Just casually laying down by the lake.
“What’s your name?”
“It’s—” I paused, my gaze snapping back to the rider’s. Dahes told me I couldn’t tell King Elion or anyone in Viven who I was. He said that I had some sort of reputation. Did they know my name was Magnolia? Did they know Dahes called me Mag?
“It’s Nollie,” I said, almost on instinct. It’d been so long since I used that nickname, so long since I heard someone say it, and the moment the name left my mouth, I regretted it. It opened up too many painful memories, felt like I was washing the burns on my feet withthe tip of a blade. It was whatheused to call me, what Masin called me.
I love you, Mas.
I love you, Nollie.
I love you more—we used to say in unison.
I blinked rapidly, trying to wash away the memory before it stung as I remembered I was supposed to recite a speech. “Dahes must have sent it after me after I escaped Moriann.”
The drakin rider looked skeptical, and I honestly couldn’t blame him. I was strong for my size, but no one in their right mind would risk climbing the Senith and crossing the Sands.
His eyes were the lightest shade of brown I’d ever seen, his shaggy hair multiple shades darker, almost black. There was a wave to the ends that made me want to run my fingers through it just to see if it was as soft as it looked.
Sun-bronzed skin contrasted his pale gaze, making his eyes that much more striking. I wasn’t sure if everyone in Viven had a dark complexion from the constant exposure of the two suns, or if Morianns were just all pale from the lack of it.
I loved it. Loved that he looked nothing like Dahes, that he had color to him, making him seem alive. Everything in Moriann was either dull or dead.
The rider looked from me, to the waterfall at my back, then back at me. Yup, he didn’t believe me. I suddenly became aware of my slip—of how the fabric ripped up my leg as I sprinted toward the water.
“How did you climb the Senith?”
“My Token,” I answered, which really wasn’t an answer at all, but he didn’t question me on it.
“Why was Dahes after you?”
“He wasn’t,” I blurted, then forced myself to swallow, “until I left.”
“No one has ever escaped Moriann before.” He crossed his arms, looking me up and down again, and I tried not to grimace under his assessment. It was so strange, felt so foreign as he studied me so thoroughly, to have someone else witness my existence after so long in solitude. “Why did you leave?”
I shrugged, feigning indifference. “The same reason anyone would.” There was a beat of silence between us before I gave him my real answer. “Moriann has no food. It’s cold. You’re lucky if you have a home. There’s more death than life. Crimes aren’t punished and the amount of stuff you see is?—”
He cut me off. “I get it.”
The look he gave me was so assessing that it reminded me of Dahes for a split second, except his was molten heat instead of frozen ice. His eyes traveled over my bare arm—on the lack of a criminal mark, which meant I was Moriann-born.
“I’ll take you to my king,” he said after a moment. “The Valdern is still considered middle territory. King Dahes will continue to send monsters after you until you’ve crossed into Viven.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“I’m not doing it for your sake.”
“Right.” I had no idea why his statement bothered me. It was exactly what Dahes predicted. King Elion wouldn’t want to leave me and risk Dahes sending more creatures so close to his border.
“You’re going to have to trust me.”
“Trust you? With what?” I asked, but as soon as the words left my mouth, I knew. His dragon stood on her hind legs before crouching down at an angle.
The rider started walking toward her. “She won’t hurt you,” he said again, then jumped onto the dragon’s back, leaving me standing on the ground alone. He moved so gracefully that I had no idea how he managed to climb her so fast.
“How am I supposed to get up there?” I asked, hating the panic immediately creeping into my voice.
“You climbed the Senith, but this height frightens you?” He mocked, but his expression remained neutral, bored even.
