Ezeru

This time, we had an entire army behind us. I was glad Seron knew what to do with them.

“Captain Korsu, I want you to take your men through the Quartz Passage. Wear your masks, and at the first sign of mist, withdraw. Hold your breath as much as you can and stay out of its way. We want them to try and expend their mist faster than they can replenish it. Minister Avo, I want you to be waiting in the Strata Caves. If they decide to go on the offense, back up Korsu. If they withdraw, let them withdraw—for now. We have time to wear them down. This might be a war of attrition. Ezeru, I want you to support Avo, and try to turn any more rock dragons you find to our side, but I also want you to keep communication flowing among the rock dragons. If they see the mist dragons trying to retreat, we’ll go after them. We’re going to try to bleed them of resources, but I expect if they get too strapped they might withdraw and attack our villages. The rest of you, keep watch over the entire area. We can’t let any mist dragons escape to get back to Phoebe and the guardians. And the Elders are humans. So don’t drop your guard for anyone.”

“Yes, sir!”

Still, it was somewhat reluctantly that I took my dragons with Avo. I knew a lot of his men still didn’t like or trust rock dragons. And I could tell they were also a little wary of Seron now.

I heard murmurings on our travels.

“I hope this isn’t some act and she’s still under his control…”

“That mist is so strong…”

“But the queen healed him, right?”

“Well, I hope so. She’s just a girl…”

“Lord Seron’s never let us down.”

“Still, since he became king, he’s changed.”

They went quiet whenever they noticed me, although I don’t think they realized how good my hearing was. I stuck to my own kind.

We staked out a camp in the cavern, where the walls were striped with different colors of rock—reds and golds, white and sparkling grays, pink and even a pale purple. We were close enough to the mist dragon camps, but for days—weeks—there was no action. We didn’t have much to do besides training practice, hunting for small prey, and peeling off small groups of rock dragons. My dragons grew restless.

We received messages back and forth between the encampments.

I don’t like this, Seron wrote. They must have some sort of plan. They’re not attacking or retreating. They’re waiting for something. We need more information.

I sent out my spies, but rock dragons didn’t bring much nuance to their reporting. That day, my female scout’s report amounted to, “Lots of mist dragons! Lots of big mist dragons eating licking snake. Tasty. I want…”

“Did you see anything strange there? Did you see the priestess? A human girl?”

“Ahh…human girl sitting by Queen’s brother. Quiet. Sad. Sad little mate.”

“Is he mating with her?”

The dragon girl nodded. “Not too close to smell seed, but she look mated to me. Not a good mating. Like the bad times when a woman not want to mate.” She bristled a little. “Poor girl,” she added, putting a paw on my leg.

“That’s enough for today,” I said. “Go rest. We’ll figure out some way to help her.”

I had always found these stories particularly upsetting. I had grown up seeing high dragons disdain the rock dragon women, treating them like animals and calling them ugly names—and then, those stories. Maybe that was why I still hated the high dragon women looking at me. There was too long a history of rock dragons being taken advantage of. I couldn’t have mated with any woman but Himika, even if I wanted to. But with Himika, I could hardly control myself. I worried I might hurt her. But she always seemed very happy even when I knew I did hurt her.

I lay down to sleep, but I kept thinking of the human girl who would be the priestess if Phoebe was killed. Gilbert, bringing up how Mage Emory had cut off his hand, and how Rothair had all the power now. If she became the priestess, she would have a little more power over him, but even then…how much power could a young girl have over a seasoned dragon mage?

He had probably stolen her from her family. Her sigils weren’t awakened yet. She was a prisoner, just held until the time when her role might appear.

He might be hurting her. But she wouldn’t be happy. She’d be terrified.

My breathing grew more strained.

‘Do you have any idea who your parents are?’

I knew it wasn’t Izeria, because it couldn’t be. She couldn’t force herself on a rock dragon man. It was Dvaro or Rothair. When the rock dragon girl told me about the human girl there, looking like she’d had a ‘bad mating’, I couldn’t shake the image of Rothair casting a spell to find all the dragons with the blood of Orvenu. And then…the look on his face when he saw me there.

I had to struggle to sit up, my lungs choked, and turn to the fire to make a cup of Himika’s tea.

A few rock dragons stirred. “King okay?”

“I’m…fine…”

Then, they all stirred at once, turning to look outward. I caught the faint scent of foreign rock dragons.

“We’re not alone here,” I said. I forced myself to my feet. “Wake up! Someone’s coming!”

There were already guards awake, but they didn’t smell the rock dragons as quickly as we did. They blew horns, alerting everyone.

We were caught off guard by a large pack of rock dragons who burst into the cavern from multiple crevices. Just rock dragons, no mist dragons. My dragons ran to meet them. I could see the high dragons taking out their weapons.

“No. Please…tell your men to stand down,” I told Avo. “If they see all the swords, they’ll think we mean war. Try to keep going about your business.”

“I sure hope you know what you’re doing. I don’t like being caught unawares.”

“I do.”

My dragons chittered, showing that they wouldn’t fight unless provoked. “King. This rock dragon king, Ezeru.” My dragons would assert my position. I looked for Aknu to lead them. It was a reflex by now. Aknu was always so good at helping me turn the rock dragons. He understood me more than the others, while still being closer to other rock dragons. He was a bridge between me and my own kind.

Now he was gone, and the loss still felt so raw. Even though I had seen him die, I didn’t accept it. I expected to see him with the other in his old place.

The enemy rock dragons sniffed the air. “King weak,” they scoffed. “We follow Queen Izeria.”

They smelled my grief. I couldn’t allow that. I had to stop coughing and struggling to breathe. Rock dragons expected their king to be the strongest warrior, to fight whatever beast one might encounter in the tunnels and caverns.

But it wasn’t always easy.

I touched the ground and brought the rock up, armoring my arms and legs, and stomped, swishing my tail. “I am your true…king,” I said, my voice hoarse. I wondered if I would have to go through the whole display of fighting a man made out of rock again. Ever since I had brought the first group of rock dragons into the fold, I hadn’t had much trouble with them since. That was a lot of work…

“Queen Izeria want you to have message. They have beautiful sad girl to shut the gate. They send someone to kill priestess. Stone Mage send message to guardian.”

“What guardian?” I asked.

“He called Merrick.”

I could feel the ripple of panic through the whole room. “Merrick? Merrick Sewell is a guardian?”

“Yes. He is guardian. Stone Mage say so. You come here, and he kill Phoebe.”

“Gods!” Even Minister Avo was panicking. “But he’s been working for Commander Abel for all these months! He seemed so trustworthy! He’s dating his sister, isn’t he? Can he get in the house?”

“Queen to tell you, she not kill girl Fee-bee if you come home to her, Ezeru. She send an order to spare her life,” the rock dragon said, a little proudly. This message was a lot for a rock dragon to remember.

“We can’t trust her,” Avo said.

“I don’t trust her. Damn it…but if what they’re saying is true…what am I supposed to do? If Merrick kills Phoebe, then they get instant control over these caverns. They shut the gates and this entire army could be wiped out. People have already died, and even Seron was almost lost, because Izeria wants me back. I’ll go.”