Chapter 37
KALLIE
Kallie watched as the magnificent dragon flew over the trees, its tail the last part she saw before Graeson melted into the night sky.
Although they were upwind and the smoke wasn’t as strong as it had been, it still soaked their clothes and their hair.
A wet snout nudged her hand. When Kallie went to pet Nyrri, she moved just right that the pain from the arrow returned, her adrenaline long-since drained.
"We need to get the arrow out and clean the wound before it’s infected," Ellie said, grabbing Kallie’s arm.
"We need to go after him," Kallie countered through clenched teeth. Her entire arm was throbbing now.
"Please tell me how you are going to chase after a fucking dragon with a wounded arm and leg?" Ellie demanded, hands on her hips.
"Nyrri can—" Kallie choked on her scream as Ellie ripped the arrow from her arm.
"Shit," Kallie spat, her nails biting into her palms. "A warning would have been nice."
"Next time, don’t say stupid shit." Ellie splashed alcohol from a canteen onto Kallie’s arm, and Kallie hissed. When she poured more on her hamstring, Kallie hobbled away.
"You’re doing that on purpose," Kallie hissed.
Ellie glared. "I’m making sure your wounds don’t get fucking infected. You can barely stand as it is." Ellie shoved Kallie’s bad leg, and Kallie teetered without Nyrri’s support.
Nyrri whined, and Kallie patted her side. "It’s only a flesh wound. It’ll heal."
Although when Kallie hiked up her bloody trousers, blood trailed down her leg.
"You’ll be hobbling around for at least a few days.
You’re already a terrible rider. Sending you off searching for him will only put you in more danger.
I enjoyed irritating Gray before, but now that he’s a dragon?
" Ellie swiped her hand across her forehead, smearing the ash with sweat.
"We don’t know how many men Domitius brought with him.
He might be dead, but his men are not. At least not all of them.
The best thing you can do right now is rest while you can. Gray will come back."
Kallie pursed her lips but nodded. It would be reckless to go after Graeson. While Nyrri had gotten better at flying, Kallie had yet to ride her. It would not be smart to do so now, especially in the sorry state she was in.
She hated when Ellie was right.
The warrior tightened the wrapping around Kallie’s arm. Kallie bit back another groan.
"Thanks," she mumbled.
She looked at the sky once more. Graeson shouldn’t be alone right now. He had been forced to kill his mother. He shouldn’t have to bury her alone.
And what of the stolen guard—Moris? As far as Kallie knew, Moris was still alive. Was Graeson planning on killing him? What would happen when Graeson transformed back into his human form? Would he transform back?
"Did you know?" Ellie asked quietly as she finished wrapping the gauze around Kallie’s thigh. She tied it in a tight knot.
"Know that Graeson was a dragon?"
Ellie nodded.
"No, I didn’t," Kallie admitted. She still hadn’t fully processed that Graeson was one.
She sat on the ground and rested her head against Nyrri’s side. Kallie ran her finger over the frayed edges of the bandage on her thigh. "Did you?"
"No. The gods are…mysterious. The stories about them—the legends and myths that have been passed down from generation to generation—have shifted and changed with time.
My people have spent centuries studying them, trying to decipher where the gods came from and when they left.
Some gods have been known to walk on this plane, taking control of humans. "
"Rian once mentioned that he believed the gods came by way of dragon," Kallie said, recalling the days spent with Rian in the Frenzian library. "That the dragons were the ones that burned the holes in the sky and made it possible for them to come to the mortal world."
Ellie nodded. "That is one of the stories, yes. There’s even a children’s story that claims the gods could shape-shift into different common animals."
A question sat on the tip of Kallie’s tongue. It felt silly, stupid. She knew so little about the gods when she once thought she knew everything. But she needed to know if her guess was right. "Is it possible that the gods were, in fact, the dragons, then?"
"There have been stories of mystical beasts that appeared out of nowhere, such as dragons or the kraken. But the dragons have been missing for a long time. If the dragons are gods, perhaps that is why they disappeared?"
"Graeson’s only part god, though. Lysanthia was mortal."
"Maybe the rage from his mother’s death was the trigger?"
An ache pounded in Kallie’s chest, a restlessness building within her bones.
"Graeson always talked about a darkness lurking within him, but I don’t think even he knew he could transform into a dragon.
But to deal with that reality and his mother’s death?
" She shook her head, unable to comprehend what Graeson could be going through right now. "I wish—"
"Don’t do that," Ellie said, immediately cutting Kallie off.
"Do what?"
"Do that thing you do," she said, flicking her hand in the air.
"What thing?"
"Take on the responsibility when it doesn’t belong to you. You couldn’t have done anything to save her, Kallie. Death happens. While we often wish to fight against it, we cannot stop it when the Fates come knocking."
Kallie’s eyes widened at Ellie’s words. They were similar to something Lysanthia had said before she had died.
Realization struck her in the chest, and Kallie gasped. "She knew."
"Who knew?" Ellie asked, confused.
"Lysanthia. Before she…" Kallie choked on her words and cleared her throat. "She said she knew this was coming years ago. I hadn’t given it much thought since I assumed she was referring to the trade. But she knew her death was coming. That’s why she didn’t fight him.
She knew." Kallie pressed her palms to her temples, ignoring the pain in her arm.
"She said a sacrifice was needed. I thought she had meant me, that I would be the sacrifice.
What if…what if she was the sacrifice? That her death was needed in order for Graeson to take on his true form? "
"It’s…it’s possible," Ellie said, more to herself than Kallie, her pitch-black gaze growing distant as she stared at the sky.
Kallie followed her gaze. They had heard no screams or roars. But somewhere, Graeson was flying through the smoke that blanketed Borgania. She wondered if he was all right. Was he safe? Was he hurt?
"Do you think…will he…" Kallie swallowed the question, unwilling to voice it.
"Will he return to normal?"
Kallie shook her head. She didn’t care which form he took. To her, he was still Graeson. When he looked at her before he left, she could see it, see him. Graeson shifting back was not her concern. Not at that moment, at least.
"Will he come back?"
Ellie cocked a brow. "Do you even have to ask?"
While it might have seemed obvious to Ellie, Kallie wasn’t so confident. Graeson had already viewed himself as a monster. What did he think now that he had taken the form of a dragon?
Ellie took off the thin armor and peeled up her shirt.
Kallie grimaced at the sight of the dark bruises marking her skin.
When Ellie poked one, her face twisted with agony.
Tugging her shirt down, she lay on the ground, her movements stiff.
"He was smart enough to take us far away from the fire and from possible threats. Although our horses are likely running back to Tetria as we speak, he’ll come back.
He traveled across Vaneria twice for you, remember? Gray doesn’t give up that easily."
Behind Kallie, Nyrri released a soft exhale and shifted closer.
Kallie smiled softly at the drakonis, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
She scooted further down, trying to get comfortable.
Tilting her head up, she watched the sky, hoping to see Graeson’s silhouette.
Yet all that remained were twinkling stars, the smoke from the distant flames slipping slowly across them as it rose higher and higher.
He would come back, and if he didn’t, she would just have to go after him instead.