“Milaye, move back,” Drazak orders.
I swallow, staring. He has the boy pinned tight to the ground.Drazak’s not hurting him. He’s just subduing him.I’m relieved. Horrified but relieved.
But I glimpse terror in the boy’s eyes and my brow creases. I kneel next to them.
“I said, move back.”
“Let me see him,” I say, ignoring his order. “Look at me,” I tell the boy, making my voice as calm as ever. I’m anything but calm. “It’s me. You know me.”
Drazak groans with exasperation and I clasp his bicep in reassurance.
The boy glances my way. His eyes stick to me.
“See? It’s me,” I say, exhaling. “You have nothing to fear from me.” My feather is lodged in the boy’s tangled hair. “He won’t hurt you,” I voice a little sternly between breaths as a warning to Drazak. “Neither of us will.”
The boy stares at me.
I frown. I’m certain he doesn’t understand what I’m saying, but hopefully he senses my intent. I find no recognition in his eyes. They’re blank, except for fear.
Drazak speaks, “I told you. Nagas are nothing more than beasts. Nothing more than meat.”
I shake my head. “Beasts don’t adorn their hair with feathers,” I say, indicating the one in the naga’s hair. “They also don’t collect shells into piles, steal human supplies, or fashion weapons.” I reach my hand between Drazak and the naga to cup the boy’s cheek. He flinches.
“Milaye!” Drazak barks. The boy tries to snap at my hand, but I’m braced for it and pull my hand away. Drazak tightens his hold on him, and the boy hisses, snapping again.
“If he hurts you, I will break my promise!”
“He won’t,” I reassure him, still sounding calmer than I am. I narrow my eyes at the naga, and wait for him to stop snapping. “Look at me.” The naga does. My pulse flutters. My lips twitch into a brief smile. “I knew you understood me.”
“Coincidence,” Drazak rumbles.
“It’s not a coincidence! Look at him, Drazak. His chest is that of a human male. His face as well. The young parented by dragon men are part-dragon, part-human. Perhaps somewhere in his ancestry, there is a human in him too.” I turn to the boy. “We’re going to let you go.”
Drazak snarls. “I don’t like this.”
I continue, “When we do, I need you not to move. Can you do that? Not move?” I ask the naga.
He hisses.
“We don’t want to hurt you,” I say, caressing his cheek once before pulling my hand away to face Drazak. He’s glaring intensely at his prisoner. “Let him go,” I tell him.
Slowly, carefully, Drazak does just that.He didn’t fight me.
Warmth floods my chest.
I hold my breath, my attention returning to the boy. He goes rigid at first, and I brace, waiting for him to try and escape, but his strain eases and he curls his tail against him instead. Drazak rises to his feet, finding solid footing amongst the stones. When he straightens with a growl, the naga slithers to the side and huddles. I swallow the urge to comfort him and go to Drazak instead.
I wrap my arms tightly around him. He holds me in return. Rubbing my cheek against the scales on his chest, we both calm.
Though I know his eyes are still pinned on the naga…
Wind blasts our ears. We release each other to look up, and I see a thin streak of light pierce through the gloom. Little dust motes fly through the air. I blink several times to make sure it’s actually sunlight that I’m seeing.
“Drazak,” I whisper.
“I know.” He releases me.
I leave him behind to climb, hands and knees, the rest of the way up. When I reach the hole, I find it’s thin, the gap between the wall of the cave and a boulder. I push my hand through, testing the opening with my hand and arm. Nothing budges. It’s too small for any of us to fit through.
