Chapter 60
“Should we just leave town now?” Rhydra stands in Raef’s room at her full, intimidating height, hands planted firmly on her hips. We’ve just caught them up on everything that happened today. Well, we didn’t tell them every detail. Some things are meant to remain private.
“In the middle of the night?” I don’t do a good job of masking the fear in my voice.
“We’ve had to do it a few times lately. It’s not much more dangerous than being hunted in this town,” Raef tells me.
“What about those damn things that chased us down on the way back from Wraithmere? Those were horrifying.”
“We actually haven’t ran into too many beasts lately. Not sure why…” He flashes Rhydra a look. “Obviously, I’d still rather sleep in a nice bed in an inn, but if they’re looking for us…”
“We’ll stay shifted,” Daegan assures me with soft eyes.
“Are you sure? You guys don’t usually…” Shifting is an incredibly vulnerable act for them. They don’t like to do it in front of anyone if they can help it.
“Oh, we do it all the time around each other,” Raef cuts in. “We just don’t like it in front of outsiders. But you guys are family now, and the situation sort of demands it.”
“It’s not so bad,” Rhydra says with a glint in her eyes. “You’ll see.”
I glance at Daegan again.
He nods, giving me a thin smile. Then he gives my hand a reassuring squeeze.
He hasn’t let go since we got up here. And yes, everyone has noticed, but no one has said a word about it. It’s the least of everyone’s concern right now, unfortunately.
“Which means you better start formulating a plan soon, Sand. We’re getting closer to your home.” Raef sits on the bed, tossing a roll of bread between his hands as he looks at me expectantly.
“I’ve been thinking about it…” I mumble.
There’s really not a great time to do this crazy stunt, and time is precious.
I’ve been considering just winging it and hoping that we can travel through the castle undetected.
Kezra should be a great help with that. She can go undetected easily and scout ahead.
But I don’t want to say that out loud just yet.
I’m still hoping I’ll think of something better before we get closer.
“We’ll figure it out.” Daegan gives me another reassuring smile.
~
The horses are no longer needed since Raef and Daegan are going to be shifting into their dragon forms, so we leave them behind and sneak out of town on foot. We’re headed toward a very small village just on the outskirts of Ellyar. I’m becoming increasingly nervous the closer we get.
We have to succeed. There’s no other option.
It’s another level of dark outside of the town. As I look back, the light orbs look so small in the distance. Like tiny little fairies in the night.
“Okay.” Daegan stops and hands me his bag. “You’re going to have to climb. Either up my tail or I can lean my shoulder down. Your choice.”
I suddenly feel nervous, realizing Daegan is about to turn into a terrifyingly massive creature right before my eyes.
Though it is incredibly dark so I’ll probably miss half the show.
I’ve only seen his dragon form one other time, but I remind myself that even then, I wasn’t afraid of him. The same Daegan was behind those eyes.
“Well, I’ve never climbed a dragon before…”
“You sure about that?” Raef chuckles as I roll my eyes. “It’s fun, just ask Rhydra.”
My head whips to her. “You two…?”
“Oh, absolutely not,” Rhydra replies.
“Then what’s he…” I stop, confused.
Raef is laughing at the whole exchange.
Rhydra shrugs. “I may have had a small… fling. When we were hiding out in Torrynth.”
“A fling?” I ask curiously. “With whom?”
“It doesn’t matter. We both knew nothing would come of it. Her name was Raela,” she mumbles.
“Wow.” I don’t know what else to say. I’m glad she got to let loose and enjoy herself amongst all the tragedy, at least for a little while.
Daegan clears his throat.
“Right. Climbing a dragon. Um, what’s easier?” I ask.
“I have spikes up my shoulder that should be easy to grab onto. We’ll try that.”
“Rhydra, are you riding with Raef or with me?” I ask her.
“You both should probably come with me. That way Raef doesn’t have to worry about protecting anyone on his back in case we do get attacked.”
“Smart.” Raef nods in agreement. “Guess I’m the guard dragon tonight.”
“Don’t let us down,” Rhydra quips.
“Story of my life,” Raef mumbles. I know his intention is to make a joke, but I wonder if any part of him truly feels that way.
From what I’ve seen, he almost always has his charm, wit, and easygoing disposition turned on.
But no one can feel that good inside all the time, can they?
It seems unfathomable to me. But still, I appreciate him for it. He always brings the mood up.
“Where do your clothes go?” I ask. It’s something I’ve always wondered.
“Destroyed,” Raef answers simply. “Every time.”
“Oh.”
“I’m going to take them off over there… grab them for me?” Daegan asks, looking at only me.
“Sure.”
He turns and walks into the open field and I quickly lose sight of him in the darkness. I have yet to get a truly thorough look at him in his shifted form, having only caught a glimpse of part of his face and shoulder in the cave. But how big can he really be?
The answer is… huge.
Rhydra and I both hold orbs out, trying to get a closer look, but they don’t illuminate the wide-open field nearly enough.
I see his massive eyes first, and I can just make out his incomprehensibly huge form in the darkness.
His scales reflect some of the light, appearing mostly black, with some blue along his spine.
I slowly walk closer, trying to get a better look.
He keeps his eyes on me the whole time. And just as I remembered, they’re still his eyes.
If I encountered this giant creature out in the wild, not knowing it was Daegan in there, I’d figure it out just from his deep blue eyes. And from the way he looks at me.
As I step closer, I realize there are also flecks of purple and green woven into the blue. Just a hint.
Daegan sticks out his talons, each one bigger than my leg, then lowers his shoulder in an invitation for us to climb on. I gather his clothes from the pile at his feet, sling his bag over my shoulder, and step toward him.
“This should be fun,” Rhydra comments.
I have to admit, I’m a little excited myself.
I’ve never met anyone who’s had the pleasure of riding atop a dragon before.
I wonder if it will be a smooth ride. And if they ever fly again, would I be able to fly on his back, soaring through the trees?
The thought seems absolutely terrifying, but also exciting.
I step onto his claw that’s hard as a boulder, then reach out and grab the first spike that juts out from his foreleg.
And then I climb. The angle isn’t bad, and the spikes aren’t incredibly sharp.
I make it up with ease, then look back down at Rhydra.
I didn’t realize how high up I got. He’s taller than a two-story building.
Rhydra has a grin on her face when she reaches the top.
“Now where to sit…” I muse, assessing his back.
He remains completely still. I wonder if he can feel us at all through his thick skin and scales...
Archers would be useless against this. I wonder what kind of damage fire-wielders could even do.
I’m pretty sure they mentioned that they’re mostly fireproof.
Conveniently, there are a ton of grooves running from his neck down his back. We each take a seat, with me in front of Rhydra, and I grab onto a dull spike. I don’t know how tumultuous this ride is going to be.
“I think we’re ready!” I call out. I hope he can hear me… Raef has already shifted. I can see the faint glimmer of his red and black scales next to us.
Daegan stands even taller, then begins to move forward.
I can tell his legs are moving slowly, but we’re still covering more land than if we were walking, since his steps are so large.
It’s not bumpy. It’s more like the gentle rhythm of a boat rocking with the waves, with every step we rise and fall slowly.
Surprisingly, it’s smooth, almost relaxing.
“Isn’t it so annoying?”
“What?” I ask Rhydra, looking back at her.
“That we haven’t been traveling this way the entire time?” She’s smiling, and I can tell she’s enjoying it as much as I am.
“They didn’t trust us. And they have a lot of pride.” I take a deep breath, enjoying the rhythm. “They still won’t admit it, but I think it pains them on a deeper level than we can comprehend, not being able to take flight.”
I glance over at his colossal wings at his side, imagining how terrifying and magnificent that would look to see them beating through the sky. My gut twists with sadness for him. And for Raef.
I think it’s a hole inside him that I can never fill. The best I can do is to help break this fucking curse already.
I wipe at my eyes, fighting the tear I’m about to shed.
“You know,” I say, glancing back at the wild redhead again.
Her previously singed hair has grown a lot in the year I’ve been away.
“Now that I’m sitting atop a dragon, it seems kind of ridiculous that elves have remained in power all this time.
Even without flying, they could easily wreak havoc on our entire castle with a small army of them. ”
“Yeah. They could.”
“I wonder why they didn’t just burn us to the ground a long time ago.”
“There are probably a lot of reasons. Battles and war are never simple. There are many factors. Innocent civilians such as yourself, for one. They’re not ruthless beasts. Although…”
“What?”
“Daegan’s father has a ruthless side to him. I think that very thought has crossed his mind once or twice.”
“You met him?”
“Yes. He’s… intense.”
“Seems like it. The few times I crossed paths with him at the castle he wasn’t very… friendly.”
“I saw him in Torrynth before we got Daegan. He was… quite displeased with the state of things.”