Patience.
And though he doesn’t need to, he’s showing me respect for my loyalty to Maledin, and also for my torment over Zenevieve. It makes me wonder for the first time if perhaps he won’t be the worst king to sit upon Maledin’s throne. Perhaps I even respect him a little in return, for not succumbing to his temper as I always do.
All the same, he’s angry that I’m leaving. “If you perish taming this golden dragon, I won’t burn knot grass in your memory. I will curse your name to hell and back for leaving me alone with this fucking mess.”
That seems fair, but despite what he thinks, I don’t wish to die. I wish to be able to look Zenevieve in the eye without feeling what a failure and an idiot I am. She loves dragons. I will bring her more dragons.
But before I go, I make sure that Zenevieve is protected in my absence. I ask Zabriel to blade swear with me. It is a warrior’s pact, made with a fighter you esteem. I can see the surprise in his eyes that I trust him this much. Even while I am sunk in misery, I have noticed how strong Maledin has become these past few months. I trust him with Zenevieve while I am gone.
As I utter the words of the oath, I know he can see how much I don’t want to leave her. But I must, for I will die if I don’t do something.
Before I depart, I give orders that all the dragonriders and wingrunners must avoid the eastern lands. It’s dangerousenough that I’m taking Nilak into wild dragons’ territory. I don’t need patrols wandering through the place, angering the dragons, and getting us killed.
Nilak is eager for us to be on our way. I cast one last look toward the Flame Temple. I haven’t laid eyes on Zenevieve since she was dragged away to the dungeons. I don’t know when I will see her again, but I hope that by then, I will have done something to deserve holding up my head in her presence.
Nilak’s white wings flash in the morning light, and we fly eastward.
Over several hours, the scattered towns and rolling farmland below gives way to rugged moorland, and then rocky terrain punctuated by scraggly woods and narrow valleys. Fog lies low over marshy ground. Here and there are clustered farmhouses and cottages, but they are few and far between.
There’s no sign of any dragons.
Finally, I put Nilak down by a hamlet and leave her glaring at the mud that’s squelching around her pristine talons. I approach a farmer digging in a field with a boy who looks to be his son.
I lift my right hand in a wave, to show him that it’s empty and I mean no harm. “Have you seen a yellow dragon?”
The farmer looks me up and down, leaning on his shovel. “Who be you?”
“The dragonmaster of the king’s flare.” These words mean nothing to him, but I don’t care to explain further. “I’m looking for a yellow dragon.”
“Will you beat us if we say we have seen this monster?” the man asks suspiciously.
“Why would I?”
“Because we’re not allowed to say we’ve seen dragons.”
“I’mridinga dragon,” I point out through clenched teeth.
He considers Nilak for a moment. “Ah. So you are. We’ve seen a big, yellow beast now and then, but we avert our eyes. We don’t want no trouble.”
“From which direction does he come?”
“Couldn’t say. We don’t look.”
“Thank you for your help,” I mutter, and turn away.
The man calls after me. “If you’re from the capital, you can tell the witchfinders to stop coming this way. We haven’t had a witch around these parts in a long time.”
“There are no witchfinders in Maledin. The new king has outlawed the practice.”
“Shows what you know,” the man says darkly, and goes back inside his cottage.
I don’t care to know. I’m looking for dragons, not witches.
You would think it would be easy enough to spot an enormous yellow dragon when it has the tendency to fly through the skies, but wild dragons can be crafty. Nilak and I are still searching the rugged landscape weeks later with little to show for it except a few livestock carcasses that have been gnawed on by a dragon.
But I can feel he’s close. I sense a dragon’s eyes on me.
I set out on foot one morning to investigate a valley that’s not far from where we’ve made camp. It’s a crisp, clear winter day, and I want to get my blood pumping to warm me up. I head along a ridge and look down into the valley below, and I finally see what I’ve been searching for.
