Chapter 6 Kailin
KAILIN
"Trust is like crystal—beautiful and clear when whole, but once cracked, it can never be perfectly mended."
—From 'Reflections on Service'
By Commander Lydia Ashford
"It's not too crowded tonight," Dylon observed as we entered the bar at the Pilgrim's Lodge.
He was right. A handful of locals occupied the main room, some older men nursing ales and playing cards, and the younger ones nursing the same ale but without cards.
I spotted a few who didn't look like they were from Skywatcher's Point, and since the pilgrimages were over for the year, I assumed they were just passing through.
Ravel had hinted that he had men with him to protect me, but these men weren't riders.
Riders looked young no matter how old they were, and these guys were older. I resolved to keep an eye on them.
"Commander Ravel is over there." Alar pointed toward the back corner, where Ravel was sitting in a large booth all by himself.
It was obvious that he'd chosen the spot for its strategic advantage. It gave him clear views of both the main entrance and the kitchen access, with solid walls protecting his back.
He waved us over. "Please, join me."
When we did, he lifted a hand to call for the server, and the young woman responded immediately.
"What can I get for you?" She smiled while giving Ravel an appreciative once-over.
"Four ales," he ordered. "And some bread and cheese."
"Coming right up." She cast him another charming smile and then sauntered away with an exaggerated sway of hips.
To his credit, Commander Ravel didn't even follow her with his eyes. Although why not?
He was single and on leave. He could have easily gotten her to spend the night with him.
"You have an admirer, Commander," Dylon said.
Ravel didn't deign to respond to Dylon's teasing, even with a smile. "I hope you kept your eyes and ears open on the way here."
"We did," Dylon patted his jacket where his handgun was holstered. "I'm not taking chances with my sister's life."
Ravel leaned back and regarded Alar and me with an impassive expression on his handsome face. "The truth is that we don't know who is in more danger, Kailin or Alar and Codric."
I frowned. "Why would Alar and Codric be in danger?"
"We've made some disturbing discoveries.
" Ravel paused as the server returned with our drinks, waiting until she was well out of earshot before continuing.
"The explosives used on the trail were different from those used in the village square bombing.
They weren't planted by the same people.
" He took a sip from his ale. "The square bombing was done with Sitorian-made explosives, but the charges that collapsed the trail and triggered the avalanche were Elucian military grade. "
The implications of what he'd said were disturbing. "No Elucian would do such a thing. Besides, who would be stupid enough to make such a rookie mistake? If I were the mastermind behind those evil deeds, I would make sure to use Sitorian explosives to divert suspicion from myself."
Ravel regarded me with appreciation and calculation in his eyes. "That's very good reasoning, Kailin. You have excellent military instincts."
I shrugged. "That's just simple logic."
"Not everyone is blessed with a logical mind.
In fact, most are not." Commander Ravel wrapped his hand around the cold jug of ale.
"The perpetrators responsible for the attacks along the trail might have assumed that no one would investigate because the two events seemed natural, or they might not have thought it through, choosing the easier way to access the explosives.
If they are in the Citadel, getting their hands on Sitorian equipment would have been impossible unless they have Shedun operatives they are in contact with. "
I shook my head. "The collapse of the path nearly killed Shovia and Codric, and the avalanche killed two Elucian pilgrims. The saboteurs must have known that they wouldn't just get the Elurians and that they were endangering many Elucians. Who would come up with such a crazy plan?"
"A crazy person?" Dylon suggested.
"Madness and hatred often walk hand in hand," Ravel said. "They had specific targets in mind and considered the others collateral damage." Ravel's gaze shifted to Alar. "They might have wanted to deliver a devastating blow so no other Elurian would ever think of joining the pilgrimage again."
What if the sabotage had been an assassination attempt on Alar because someone knew who he was and what he was after, and they had an issue with that?
Or maybe someone from Alar's own court had figured out his plan and had thought it would be a great opportunity to get rid of one of the king's sons?
Alar had told me that he and Codric had gone to the Vedona Military Academy to train with weapons and military strategy so they could defend themselves against assassination attempts, which meant that it was a common thing in Catonia.
"Why wasn't I briefed on this?" Dylon's voice carried an edge of anger I rarely heard from my brother.
"The investigation is being kept hush-hush so as not to spook the perpetrators," Ravel said with his usual calm.
"Since riders might be involved and their dragons must know about it and cooperate with them, we need to keep quiet around them as well.
I trust Onyx with my life, but given the way dragons communicate with each other, I suspect that some are stronger mind readers than others and can pluck things from Onyx's head without his consent.
In fact, I'm sure that Nyxath can do that to weaker members of her flock if she makes the effort, and it's possible that one of her sisters or brothers can do that as well.
Some of the first hatchlings were the offspring of the previous dragon queen, and they are all powerful. "
It was chilling to think that not all dragons could be trusted. It had never occurred to me to suspect that any dragon could be disloyal to Elucia. We had a pact; they had died defending us, and we had died defending them.
"Why do you think riders are involved?" Dylon asked.
"Those locations on the trail could have been reached undetected only by flying there," Ravel said.
The silence that followed was deafening. I stared at the commander, waiting for him to take it back, to qualify his statement and say that it was a far-fetched hypothesis. Riders and dragons were the elite, the protectors, the most trustworthy in the Elucian forces.
"That's not possible," I whispered.
He sighed. "If you have another theory that can explain the facts on the ground, I would be delighted to hear it.
I don't want to believe that there are traitors among riders and dragons either.
But we know that dragons have their own politics and power plays, and they don't like to share the inner workings of their society with humans.
Some of them might not be a hundred percent on board with the alliance, perhaps resenting the pact that was made by their ancestors.
It's naive to assume that all dragons are unified in their goals and loyalties, or that they are perfectly aligned with the goals of the Elucian human leadership. "
My brother shifted uncomfortably. "Jagura has preferences among the other dragons. Some she likes, some she avoids. When I've asked why, she just says it's dragon business."
"Exactly." Ravel nodded. "Dragon business. How much do we really know about their internal dynamics? We assume because Nyxath is their alpha queen, they have no choice but to follow her, but maybe there are those who try to undermine her for whatever reason."
"They might not want to be at our beck and call," I said. "Think about it. If you had to jump whenever your dragon called on you, would you be perfectly happy with that?"
When Ravel gave me an appreciative look, I was emboldened to continue. "They are just as intelligent as we are, maybe even more, and yet we assume that we need to be in charge of them because they can't strategize as we do. What if they can?"
Ravel just kept looking at me but didn't respond to my suggestion.
"Maybe they can even influence their riders," Alar said. "Over time, subtle suggestions could become stronger. A rider might not even realize their thoughts were being shaped. The dragons might be using their riders to sabotage the pact."
I thought that Alar was going out on a limb, but Ravel didn't contradict him.
Instead, he took another thoughtful sip before turning to me.
"You think that we are using you as bait when, in fact, you might be safer here, away from the Citadel.
But just in case we are wrong, I have trusted men watching over you. "
That had been an abrupt change of subject, unless he believed that some dragons wanted me dead.
When Dylon glanced at the group of men sitting by the door once again, it dawned on me that they must be with Ravel.
They weren't just nursing their ales—they were positioned perfectly to watch both of the entrances and our table. Their casual slouches and friendly banter didn't quite hide the alertness in their postures.
I took a long swig of my ale before putting the jug down. "If dragons are involved and they're working against the alliance, then everything we've built over the past thousand years could crumble."
"So, what do we do?" Alar asked.
Ravel shrugged. "For now? Nothing. You just go about your leave as planned and enjoy time with your family. Let whoever's watching think you're unaware. I hope the three of you are good actors and won't make me regret sharing this with you. I wasn't supposed to."
"Then why did you?" I asked.
"Because you guessed it, and to keep denying it would have been lying, which I prefer to avoid whenever possible. Besides, I believe that we are stronger when we work as a team."
More so than he was aware of, but I didn't know when and how to tell him that he might be part of the prophesied seven who were supposed to save Aurorys.