by R.K. Ryals
Chapter 28
I sat up, my body sore, my head pounding. The run through the forest, the rescue, and our own escape from soldiers the night before had taken its toll.
“Dress quickly,” I heard Kye say, and I turned to find him once again in his red surcoat, the green cloak fastened securely at his neck.
He gestured at my dry but wrinkled clothes from the night before.
“We'll be riding Feras to Aireesi,” he said.
That woke me up. I stood, my eyes wide.
“We'll be riding the dragon?” I breathed. Excitement coursed through my veins even as fear made me shiver.
Kye grinned. “It's not as exciting as it sounds. It's actually fairly uncomfortable. Go. Dress.”
He disappeared down the stairs. I didn't see Jule, but I could hear her moving around below. Wonderful scents wafted upward through the slotted, wooden floor. I changed quickly, running my fingers through my short curls and splashing water onto my face before finally rushing downstairs. It was still dark outside.
Kye stood at the entrance to the cellar, Jule next to him. She was placing a wrapped parcel in Kye's pack, and I knew by the smell it was food. He smiled when he saw me, holding out my bow and sheath as I approached. I took them and slung them both onto my back.
“We'll need to hurry. Dawn is only a couple of hours away,” Kye said.
I nodded, blinking the morning grit from my eyes as Jule leaned in close to Kye, one hand patting him affectionately on the face.
“Stay safe, boy. Both of ye, ye hear?”
Watching her made my stomach turn, memories of Aigneis' hand against my hair assaulting me. I looked away.
“Thank you, Jule,” Kye murmured, and I saw him pat her hand where it rested against his face before he stepped away. His palm went to the small of my back.
It was chilly, the air damp when we climbed out of the cellar into the street above. No sound came from the houses and shops surrounding us. Even the barking dog from the night before was silent. The ground was soggy and muddy, grass almost nonexistent where people trod day in and day out through the village. I could see a fire from the forge in the blacksmith's shop, but no man worked diligently. By the smoke lifting from a nearby chimney, however, it was safe to say the blacksmith wasn't far.
“This way,” Kye whispered, his hand slipping down to take mine in the dark.
I let him pull me forward through the maze of dark empty roads to the edge of the forest. There among the trees, his red eyes glowing, was Feras. The dragon rex had looked large inside his cave, but in the forest, he appeared massive, his head reaching as high as the tree top he stood next to now.
“Ready, child?” Feras asked, his rumbling voice low and full of amusement.
I couldn't see much of him in the dark, but by the tone of his voice, it wasn't hard to deduce he had no trouble seeing my wide, nervous eyes.
Kye guided me forward. “I'm going to help you up, and then climb up behind you.”
His hands were suddenly on my waist, lifting me, and I grabbed for Feras' scales, my fingers looking for any hold as my legs went over the dragon's back.
A rumble went through Feras' chest, and I could feel it vibrating up through my legs. Kye swung up behind me, his arm going around my waist as his other hand felt for mine in the dark, guiding my palm to a ridge on Feras' back.
“He's never taken any rider aside from me,” Kye said against my ear. “If he seems grumpy, ignore it.”
The feel of Kye's hand against mine was different today, terrifying and real.
“This is going to be fast, isn't it?” I asked him.
I didn't mean the ride on Feras, and I think Kye knew that.
“It's not too late to turn back,” he answered.
I thought of the rebels at the camp. Most of them I didn't know but understood in many ways. I thought of Aigneis tied to the pyre, and I thought of the screaming trees.
“Yes, it is,” I said.
Kye's arm tightened around my waist.
“Ga'tho,” he said.
Feras moved out of the tree cover before unfurling his wings. Even in the dark, I knew they were impressive.
“Ga'tho,” I repeated, testing the word on my tongue.
“It means 'go forth.' It's the only dragon word I can speak,” Kye murmured, his breath fanning my neck as Feras suddenly lifted.
I gripped the ridge on Feras' back, my stomach plummeting as the world fell away beneath us. Kye leaned forward against me, and his hand flattened against mine.
“Relax, you will not fall.”
I glanced down, my eyes on the village as it grew smaller. The only light was the blacksmith's forge. I blinked. Just inside the shop's doorway, there stood a shadow, a face looking upward. I blinked again, and it was gone.
“We'll land on the far side of the palace at the edge of the forest, out of view of the guards,” Kye revealed. “It is one of the few weak spots in Raemon's fortress, but it won't be long before he'll realize we're there.”
The wind buffeted my face as Feras flew, the cold icy fingers playing along my cheeks before reaching down into my clothes. Below, the temperature had been warmer, but here among the clouds, it was cold enough I could see my breath on the wind. Winter would come soon. Two, maybe three, moon phases from now, we'd get our first snows.
“You'll turn me in, then?” I asked.
In the dark, as far up as we were in the sky, I felt alone, cloaked in a blackness broken up only by the stars and a moon covered mostly in clouds.
“Yes. You'll be on your own then. I'll do what I can if the king allows me to live, but what he does to you will depend on you.”
His words made us both silent. If he lets me live . . . what he does to you will depend on you.
“For Aigneis,” I whispered. “And for the trees.”
Kye's arm was a vice-like grip around my waist, and I thought I heard him say, “Nothing can make up for what I've had to do.”
I turned back to the sky, closing my eyes against the cold, the massive void feeling that made my stomach roll.
“And my mother used to do this? Ride dragons?” I asked.
Kye laughed. “From what I hear, Feras' mate was a much smoother flyer.”
A rumble went through my legs again, and I knew Feras was feigning displeasure. Kye released my hand long enough to pat Feras.
“Humans should always feel honored when we allow them to fly with us,” Kye recited.
I grinned. “How many times did you have to repeat that as a boy?”
This time the rumble through my legs was mightier. Kye threw back his head and laughed. It was a pleasant sound.
And then nothing. Only silence. Silence and wind. I leaned back against Kye as he leaned forward, my free hand going to his arm on my waist. And then it was silence, the wind, and this man. This man I barely knew. This man who'd stared at me through prison bars. This man who'd knelt with me in front of dragons, who'd cut my hair, and ran with me now to spy on our king. I think I liked this man, the man who offered me comfort simply with his arm, this man who at any time I may never see again, who could be killed as fast as Aigneis had.
In war, I was beginning to learn that like could happen as fast as death. Was it worth it? Was it worth it to care about people if you were going to lose them?
I tightened my grip on Kye's arm, a single tear coursing down my cheek only to be whipped away by the wind. I could feel my chest burning.
It was worth it. It had to be. Getting to know people, loving the rebels I fought with, and loving the people I lost was worth it. It simply had to be. Otherwise, what reason did I have to fight?
