It was Kaelith.
Her voice roared in my mind like thunder cracking through a calm sky.
You knew,she snarled,and you didn’t tell me. The wards are failing, Ashlyn.
I sat up fast, heart racing, the blanket tangled around my legs.I only just found out. I?—
Do not lie to me.Her fury lashed like a whip, every word edged with fire and betrayal.You found out last night. Hein’s rider just informed him of your excursion into the tunnels beneath the tower. Those protections were the basis of the treaty.They were the promise that our hatchlings would never again be hunted. That they would never be enslaved.
I pushed out of bed, dressing quickly as I tried to soothe the fire clawing inside my skull.I didn’t hide it from you, Kaelith. We only confirmed it last night. I—I didn’t want to wake you until I had more.
Kaelith didn’t answer right away, but I could feel her anger simmering just beneath the silence.
I’ll fix it,I promised.I’ll find a way to protect the dragons. To protect you.
Her voice returned, low and cold.Yes. You will.
I froze.What do you mean?
You will prove your loyalty,she said, each word deliberate.To me. To the dragons. To the legacy we are bound to uphold.
How?I asked, already knowing the answer wouldn’t be simple.
You will stand in the place where dragons were last betrayed,Kaelith said, her voice suddenly ancient, almost reverent.And you will face what they faced.
And if I fail?I asked, my throat dry.
Then I chose wrong.Her voice faded like smoke.And this realm will burn with the ashes of our bond.
I stood in the quiet barracks, her words echoing in my bones.
Prove my loyalty.
Stand where the dragons fell.
And suddenly, sleep was the last thing on my mind.
I dressed in silence, careful not to wake the others. The steady breathing of my squadmates filled the barracks, a rare kind of peace, one I didn’t have the luxury of indulging in. I tightened the last buckle of my leathers, slid my boots on, and eased the door open without a sound.
The morning air hit me like a whisper, cool and sharp, the scent of sea spray carried on the wind.
Kaelith was waiting in the clearing beyond the training grounds, her wings half-furled, her long tail coiled like a serpent. She didn’t so much as blink when I stepped into view.
Instead, she snorted.
The sound was pure disdain, smoke curling from her nostrils as her golden eyes narrowed at me.
Still mad, then.
I didn’t try to explain. I didn’t grovel.
Instead, I stepped up to her massive form, reaching for the familiar curve of her neck. My fingers brushed the warm scales, and I looped the rope I always carried around her.
I climbed up and settled between her shoulders; the tension thrumming beneath her hide like a living storm.
She launched without warning, wings slicing through the sky with a thunderous crack. The wind tore past me, and for a moment, I let the silence of flight settle my nerves. Kaelith didn’t speak. She didn’t need to.
We were going to the Dragon Isle.
