“Flattened,” Syla mouthed. “But… the stormers honor the same gods we do. To destroy a place of healing…”
“A dragon did it. I don’t know if it had a rider, but those scaledmonsters don’t care about our gods. They don’t even honor the mad storm god who created them and all the other unnatural beasts in the world.”
“No.”
Syla slumped against his chest, not trying to put the spectacles on. With the lenses broken, what was the point?
“There were injured and ill in there recovering,” she whispered. “And my colleagues were there. I’djustseen them not hours before this started. Larvee brought honeyberry streusel in for us today, and we were sharing it for an afternoon snack.” The words sounded inane coming out, but just that afternoon everything had beennormal. “I showed her an old foraging map from my collection that points out the location of some of the best wild berry patches and bogs in the kingdom.”
How had everything fallen apart so quickly? Had any of her friends escaped the destruction? Since most healers lived and worked in the temple… they would likely have been present for the attack. It was only chance that she’d neither been at the castle nor in the temple. No, not chance. Her dillydallying because she hadn’t wanted to attend a family gathering. If she had been at that dinner on time, the way she was meant to have been…
A hiccup of emotion came out, sobs threatening. Fel turned his head toward her.
“Sorry,” Syla whispered, trying to swallow down her grief. She wiped her eyes. Now, more than ever, she needed to hold herself together. She was alive, even if she shouldn’t be, and that meant she had duties. “This is all just so awful.”
“It’s outrageous,” Fel said. “This never should have happened.”
“No.”
“The dragons are monsters.”
“So are theriders.” Syla thought of that captain they’d seen. “They’re the ones who were behind this. They had to be. Adragoncouldn’t have gotten through the barrier and somehow sabotaged the shielder.”
“Agreed.” Fel nodded toward the route ahead.
In the blurry dark, Syla couldn’t see much, only that they were climbing the road that led up the bluff to the castle.
“I think I can walk,” she said as the route steepened and the sergeant’s pace slowed. She sensed more than saw the tautness of his muscles and clenching of his jaw. Though she’d mended some of his wounds, he ought to be resting in bed, not carrying her.
“You are injured.”
“Not badly. I just passed out.” Deciding that sounded pathetic, Syla added, “Due to the effort required from using my magic.”
“From healingme.”
“You were the focus of my magic, yes.”
“I will carry you. As far as you need me to.” Was that his loyalty as a bodyguard speaking? Or some compulsion he felt after being healed?
Syla didn’t ask. If it was the latter, she didn’t want to know.
“Just to my bedroom in the keep, please, to find an old pair of spectacles.” By the time they reached it, she should have recovered enough to stand on her own and convince him she didn’t need to be toted around.
Fel looked up, seeing something in the dark sky that she couldn’t. A dragon flying high overhead?
“I’ll take you there,” he said, “but unless the Royal Protectors have restored order, we dare not stay long. I’ve seen surprisingly few Kingdom enforcers in the streets, and those looters weren’t the only people taking advantage of the chaos. I spotted a couple of fleet ships in the harbor, the military helping put out fires, but they looked busy with that and watching for more attacks. I’ve glimpsed dragons now and then, not only over the city but farther inland. Hunting or lighting homesteads on fire. Who knows?”
“Did they have riders? Do you think the stormers will attackagain? Is there…” Syla’s throat tightened, and she had to once more blink away tears. “How much of the city and castle areleftto attack?”
“I haven’t seen much more than you have, but not all neighborhoods were damaged. The castle and areas around it were most directly targeted.” Grim, Fel lowered his voice to add, “The castle especially.”
Syla, remembering the way the dragon-rider captain had focused on her birthmark, didn’t need to ask why. “Do you think the stormers will be back to occupy the island? Was this just a raid or… part of a larger plan?”
“I don’t know, but their people have never been populous. A lot of them die because of the dangers of the world out there. It’s unlikely they have the numbers to occupy the kingdom, even an island.”
Syla believed the various stormer tribes, if they were all working together, could field more people than he’d suggested, but she didn’t argue. He had far more experience when it came to military matters. Whether it had been a raid or invasion, the results were the same. Her people had been decimated.
“We’ll have to find and join the Royal Protectors to ensure you’re properly guarded going forward,” Fel added.
