“Then we’ll wait,” Rauk says.
I dismount and walk a small path as we wait. When I look over at Rauk, he’s leaning against Nox, the picture of calm. But I don’t fail to notice the way he scans the sky often. “Did you compete in the Spirit Trials?”
My sudden question must surprise him, but he doesn’t evenlook at me. “Yes.”
“Has anybody from your kingdom besides you competed in the trials in the past few decades?”
“Yes,” he answers again.
I stop my pacing. “Did you send anybody to the last Trials?”
“No.”
“Okay, I don’t get it. Everybody says that a dragon competitor hasn’t competed in the Trials for like a hundred years.” I wait for him to answer, but he doesn’t. “I don’t get it.”
He finally looks over at me. “We do send competitors; we’re required to just like every other kingdom. We would never deprive one of our people of their spirit animal. But we compete differently. As soon as a spirit dragon appears, we’re pulled from the Trial and sent back to our kingdom. If anybody sees a spirit dragon appear, Terron would wipe their memory of it. So, we’ve been there and competed, but no one knows when our dragons come.”
“Why?” I ask simply.
“It was the agreement my great grandfather and Terron came to after the battle. We had just lost nearly half of our kingdom, cursed now as guivres. We were small and trying to rebuild. Now, it’s just the way it’s been; and we haven’t changed it.”
“How come the guivres don’t come to your kingdom to attack?” I ask.
“They do every now and then. When they get close, Nox and I fly out to give them a personal greeting.”
I snort. “Bet it’s a one of a kind greeting.”
He smirks at me, and I stare at him. “What?”
Igive him an amused grin. “You could be a pretty good looking guy if you smiled every once in a while.”
“Are you saying I’m not good-looking when I don’t smile?”
I shrug. “Your words.”
I figure that’s the end of the conversation between us, but he surprises me. “Where did you grow up?” I laugh. “What?Now, we’re going to try to get to know each other? I feel like it’s a little late for that.”
“How about you just answer the question?”
I smirk. “It’s pretty exciting; better brace yourself. Look around,” I tell him dryly. “This is pretty much it.”
He frowns. “What?”
“I grew up with the banished.” He doesn’t say anything, but I can feel his eyes on my face. I don’t want any sympathy, so I don’t look over at him. “So, yeah, I didn’t grow up right here,exactly; but I grew up outside the walls of the city. But Rysden changed the law. It’s pretty great; all the banished got to move into the city. And they’ll welcome back those that don’t get a spirit animal.”
Farrah and Rysden show up with Lox and Jamik, saving me from having to say anything more. Shade and Solace, their spirit wolves, are present as well.
Rysden looks over to us. “Ready?”
I nod, and Rauk does as well. “There were a lot of guivres yesterday; I feel like I should warn you about that,” I tell them.
“Well, good thing we came prepared,” Farrah tells me from astride her horse. But her pale face tells me her words are a brave coverup.
I narrow my eyes at her. “Should you even be here?”
“No,” Rysden answers for her.
“I’m not going to stay behind at the castle and just wait until you all come back. Kinsley is my friend!” Farrah tells him and us. Rauk looks over at me, and I can almost read what he’s thinking on his face. I echoed Farrah’s words not too long ago.
