I’d laugh if it wasn’t so frustrating.
From above comes a shriek, louder than the rest, and a dragon the color of old blood drops out of the sky. It lands with a shudder, claws digging furrows in the gravel. The rider on its back is smaller, weaker-looking, but doesn’t wait for help dismounting. He slides down with the efficiency of someone who has done this for a thousand years.
He steps around his dragon, and I immediately recognize him. Everyone in our group does.
Elder Thorne. The older advisor who had been at the Dravri king’s side during all our peace talks. The one who had made a point that he didn’t like me or this peace agreement.
His hair is white and as messy as his matching beard and mustache. His face is lined and severe, nose bent from a break that never healed right. His dark eyes are cold and emotionless, impossible to read.
The three princes look shocked to see him here. They stay still, staring, right up until he comes to stand right in front of us.
Gareth manages to react first. “What are you doing on Gore Rock? Aren’t your days here long past?”
Thorne’s gaze is flat. “Some things are important enough to come out of retirement for.” He steps forward, nods at the princes, then at Harper, and, finally, at me. I get the feeling he saved me for last on purpose, but I can’t be sure.
“What brings you here?” Lucien asks, not bothering to hide his confusion.
Thorne glances at the six riders, then at us. “It’s a matter of the king’s peace.” His eyes linger on me. “We have much to discuss.”
I thought everything important had already been said.
Alaric cracks his neck. “Can it wait until we’ve slept and eaten?”
Thorne’s mouth twitches. “I’m afraid it’s too important, although your bride and, uh, respected royal don’t need to be there for this.”
“Lucky,” Lucien mutters under his breath and winks at Harper.
“I’ll see you inside.” Thorne gives another bow and turns to his men. “Show them their room, then bring the three princes to me.”
The dragon riders nod, and Thorne walks away.
We’re led across the stoney rockface by a tight escort of riders with their hands near their weapons. The female dragons head toward where the other dragons are hanging out and eating from, what looks to be, barrels of meat. Everything both feels like something they do every day, and like nothing they’ve done before.
Inside, the fortress is almost colder than outside. Every stone is wet with mist, and the corridors are wide enough for two men to duel without touching the sides. It smells like old blood and new steel, which makes me wonder when their last battle was.
We’re shown to a different room this time. There are no windows, like every room in the fortress, but there’s a fireplace and one giant bed, big enough for a family of six. Big enough for us. The candles are already lit, a little too bright for comfort, and a fire burns in the fireplace.
“Does this meet your needs?” one of the dragon riders asks, not looking any of us in the eye.
“This will work. Thank you,” Gareth says.
He bows, but there’s tension in his shoulders. “Food will be brought over shortly.” Then he leaves, closing the door quietly behind him.
Lucien whistles low. “Well, it’s not the royal suite, but at least we can all sleep together.”
Alaric grins. “Yeah, so I can get elbowed byyouall night.”
Gareth drops onto the bed and bounces once. “A decent mattress. This is just what we needed to be recharged for heading back home.”
Everyone sort of finds a spot to relax, glad to be off their dragons. Glad for the warmth from the fire and the softness of the bed.
“So are the female dragons just going to go back to the island now that they’ve been in the sacred waters?” Alaric asks.
Harper, unsurprisingly, has confirmed our plan with Ebron. “The females are going to break off from us after this and go in search of male dragons to impregnate them. Some of them have an idea of where the elusive remaining male dragons are hiding out, so there’s definitely hope that they’ll be pregnant pretty soon.”
“Which means male dragon babies, just what we wanted,” Lucien says, putting another piece of wood on the fire.
There’s a knock at the door, and the lead dragon rider from a moment ago steps in. “Elder Thorne is ready to see you now.”
