“I am not whole,
but I fly.
I am not pure,
but I shine.
I have fallen,
lain broken upon the ground.
But I rise now,
and the sky welcomes me home.”
Just as I sang of home, Ahanu came into view. It felt like a blessing from the Gods. The dragons roared, and then their king did something that shocked me.
He lifted his voice to join mine.
The Dragon King sang the chorus with me, his beast-voice deeper than a man could go, and it felt perfect. We had both come through a trial that had left us changed. But the sky still welcomed us. We still flew upon warm currents. By the second line, the other dragons joined in until the air was full of resonant voices, and all of Ahanu learned the Dragon King had returned.
And he could sing.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“This is the last one.” Raven took my hand as the carriage stopped. “Today, it finally ends.”
Four days. That's all it had been since we'd returned from defeating Nahel. Four days, and we had already gotten to the end of Bara's list of customers.
Raven helped me out of the carriage, and I looked up, not surprised to see a luxurious mansion rising three stories before me. Columns bordered the front door, with an overhang to protect guests from the elements as they waited for a servant to answer their knock.
But we weren't guests.
When Sir Vanoak's knock was answered, he shoved the servant back, and we followed him inside with five more knights bringing up the rear.
“How dare you!” the Deldin servant stammered, but then he saw the King. “King Raventar.” He bowed. “How may I assist?”
“Where is your master?” Raven was already headed for the stairs directly across from the front door.
“He's indisposed, Your Majesty!” The Deldin hurried after the King.
Chuckling viciously, I followed my mate.
“Up here then?” Raven turned right on the landing but paused when the Deldin caught up to him. He stared at the relief on the man's face and surmised, “No, not this way. Over here?” He headed toward the left.
“Your Majesty, please! The master will be mortified. Allow me to notify him that you've come to call.”
“This is no social call,” the Dragon King snarled. “Where is he?!”
A thud came from down the hall, and Raven honed in on it. The Deldin hurried after him, but I grabbed the man's shoulder and pulled him back.
“Best go downstairs,” I said to him. “You don't want to be here for this.”
The Deldin's large eyes went larger, and he nodded vigorously before darting around the Dragon knights and disappearing downstairs.
Meanwhile, the King burst into the main suite.
“What is the meaning of this?” a man's voice filtered out.
