Chapter 5
It takes a few minutes for Redara to find her pace at Noxlyn’s side.
He’s so much bigger than she is. I give her time to work it out and settle in for the ride.
I didn’t even ask Rauk how long of a ride it is, but I’m not about to.
I settle in and enjoy the ride. Redara and I fly often but not super long distances, so it’s kind of nice to just fly uninhibited.
The novelty wears off about two hours in.
At least, it feels like it’s been two hours.
I don’t actually know. I want to ask Rauk how much longer, but I don’t want to deal with whatever snide remark he’ll make about me not being able to handle it.
Of course, he wouldn’t be wrong. My backside is already starting to hurt, but hopefully we’ll stop soon, and I can get down and stretch.
Spoiler alert. We don’t stop. Ever. We fly and fly and fly until I feel like I’m losing my mind.
My legs and backside are far past hurting.
My entire body is numb from hours of flying and now from the cold.
I shiver again as cold air blasts over me.
My fingers are frozen, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to die before we get there.
Redara told me at some point that the ride is around twelve hours.
I nearly fell off her back at the news. She told me when we were halfway, and that was hours ago.
But I can’t bring myself to ask Rauk how much longer.
I focus instead on just lasting another five minutes and another five minutes after that.
When darkness falls, I’m not sure I can last much longer.
Redara plows ahead, even though I worry about her.
She’s tired; I can tell. But she doesn’t give up.
I talk to her often just to try to stay sane, but she doesn’t always answer back.
I know half the time she’s talking to Nox; the other times, I think she’s trying to stay focused.
In the dark, the flight takes on a sinister feel.
I know Redara can see clearly, but I can’t.
And it feels terrifying soaring through the air like this without being able to see anything.
My eyes close, and my head bobs too many times.
I’m fighting a losing battle. I dream of my warm bed back home and curse Rauk, the Dragon Kingdom, the cold, and anything else my exhausted mind can come up with.
I’m pretty sure I’m going to either freeze to death or simply fall to my death when I can no longer hang on.
The minutes and hours creep by. And then, finally, I see lights in the distance.
We’re almost there, Redara sends me. I can hear her exhaustion and wish I could do something about it.
The lights finally start getting closer, and I glimpse the city through blurry eyes.
My eyes have been watering for hours, and I can no longer get them to clear.
I try to blink away the tears so I can see the city, but it’s no use.
I keep my eyes closed because they don’t hurt as much that way and trust Redara to get us there safely.
She slows, and I crack my eyes open to see Noxlyn take the lead ahead of us.
Redara follows close behind him. He soars over the walls of the city, and we follow suit.
I think there are people on the walls, but I’m not sure.
My eyes are officially out of commission.
We fly for a little while, and I wonder if we’re ever going to stop.
Finally, Redara slows and descends. She lands without her usual grace, and I know it’s from exhaustion.
I try to move, so I can get off her back and give her some relief.
But I can’t move a muscle. My muscles are locked up tight and completely frozen from the bitter cold.
“You coming, or are you going to stay up there all night?” a voice from below sounds in the quiet. If I had the energy, I'd hurl an insult or two down at him. But I’ve got nothing. And with whatever nothing I have left, I have to figure out a way to come down. “Come on,” he calls out irritably.
“Just go,” I finally snap.
“Why aren’t you coming down?” he growls.
I’ve had it. I’m exhausted and completely tanked. Apparently, the Dragon King doesn’t need to eat. It’s been so long since I’ve eaten, my stomach thinks I’ve died. “I can’t move,” I snap.
“What do you mean you can’t move? Just climb down, so we can go inside.”
“I can’t!” My voice is full of anger and exhaustion, though the anger seems to kind of get a little lost. I can hear him grumbling below me, but I don’t even bother trying to hear whatever idiocy he’s spouting.
I try again to move my legs, but it’s a lost cause.
Suddenly, arms band around my stomach, and I jerk hard. “What are you doing?”
“I’m getting you off,” he snaps back at me. I’m helpless to do anything but let him literally drag me off Redara. He pulls me down her back leg and to the ground where he lets me go. “There. Now you’re off.”
If I had the energy, I’d glare at him. But I have none. “Thanks,” I find myself mumbling instead.
I hear a sigh. Then before I realize what’s happening, he reaches under my arms again and pulls me to my feet. “Do I need to carry you in?”
“No.” I would crawl inside before I let him carry me.
“You sure?” he asks, and I can hear the derision in his voice.
“Yes,” I grind out. “What about the dragons?”
“They’ll be fine.” His answer isn’t too reassuring.
Redara?
I’ll be fine. Noxlyn is showing me to his cave where we’ll stay tonight.
Cave? I don’t get to ponder it anymore because Rauk has already disappeared inside.
I force myself to move. It’s awkward, but I finally manage to make it through the entrance he went through.
I can barely see, but I keep his figure in my line of sight and manage to follow him.
He doesn’t say a word as we walk down a long hallway, and I certainly don’t make conversation.
I honestly couldn’t tell you if we walked up stairs, down stairs, how many rooms we entered. ..nothing.
He opens a door. “In here.” I walk past him and blink as my eyes water again. “I wasn’t exactly expecting company.”
“Well, good thing I’m not company.” I drop my bag on the floor.
“Are you going to need anything?” The words sound like they pain him.
“Just sleep.” He disappears without another word, and I close the door and walk over to the bed.
I can barely see it. Using my hands to feel, I grab a pillow and a large fur off the bed and drop to the floor.
I am acutely aware of the fact that I’ve been riding a dragon for a very long time.
I need a bath desperately, but seeing as how I can barely function, a bath will have to wait.
I do manage to find the bathroom, so can relieve myself.
Since I didn’t take a bath, I don’t climb on the bed; I’ll sleep on the floor for now.
I can’t keep my eyes open another moment.
I kick my shoes off and pull my weapons from their sheaths and lay down.
The moment my head hits the pillow, I’m out.
A full-body shiver wakes me from sleep the next morning.
I open my eyes and blink, noting that I can see again.
My eyes are definitely sore today, but there’s no lasting damage from the abuse they took yesterday being in the cold wind as long as I was.
I reach out to Redara to see how she’s recovering.
Hey, Red, how are you doing? Are you recovered from yesterday?
It takes a few seconds for her to get back to me. Still sleeping.
Well, that answers that question. I guess she’s doing okay.
I shiver again and stand to my feet. I notice there’s a fireplace, but it hasn’t been lit.
In the light of day, I take in the room I’m standing in.
It’s dark. There are windows, but the dark coverings over them keep out any and all light.
There’s a massive bed in the middle of the room with a dark covering on it. I make my way to the bathroom next.
After a hot bath, I feel so much better.
I dress in a pair of black pants and a long-sleeved shirt.
I pull on socks and frown when I can still feel the cold from the floor soaking through them.
Anxious to leave behind my dark room, I open the door and step out into the hallway.
The hallway is just as dark as my room was.
There are lights on the walls, the same kind of light they have in the Wolf Kingdom.
I follow their light down the long hallway of closed doors.
I come to a huge, open room and a delicious smell hits me.
My stomach grumbles, reminding me I haven’t eaten in quite a long time.
I follow the delicious smell and pass what looks like a very formal dining hall with a long table, a few closed doors, a formal sitting room that’s as large as my apartment was, and an entryway with huge double doors.
My nose leads me to a swinging door, and I push through and step into a large kitchen.
A blast of heat hits me from the huge opening in the brick wall, and I see the fire burning inside.
I also see bread baking close to the front and a pan of something else further back. My stomach growls again.
“Good morning. I didn’t even see you come in.”
I turn around at the sound of the voice and take in the woman standing before me.
She has her hair pulled back into a tight bun, though there are a few gray hairs that have escaped it.
Her face is kind, and her gray dress with a white apron over it is clean and neat. “I’m Harper,” I say automatically.
“Harper,” she says with a beautiful smile. “My name is Elowen.”
I nod. “Nice to meet you.”
“You as well. Now, what can I get you to eat? You must be starving after your long flight.”
My gaze takes in the rest of the cooking area. There’s a long prep counter with all kinds of bowls and cooking dishes. There’s a large, deep sink with running water. I’m pretty sure Hector would love this place. I take in the window over the sink, and I head that way. “It’s sunny out.”
“It is,” Elowen responds to my somewhat dumb statement. It surprises me, though, because everything inside is so dark. Not in here, though. In here it’s sunny and warm and...something. I can’t quite put my finger on it. “How about a cup of tea and a biscuit?” Elowen asks.
“Oh, you don’t need to take care of me. I can find something to eat if you just point me in the right direction.”
“It’s no trouble. Here.” She slides a tea cup towards me and pours amber liquid into it from a teapot.
“That’s my own special blend; tell me what you think of it.
There’s honey in that jar if you want some.
” I debate a moment but then reach for the tea.
After a moment of indecision, I add some honey and take a sip.
My eyebrows rise, and she smiles. “It’s good, isn’t it? ”
I have to admit it. “Yes, it’s really good. I’m not usually a tea drinker, but I might have to make an exception for this.”
“I hope you do. Now, here’s some food.” She slides me a glass plate with a biscuit, some figs, and a few thick strips of bacon. My stomach growls again, as I reach for the plate.
“Thank you.”