Adrissu’s smile widened. She wasn’t wrong.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. “Thanks for your help.”
With that, he headed north, toward the hills where the dragon’s lair was supposedly hidden in the woods. It would be a faster trip by air, of course, but he did not know exactly where the boundary was where the other dragon would be able to sense his approach; and, of course, its first instinct upon sensing another dragon would be to look to the skies. Approaching on foot was far more time-consuming, but it gave him the best odds of getting away unscathed.
He trudged through the foothills, noting the general layout of the land, imagining what it would look like from the air. As he crested the hills, he could see the treeline that the barkeeper had mentioned; the landscape quickly went from a few sparse groups of trees to dense forest, which would be easy to pick out from above, at least. It was quite likely he would sense the dragon once he reached the treeline; so he walked slowly, all his attention honed on the telltale prickle along his spine that would tell him there was indeed a dragon lurking in the depths of the woods.
His first steps past the treeline were especially cautious, but he felt nothing. A few more, just as slowly—still nothing. He stood motionless, listening, waiting. The silence felt oppressive, even though he was only a few feet into the woods. There was certainly a magical quality to the environment—the very air felt different, alive with magic.
After only about a minute of walking, it finally happened. His body shuddered, awareness burning up his spine—there was absolutely a dragon in these woods, and now it knew he was here. Fear buzzed beneath his skin, the instinctual response of sensing a dragon within its own lair, where it would be strongest and he would be disadvantaged. But he forced himself to breathe in slowly, deeply. He imagined himself as a young dragon who had misjudged his flight path, having no knowledge of the other dragon’s newly established home and stopping the moment he felt the awareness of the other, then turning around—only then did he back up, taking a few stumbling steps backward until the alarm bells stopped ringing in his head.
Adrissu turned and ran out of the woods, heart pounding, but he smiled even as he crashed through the underbrush and out into the sun again. The dragon washere, barely old enough to live on its own. Helping Kian and finally,finallykeeping his mate with him forever was now in his grasp. All they had to do now was make a plan and see it through.
Chapter Twelve
“Icandoit,”Kian snapped irritably the morning they prepared to leave to confront the young dragon. “I’m telling you, I don’t need it.”
“Kian, the trip is going to take hours. Flying is fast, but it isn’t exactly a smooth ride,” Adrissu repeated, tamping down his mounting frustration at Kian’s refusal to take the pavera root that would ease his pain. “If you’re in so much pain you can’t move, you’re going to be useless.”
Kian’s face flushed with anger. “I’ll be useless if I take it, too.”
“It will help you sleep through the worst of it,” Adrissu growled. “By the time we get there, you’ll be waking up. And even if not, we can justwait.Don’t be foolish about this, please.”
“I said no,” Kian muttered, but his determined glare withered under Adrissu’s stern gaze. “...I’ll take half. And that’sit.”
“I’m bringing it with us if you change your mind.Whenyou change your mind,” Adrissu sighed, ignoring how Kian bristled. But he filled the stopper only halfway with the cloudy liquid, and despite his sullen expression, Kian dutifully opened his mouth and let Adrissu give him the medicine.
“Now,” Adrissu sighed, placing the vial of extract in with the rest of the supplies—everything they needed for the ritual, plus a day’s worth of camping gear on the slim chance they would need to stay within the lair overnight. “Once it’s kicked in, we’ll go down below and head out.”
Kian nodded silently, and Adrissu sat down next to him. Vesper watched them both uneasily from where she lay coiled beside the bookshelf. After a long moment, Kian sighed and leaned against Adrissu.
“Sorry,” he muttered, his gaze down on the ground. “I just feel like shit, and I’m nervous.”
Adrissu nodded, squeezing his hand gently. “I understand. No need to apologize.”
Before long, they were taking flight from below, slipping out of the darkened cliffs into the pale early morning light. He had tied Kian to him with extra care, knowing he would sleep for the first few hours, and the leather straps dug irritatingly into his scales. Once they were high in the sky, and Polimnos was no longer visible on the horizon far below, he felt Kian’s tense grip on the straps loosen along with the rest of his body as sleep overtook him. The young dragon’s lair was several hours away yet; it would have been foolish for Kian to be awake through it all, exhausted and miserable by the time they arrived. He had not expected the boy to fight him over it.
As they flew west, the sky that had once been dotted only with clouds became more and more dim, until Adrissu could feel the condensation in the air around him. The surrounding clouds were gray and endless. Summer rain would be irritating, but it couldn’t be helped. Luckily, though, the clouds never quite gave way to rain as he soared—it was dim and damp, but that he could deal with. Occasionally, he heard Kian mumble or shift in his sleep; but the tight leather straps held him securely, and Adrissu cast a warming charm over him to keep the worst of the chill off. Maybe, he thought with a slight thrill of excitement, they wouldbothbe flying when they returned home.
The clouds had tapered out a bit, but still blanketed most of the sky, when Adrissu dipped low enough to get a better view of their surroundings. He could just make out the tiny village where he asked about the rumors of dragons not even a week ago. He veered north until he could see the foothills, the edges of the forest that hid the dragon’s lair, then began to drop down to the wilderness below. Kian was still asleep, and he didn’t dare get anywhere near the dragon’s lair while the human was so vulnerable—Adrissu would not risk even the smallest chance that the dragon might detect them. Instead, he found a spot where the trees were reasonably thick and curled up on the ground, listening intently for any signs of life around them while he waited for Kian to wake. He doubted it would take much longer, since it had taken about four hours to arrive.
Sure enough, within half an hour he felt Kian stirring, a soft groan breaking the silence.
“—’re we here?” he mumbled, pressing his body closer to Adrissu’s “‘S cold.”
“It rained,” Adrissu replied softly. “But yes, we’re here.” He felt the human nod against his shoulders and struggle against the leather straps. “Wait a little longer. You’ll wake up more in a moment.”
Kian muttered something in response, but stilled. He remained motionless for a few more minutes, then Adrissu felt him breathe in a heavy sigh, propping himself up into a sitting position.
“Okay,” he said, but Adrissu could practically hear him wincing. “I’m ready.”
With Adrissu’s help, he was soon sliding down to the ground and stumbling to his feet, stretching with a groan.
“We’re close by,” Adrissu said, gesturing to the west. “Less than a mile that way.”
“A mile?” Kian sighed, wrinkling his nose.
“You should take some medicine now,” Adrissu said, even though he knew Kian would resist if this morning was any indication. “Even just another half dose. Just enough to help you stay sharp.”
