Chapter 32 Myla
Chapter Thirty-Two: Myla
The green dragon wasn’t down long before he stood and hobbled into the dragon fields, ignoring my presence completely.
I don’t know how much time passes as I stare at the mouth of the cave Sunis retreated into, both daughter and mother now nestled safely within its walls.
It’s long enough that my disappointment morphed into anger which has now settled into some pathetic version of acceptance.
As if I have any say in the matter. “It is progress,” I mutter to myself before tugging my hood up and turning towards the forest. I’m halfway there, moving slowly as exhaustion and pain settle into my bones when two dragons crest the treeline ahead of me.
I drop into a low crouch, hoping that my black attire will help me blend into the rocky ground as I watch the dragons slow down, making their descent to the middle of the dragon fields.
Shit. Measuring the distance left until I can hide within the pines, I prepare to launch myself forward when the sound of voices stops my movements.
What are King’s Riders doing out on the fields?
My brows furrow as I try to recall the last time I saw dragons enter the fields with their bonded.
But in the years I’ve come here, not once have I ever seen anyone other than those sentenced to death.
One of the dragons turns towards me, its head lifting high in the air as it begins to sniff.
“What are you doing?” its rider asks, stretching an arm clad in black riding leather out as he pats the blue-scaled dragon on the side of its back.
“You smell something? Someone?” The rider peers in my direction, his eyes scanning from side to side.
But I’m in a pocket of shadows between the moonlight, invisible to them unless their dragons decide to investigate.
A growl, low and full of warning, rumbles from the cave on my right.
The males on their dragons stiffen while their beasts each take a step back.
“Let’s hurry this up. I’ve got a female waiting for me back at the palace,” the other rider says, his voice gravelly as he guides his dragon past a still burning pile of remains.
“Why are we even doing this anyway? It’s the third time, and Shah’s old dragon hasn’t fallen for the bait once.”
“I don’t ask questions, and neither should you. The king wants us to leave the bait here, so that’s what we are going to do.”
Bait? I watch as they walk farther out into the field, pausing in the darkness, their voices drowned out by the distance between us.
The chill of the night air permeates my leathers, my joints stiffening as I stay crouched and wait for their departure.
Eventually, wingbeats punctuate the air and signify their departure.
I stare out at the space the riders vacated, my curiosity drawing my steps towards it even as I mutter, “This is fucking stupid.” I have never before stepped onto the fields, but my curiosity drives me forward at their mention of Bali.
A beast rumbles not too far off in the distance, so I pick up my pace, finally reaching the spot where they stood.
The scent of rotting meat is pungent in the air, and I lift my hand to my nose to try and stifle some of the stench.
It takes me a moment to locate the offender—a decaying pile of dead deer.
Swallowing down the bile in my throat, I survey the ground around the pile, but nothing looks different or out of place. Nothing except the waiting meat.
Saliva gathers in my mouth at the foul rotting meat.
How curiously annoying that I can gut a fae without blinking an eye but decaying animal turns my stomach.
Moving past the initial scent of maggot-infested deer, I draw in a deeper inhale as I take a step closer, this one rich with the metallic smell of old blood.
Old blood and— I freeze, inhaling again as a second scent layered beneath the blood catches my attention.
It’s faint, only just barely noticeable, but the pungent and acrid floral notes are undeniable. “Belladragis?” I whisper.
It is one of the few plants that are poisonous to fae, even in small amounts.
Its nectar looks innocuous enough, a honey-colored liquid that isn’t quite as thick.
But a teaspoon of it will lead to full-body paralysis for days.
More than that? Immediate death. Dragons are bigger, their bodies tougher than our own, but I imagine that in a high enough dose, the effects would be the same.
Which begs the question, was my father trying to paralyze Bali or kill her? And why?
It’s something I ponder as I make quick work of setting the tainted meat on fire to ensure neither dragon consumes it before finally leaving the fields.
When I finally emerge from the dark tunnels near the palace, I pocket the small flame gem I use for light and climb from the dragon’s landing platform onto Navin’s balcony.
The moon is lower in the sky, the sun close to peaking above the mountaintops.
In my exhaustion, I don’t realize that there is someone standing on the balcony already, not until Navin steps forward, his finger pressed against his lips.
“What—”
“Do you not see the universal sign for be quiet that I’m giving you?”
Navin rolls his eyes as mine narrow, and he leads me to the corner of the balcony. He’s still dressed in his flight leathers, twin swords strapped down his back and his hair thrown into a messy ponytail. He looks over his shoulder as he whispers, “Leesi came looking for you earlier.”
I match his low tone. “Why?”
“I don’t know, something about—” Navin halts when he turns back around, sniffing the air twice before his face twists into a grimace. “Why do you smell so bad?”
I look down at myself. “It’s dragon blood.” Sir Dae might be splashed on me too.
“It’s dragon… Why are you covered in dragon blood?”
“Navin, we don’t have time for this. What did you tell Leesi?”
He wipes the hand that was holding on to my arm on his thigh, making no attempt to hide his disgust. “First, I told her you were visiting Mother.” Fuck.
That might have been a mistake. “Then, when she returned an hour later, I told her you were already in bed asleep. She said something about Father Yamin and began pounding on your door, eventually fishing out a key.” His hands brace his hips as he shakes his head.
“I tried to stop her, but she knows you weren’t in your room, Myla, and I don’t doubt that she’s already informed both Father Yamin and the king. ”
My frustration battles for dominance against my exhaustion as I growl and tip my head back, staring up at the predawn sky. “Has she returned from telling them?”
“Not yet—”
“Let’s get back inside before she does.” Brushing past Navin, I open the slider and slip inside.
“Wait! What are you going to tell her when she comes back?”
I shrug, heading to Navin’s bathroom so I can change. “I don’t know. Maybe that I was in the library. That’s far more believable than saying I was speaking to Mother.” I squat to untie my boots before kicking them off.
“I had to think of something quick,” he retorts as a drawer opens and closes in his bedroom followed by footsteps.
Taking off my cloak, I tug on the laces of my vest, loosening them enough to pull it off entirely before letting it fall to the floor.
My trousers join it. Grabbing a black cotton towel from where it’s hooked on the stone wall, I wrap it tightly around myself, grabbing a second one to lay my weapons on.
“If that is you thinking quickly on your feet, I’d hate to see you in battle.”
“That’s rude. I’m great in battle.”
I layer dagger after dagger onto the towel from my vest, moving to the sheath on my thigh and sliding the curved blade there free. “You’ve never been in battle.”
“What happened to your ribs?” His voice takes on a solemn tone, one that relays his concern for me and makes tension build between my shoulder blades. I drop my gaze to where his meets my skin, a large and ugly welt peeking out from where the towel gapes at my side.
“Likely a wound from Sir Dae.”
Navin makes a choking noise, stepping farther into the bathroom.
“I’m sorry, did you just say Sir Dae. As in, Sir Dae?
The fucking owner of the biggest collection of businesses in the entire kingdom?
” His incredulousness makes my annoyance flare.
Well, that and the fact that I am injured, covered in foul-smelling blood, exhausted, and have missed out on an opportunity to bond with Sunis.
At least I got fucked tonight. Though even my time with Karina feels like a godsdamn week ago. “I did.”
“Fuck. Fuck, Myla. This is a big deal. You can’t just—”
“I can,” I snap, abandoning my daggers in the towel as I stand and take a step towards my brother.
“And I already did. So you can save whatever self-serving, idiotic nonsense you were about to spew at me because it won’t change anything.
Sir Dae was a conniving asshole who brutally raped and tortured females for fun.
To release stress, he said. The kingdom is better off without him. ”
Navin blinks once, then twice, his stunned silence piercing my already pockmarked heart. I look away and bend down to secure my weapons in the towel before standing again, ignoring the chemise he holds out for me.
“I’m too filthy to wear that.” Confirming that the space connecting our bedrooms is still empty of a meddling maid, I pad across the carpet, a hot shower and my bed sounding more and more like a cure to this fucking nightmare of a night the closer I get to my door.
“I can’t just turn off caring about you,” Navin says at my back, halting my steps as I reach my hand out to the door handle.
“After everything you’ve been through”—I squeeze my eyes shut, wishing he would stop and not say anything else—“I can’t just turn it off like you can.
” Too many words pile up on my tongue but none that I am willing to let out.
When the silence lingers, Navin sighs from across the sitting room. “Good night, Myla.”
“Good night.” I push the door to my room open and close it quickly behind me, not giving myself a chance to linger on his declaration.
Hiding my weapons in the armoire, I toss the towels in my hamper before turning the shower to the hottest it will go.
I try to wash the night off of me as best as I can, but a hint of something still lingers when I step out.
Like the ominous feeling I had after killing Sir Dae, I can’t quite name what remains, only that it leaves me uneasy.
Looking into the bathroom mirror, I’m pleased to see that no bruise marks my face from my scuffle earlier in the evening, only a small red mark that is tender to the touch but at least easily hidden beneath makeup.
Dressing in a long-sleeved nightgown, I brush my teeth and hair and then crawl into bed, exhausted down to my very marrow and yet unable to find the relief of sleep.
My brother’s voice tortures me as I toss and turn.
I know Navin cares about me far more than warranted.
He is good, deserving of more than the life our father has laid out for him.
Though I know he would never say it, I wonder if in moments like earlier tonight, he regrets teaching me how to fight.
If he wishes he would have stood by as I destroyed myself instead of intervening.
But he hadn’t. He saved me from myself, saved me when no one else wanted to, and for that, I will never be able to repay him.
Whether I deserve it or not, I have a life debt owed to him too.
Bonding a dragon and freeing him from the duties of being the crown prince is the least I can fucking do, and no matter what comes tomorrow with Father Yamin or the king, no matter how I wish I could kill Aria instead of train her, I will not yield and I will not fail.
Because Navin is wrong, I can’t simply ignore how much I care about him.
I am just better at making him think that I don’t.