AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And dozens more.
I repeat the names of the dead as I fly with the other males toward Ouroskelle, the largest in the archipelago of rocky islands that our kind has called home for millennia.
I already know what we’ll find. The few males we left behind, mourning over the skeletons of the other females. All of them, gone.
At least the ones who died on Ouroskelle can have their bone ceremonies. But my heart aches for the corpses of the beloved dragons lying in the city of Guilhorn.
My grandmother, my sister, my Promised… all gone.
When my father died, I made a pact with my brother and sister that even though I broke the shell of my egg first, I would not be the new Bone-King. Instead, the three of us would rule together, two princes and a princess. We would check each other, balance each other, and support each other, under the guidance of Grimmaw, whose century of wisdom far surpassed our own.
Now one part of our sibling trinity is gone, and only Varex and I remain.
A low moan issues from my throat at the thought, at the memory of Vylar pierced by that tower. When the sun rose this morning, her body would have disintegrated, turning to ash and whisking away in the wind, leaving only bones behind. We are creatures of sky and flame, and once our fire has died, we return to the air.
I should have stayed to collect bones from Vylar, Mordessa, and Grimmaw. But I was too intent on my plan, too desperate to carry it out before I could convince myself otherwise. I told myself and the other warriors that it was the perfect solution, the ultimate revenge.
I’ve done the right thing. By stealing the daughters of our enemies, we have sent a message to Elekstan that their Supreme Sorcerer’s magical genocide did not go unanswered. My clan has been avenged.
But no frail human females can ever replace the glorious warriors, the strong mothers, and the beautiful partners we lost.
I moan again, louder. Answering moans of sorrow echo from the nearest of the other dragons.
“I realize you’re upset,” chirps the little human in my claws. “Is it true that my mother’s sorcerer did a spell that killed many dragons?”
“He killed all the female dragons, everywhere.” I tighten my claws until she squeaks.
“So you’re angry.” Her voice is strained now, threaded with a note of terror. “You’re in pain. I understand that. But eating me isn’t going to make you feel better.”
“Why would I eat a scrawny little worm like you? Barely a scrap on your bones. You would probably taste disgusting anyway. A coddled little wine-sap with over-perfumed skin and too much hair.”
“I’m not a wine-sap, I’m only wearing a little perfume, and I have just the right amount of hair.”
“Human hair is strange. If it was fur, wool, or hide, it would make more sense, but it sprouts out of the tops of your heads for no reason.”
“It sprouts out of other places too,” she says stoutly.
“What places?”
“Well, men have beards—I’m sure you’ve noticed that. And there are… other places… that are none of your damn business, and why am I discussing this with you? Are we headed over the ocean? Oh fuck no… Put me down, you big ugly lizard, or I swear—”
“Or what?” I respond. “What will you do? What can a soft little slug like you do to a dragon?”
“I can make your life miserable.”
A harsh laugh rumbles in my throat. “I am already miserable.”
She’s silent for a few blessed moments, and then she says, “I am sorry for what happened. I was not the cause of it, nor did I realize my mother and the Supreme Sorcerer were planning such a horrible thing. If I had any power at all, or any say in the matter, I would have stopped it. I would have stopped this entire war, months ago.”
“But you did not.”
“Because I couldn’t.”
“The Crown Princess had no say whatsoever in matters of the kingdom?”
“No.”
“That smacks of laziness on your part.”
