AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Awhat?” I stammer.
Honestly, I’m rather impressed that my mind can even pull words out of the maelstrom of thoughts swirling inside my brain, most of them variations on the wordslove,Queen,andimpossible.
The white healer dragon flicks her tail against the stone wall of the tunnel in a way that seems to radiate annoyance.
“I told him you were not available,” she says, with a sort of a sniff. “But he is being quite persistent.”
“Wait, who—” I begin, but my question fades in the face of the white dragon’s disapproving frown. Without making a sound, she is quite clearly conveying that asking for the names of random humans is beneath her.
“He’s from Cairncliff,” she says. “And he wants to see you as well,” she adds, nodding toward Doshir.
“Cairncliff?” Doshir repeats. The stunned, confused expression on his face looks exactly like I feel.
“Doshir,” the white dragon continues, “perhaps you can convince the human to return at a more appropriate time.”
“No,” I say.
The dragon and Doshir both turn to me. I try to look calm, although my mind is now screaming about who in the nine hells I might know in Cairncliff, and the dull throb of the stitches holding my arm together is growing stronger.
“I’ll meet with him,” I say. “I’m sure it won’t take too long, whoever he is.”
The white dragon nods her head in a way that makes me think she does not agree but she’s too polite to make a scene out of it. Then, in a flash of iridescent scales, she turns and retreats down the hallway. The low murmur of voices ripples out from the tunnel, followed by the rustle and clip of claws on stone. And then something else, a rhythm that’s so common I hadn’t even realized it was missing. The thud of boots on stone.
I stand, wincing as the motion sends a fresh flare of pain down my left side and then smoothing my skirt to cover it. The tunnel is in shadow, so I hear the thud of human feet long before I see anything. It sounds like two people, or possibly three; there’s an odd, arrhythmic clunk mixed in with the footfalls that I can’t quite place. My muscles pull tight under the silk and velvet of my dress, and for a heartbeat, I wish I had my daggers back.
A flash of light in the tunnel winks from the gloom of the tunnel, the white of scales glinting through the darkness. And, yes, there’s a human beside the dragon. Two humans, although the taller one is moving in a strange, lurching sort of way. The clunks grow louder as they approach the end of the tunnel, and—
“Eadberh!” I scream.
My dear friend from Valgros steps into the light, tosses his hair back, and grins at me. I rush forward, only noticing at the last minute how much of his weight rests against the thick cane in his hand. I stop, hesitating, but Eadberh lunges forward and wraps both his arms around me. His cane clatters to the ground.
“King’s fucking crown,” Eadberh cheers as his arms crush me against his chest. “Rayne!”
I gasp, and Eadberh lets up. He steps back, his hands still wrapped around my shoulders, his grin wider and wilder than perhaps I’ve ever seen.
“I’ll be damned,” Eadberh finally says. “You made it.”
My eyes sting, and my throat feels too thick to squeeze words through. The last time I saw Eadberh, his skin was the same pasty white as the pillowcase underneath his head. Some part of me was so certain my friend was going to die in that bed, in that sunlit room in Cairncliff, that I hadn’t fully believed Doshir’s claim that Eadberh had recovered.
“Stars damn it,” I sputter, reaching for Eadberh’s arms and patting them, like I’m trying to reassure myself he actually exists. “What in the nine hells are you doing here?”
Eadberh takes a step back. The man beside him leans down, retrieves the thick cane Eadberh had dropped, and then offers it to him. His face looks familiar, but it’s so out of place I can’t fish the name from my memories. Eadberh accepts the cane, leans against it once more, and then looks me over.
“You look like you’ve been dragged through shit,” Eadberh declares.
Behind him, the white dragon makes a noise that sounds like she’s trying to sneeze with her mouth shut.
“Nice dress, though,” Eadberh adds.
“Thanks,” I reply, grinning at him. “I’m okay now.”
Eadberh shakes his head and lets out a low whistle. “We never thought we’d see you again,” he says, with a little nod toward the man standing behind him. “When Doshir told me you’d decided to stay in Valgros, I figured—”
His voice trails off, and I swallow.
“How did you get here?” I ask, changing the subject with all the subtlety of a blunt weapon.
“Oh, we’re on official business,” Eadberh replies, still grinning at me. “We’ve got a message for Doshir from the Mayor herself. Apparently, none of the members of the Cairncliff City Council wanted to volunteer to travel to visit a of dragons. I can’t imagine why.”
