Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Shafts of light stream through the cave opening. When we surface, I have to squint, shielding my vision as it adjusts to the brightness. There are no clouds hanging over the island. The direct sunlight has burned away yesterday’s heavy mist, leaving us an unobstructed view of the land.
In the distance, dragons soar among the clouds that pepper the blue sky. There are a handful of them in various colors, but which one are we supposed to find? Trepidation flares, and I divert my gaze to Mikael who is also observing the dragons.
“Do we try the tunnels again?” I ask, glancing behind us at the cavern we just left.
I jerk my neck at the chill that creeps down my spine. I don’t want to go through the tunnels again after our encounter with the lizard-snake beast. We’ll either be exposed out here with no cover or risk more of those beasts down there.
“We’d be trading one danger for another. We have no idea if there are more of those monsters down there. At least with the dragons, we can see them coming,” he answers.
Okay, good. We’re on the same page.
“We probably look like insects to them, right?” I try to laugh off my nervousness.
“Or just animals that roam the island. They must find sustenance somehow.” Mikael’s gaze is still directed at the sky.
“You’re not helping.” I turn and do the same as him, tracking their flight patterns. The dragons circle above the peaks of the mountains, diving every so often and disappearing behind or within them.
“Best to be prepared,” Mikael says, looking at me.
“For what? To get eaten?” I glance at him.
“Perhaps.” His eyes lock on mine, and he shrugs. “You almost got eaten already, so what’s another version to you?”
I punch his arm. “Well then, I hope it’s you this time.”
He rubs his bicep and laughs. “There is no reason to stand here and delay. We have to find their lair and finish the trial.”
We may be able to take down a beast like the one in the tunnels, but if the lore about dragons is to be believed, and considering how large they are, even so high up—we won’t survive an encounter fighting with a dragon.
They are not known to be aggressive unless taunted or having their territory intruded upon.
And we are intruding.
Based on the mountain’s distance from us, they should be reachable by nightfall, but there is only sparse cover if one of the dragons decides to investigate the two of us.
It won’t be comfortable in our new clothing arrangement, but Mikael doesn’t need the warmth of his fur-lined jacket as much as I do.
Hell, we’re only wearing half the clothing we had on yesterday. Luckily, we both have our cloaks, but my tunic and vest were ruined in the attack. Mikael gave me his vest and is only wearing his black tunic, other than the leather guards around his arms, shoulders, and chest.
I’ve salvaged what I could of mine.
There wasn’t another option, anyway. Even though we’re both immortal, he’s harder to kill than I am. Including death by freezing.
“Perhaps we should cover ourselves to blend in better.” I scoop up a handful of black dirt, much like the dark sand on the island’s shore, and let it fall through my fingers.
Our white fur collars and his hair will definitely stand out from above. I scoop some more and dump it on his head with a wicked grin. Mikael’s mouth falls open in surprise, but he quickly picks up his own handful and throws it at me.
“How dare you!” I yelp and slap a hand over my mouth and look up. I have no idea what the hearing of dragons is like, but I don’t want to bring unnecessary attention to us.
He sticks his tongue out and taunts me with another handful.
Struck by sudden realization, I go still and stare at him. These moments, where I let loose and have a bit of fun, show me just how much my walls have cracked. How normal it feels to be with him. And how terrifying that realization is.
Mikael raises a brow, moving his hand up and down, preparing to throw the sand at me as I process the information.
Mikael jolts from the resounding boom that comes from behind me. The vibration disturbs the sand in his hand, causing it to slip through his fingers.
His eyes widen in fear as he stares behind me. I don’t have to turn around to know what he’s looking at.
Icy air blasts my head and travels down my neck. A shiver spreads through my body from the coldness that’s covered me like a blanket.
Slowly, I pivot.
A magnificent dragon sits on its haunches before me.
Were we too focused on each other to notice? There is no way. We would have sensed or seen it coming.
Black, shimmering scales and wide nostrils are all I can see. If it opened its mouth, I’d have no chance of escape.
I take a hesitant step back as the dragon brings its head down, its green and blue irises boring into my soul.
I don’t know what makes me do it, but I bow and the cursed amulet around my neck falls forward, swaying from the movement. The dragon flicks its tongue at the purple jewel, and I flinch as its slitted pupils narrow.
“Ah. The missing soul?” The questioning voice is light and airy.
I’m unsure if it spoke aloud or in my head. Its mouth didn’t move, and there are no written records of their speech, but it only makes sense for such a magical creature to have that ability.
It doesn’t seem like it’s going to attack. I remain bowed and take another step back, into Mikael. He rests a hand on my waist, and my racing heart calms a beat.
“Yes?” I keep my head down.
“What torment you live.”
I chance a look. The dragon’s no longer close to my head, instead it’s sitting with its head quirked to the side, as if it’s puzzled by our existence.
It finishes its thought. “The pair of you.”
With each breath and snap of its tail, color morphs and shifts within its black scales. Words stick in my throat—rising only to fall again, refusing to leave my mouth. Mikael has yet to say anything either, but he traces letters onto my back.
C a l m.
My throat dries even further. We have too much history. Even in a tense moment, I’m struck by the memory of the first time he did this and made me guess what he spelled.
Mine.
It became a game we used to play, spelling out words upon each other’s skin. I blink rapidly to wash the memory away and focus on the dragon towering over us.
“Why are you bending so?” it questions.
“Uh, er, out of respect?” I rise, now feeling silly for thinking that would work. “What can we offer you to leave unscathed?”
“Hum.” It flicks its tail again, twice… a third time… then finally answers. “Bring me the head of the basilisk you killed. Take its teeth.”
The fire beast?
The dragon nods its head as if it understood my thought. I dip my chin in return and turn to Mikael. “Shall we?”
We re-enter the cave and do as instructed.
Mikael hacks the head of the basilisk from its body while I gather as many of its teeth as I can carry, starting with the smaller ones. When we return, the dragon has its head tilted to the sky, basking in the sun. It drops its gaze, flitting from me to the head Mikael drags behind him.
“Ah, you are capable.” Its eyes sparkle with delight.
“I knew I smelled its blood as I flew by. I thought I would have an easy kill, but found you creatures instead. As a thank you for killing that pesky little worm that likes to steal our eggs, I shall fly you to the base of the mountain. Use the teeth to climb.”
“Uhm… Okay…”
A ride.
On. A. Dragon.
Well then. I guess we’ll have our own lore to spread. Not that we would be believed.
I’m too scared to ask questions, and risk losing this advantage. But I’m also concerned that we’ll be fed to its young. The idea wars with what was written about dragons from centuries ago. They were loyal and honorable. They did not say things they did not mean.
“Are we sure?” Mikael whispers.
“Do you want to walk?” I whisper.
“I shall not harm you. By slaying one of the basilisks, you have saved at least one of our kind,” the dragon says.
“How did you appear without us seeing you?” I ask, too curious not to.
“If I do not want to be seen, then I shall not,” the dragon replies.
That’s not much of an explanation, but based on the way its scales shimmer, it must have similar abilities to the Varnox.
“Is there a way we should ascend?” I ask, as it’s still sitting and I don’t see an easy way to climb onto its back.
“Quickly, or I will fly without you.” It extends one leg, providing a ramp.
The leathery scales are soft, yet solid. With a boost from Mikael, I use the natural grooves to pull myself up. I offer him a hand, helping him, then we both walk along its body and sit at the base of its neck like we would on a horse.
I squeeze my thighs against its neck for stability. Mikael sits behind me and locks an arm around me, securing me to him.
He hands me my gloves. “We will have better grip if we wear them.”
“Thanks.”
The dragon is large enough that I feel confident we won’t slide one way or the other, but we are not strapped into anything so if it banks too sharply…
well, that would be the end for us. Yet, it seemed to know about the curse, and us.
It’s like the pixies. They knew why we were there.
I’m feeling better about the chances of this next encounter going decently.
I squeeze my thighs tighter when the dragon pulls its leg in and jumps, launching into the sky.
With each beat of the dragon’s wings, we gain altitude and speed effortlessly.
My stomach plummets as we rise, and I have to swallow down the bile that threatens to come up.
Blistering winds sting my face, like thousands of tiny pinpricks.
“Your hair is attacking me!” Mikael yells into my ear.
I can barely hear him over the roar of the rushing air, but I grab the ends of my hair and pull it to the side, shoving down irritation over the crispy ends the basilisk left behind. Riding a dragon more than makes up for a bad haircut.
As terrifying as this experience is, it’s also exhilarating. I will forever be jealous of birds in flight when I gaze upon them.
Black sand spans large swaths of the land, but there are pockets covered in green—whether grass or moss, I can’t tell from this high.
Further in the distance, more expansive green areas are visible, but it’s the striated black and white slopes that capture my attention.
It’s like the sand weaves throughout the snowy mountain in layers.
The middle of the range is partially caved in, like the calderas of the volcanos in the human lands I’ve seen drawings of in our records.
Is this a volcanic mountain? But, it doesn’t look like the ones we’re taught about.
I’ve never seen, nor expected to see, a place so beautiful and majestic. No wonder the dragons keep this island hidden behind a barrier. I would too.
The closer we get, the more my mind wanders to the words inked onto Mikael’s skin. I blow out a puff of breath.
Where truths are worth their weight in gold.
I know this will be about revealing a truth. Something that we don’t want the other person to know. What has he been withholding from me? He seems to talk around his king, but if their magic forbids them from speaking of it, then what else would he have worthy of its weight in gold?
To me, the truth of my feelings for him, that I do love him—that is worth more than gold.
I’d give anything not to admit them. I fear what admitting to them will do to me. I can’t bear another broken heart; one was enough. Whatever will come is coming, and I can do nothing to stop it.
Shaking my head, I divert my attention to the land below us. I grip the scales harder as the dragon slows and hovers lower and lower until it lands. Stretching out its leg again, we dismount.
What would have taken us a day to cover took only minutes.
“Do not enter with weapons, or you will not leave alive,” the dragon warns. “Give them to me and they will be returned.”
Mikael removes his swords and dagger, dropping them at the feet of the dragon. It grips his weapons within its talons and takes off.
“Why couldn’t you have dropped us off at the top!” I shout after it, but it’s already too far away to hear, or it doesn’t care.
I gaze up from where we stand at the bottom of the wall of black and white.
From afar it looked like a regular mountain made of multi-colored rock, but up close I can tell it’s not stone. It’s like packed snow that’s been frozen over. When I place my hand on the formation, the black material moves. It sticks to my glove when I pull my hand away. It reminds me of ash.
Our historians recorded events when massive columns of fire and smoke spewed from the island. Could this be the source of those records?
I lean closer to inspect where my hand had removed a layer of the black material and wipe away some more. The light catches on the glistening material that looks like glass.
It is a wall of ice, and it stretches far above us. I look at Mikael, who’s wiping a gloved hand against the base of the slope, mimicking my discovery, and sweeping away a blanket of black that covers the frozen wall we must summit.
“How do we get up there?” I ask, crossing my arms.
“We have rope and the teeth.” He walks over to me and removes the basilisk teeth from the pockets of my cloak. “We should puncture our boots through with the teeth to give us the grip we need.”
“Well, at least it’s a nice day for climbing,” I scoff, because I just want to get this over with. Why couldn’t the dragon have dropped us off at the top? I flick the material wrapped around my body. “And the rope?”
“Save it for our next dance with death.” Those gray eyes hold my gaze for a moment before he takes his boots off.