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My face scrunched up with his urgency, and I focused on the huge size of the Dragon. That was nothing like climbing Vyper. He was like a three-story high house, while the adult Dragons were like the freaking skyscrapers back in San Francisco. When my eyes connected with hers, she lowered her head to me, and I caressed the top of her nose.
“I’m not trained to jump like that yet,” I confessed. “You are not going to get mad if I step on your wing wrong while I try to climb you, right? I’ll try my best not to hurt you, I promise.”
Blinking, she observed me for a moment, until her hand wrapped around my body and she lifted me, dropping me onto her back. I fell on my ass from the unexpected help, crawling towards her rider. Although with how huge her body was, I could have probably done the conga to get there.
“What did you say to Athina that she carried you like that?” Asher glanced at me, stunned, but I had no time to answer as the Dragons lifted from the ground. Apparently, they had all been waiting for me.
* * *
The flight was a bit scarier than I was used to.
First, adult Dragons didn’t wear full harnesses like Vyper or Draco did. They didn’t even have a leather strap around their necks, so we were literally sitting between their scales, which formed a sort of natural saddle, and holding on to the hair-like membranes that fell from her head to her neck.
Second, they travelled much,muchfaster than Vyper was able to fly.
And third, their bodies were so big that our legs weren’t able to wrap around their massive necks like I did with the kids, so we literally sat in a straddling position.
Needless to say, that sideways turn out of the mountain had almost given me a heart attack.
Not that I’d ever admit that to anyone.
On the plus side, the sights were absolutely gorgeous as we crossed the land to a completely different place. And startlingly, I had somehow seen them all before…
On the down side, this place wasn’t even remotely close to the Lost Kingdom.
“Is this safe?” I asked, the silhouette of the broken Dragon statue atop the palace had vanished in the horizon.
“Yes. All of these are reclaimed lands, which means we have been able to liberate them from the Warlock King’s forces, and our Dragons fly free here. The news of his losses never made it into the Hallow? We hoped that our brothers and sisters had at least heard about our conquering, so they retained the hope that one day we would get them all back, because we will. We will find a way to defeat the Warlock King and free them.”
He spoke with such pain and determination that it both inspired me and made me feel like an asshole. There was no such thing as a white lie, and I wished I could tell him the truth about me. The problem was, I didn’t know Asher well enough to trust him with my secret yet, and I didn’t want to do anything that would jeopardize Evie from helping her people… our people. Reeling my identity so soon, could hurt her parents’ legacy.
“I heard rumors about freed territories but didn’t know which,” I finally answered, sensing he needed that hope as much as the people still enslaved did.
“Oh, good.” He visibly relaxed, holding the hair reins tighter. “We have been slowly freeing the lands. Inching towards the Hollow as safely as we can, while trying to build our forces to attack them once and for all. But we don’t have as many fighting men as we used to, or as we would like to go against the Dark Empire head on.”
“But there are a lot of men in the markets and among the city. Why aren’t they fighting with you?”
“The Soulris have always been a peaceful race, and not everyone has the makings of a warrior.”
He turned, glancing at me over his shoulder, while the wind from Athina’s flapping wings rustled his blond hair. It was sleek and slightly longer on the top, easily covering his eyes, and he was forced to finger comb it.
“There is a certain fire and need for justice one has to feel to be a warrior, but more than that, there has to be a simmering urge to do something about it.” He paused, observing me for a moment. “You have that in spades, my friend. And just in case you are wondering, it is not the princess’ favor that gives you a place among us today. Nor is it the incredible strength you possess, or the strange affinity you seem to have with Dragons—though, of course, it doesn't hurt.”
He winked playfully and I chuckled, but soon the seriousness of his words shone in his light gray eyes.
“It is that passion and honor inside you that surrounds you like an aura. It is almost tangible for us, and that not only makes a fierce fighter… it is the makings of an Elevated Warrior. Kingston sees that as clearly as my brothers and sisters do, so it is not a matter of if you’ll get to be one of us, but how soon. We are just wondering why you aren’t on the sixth floor already.”
I laughed at that. “Kingston will probably cut his own hand before he lets me on that floor and among your rank. You guys have been training for years, I can barely remain on my feet when he’s coming at me.”
“True. But fighting skills can be learned, you only need time to perfect them.” His finger poked at my chest. “What you have inside is something no one can learn, you have to be born with it.”
Smiling earnestly, he faced front just as we began to descend, but his words stayed with me.
Perhaps I wasn’t the guy who cleaned after the stable boy after all. Maybe I was a young Arthur, and I just needed to find mysword in the stoneto become who I was always meant to be.
A mooing song reached me, pulling me out of my thoughts, and I looked down to find a herd of cows and bulls grazing green pastures. The smell of fresh cut grass filtered through my nose as they ate off the land, accompanied by the sound of a herd of goats bleating along the nearby mountain.
Part of me wondered if it was actually a mountain or a sleeping Dragon, but when it yawned, turning a mustard yellow, I got my answer.
