It was up to Elu.
In moments of weakness, I toyed with the idea of not making it to the top of Mount Hope. Not everyone did. Some collapsed along the way and got taken down on a stretcher. There was no shame in that. But there was shame in not trying, and my drakking pride wouldn't let me quit without giving it all I had.
So here I was, once again on the trail, trudging up the narrow, steep path in my stiff hiking boots, training for the trek like I had been doing for the past four months every day at sunrise.
I should get up and start making my way down, but I could spend a few more minutes with the view that held me captive and allow my aching feet a little more time to rest.
Gran would understand if I was a little late this morning.
I was tempted to take off the boots, but I knew that once they were off, I wouldn't be able to put them back on, and walking down the trail in my socks wasn't an option.
When I got back home, I would soak them in a tub of warm water infused with healing herbs that Gran cultivated. It meant being even later for my shift at the apothecary, but schedule flexibility was the biggest advantage of working for family.
Imagining the relief, I smiled and let out a sigh, but then something passed in the periphery of my vision, and adrenaline shot through my body.
Drak! What was that?
I shifted my gaze in that direction, but I saw nothing other than the shimmering aurora.
Then I heard it.
The beat of massive wings preceded an ear-shattering roar, and for a brief moment, the primal sound paralyzed me, but then the need for self-preservation helped unlock my muscles, and I scrambled back, flattening myself against the rock face.
What was a dragon doing out here?
They never flew over this area.
Was it hunting? Could it mistake me for prey?
I didn't look like a sheep or a goat, and I wasn't wearing all black like the Shedun, but would the dragon notice these details from up high?
Not all dragons were bonded with riders, and the young ones might not yet differentiate between a human and other prey or between an Elucian and a Shedun.
I dove behind a boulder and clasped my hands over my head in a desperate, almost comical gesture, bracing for the inferno I feared would follow.
As icy tendrils of fear coursed through my veins, it dawned on me that neither my trembling hands nor the solid rock in front of me could protect me. In the blink of an eye, I'd be reduced to ash, my existence snuffed out faster than a thought could form.
My consciousness would be severed before my nerves would even register the agony of immolation.
A swift death, perhaps, but no less terrifying for its efficiency.
Another roar answered the first, and my terror intensified.
There were two of them.
There was nowhere for me to hide while the titans above my head engaged in their deadly dance, the beat of their wings reverberating thunderclaps in the aurora-lit sky. Even if they weren't actively hunting, a stray burst of flame or a miscalculated dive, and I would be collateral damage in their aerial ballet.
The irony wasn't lost on me.
Here I was, cowering in terror at the beasts' mere presence, only five days away from the pilgrimage that would determine if I had the gift that would allow me to bond with one of them.
A memory flashed through my mind of the enormous black dragon and its dark-eyed rider landing mere meters from my watchtower. I could still feel the ground shaking under those huge taloned legs and smell the scent of burning flesh. Remembering that moment sent a shiver down my spine that was mostly terror but also something else.
The rider had saluted me, thinking that I was brave, that I had fought off the Shedun attack because I was some kind of badass warrior, but I was neither of those things. I had fought that night because I had no choice and because the alternative had been more terrifying. But once it had all been over, I had nearly fallen apart, shaking like a leaf.
But I was an adult now, an Elucian about to embark on the pilgrimage, and I refused to cower.
"I am a dutiful follower of Elu, and I walk the path of truth," I chanted quietly. "My duty is to protect my people from those who seek our annihilation, and if I am fated to do that from the back of a dragon, I will not hide from my destiny."
