Chapter 28
For the next few minutes, I stay out of the way.
Rachel and Catalina are instantly engaged in discussion, Catalina asking how many people are still within the city and how many of them will need help moving. Petra and the other women stay close, and Rachel frequently consults them.
I listen carefully while remaining sharply aware of the way Catalina’s dragon homes in on me, moving closer even when the other dragons and their riders take to the air to guard the city’s walls.
It’s clear I’m not meant to get past him.
I back away slowly, headed for the monolith, where I can rest against the stone wolf’s front legs. When Asha recounted to me what had happened outside the city walls after the humans had tried to kill me, she said that she had turned several humans to stone.
I don’t see those statues here, so I assume someone must have removed them at some point.
Or… possibly… smashed them up…
There are a couple of mounds of rubble nearby, the dust blowing off them in the wind, but I can’t be certain they’re the remains of those statues.
The dragon follows me, maintaining a close proximity that confirms he’s guarding me.
I am not Rachel’s first priority, and I shouldn’t be, but I need to get back to Asha. I made a choice to let these people decide their own future. None of it is mine to control now.
I just need the right moment to get away from the dragon without upsetting the fragile peace that’s formed.
From the snatches I hear of the conversation, I learn nearly a third of the city’s population is dead. They have twenty prisoners, but Rachel doesn’t name them. Petra’s expression remains stony, giving no indication as to whether or not her father is one of them.
A few moments later, I’m aware of a shadow flitting toward me. Maybelle’s steps slow as she draws closer to me.
“Vandawolf?”
She sounds uncertain. My face has changed a lot since she last saw me.
“Maybelle.” I focus on the question that matters. “Is Kedric okay?”
“Yes,” she says quickly. “He’s guarding the prisoners. Several of the Wasteland Warriors are helping to guard them too, but…” she hesitates. “Many of the Warriors perished in the first fight.”
I want to tell her I’m sorry, but it will only sound hollow.
“What of my children?” she asks quietly.
She means Tamra and Gallium.
“Safe,” I say, even though it could be a lie.
I didn’t see Gallium, but the brief glimpse I caught of Tamra—the way she moved around Thaden—made it appear as if she were with him by choice.
“Thank you,” she whispers. And then, “Stay there. Don’t go yet.”
My forehead creases at her words, but she flits away again before I can question her.
A moment later, I spot Petra hurrying toward me. She’s coming from a different direction than the main group, so she must have broken off from them while I was speaking with Maybelle.
“You’re hurt,” she says, placing a basket on the ground that I recognize as her healer’s kit. “Let me help you.”
“I’m not hurt,” I growl. My wounds have all knitted. I have no need of bandages.
She plants her hands on her hips and glares at me. “You are.”
“I’m not.”
