AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He nods.
"For how long?"
He is quiet for so long that I begin to think he is refusing to answer. Finally, he takes another drink, staring straight ahead into the glowing embers of the strange stones when he speaks.
"Seventeen years."
I fight to feel something besides horror. Seventeen years in that castle. That's almost as long as Melodi has been alive. Suddenly, Sigrid’s sadness when she tells me that she knows what it is to be away from the people she cares about makes so much sense. There are many things that make more sense and so many more that don't make any at all.
But where the king had been carefree only moments ago, sadness is now etched into every line of his face, and for all that I am a monster, even I cannot bring myself to ask him more when he has finally revealed so much. This night means something to him. And though these are answers I have wanted, I suddenly hate myself even more than usual for putting that expression on his face.
The visceral emotion frightens me, because he is far from the first person I have hurt, and I doubt he will be the last. Why should his pain matter more than anyone else's?
But it does.
So instead of questioning him further, I find myself stretching out my hand and placing it over his.
"Thank you for bringing me here tonight,” I say quietly, and he entwines his fingers with mine.
The sky is growing darker, and couples are scooting closer to one another as we wait for what will happen next.
“So, why did you come this time?” For reasons I can't explain to myself, I hold my breath for his answer.
“Well, you did announce that we were going to my entire court.” He raises his eyebrows.
“Is that the only reason?” It has been half a lifetime since I let my curiosity get the better of me this way.
He studies my face for a long moment, but he is saved from making a response by a gasp going through the villagers around us.
He flips his hand over to encircle mine and squeezes it, his open eagerness almost childlike in this moment as he gestures for me to glance to the sky.
When I follow his gaze, it steals my breath away. It's like the sky is putting on a show for us. Subtle at first, then sharper in clarity. Lights brilliantly twinkle in a pattern I can’t guess at. Bright, shining columns of green fading into a purple that is more subtle but no less breathtaking.
The lights flow like waves on the sea, gently swaying but far more striking.
A quiet settles over us like a blanket, while everyone watches in awe at nature's spectacle.
This may easily be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
That is, until the dragon appears.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ashadow grows in the distance, sailing toward us as if it is following the movement of the light above it. I squeeze Einar’s fingers, my mind running wild with the possibility that I might see something as mythical as a dragon.
Sure enough, the closer it gets, the easier it is to see the silver and pearlescent scales reflecting the soft glow of the torch light and fire stones around us.
Its large wings beat more slowly as it attempts to land nearly fifty yards away, sending a strong breeze through our makeshift camp.
It lands near the edge of the hill where several villagers have thrown raw meat and carcasses for its meal.
I stare, mouth agape, and watch it devour every last ounce of their offering, wondering how easy it would’ve been for the dragon to make a feast of us instead.
Everything about it is captivating, from the glowing embers in its nostrils to its shimmering white teeth and steely blue eyes.
Even Khijha is in awe as she observes the mountainous creature, her tail swaying softly, her eyes fixated.
It isn’t until the beast is finally flying away that I realize I have been squeezing Einar’s hand tightly the entire time. I relax my stiff fingers and applaud with the rest of the villagers once the dragon is headed back toward its home in the mountains.
