‘If there is no Primarch present, I would be free to reach any—but they claim a herd. There must be a leader, even a weak one. I’ll ask the Creator for wisdom. I am wary of intruding, especially if the herd link is weak. I could cause more problems than I might solve.’
I sighed and, giving up, gestured to Bren to precede me back down the path between the castle and the stables.
On the way through the building, I checked in at the stablehands loft, looking for Benji. He’d insisted he was more comfortable there than in the castle with us, and I’d decided it was probably better to leave him near the dragons, anyway.
Of course, that was when I thought there would be hundreds of dragons here.
When I found the cluster of boys, there were only two or three, plus Benji—who was the largest among them, which surprised me.
His eyes brightened when he saw us. “Can we see the dragons now?”
I shook my head. His disappointment was plain. “I’m sorry, Benji. It seems they aren’t housed here, and many are out on mission. We’re… waiting.”
Benji’s lips twisted, but then he shrugged. “It’s okay. We’re having a fine time—and I get a bunk of my own,” he said, tipping his head towards the wall where the bunks were chained to the walls.
“Is he telling the truth that you have lots of dragonsinyour stables?” a young boy in the room, I guessed ten or twelve years old, with messy brown hair and bright blue eyes asked.
I looked at the boy, aware that my neck prickled because he hadn’t called me Sir.
Since when did I care if a child gave me an honorific?
“He’s telling the truth,” I said gruffly. “Have you met Kgosi? He’s our Primarch, and he’s here.”
The boy’s eyes widened. “Is that who I heard in the woods? We don’t go out unless some fly in. Does that mean you’ve got an Eeyrie, too? I’ve always wanted to attend an Eeyrie. But we aren’t allowed.”
“It’s very careful work managing an Eeyrie,” I said with a shrug. “Our boys don’t help there, either. Do you know where yours is? Is it close to—”
The boy opened his mouth, but the sound of a man clearing his throat, then quick footsteps sounded behind me and I turned to find Rayv, now in knee-high boots, trotting up the stable aisle.
“Boys, get out and clean those stables. Now. Don’t bother the General.”
“I don’t mind—”
But Rayv seemed suddenly tense, glancing at me with a warning look as he hurried the boys out to work that didn’t need doing. But I wouldn’t step on another man’s authority.
“Don’t listen to the boys, Donavyn,” Rayv said the moment the last of them had disappeared around the corner with a rake. “They’re often uninformed—you know how it is when they’ve only been here a few months. I’ll answer your questions tomorrow. I give you my word. Until then.”
He saluted casually, then started up the aisle, but I had had enough.
“Are there problems, Rayv? There’s no need for shame—we have them too. That’s why we’re here. If you’re struggling to find mating pairs or hatchlings… we are as well. If there’s no exchange to be had, perhaps we can help each other with information, instead, or—?”
The man drew up short and gestured to me, to quiet me, his face a grimace and eyes dark.
I frowned, but stopped speaking.
Ravy put his hands to his hips and sighed, then looked at me like he’d made a decision. “The summons was real. I have to go back to the castle. Walk with me?”
Curious, I glanced at Bren. “Of course. Bren is my assistant. I’d like her to hear whatever you have to say as well.”
He seemed resigned to that, shrugging and gesturing to me to follow, then marching quickly out of the stable and up the broad path towards the castle.
In Fyrehold there wasn’t a mass of buildings at the Keep as we had at home, and what did exist was purely man-made. Rayv claimed their Academy training was undertaken on one ofthe Estates. And the barracks were elsewhere, too. Closer to the dragons, though he hadn’t actually stated where.
Our path back to the castle was a paved road, wide enough for a supply wagon, but utterly unlined. No fences, no hedges, no trees. The castle, protected by an entire city, was surrounded by wide, rolling lawns for almost a mile on three sides. That gave us several minutes walk with no possibility to be overheard.
Rayv wasted no time. As soon as he looked back over his shoulder and measured that the stables were far enough away, he leaned closer to me and started muttering.
“You’re not the only ones struggling, like you said. We are the same. But… Please, Sir. I am begging you not to abort this mission. Please, I believe we can convince some of the unbonded to travel with you, or to at least consider going to Emberquell to seek a bond. And if they succeed, if you could send even a handful of hatchlings in return—I know it might take years. But I assure you, they will stay in the stables and be properly cared for, offered anything you say they need. Idoknow how to care for dragons.”
