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Fel looked at him. “I can still…” His hands fell on the floor, metallic thuds echoing in that chamber. “Nevermind.”
Tzaria approached the red fabric. “We’ll escape without magic.” She pulled it to reveal a strange thing, some kind of mangled leather.
Oh. River’s stomach chilled as he realized what he was seeing. It was a dragon, so skinny that the shape of his bones was visible beneath his skin. Most of his scales had fallen, and the ones still on his body were rough looking, like old tree bark if it were gray. There were also some cuts in his body.
“Who are you?” Tzaria asked.
“Can’t… talk. Run.” The dragon didn’t exactly say these words, but sent them as a thought.
“I think we should just follow his suggestion,” River said, checking the room for visible doors. He couldn’t see any and assumed there would be something specially conceived for an ironbringer—and now Fel was powerless.
The sound of metal against metal made River look up. King Harold was there, or rather, Cynon, looking at them through a hole that was like some kind of small trapdoor.
“How lovely,” Cynon said.
River took his bow in less then a second, then loosed an arrow towards that dreadful face. It hit a barrier and bounced back.
The creature looking at them from the top chuckled. “So now you know you’re trapped. Trapped in a trap. Incredible how people can be so gullible. Enjoy your time there.”
River still sent another arrow and another and another, even though they all bounced back. This was a human bow, different from the ones he was used to, but he was able to put enough strength to send them at a good speed, and yet there was no way they could reach the ceiling.
The trapdoor was then closed, and they were left alone. River tried to reach the wall, but came across a barrier.
“What’s this?” he asked the dragons.
“It’s a dragon barrier, by all means,” Tzaria said. “Except that it’s much stronger, and interferes with magic. All kinds of magic, it seems.”
River scoffed. “And I assume he let us live thinking he’ll overhear some yummy morsels of gossip or something.”
“Probably,” Tzaria agreed.
He wanted to strangle them all and this stupid idea. While he wasn’t afraid of dying, he didn’t want to let Naia down. She had warned them, and yet he had trusted these dragons. He then remembered the amulet Fel had given her. Should such a rare and powerful object be used simply to save someone’s life? It felt like a waste. Perhaps everything could be different if they used that object right this time.
The truth was that now he remembered it, remembered Naia wearing it, when she had rescued him in the dragon lair, so long ago. He hadn’t lied to her when claiming he had never seen it. In truth, he hadn’t noticed it then, and yet now the amulet was clear in his memory. But why should it be used to save his life, when so much more was at stake? And yet, if she didn’t use it for that, what would happen to him? Die? Disappear? He wasn’t sure.
One thing he realized was that his theory that Ironhold had a dragon heart was actually correct. He hadn’t imagined the heart would still be attached to the body, but there it was. It was even more useful for Ironhold, as they were probably also using the dragon’s blood.
Tzaria was close to the huge creature, caressing his wings and whispering some soothing words. Fel was thoughtful. Risomu was… anxious? There was something odd about that dragon, or else it was just that River didn’t know him.
Tzaria turned to River, Fel, and Risomu. “His name is Kaneyo. He was an exile. Ended up here a long time ago—and got caught. It seems it was Ironhold’s doing.”
“Evil attracts evil,” Risomu muttered.
She nodded. “Indeed. You need compatibility to bring something like Cynon.”
“Not necessarily,” River said. “I think.” He hoped, at least.
The woman shook her head. “One thing is bringing him all the way from the eleventh realm. Housing him temporarily is another. And it seems you were not an easy host. He targeted you because of your power, not because of compatibility.”
“Amazing power. Aren’t you all in awe?” River couldn’t believe he had fallen for such a silly trick. “And what about that thing we were looking for? Where is it, then?” He didn’t want to mention the egg or Cynon’s dragon form, fearing they were being overheard.
“We’ll find it,” Tzaria said. “There’s a reason for everything.”
“Oh, yes,” Fel said. “It explains why my father died.”
She put a finger over her mouth. Indeed he was stepping into dangerous territory. If Cynon realized he had hisiron dragonright here… And then, what would he do? Imprison him? Take away his magic? But it was callous to talk about a reason for everything in front of Kaneyo, who likely had suffered for years.
River approached him and put a hand on his snout. “I feel for you. Some things do not have a reason. I wish you hadn’t suffered.”
