Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
FOX
The air was sharp, icy blades against his skin every time he tried to lift his head.
The exhilaration he’d felt flying on Chalia in the rainforest was left behind as they swerved around another rocky outcrop.
She was flying low along the snow-covered mountain, trying to avoid the worst of the wind, but there was no escaping the icy gusts.
“We’re almost there,” she said, sensing their discomfort.
None of them spoke, but he felt Sofia, who was sitting directly in front of him, relax minutely.
Micael was ahead of her, so Fox didn’t know what he was thinking.
He was impressed the old man was willing to turn his back to Fox after the fit he’d had, but he’d barely made eye contact as they’d slipped onto the dragon.
Fox wasn’t giving up though. He’d prove his loyalties, even if he barely knew them.
He knew he didn’t want Harlow to get hold of the dragons.
Perhaps a war was inevitable between their people, but if the chief commander had the dragons on his side, Fox knew it wouldn’t be a clean war.
It might be short, but Harlow would wipe out the Dragonborn in his quest to keep the city and his people safe.
Hadn’t Fox been willing to do the same thing just blinks ago? He knew what it was like to fear for his people and his safety. But the dragons wouldn’t bring peace. They’d bring death.
Did he want the rebels to have the dragons on their side?
Perhaps he trusted Sofia not to wipe out the Dereyans if faced with the opportunity, but he didn’t trust the way Micael spoke of the dragons—as a tool to be used—as a weapon.
And even when Clarita spoke of worshipping the gods, he still saw the sparkle in her eyes—the hunger for power.
Before Fox could spiral deeper into his thoughts, a shadow fell over them. He looked up to see a peak piercing the sky above them, blocking the sun, its twin on the other side of the pass they glided through.
Quelia’s Wings, Sofia had called them, which meant…
Fox sat up straight, no longer caring about the sharp wind tearing across his face.
Two enormous dragons, one black and one iridescent white, shot toward them in the sky.
The white one sent a blast of water and ice through the air that shattered into snow before it hit them.
It appeared more a warning than a true threat.
And then the black dragon let out a roar that made Fox’s ears pop.
He nearly let go of Chalia to cover them.
“You are trespassing,” one dragon said, his voice a low rumble.
“I am not a trespasser,” Chalia said, her tone flinty. “I demand an audience with my mother.”
“Aurelia rejects your audience.”
“Is that her speaking or you, Tierro?”
A silence followed, and Fox could tell from the tilt of the dragons’ heads that they were still talking—they’d simply cut the humans out.
But finally, the two dragons flew higher, shooting away back down the pass where they’d come from, where the shadow of the peaks fell across the snow. And then they disappeared.
Not because they flew out of sight or turned behind an outcrop. One moment they were flying above the snow, and the next they were gone. Vanished.
Whatever relaxation Sofia had found in the flight was gone, and Fox felt her rigid against his chest.
“We’re headed into the nesting grounds,” Sofia said. “Chalia wants us to keep close to her even if they order us to dismount.”
Fox nodded, his breaths slow despite his beating heart. He braced his hand on her waist, pulling her tighter into his chest, as if he might protect her.
They dipped lower, moving toward where the other dragons had disappeared.
Fox felt his vision go fuzzy for a moment, the sun seemingly bouncing off the gleaming white snow below and blinding him.
Before he could question it, his sight cleared and his breath caught in his throat.
The pristine snow below was gone—or more accurately, the emptiness was gone.
Dozens of dragons were scattered across the slope and in the small valley below.
The lake that had been reflecting the mountain peaks above now rippled with waves as two small dragons darted around, dragging their wings and feet through the water and creating spouts that shot into the sky.
There were peaks surrounding the valley.
Two waterfalls crashed down through the craggy rocks and into rivers below.
The sun sent a rainbow stretching across the mist of the falls.
Fox’s breath caught at the sight. It was more beautiful than any Falain landscape—more beautiful than any of the children’s books he had read growing up.
There were so many dragons. The dragon gods were no more extinct than the trees in the forest. Though Fox wondered if this was them after the massacre, how many had there been? How many of these beautiful creatures had their kings slain?
“It’s beautiful,” Sofia said. “They’re beautiful.”
Fox couldn’t argue as he watched the sun shining off scales of every shade. And they were all so big—most the size of Eha or even larger.
Chalia explained that the nesting grounds encompassed the entire slope, along with a vast network of tunnels and caves throughout the area.
These tunnels were where Quelia’s Womb was tucked, the place where they laid the eggs.
No human had ever been allowed to see the true nesting grounds of the dragons.
Somewhere nearby there were dozens of eggs waiting to hatch, and there was no set time for how long an egg sat before it hatched.
Chalia proudly announced she’d only taken seventeen sun cycles of incubating.
They swerved toward a ring of dragons. Two of them stood, their faces stretched to the sky, pale blue scales glowing in the morning light.
He wasn’t sure how, but he knew he was looking at Chalia’s parents.
It was a strange thought—that this god who he’d seen freeze a faery in its steps and nearly threaten to tear Micael in two, was also a daughter.
And Fox may not have been an expert in dragon expressions, but he felt confident enough to say Chalia’s parents looked furious.
As she landed, Sofia leaned forward, and Fox could tell she was speaking with Chalia, a hand running soothingly along her scales.
“Dismount but stay close,” Sofia said softly, though from the tilt of their head, Fox had no doubt the largest dragon towering over them a few yards away had heard and understood the words.
They slid from Chalia’s back, Fox’s feet sinking into the snow as he landed.
It nearly hit his knees, and he felt the cold seeping through his pants.
He doubted they’d be talking over tea and a fire, and he tried to push away the need to shiver.
Sofia stood close, her shoulders brushing against his.
Micael, on the other hand, stepped forward, ignoring Chalia’s warning growl.
“We’ve come to speak with the leader of the dragon gods.”
No one moved, the largest not taking their eyes off Chalia.
“My mother—Aurelia,” Chalia said, her voice a whisper in his mind.
“Daughter,” her voice was a sharp crack inside Fox’s head, and he recoiled, feeling Sofia flinch beside him. Looking up at her imposing form, Fox had no doubt the pain was intentional.
Even Micael looked a touch paler.
Before Chalia had a chance to respond, another dragon galloped past her parents, barreling directly at them.
Fox grabbed Sofia, wrapping his arms around her as he threw them back and away from the charging animal.
Micael leaped into the snow a few feet away from them as the dragon plowed directly into Chalia, knocking her to the side and letting out a spout of icy water from its mouth.
“Chalia!” Sofia shouted, trying to tear away from Fox’s grip.
“Hold on,” he said, seeing something in the dragon’s face. “It’s not attacking her.”
Sofia calmed, and they watched as the two dragons rolled across the ground, water, snow, and ice creating a cloud around them.
“You’re back! You’re back! I knew you’d come back,” the newcomer cried, snapping at Chalia’s neck.
“Stop it, Jobin!” Chalia said, but it was clear the small dragon wasn’t trying to hurt her, his bites gentle even as Chalia snapped back.
“You left me!” he said, practically throwing himself onto her body and pressing her into the snow.
“Jobin. Chalia,” Chalia’s mother snarled, the ground quaking as if from fear.
The two dragons stopped their playful tussling immediately.
They stood wing to wing, looking up at the larger dragons, their feathers back and chins lowered.
Jobin stood just slightly taller than Chalia, his feathers a darker blue, nearly black, and his scales a translucent white.
Fox saw instead of the small tuft of feathers, his tail ended abruptly in a short stub.
It made him shudder to think what creature a dragon might fear.
Fox and Sofia stood, Fox taking a moment to brush the snow off Sofia’s clothes where it had caked. Her shirt and pants were thinner than his own, and he knew she had to be cold, even with the cloak and fur draped over her shoulders.
Micael stood, though this time he didn’t try stepping forward.
Silence fell over the slope, and Fox could only tell Chalia and her mother were talking by the occasional tip of Chalia’s head toward them and her mother’s feathers ruffling in annoyance every few seconds. Her father watched with an inscrutable expression—even for a dragon.
“You called us.” Aurelia turned toward them, leaning her neck down until her head was nearly eye level with Sofia. Fox stepped forward, grabbing her hand even as he stared the dragon down, as if he could do anything against the creature—the god.
“I—” Sofia said, turning to Chalia in confusion.
Chalia must have said something directly to her because she turned back a second later and nodded firmly.
“I made a prayer to your feather out of desperation. The king and his chief commander have been looking for the dragons. They want to use you to destroy those of us who worship the old ways.”
“They look for us, and yet we have been safe for hundreds of sun cycles. We ran because you tried to kill us. Now you come here asking for help? Had my daughter not disobeyed my orders, we would still be safely hidden here.”
Fox felt Sofia’s hand clench around his, her nails sharp against him.
“With all due respect, you’re not safe. The king’s general is coming now, marching up the pass as we speak with an army.”
“You led him to us?” Chalia’s father growled, the sound reverberating through Fox’s chest, and he could have sworn the clouds above them grew thicker, one coming over the sun to shade the slope.
“Ielo, calm yourself,” Aurelia said, though her voice remained cold.
“We are not leading them here,” Sofia said. “They found old texts and they have—they have Eha’s child. They’re using him to find the path.”
“Eha?” The white dragon that had originally greeted them stepped forward. “Chalia, does she speak the truth?”
“Eha was captured by their chief commander,” Chalia said. “She’s been imprisoned in the city—I spoke with her.”
“You were in the human’s city?” her mother growled as a snowflake from above hit Fox’s cheek. The sky was growing gray, thick flakes falling to the ground.
“Mother,” Chalia said, her voice a plea. “We need to save her. We need to fight.”
“Eha dug her own grave when she left the nesting grounds, just as Crax did before her. We are just lucky you have come back to us safely.”
“So, we abandon her?” Chalia asked, head raising, her wings no longer pressed to her body.
“We protect our own. We have stayed hidden and safe for centuries, and we will continue to be safe so long as we act wisely.”
Sofia stepped forward, and Fox had to stop himself from holding her back. He wanted to step between her and the dragon, but he also knew she’d just as likely stab him as thank him.
“You aren’t understanding. There is no sitting in safety. They are coming. You need to fight.” She threw up her hands. “Or at least run.”
“Why should we listen to the humans who tried to kill us? Your kind feared our power after everything we had done and given. You saw our power as a threat, and you attacked. Humans are full of hatred and fear and cannot be trusted.”
Ice spread from where the dragon’s talons pierced the snow, and Fox watched as it spider-webbed out, toward where Sofia stood. He felt his body clenching, but he held himself still and watched as Sofia stood, unflinching. The ice stopped before it reached her.
“I’m not going to pretend humans are worth saving,” Sofia said. “But at least save yourselves. Please.”
Aurelia watched her for a moment, silently, before turning away. They watched as the dragons seemingly talked amongst themselves. Time stretched out, and Fox looked between Chalia and the other dragons, but based on her own frustrated expression, she wasn’t part of the conversation either.
At last, her mother turned to them, not quite leaning down this time to speak.
“We will allow you to return home alive if you leave now and do not return.”
Fox stepped past Sofia, his own throat burning with his anger. “Don’t you understand? They are coming. Hundreds of trained soldiers. And they aren’t coming to kill you. They’re coming to enslave you. The chief commander is researching how to control you.”
“Impossible, Little One,” the dragon said, her tone mocking. “We cannot be controlled, and we will not get involved in human affairs. Now leave.”