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He sounded older — but closer to how I remembered him.
No. I forced the thoughts down. I'd been through this already. Eli was gone and the asshole Liam had taken his place. I didn't care about Liam. I just wanted to see the damn dragon.
The dragon stomped again, letting out a very displeased sounding huff as it shook its head.
Concern twisted my brows. What were they doing to it?
"I'm confused," I whispered to Jaiel. "Why can't Liam use his magic to ask the dragon to be calm like he did to the creatures in Gleyma?"
Jaiel shook his head. "Well, dragons aren't like the vrytra. They can't communicate with dragon riders anymore. It's part of why humans can no longer ride them. Liam said something about there being a 'wall' between the dragons and mages, but honestly, I don't even know what that means."
Confusion knit my brows. A "wall" between mages and dragons? What kind of magic could do something like that?
A small head of dark black hair popped out to the left of the dragon, and the girl who'd briefly peeked into my room earlier followed.
Mirrim.
She wore a smaller version of the dress Liam's grandma wore, but had the same smile as Eli — cheek dimples and all. A wide black braid draped over her left shoulder, and she had her head cocked to the side, as if she were studying us too.
Grinning, she waved us over with one hand while continuing to stroke the tree-trunk sized leg of the dragon.
"I'm surprised it's safe for her to do that," I said. "That dragon could send her flying with a single kick."
Jaiel chuckled. "They may not be able to communicate anymore, but they aren't wild animals, Princess. Dragons are extremely intelligent — maybe even more so than humans and Fae. They, like us, don't hurt those they care about."
As if summoned, the dragon turned its head toward us, and I was faced with two very large, swirling golden eyes.
Holy hells. My heart skipped a beat and my breath caught.
"Jaiel," Liam bit out. "Take Kaiya somewhere else while I work. This is more important than your need to impress the lady."
What in the seven hells? As though Jaiel would ever try to impress me. He was just trying to make me feel better after everything that had happened.
I ground my teeth. Gods. What happened to that cheerful man I'd met two years ago? Was the Eli I knew a complete lie?
Mirrim laughed and rolled her eyes. "Please ignore my grumpy brother. He's cranky because he has to go meet with the council, and he knows it's not going to go well again. He has to tell them about the —"
"Mirrim, focus," Liam interrupted, voice sharp.
The young woman put her hand on her hip, then shook her head and motioned for me to come closer.
I nodded, moving slowly, making sure not to startle the dragon. Jaiel said the creature wouldn't hurt people they cared about, but I wasn't one of their caretakers, so I had no idea if that rule extended to me.
"Stryek is the oldest dragon still living, as far as we know. He can be a bit irritable sometimes, but inside he's just a big softy," she said with a grin.
I looked from her to the giant beast with claws as long as my arm, and crossed my arms against my chest. She could say he was friendly as much as she wanted, but I'd play it safe, thank you very much.
"How old is he?"
"Twenty-three years old," Liam said, voice honey smooth as he stepped from behind the dragon to his sister's side before leaning forward to work on the dragon's next leg. He didn't even spare Jaiel or I a glance. "The same age as me."
My brows drew together. "I thought dragons lived for hundreds of years, like the Fae?"
Liam ignored us, but Mirrim answered. "According to Gram, long before the Mad Queen ended the mage Era, our village held dozens of dragons that were each over a thousand years old. Can you imagine what it was like when they and their younglings roamed this place?" She gestured out at the empty skies, and I could almost see it.
"Magical."
Her hand fell to her side, and she turned to one of the massive piles of jagged gray stone dotting the area around us. "But during the Twisting — or The Fall, as you mainlanders say, an evil walked our streets, turning most riders and dragons to stone." Mirrim motioned to more mounds of gray stone peppering the platform and my stomach knotted. "Most shattered right away, and even those that didn't break couldn't be brought back," she continued, her voice soft.
