The gold dragon’s gaze lingers on Azric for several moments before turning to me. “You did well for a human. For a Priest. But you worried for your safety. Why did you climb him rather than draw the arrow while you were still on the ground? A dragon is more comfortable in the sky, but for one without functional wings, you should not climb onto a dragon’s back to combat it.”
My wings flare at the remark, and with a little concentration, I flap them, hovering several feet off the ground. “I’m not good at flying, but they are functional. I wouldn’t want to try an aerial fight with a dragon, but if I fell off him, I didn’t want to decorate Castle Lachlan with my insides.”
Calyr cocks his head in a decidedly human look. “You have not had wings before. Why do you only use them now?”
I turn to Azric, who’s grinning widely. Then I turn back to Calyr. “I can’t use them regularly. I have a very limited number ofpotionsthat will allow me to grow wings.”
“Are you not human? I do not sense magic within you, though you do smell…different. How can you consume something and grow wings as though you were a part of the House of Steel?”
I didn’t plan on having to hide how Infusions are made or any of the other secrets of the Order from a dragon. “It’s not my secret totell. I’ve made oaths, and I won’t break them. What I can tell you is that I can drink different potions, and they change my body in different ways.”
“That is why you grow fur at times?” Calyr asks.
I nod to him, and he doesn’t respond, simply stepping back. Then it’s Inni’s turn to interrogate me. “Do you know what would have happened if Vyran hadn’t stopped that arrow?”
What does this have to do with the way I fought? “Azric said that you didn’t like to fight against the Stormbringers because you feared lightning. I assume it would have hurt or maybe even killed Sidon.”
“And you still fired it?” she asks slowly.
I glance at the other dragons, all of whom are staring directly at me. “He said I should try to kill him.”
“And if Azric wanted you to attempt to kill him? What if he stumbled? Would you cut his head off?”
“Obviously not,” I say defensively. “But he’s a man. I understand…”
A ripple of scales and wings moves down Inni’s back, and a sputter of flame leaves her jaws. “A man could be healed. We cannot. Azric would survive having his head removed. Sidon may not have survived had you struck true with that arrow. It is important that you learn that everyone, dragons included, can die, Fiona. It is also important that you recognize that all of us, again, dragons included, are fallible. We have all made mistakes over the years, and Sidon made a mistake by allowing your attempt to kill him.”
She turns to her side and raises a wing to show a wicked scar that runs down her flank. As wide as I am tall and twice as long, no scales cover gray flesh. “I was struck by lightning in a fight with Stormbringers. It is only because Azric turned my flesh to stone that I survived. I will never regrow those scales. That flesh will never be anything but stone again.”
The night is silent as I stare at the wound. “What should I have done, then?” I ask.
“You should have recognized that it was the only way you could have fought Sidon, and you should have refused to fight. We are not the enemy, Fiona. None of us. You must be aware of the tenuousness on which everything has hung. For eighty years, we have used this war to train ourselves just as the Godforged have, but every wound we take will never truly heal. We do not havepotions.”
I glance at Azric. “He can’t heal you like he healed me?”
Inni shakes her head. “His mistress’s powers are limited to those she claims dominion over. A dragon’s soul does not go to her world if we die. We go to the Void to become one of the many to rest.”
Azric intervenes. “We should not have suggested you fight Sidon. To be completely honest, none of us thought you could harm him. The arrows were a surprise. Inni is right, though. You cannot try to hurt any of the dragons, even if they’re on the opposite side in a trial or in a future battle once you are a champion. Vyran let Echo ride her for many years, and it might be possible for you to take her place if you become Nyxthos’s champion. But regardless of what battle you are in, you must never try to injureany of the rest of the dragons. Fight the champion if you decide to, but do not fight the dragon, and the dragon will not fight you. These are the agreements thatmostof the champions have agreed to.”
I take a deep breath. “I assume the normal soldiers aren’t told that?”
“They are not,” Inni says. “And that is acceptable. Other than Stormbringers, few can injure us easily. We still need to train if we are to lead the charge against the true enemy.”
She pauses for a moment before saying, “You have spent your life being one thing, a human with limited power, with limited abilities to change the world. Soon, you will be something very different, and when that happens, your actions will affect far more. It is important that you understand this.”
I don’t know what else to say, and Azric takes my hand. He turns to the dragons and says, “I’ll be back later after I escort Fiona to Darian.”
Then we fall through shadows into the Void.
Chapter 34
Once, there were thousands of dragons on Nyth. They are why we have magic, the Fae, and the wondrous places like Draenyth. Then they fled, leaving only five to keep this world and its magic alive. They chose us over safety, and we will forever be grateful.
~Brenna Morvyn, A History of Magic and Dragons
Fiona
Azric doesn’t take me to Darian, though. Instead, he brings me back to his chambers. He lets go of my hand and pulls his riding coat off. Underneath, he’s wearing a bright red silk waistcoat and a black shirt.
