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"It's injured, it's going to be angry," Bain said.
The way his eyes glazed, he was feeling for the creature, empathising with its discomfort.
It wouldn't have shown us any mercy, but it raised my opinion of Bain. For all of his manly manliness, he didn't enjoy the dragon's suffering.
That was kinda hot.
I shook my head and slung my bow over my shoulder. I shouldn't think that way about him. About anyone, if I planned to leave the city.
I reclaimed my horse and caught Dex's amused look. For a moment, I wondered why, but then realised I hadn't handed back the bow.
Fuck that. I had no intention of it, unless he insisted. Besides, the dragon may return and I wanted to be ready if he did.
I climbed back on my horse, without help or much grace, but I managed to haul myself into the saddle and pull up the reins.
"I thought a dragon would be tougher than that," said one of the guards, a man named Tallis. He gave a short laugh.
"I thought we were lunch," another agreed. "What a way to go. I just got married too."
"Being a dragon's lunch might be better," Tallis said. He laughed longer this time.
I turned and arched her eyebrows at him, but he gave her an unapologetic look in return.
"Watch your tongue or you'll lose it," Kerina snapped.
That made Tallis blink and stand up a little taller. "Sorry." He didn't seem all that sorry, but he fell silent.
Kerina glanced toward me and rolled her eyes before she winked conspiratorially.
I grimaced in response. If nothing else, Tallis' attitude might make him complacent and that could end badly for us all, especially him.
He was right about one thing though, scaring the dragon off was too easy. I didn't think the next time would be. The injury wasn't fatal, unless the creature couldn't fly and eventually starved. I wouldn't wish that on him. He was just doing what creatures do; trying to survive.
"Are you all right?" Dex's question broke through my thoughts.
"Hmmm? Yes. Just reflecting on the nature of dragons."
He smiled. "That was a nice shot you got off."
I made a face. "It was crap. I'm out of practice."
"I'm sure you'll make up for that before too long," he assured me. "You handle a bow well."
I shrugged slightly. "Thank you. I'll do better next time."
"Keeper." Bain rode up on the other side of Dex. He gave me a nod and Dex a meaningful look.
Dex nodded. "Excuse me, please." He gave me a brief smile and let his mount fall back behind me. He and Bain spoke in low tones so I couldn't hear, but Bain's tone was insistent.
I only caught a word or two, not enough to make sense of it, so I gave up trying and turned my attention to my surroundings instead.
The road turned inland and meandered through a series of low hills and sparse thickets of some kind of tree I didn't recognise. The further we went, the higher the hills became. The grass which formed a sparse covering became thicker and taller.
I nudged her horse beside Kerina's and said, "I thought the Vault was nothing but desert."
Kerina looked at me in surprise and laughed. "Because the city was built on the edge of one? No, the Vault is vast. The interior is dry for a hundred kilometres, but the east coast is virtually rainforest. The plains of the south are lush farmland."
"Why have a city here then?" I asked.
