at me on the next opening. I knew he was a giant because his long jaw protruded from the darkness first. Multi-sized horns that reminded me of spikey barnacles on a rock spread around his ivory jaw, his mouth as pointy and hard as the beak of a bird. In fact, the entire front of his face—mouth, nose, and forehead—seemed to be made of something resembling solid bone. Six colossal horns extended from his head, two in front, and two from each temple, while three others as thin as blades stretched from the sides of his face like axes.

The cinnamon brown Dragon was intimidating to say the least, his yellow eyes disapproving of my every step.

His intense gaze halted my advance in the middle of his cave, demanding respect, and I stared up at him fully. Our eyes connected. The way he regarded me felt like he was almost judging me, and I immediately knew whose Dragon that was. I had encountered the same kind of regard from another giant today.

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