In addition to being a real beauty, with long blond hair, pink, full lips, and intelligent blue eyes, she was also a combination of sweet and feisty, demure and assertive, and best of all, she treated me like just another guy.
It had been a very long time since a woman had been real with me and didn't try to put on a façade to impress me or my family. It was refreshing, and the more I talked to her, the more at ease I became, but I reminded myself that some of the teasingI would have been able to pull off in Eluria would be considered in poor taste here.
Since Elucians adhered more strictly to the Precepts of Truth, it was considered rude to ask questions the answers to which could be potentially embarrassing to the person forced to answer truthfully.
Asking Kailin if she found me handsome was a no-no, nor could I ask her if she liked me. I had to wait for her to volunteer the information.
When Codric and Shovia started singing the other verses of that colorful ballad, Kailin shook her head. "I can't believe she's teaching him that."
"Not fond of Elucian ballads?" I asked quietly.
"Oh, I'm very fond of them, and I even like this one, but not while I'm sharing a table with two upper-class Elurians." She tilted her head, her blond hair cascading down her front. "What made you join our pilgrimage and give up on all the comforts you must enjoy at home?"
Were Kailin and Shovia another layer of Elucian security?
It made perfect sense to send two attractive young ladies to question us. Men were easily manipulated by beautiful women. Focused on conquest, they ignored everything, including their own safety. They were like putty in the skilled hands of smart ladies.
I had been trained to look out for the signs, and although Kailin didn't fit the profile, I needed to take into account that I was in a foreign country, and I didn't know how to read its people as well as I could read mine.
I forced a smile. "The same thing that brings all the other pilgrims to Skywatcher's Point. The hope of becoming more than we are."
Her pretty lips twisted in distaste. "Everyone and their grandmother wants to be dragon riders. Frankly, I don't get it."
I chuckled. "I assure you that my grandmother doesn't want to be anywhere near a dragon, let alone ride one."
Kailin waved a dismissive hand. "It's just an expression, but your grandmother is a wise woman. Those beasts are terrifying. Have you ever seen one up close?"
I shook my head. "I've only seen pictures and vids. I was hoping to get a glimpse of a real-life dragon on the way here, but I've had no such luck."
She lifted the tankard and took several long gulps. "They are enormous, and they spew fire even if they are not hunting. They do that every time they roar, so be careful and stay out of their flight path, or you can get immolated by mistake."
An involuntary shiver ran down my spine. "Does that happen often? I mean, accidents like that? After all, Elucians and dragons have a pact, and that would definitely count as a violation of the treaty."
She shrugged. "Supposedly, it is rare, but we are all cautioned to be very careful around dragons. They are intelligent, and they communicate telepathically with the riders they are bonded to, but they are still beasts, and their instinct is to hunt and kill. Every living creature is food to them, and they don't feel mercy like we do." She grimaced. "Let me rephrase. They don't feel mercy like Elucians and Elurians do. Sitorians don't know the meaning of the word."
"I'm sure some of them do. At least for their own people."
She looked at me as if I were delusional. "They worship death and destruction. Mercy is not part of their vocabulary."
"They worship the death and destruction of everyone who is not Sitorian," I corrected her. "But it's not all of them. Some interpret the teachings of Elusitor in a more moderate way."
She looked at me with sad eyes. "I wish that were true, and perhaps there are a few moderates among them, but not enoughto make a difference. You know that if they defeat us, they will go after you next, right?"
I couldn't argue with the truth, and I also couldn't tell her how tired I was of the Elurian elite ignoring the problem and hoping it would go away. Elurians loved their comfortable, culturally rich lifestyles, and our leadership pretended that the status quo with the Sitorians would last forever.
I felt like I was the only one who saw the writing on the wall, but even though I carried some clout, it wasn't enough for the Council to listen to what I had to say. Even my father, who had much more clout than I did and who shared my opinion to a small extent, would be ignored. The other members would just accuse him of warmongering.
The Council would do nothing until the enemy was upon us, and it would be too late.
Eluria needed to prepare for the inevitable attack, and a massive dragon force of our own was our only hope. But the Elucians provided us with aerial aid only for rescue operations, not as active defense, for the simple reason that they couldn't spare the dragons and leave themselves exposed.
The Elucians didn't share any information about the dragons or the pact they had with them, so I didn't know if there was anything that could be done to breed more. Locating the missing eggs that had been hidden by the shamans would be a start, provided that they were still hidden somewhere and hadn't been destroyed by the Shedun.
Still, even if there was a way to breed many more dragons, I doubted the Elucians would be willing to give up their monopoly over the sky, no matter how much we would offer in exchange. They might, however, be willing to enter a treaty of mutual defense.
My plan might take decades to materialize, even centuries, but with the prolonged lifespan that came with the dragon bond,I would have more time to achieve my seemingly impossible objectives.
I was getting ahead of myself, though.
