I glanced behind the girls to see both of the other men were on the ground as well. The short man Asta had fought had his own dagger stabbed through his chest while the brown-haired man Kas had gone up against was leaned against a tree with his entrails spilling out of his stomach.
“We’re fine,” Kas assured me, and even though her face was splattered in blood, I had to admit the smile she flashed me was hot as hell and eased some of the tension from my shoulders.
“Perhaps you shouldn’t have injured him so much if you wanted to ask him questions,” Asta said innocently, and she frowned down at the bloody and burned man on the ground.
“Yes,” I half chuckled. “You’re right. He was definitely asking for it, though, so I’m not too upset.”
“The important thing is we saved the dragons,” Kas told me as she sheathed her sword.
“Yes, now let’s get them home,” I said before I turned back to the cart.
My adrenaline from the fight was still going, and during the altercation it had taken my mind off the fear I could feel from the little dragons, but now it was back tenfold.
The little creatures quivered and tried to hide in their cages as the girls and I walked over to them. Even though we’d just killed the men who’d stolen them, they were still frightened, but I couldn’t say I blamed them. They had no reason to think we wouldn’t hurt them the same way.
Dragons were intelligent and loving creatures, and a full grown one would probably be able to feel my emotions and understand we were only there to save it, but these little ones were still so small. They were only focused on their own fear, and that feeling overtook them and blocked out everything else.
“It’s okay,” Asta whispered as she reached out her hand to softly touch one of the cages.
A little yellow dragon with bright-green eyes looked up at us from under its tail. Its eyes darted back and forth, and then they squeezed shut as he tried to get further underneath himself.
“These poor things.” Kas frowned and shook her head. “I feel so bad for them. Do you think they’ll ever be able to be okay after this?”
“It does seem as though they’re quite traumatized,” Asta agreed as her lower lip trembled, and it looked like she was about to cry.
“We can always overcome what hasn’t destroyed us,” I said confidently, though I could still feel the terror of the little dragons. “They’ll be okay, but we need to get them home.”
“How are we going to find where they live?” Kas inquired.
“This arsehole said they were snatched from their nests just hours ago,” I said as I focused on the dragons’ feelings. “They’re probably from somewhere nearby.”
“The valley isn’t too far from here,” Asta gasped, and her sunflower-yellow eyes lit up. “I bet they were taken from there.”
“I thought we were really far from the valley.” Kas’ eyebrows pulled together.
“We’re far from the section I originally took you all to,” Asta explained. “But the valley is very large, it goes on forever.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” I told the elf girl. “We should get moving before anyone sees us.”
Blar leaped off my shoulder and softly landed near the cages. The little blue dragon sniffed at the bars as the baby yellow dragon inside looked at him curiously, and I could tell it was less scared than it had been.
“She doesn’t seem as scared of Blar,” I noted.
“How do you know it’s a she?” Kas asked.
“Oh.” I frowned and thought for a moment. “I guess I don’t for sure, she just… feels like a she. It’s hard to explain.”
I couldn’t read her mind exactly, I could only feel what she felt and sense what she sensed, but something about her feelings told me she was female.
“Can the dragons see through your enchantment?” Asta asked.
“I don’t know.” Kas shook her head.
The little yellow dragon seemed calmer as she sniffed at Blar, but she was still hesitant and hid under her tail.
“I can’t tell if she can or not.” I pursed my lips. “Either way, he seems to have calmed her down a little bit.”
“Alright.” Kas took a deep breath and clapped her hands lightly. “Asta, lead us to the valley. We should get these babies back to their families.”
“Yes,” I agreed, and I looked at Blar, Inger, and Uffe. “You all stay with the babies. Try to calm them down.”
All three nodded, and Inger and Uffe hopped down from the girls’ shoulders and sniffed at the cages.
The massive hysteria I’d felt before dissipated slightly. It was still there, but not nearly as strong as it had been. My little dragons seemed to be comforting the babies well, and I was grateful they were with us.
Whether the babies could see Blar, Inger, and Uffe for what they were, I couldn’t say, but even if they thought they were dogs like everyone else, just their presence was enough to calm them down a little bit.
While we waited for the dragons to settle, we quickly looked over the bodies of the elves. We gathered their weapons, any coins they had on them, and any jewelry as well. Even though their weapons were no match for our own, we could still sell them at the market since elven tools typically garnered a good amount of coin.
I was hoping we might find some notes or orders on them that would tell us more about who they worked for, but we had no such luck. They didn’t have much on them aside from their weapons and a couple of coins and rings, and I figured that was probably by design. These arseholes were terrible individuals, but they weren’t entirely idiotic.
Once I was sure the dragons were all calm and secure, the girls and I climbed up onto the wagon. There was a horse-looking creature in front, except it had a strange horn sticking out of its forehead, and then I grabbed the ropes by my feet and gave them a quick flick.
The horned beast pulled us all easily, and we followed Asta’s directions to the valley. The elf girl led us through the woods and eventually onto a dirt road with trees on either side. It had been nearly an hour since we’d started the journey, and I looked up at the blue sky above us.
The day was nice, and the baby dragons had calmed down. I glanced at the cart and saw Blar curled up next to the cage of the little yellow dragon. His long body was curled around the circular bars, and the little dragon inside was pressed up against the bars so she was close to him.
Inger laid between two cages. The dragons in each laid close to the bars so they were all near each other, and Uffe had found the smallest dragon.
The critter was tiny, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed him sooner. He was probably able to hide the best, though. He was a deep-brown color, and he was only a quarter of the size Uffe and Inger were. The twins had been just larger than him when they’d hatched, so this poor little reptile was probably taken when he was still in his egg. From the looks of him, he’d only hatched a few hours ago, if that.
Uffe, my sweet little earth guy, was curled up next to the cage but not quite touching it while the smallest little dragon laid next to the bars without touching them, either. The little creature was still scared, but I could feel he was at ease for the moment, and he trusted Uffe.
I smiled at the two of them. It was hard to not trust Uffe. The little earth dragon was sweet and always respectful of others and their personal space, and I suspected that was exactly the treatment this tiny dragon needed at the moment. Out of everyone, he was probably the most terrified.
“How much farther?” Kas asked, and she opened up the map in her hands to check it.
“It shouldn’t be too much farther.” Asta smiled so big her eyes closed.
I appreciated the elf girl’s glee over our success today. Granted, we hadn’t reunited the dragons with their families yet, but no matter what, I was happy the dragons were out of the hands of those dealers.
Even if we couldn’t find their families today, there were plenty of fruit and pumpkins at the house to last us a while, so I had confidence we’d be able
to find their families soon enough.
I wasn’t sure what all I could do with my new power, but if it came down to it, I could try to see through the eyes of their mothers and figure out where they were looking for their babies.
I shook the thought from my head. We hadn’t made it to the valley yet, and I had to give us a chance to find the dragons’ families before I started making backup plans.
The little dragons were still scared, but I could sense they knew where we were headed, and excitement began to bleed through the fear still in their systems. As long as we could get to the valley, I was sure we’d be able to find their mothers.
But then, suddenly, it got dark. It was as if we’d gone under a tree, or the sun had hidden behind a cloud, but neither had happened.
“What’s going on?” Kas gasped as her gaze darted to either side of the path we were on.
Then the hair on the back of my neck stood up, and my eyes shot up to the sky.
There, above us, were four massive dragons. One bright yellow, one light brown, one emerald green, and another fire orange. They hovered above us as they blotted out the sun, and I shoved away my own emotions as I focused in on their feelings. They were upset, angry, and saddened all at once, and realization struck me like a bolt of lightning.
These had to be the mothers.
“What the…” Kas’ voice trailed off as she looked up and saw the dragons. “Oh, Odin.”
“They must be headed to the valley,” Asta said with wide yellow eyes.
“I don’t think so.” I shook my head but didn’t take my eyes off the massive scaly beasts above us.
“Why not?” the elf girl asked.
“Because I think these are the mothers,” I said, and as the words left my mouth, the bright yellow dragon in the center locked her gaze on me. Then the huge beast flapped her massive wings and dove right at us with the other three just on her tail. They were pissed their babies had been stolen from them, and at the moment, we looked pretty suspicious.
“Shite,” I breathed as I stared at the thousand-pound creature hurtling toward me.
Chapter 21
The babies in the cart began to squeal and yip as their mothers dove down to us. Then the horse-like creature pulling the cart reared up on its hind legs, but I yanked on the reins to steady it.
None of us had time to move before the massive creatures were surrounding us. The four dragons landed on all sides of the cart so we were blocked in, and the lead yellow creature landed right in front of us.
I tried to reach out telepathically and speak to the dragon, but nothing happened. The monstrous female only stared at me with deep silver eyes that penetrated my soul, and my heart rate spiked as I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself.
I may have a connection with dragons, but these mothers were pissed, and I had no doubt they were ready to eat me if I made one wrong move. They were on the warpath, and I couldn’t blame them. Their children had been stolen, so now I needed to somehow convince them it wasn’t me who’d done the crime.
I gently set the reins on the floor of the cart while I maintained eye contact with the yellow dragon, and the female huffed loudly as her eyes narrowed on me.
Then I held my hands up by my head and slowly stood up. “I’m--”
Before I could even start the next word, the massive dragon opened her mouth and let out a thunderous roar. Her huge teeth were on display, and she was clearly telling me she wasn’t about to listen to what I had to say.
After she stopped, everything was quiet except for the ringing in my ears. The baby dragons were no longer squealing for their mothers, Kas and Asta were absolutely silent except for their quick breaths, and it seemed the forest itself had been startled into submission.
“Alright,” I muttered under my breath as I maintained eye contact with the golden creature. If she wasn’t going to listen to what I had to say, then I’d have to figure out another way.
I took a deep, steadying breath, closed my eyes, and focused on the yellow dragon alone. I could feel her anger, sadness, and her relief that she’d found her three babies. She could smell their scent and knew it was them.
Her emotions were so powerful they nearly made me double over as I tried to feel them all, but she was still angry, and if I didn’t want to get eaten, I had to figure out a way to communicate with her.
I focused on my own feelings, my sadness her children had been taken, my desire to reunite them all, and my anger toward the men who’d done this. Then I refocused on her feelings, and once I held them in my mind, I replaced them with my own. I pushed my feelings into their place and hoped she could feel the emotions I was sending to her.
A few seconds passed, and I opened my eyes to see the great yellow dragon staring at me. Her gaze seemed understanding this time, and I breathed out a sigh of relief that I wasn’t about to meet those massive fangs she’d just shown me.
“I’m sorry about your children,” I said softly, and then I gestured to the cages behind me. “I’d be happy to free them for you.”
The yellow dragon glanced at the other three mothers before she nodded once at me.
“Rath,” Kas whispered, and I heard concern in her voice.
“What is it?” I asked as I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye.
“She’s hurt,” the Valkyrie said with a slight gesture toward the yellow mother dragon.
I quickly took a closer look and found what she said to be true. There was a large gash just under the female’s wing, and it looked bad. Dried blood was caked all around it, and though she hadn’t shown it, I was sure it hurt.
“You’re injured,” I said, and I closed my eyes and pushed my feelings toward her again.
“Let us help.” Kas reached in her bag and pulled out her healing salve.
The dragon eyed me carefully and then looked back at the cages with the babies in them.
“She wants her babies,” I said. “We’ll try and heal her after we release them.”
“Right.” Kas nodded.
I respected the large dragon for worrying about the safety of her children first. She knew where they were now, but I understood why she wouldn’t feel better until she had them right next to her.
If anything were to happen to Blar or Inger or Uffe, I couldn’t imagine the lengths I would go to in order to get them back.
I slowly walked to the back of the cart and leaned down toward the first cage I saw. Inside was a small red dragon with bright pink eyes. She looked up at me with irises that glistened like dew covered roses in the daylight, and I could feel she was grateful to us all.
I smiled down at the small creature, and then I opened the cage door so she could fly out.
The small reptile shot out of the cage faster than an arrow. She flew up to the sky to stretch her wings, and then she immediately dove to the large red female and landed on her back.
The mother cooed and snorted sweetly as she nuzzled her baby, and I couldn’t help the huge grin that came over my face. Immediately, I began opening cage after cage, and I watched as all the little dragons flew up and out toward their mothers.
The last dragon to get freed was the tiniest of all, and by the time I got to his cage, all his fear was gone. I could sense his excitement as he was about to meet his mother for the first time. I could tell he knew which one she was, and she was familiar to him, but there was no way he’d been hatched when he was taken, he was just too small.
Once I opened the door, the little brown dragon immediately ran over to the large light-brown female, and the mother pressed her face against the baby’s body, closed her eyes, and breathed in his scent.
“I’m so happy they’re home,” Asta whispered, and I turned to see she had tears in her bright-yellow eyes.
“So am I.” I smiled at the elf girl.
“Now, tell them to let us heal them,” Kas insisted. “I saw a couple more wounds on the other mothers, too.”
“They must have gotten injured somehow when the babi
es were taken.” Asta frowned.
“That was my thought as well.” I nodded.
Those arsehole dealers must have done something to keep the females at bay while they stole the eggs. I figured they’d just gone for empty nests, where the mothers had gone out to hunt or socialize, but it seemed those bastards were braver than I’d given them credit for.
I looked at the dragons and found the wounds under their wings to all be the same. Whatever these dealers were doing, they had a system, and it seemed to work.
I thought about the torch with smoke the elf had thrown into the cage of the dragon in the Elf King’s dungeon. Could they be using something similar? And if so, then why would the dragons have gashes in the exact same spots? No, this was something different. Whatever those dealers had done, they hadn’t used the same subduing techniques as the men at the castle. Whatever they did was far more dangerous, and I needed to figure out what it was.
“You have your babies,” I said softly to get the yellow dragon’s attention since she was clearly the leader of the group. “Now, please, let my sorceress friend heal you.”
The yellow female looked down at the baby dragons in front of her, and after a long moment, she nodded to Kas.
The Valkyrie walked toward the magnificent beast without hesitation. Even after I’d been able to talk the huge dragon down, she was still a very protective mother, and anyone in their right mind would be someone skittish. Not Kas, though. The strawberry-blonde was on a mission to heal this creature, and she would get it done no matter what.
I knew the dragon wouldn’t hurt her, not after what we’d done for it, but it was still amusing to watch Kas march right up to the dragon who’d bared her fangs at us only moments before.
The strawberry-blonde had the salve in her hand, and she carefully made her way to the wing of the large female.
The yellow mother craned her neck so she could watch Kas, but the Valkyrie only nodded to her and then scooped out some salve onto her fingers to rub on the wound.
After she finished with the first mother, Kas moved on to the next. Soon, she’d put salve on all of the females, and some of the babies moseyed around her feet, clearly no longer afraid of her after they’d seen her help their mothers. The other babies played with Blar, Inger, and Uffe, but the three of them went easy on the babies and allowed them to gang up on them and pin them to the ground. It was sweet to watch them interact with the dragons we’d just saved, and seeing it made me think of Kas’ question earlier about whether or not the dragons would be able to recover from being taken.
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