“You're dying,” I said.
“Yes.”
“Your immortal life has been threatened by this poison.”
“Yes.”
“Nevertheless, you will not kill the beast?'
“I am not a fool, nor am I squeamish,” the King said sharply. “If you cannot get me what I need without hurting the creature, then I will give in to Lord Juri's demands and order its death. But if there is another way, I prefer to take it. It's not right to kill an animal, no matter how fearsome it is, only because its death makes your life easier. All I need is a bit of fur, not its meat to feed me nor its pelt to keep me warm. Just a few tufts, that's all, and that is not a good enough reason to hunt a beast.” He sighed again and rubbed at his face. His features softened when he said, “ I love the wild things. How can I not when I am one myself?”
King Cynric of Darimar had my heart then. I might as well have pulled it from my chest and handed it to him. That's how greatly he affected me. I managed to swallow past my dry throat and blink away the tears that filled my eyes. I rarely wept, but these tears weren't ordinary drops of sorrow. The beauty of the King's words summoned them forth, an unstoppable response to the emotions he stirred within me. I had never felt such an immediate and passionate draw to anyone before.
Holding the King's gaze, I said, “I love the wild things too.”
A tender smile transformed the King's gaunt face into something sublime. “Then you will try to get the fur for me without hurting the mueyaru?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
His face fell.
“There will be no trying,” I went on. “Iwillget it for you. I swear it.” I stood up. “Just tell me where to find the beast.”
The smile returned to the King's face. “Thank you, Ru.”
Chapter Three
With the King's health rapidly declining, we couldn't take the time to hike through the Tuvasi Forest. Instead, Lord Juri offered to fly me and a tracker to its center. I'd never seen a Dragon shift into their beast form before, much less been carried by one. But I concealed my shock and awe when Lord Juri transformed in the castle courtyard, his body growing to gargantuan proportions as wings sprouted from his back, horns from his head, and claws from his hands. I mean talons. Or were they paws? I wasn't an expert on dragon anatomy.
In the main courtyard of the castle, Juri spread his wings and leapt into the air without me or Ren, the Shanba tracker. But Ren didn't seem worried about being left behind, so I didn't worry about it either. Juri soared hundreds of feet upward, his blue scales gleaming in the sunlight, then dove.
Ren followed the dragon's flight and adjusted his position, moving a few more feet away from me. “Keep your arms tucked into your sides.”
“My arms?” I frowned at him but did it.
That was when an enormous talon wrapped around me and lifted me into the air. I cried out, shock finally getting the better of me, and closed my eyes rather than see the ground fall away as it also rushed past. A few minutes later, Juri evened out, and my stomach stopped flopping. I cracked open my eyes and peered through a cage of claws at the ground below.
“Holy fuck,” I whispered.
We were soaring over the crown city of Dralbara, the ancient architecture looking delicate from up there. All the turrets and stained glass formed lacy patterns under a layer of snow. First, we flew over the wealthy districts, then the middle class, and the poor before, finally, we passed over the Forgotten—a district whose original name had faded into history. Which I suppose made its current name appropriate. It wasn't a wealthy area, but it wasn't precisely poor either. A sort of melting pot of criminals, whores, gangs, and the desperate of many races, where immense wealth passed through constantly but never stayed for long.
Under the snow, the buildings there looked just as nice as those in the wealthy districts. All right, maybe the middle-class district. The rust and ruin were softened and hidden, but I knew it was there. When spring came, the snow would melt, revealing pock-marked streets, crumbling buildings, and broken windows. Still, it was my home, and I loved it.
In the blink of an eye, we passed over the Forgotten and reached the wall. The Horns on the city wall came to attention, but since the dragon carrying me was blue, not crimson, they didn't salute.
And then we were beyond the city. The Tuvasi Forest was just a mile to the left, past a farm with fields blanketed in snow. Lord Juri veered toward the forest, and in a few seconds, we were flying above the trees, some of them mere skeletons, but many were evergreens, their needles supporting clumps of snow but still managing to show off their bright green color. A color similar to the Dragon King's eyes.
I spent most of the journey huddled in Juvi's talon, blocking the biting wind with my cloak, my mind turning to the memory of the Dragon King over and over. Thankfully, it was a short journey.
We reached the center of the Tuvasi Forest, and Ren called out, “Veer left!”
Juri adjusted his angle and took us toward the thickest part of Tuvasi, where only the forest folk, like Ren, ventured. Not that the forest was any more dangerous than the city. I could be attacked just as easily in the middle of Dralbara as I could out there in the woods. No, a vicious animal wouldn't attack me in the city, not in the literal sense, at least. But people could be just as dangerous as beasts, sometimes even more so. An animal kills to eat or defend itself. People, however, have all sorts of reasons for hurting each other. Someone had hurt the King.
“There!” Ren shouted. “You can land on that hill.”
Lord Juri swirled into a dive and deposited Ren and me on a hill. After we scurried to the side, he landed.
Angling his head down to us, he said, “I will await you here.”
