AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He glances at Doshir, then back to me, the question hanging in the air between us like a bomb about to explode. My blood pounds in my temples, and my cheeks are so hot they could probably melt ice. Doshir clears his throat, but whatever he’s about to say is lost in another round of his father’s explosive laughter.
“Ah, that’s a shame,” Geredan says. He turns back to me with a gleam in his eyes that makes it easy to imagine what he’d look like as a dragon. “If things don’t work out with my son, Valgros dragon lady, you’re always welcome on my ship.”
“Dad!” Doshir gasps. “For the Mothers sake!”
Geredan chuckles, then waves his hands in the air.
“Kidding, kidding,” he says, although he gives me a wink that makes me suspect he was not, in fact, kidding.
I feel like I might be sick. Geredan leans forward, ignoring the shocked expression on Doshir’s face, and presses his palms against the table.
“So we’ve got, what, four days?”
Doshir nods. He still looks pale.
“How are you two getting to the Iron Mountains?” Geredan asks. “You can’t fly, of course. They’d spot you from a day away.”
“I— Horses,” Doshir replies, in a dazed sort of voice. “Elyon, he’s the elven ambassador to the—”
“I know who Elyon is,” Geredan grumbles.
“He’s, uh, arranged for some horses,” Doshir continues. “But, damn it, what good is that going to do?”
There’s a sharp edge in Doshir’s voice, and I reach for him before fully realizing that the gesture will answer Geredan’s question about us. My fingers brush the soot-smeared cuff of Doshir’s shirt, and then I pull my arm back and tuck my scarred hand beneath my good one. Geredan’s eyes follow my every move.
“We can’t sneak into the Iron Mountains,” Doshir says. The bite in his voice sounds almost like panic. “It’s the most secretive on the continent!”
Geredan laughs again, sharp and loud. Doshir looks like he’s been slapped.
“Oh, my naive little son,” Geredan says. “Do you really think there’s no secret passage into Wendolyn’s chambers?”
Doshir’s mouth opens. He’s significantly paler than he was a heartbeat before.
“Oh, come now,” Geredan says, waving his hand in the air again. “I never fucked her. While you were together.”
There’s a pause. I feel like I can hear Doshir’s composure cracking.
“The important thing is,” Geredan continues, as if he’d said nothing more thanlovely weather we’re having today, “I know how to get into the Iron Mountains without being seen. And I can draw you a Mothers-damned map, okay?”
Doshir’s neck flashes as he swallows. Once, then again. And then he nods, very politely, as if we were in the king’s court.
“That would be very helpful,” Doshir says.
Geredan grins like the fox who stole the moon.
“I could give you a lift,” Geredan says, raising his eyebrows. There’s something in his voice that sounds like a tease. “This is the fastest brig in the ocean, you know that? I could get you to the eastern edge of the Iron Mountains just as quick as a couple of damned horses. Bit more dragon-like way to travel, too.”
Doshir winces like he’s just tasted something sour.
“Thanks, but I think we’ll stick with riding,” Doshir says.
Geredan chuckles again, then rubs his hands together.
“Never got the hang of sailing, did you?” he asks. “Most dragons don’t, you know. It’s a pity.”
Doshir’s face suggests he disagrees. Geredan turns to me with wide eyes, almost like he’s waiting for me to make an argument in favor of taking this ship to the Iron Mountains. I swallow hard; the idea of spending a few days with Doshir’s father makes me feel like I’m about to lose whatever’s left in my stomach.
“Horses,” I say. “Horses are great.”
