Page 22 of Exquisite Monster (Dragons of Viria #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

________

KATALENA

M y eyes burned as we approached the surface. Living in such darkness for so long, I was no longer used to the brightness of daytime.

Idroal flew out of the hole of Evrítha . Wind and sound, light and color—all of it crashed back into my senses with the force of a storm. All I could do was hold on as they aimed away from the mess of tangled waters that fell into nothing.

“Where are we going?”

We have made camp to the east. Farther than I would have liked, but these plains are far too open. It is on the dragon side of the line. Fear not, no one will find us.

Below us, one of the rivers flowed toward the edge of the bowl, and we followed it. South and east, though not a deep enough angle to reach Skalisméra. Not that we would go there when my mates were in the exact opposite direction.

However, we aimed for the mountains. By the time hours had passed and we flew over them?—

Oh .

A crater spread out beneath us, bigger than I’d ever seen. Or even heard of. What caused this?

“What happened here?”

Idroal dove toward the center without speaking, toward a dark and shining stone at the center of the greater. It loomed larger and larger until it towered over us, tall as a palace. That now familiar silent vibration took hold of me. “This is a sheyten ?”

It is .

“Why aren’t the other craters so large?”

Some of them are. The sheyten in Skalisméra is smaller. The one we just left behind was protected by the sheer volume of water. The rivers always pooled in the center of the bowl and drained away. It was a much larger lake before the sheyten .

Trees grew on the floor of the crater. I spotted a trickling stream too. This crater was so old that nature had reclaimed it for itself.

Idroal landed lightly. Down beyond their wing, I saw smoke floating through the trees and the flickering glow of a fire. “Who came with you?”

Friends . Go and find out .

I slid down to the ground, and Varí leapt into the air, flying ahead of me. “Wait for me. ”

“The little one is in no danger.” Idroal pulled on a robe I hadn’t noticed, and their eyes danced when I looked surprised. “I keep it tied to my leg when flying away from home like this. Small magic.”

The light was still too bright, and everything was too real. Too vibrant. Too much.

Behind me, I heard exclamations of surprise. “Lena?” Belleo appeared from between the trees, running as soon as she saw me. “Thank the Fallen. You are alive.”

“I am alive.”

She pulled me into an embrace without hesitation. “I had hoped, but it was a dim hope. We are very glad you survived. How did you manage it?”

“I…” Clearing my throat, I glanced back at Idroal in question. “I didn’t.”

Idroal folded their arms within the sleeves of their robe as they approached. “Belleo is too young to remember your rescuer, Princess. But she will have heard the stories and can be trusted. Though,” they looked at Belleo, “this cannot be spoken of beyond our party.”

“Of course.”

“Gleym yet lives.”

Belleo’s mouth dropped open in shock. “It seems there is much to speak of.”

I laughed once. “Yes.”

She looped her arm through mine like she had when she first met me, and pulled me toward the trees and whoever else was waiting.

Faces I recognized. Mesene, Ravi, and Erryn. Two dragons stood back, and I didn’t recognize them.

Mesene pulled me into an embrace. “It is good to see you whole, Katalena.”

“Thank you.” Emotion was thick in my throat. These dragons barely knew me, yet they came looking for me and were grateful I was alive, though they owed me nothing.

“Katalena,” Idroal said. “This is Sotai, and Karadi. They’re from Doro Eche, and joined me at my request. They can be trusted and have no ill will toward humans.”

I looked at the two strangers. The first one, Sotai, had red hair that was much brighter than mine. As I watched, their face shifted and morphed much in the way Idroal’s did, not content to stay the same.

Karadi’s cropped hair was sapphire blue, and he had an easy smile. They both inclined their heads to me, and Varí flew over to investigate.

The shade of the trees was easier on my eyes. Everything was still too bright, too noisy, and too alive .

Erryn took one of my hands between both of hers. “I hope it is all right that I came to help.”

“Of course. Thank you. I didn’t imagine I had so many friends.”

Belleo, being who she was, saw my overwhelm and pulled me over next to the fire. “Here. Sit. You can tell us what happened.”

Energy slithered under my skin. I didn’t want to sit.

I didn’t want to be here at all. What I wanted was to be back on Idroal and flying toward my mates.

“How long do we have to stay?” I asked quietly, shaking my head.

“I need— I know we’re running out of time, and I can’t explain how I know. I just do.”

Idroal stepped up beside me and put their hand on my shoulder. “We will leave this evening as the sky darkens. We don’t want to be seen.”

“Even if they already know we’re coming?”

“Especially then.” Their voice was soft, but not out of pity. It didn’t feel like they were placating me or patting me on the head. Just a simple explanation. “If Andaros thinks there are dragons coming for the Heirs, he will prepare scalefire weapons that will knock us out of the sky.”

I nodded once. “Right.”

They gestured toward the seat Belleo had made for me. “Rest and eat. We are eager to hear your story, and I’m sure there is much you want to know about your mates and our tale. As soon as we can leave, we will.”

Settling on the grass, I set my bag beside me and stroked Varí’s spine as he curled up on my lap.

“After the circlet?—”

Idroal held out a hand. “If it is not too painful for you, we do not know what occurred after we were ordered away.”

I stared at them. “Then how did you find me?”

Their face was grim. “I would like to say it was skill or fate. The truth is that it was luck. All I knew was that Sirrus had called to me to help you. It took us far too long to find the Heirs themselves, and we will tell you everything. But if we had known, we would have come for you much sooner.”

It was all too much. One person wasn’t meant to bear this kind of weight. Anger and grief warred in my chest. Now that I was out of the darkness, it was so close to the surface. If I didn’t start speaking, I’d never get through it all. “I guess I’ll just… say it.”

All six dragons listened carefully as I recounted what happened that night. The Heirs being ripped away from me and given to Andaros as punishment. Bound not to fight back. Me being thrown over the cliff.

It felt like so much had transpired, but it didn’t take long to tell. Most days, if I could even call them that, had elapsed in the same way. All I wanted to do was ask about my mates and what these dragons knew, but I didn’t yet. I was afraid of hearing the worst.

Varí was now perched on my shoulder, and I tugged on his tail. “Will you get me a dart?”

He scurried to get it, dropping the stone weapon into my palm. “These are they. They can be lethal, and my skill is growing.”

“Skill matters little as long as you can stay alive,” Ravi said. “May I see it?” Varí picked it back up and flew it over to him. “Genius.”

There were so many questions I had, yet the same instinct that had been flaring for so long nearly leveled me. We were running out of time, if not already there. “The soldier said the Heirs were being harvested. For their fire.”

Silence fell around the fire.

“Yes,” Idroal said. “That is correct.”

Pain flared in my chest. “How do you know? Are they all right?”

Idroal held out their hand. “This close to the sheyten , I can show you, if you like.”

“How?”

“I can hear thoughts through the earth and stone, but with the nearness of the stone, I can both project and receive thoughts into someone’s mind. It is how I can communicate with the Elders in Doro Eche while in Skalisméra.”

That seemed faster and more immediate. I placed my hand in theirs and felt like I was falling down Evrítha all over again.

I felt more than saw the time passing in my mind, and yet I could see it, spinning from one breath to the next. Sirrus calling out to them and asking them to help me after all the dragons had been driven away from the circlet and our celebration in order to betray us.

Idroal had gone to the Elders and tried. All that happened was what they had said—they had been bound with the restriction not to look for me, my mates, not even for Varí .

They’d sought out Sotai and Karadi, friends from long ago who felt no kindness toward the Elders, before returning to Skalisméra. Not to mention, their skills would be useful in finding both my mates and me.

Belleo had wept when she heard, and I saw her being embraced by Mesene. Idroal explaining what they were not allowed to do, and asking for help.

Shock rolled through me. Ravi’s gift was location.

If he knew the shape or energy of something, he could trace it with his power.

The first time I’d met him he’d just come back from finding rare ingredients for Mesene.

Now it made sense why, and none of the other dragons had been bound by the same command.

They sought out the Heirs first, thinking I would be with them too, not knowing what Andaros had done.

Though they could not get close enough to the Heirs to speak to them.

Craisos, dying as it was, had turned into little more than a desert in the past centuries, and sand was not solid enough to support Idroal’s gift.

Sotai’s gift was similar to Endre’s. They could appear as they wished. “How?”

I looked up, the stream of Idroal’s thoughts pausing as I stared at the unfamiliar dragon.

They simply looked back, and as I watched, they transformed into me .

As I was right now. Slumped on the ground, messy hair, dark circles under my eyes.

I looked frail and exhausted, but the dragon wore their own clothes.

“That is unsettling.”

Sotai smiled and faded back into themselves. “So I’ve been told.”

“You do not choose your power, correct?” I asked.

“Not consciously.” Mesene slowly braided her long lavender hair so it hung over her shoulder. “But it often stems from a need. Or reflects the dragon’s personality.”

“What is yours?” I froze. “Is it impolite to ask?”

“No,” she said with a smile. “It is not impolite. I have the gift of light.” A small shine gathered around her fingertips as she waved them in the air. “It is not the most extraordinary gift, but it has its uses.”

“Karadi can create a shield that is nearly impenetrable,” Idroal said. “Erryn’s gift is similar to mine, but not without communication.”

“I feel vibrations. Even the smallest ones. It can tell me what is in a space, and the size. Over time, if I learn the vibrations, I can identify people.”

Belleo grinned. “And I can wield water. Not exactly helpful in a desert, but there was no way I wasn’t coming to help.”

“Thank you,” I murmured.

Idroal’s memories tugged me down again, urging me to get to the end.

Sotai had disguised themselves and begun to search Caelora for the Heirs and listen for anything.

They’d begun to plan a rescue for them when they heard about the soldiers that were sent to Evrítha .

To find the king’s former betrothed. To make sure she was dead.

I surfaced from the memory looking into Idroal’s face.

“You know the rest. We followed those soldiers from far enough that the draygs could not scent or see us, and I went alone because I knew what was at the bottom of that pit. I did not believe Gleym would appreciate six dragons landing in her home.”

“No,” I laughed bitterly. “No, I don’t think so.” Then I paused. “So you did know she was alive?”

They smiled faintly. “I might have. But that is a story for a different time, Princess. ”

Silence fell again, and I hesitated. Idroal knew, but the others didn’t. “One got away. So Andaros will know I am alive.”

“Yes.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

Belleo shrugged. “Likely both, but I think it’s a good thing.”

“Why?”

“If they’d found you dead, he would not be distracted. Instead now he will be wondering where you are and what you are doing. His attention will be divided between you and the Heirs. Perhaps the distraction will give us an advantage.”

“And,” Sotai said, “his attention will be divided further as the rulers of the human lands gather in Caelora on the full moon.”

I startled. That meant my father would be in Caelora. “Why?”

“I have not been able to find a direct answer,” Sotai said. “As far as I can tell, it is a show of strength by Andaros. To command the rulers of the humans and have them obey. They’re likely complying so they have access to both Craisos’s food and weapons.”

Erryn spoke now. The dragon was so quiet she nearly blended into the environment. “They have found a way to grow food at an absurd rate. They must be feeding half the humans in Viria with the number of shipments leaving Caelora every day.”

That made sense. Shipping food to Gleira had been part of the betrothal and alliance. How they did it? I had no idea.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, staring into the small flames in front of me. Fire that danced in the gentle breeze. It wasn’t the fire I wanted. I wanted their flames.

Unable to hold back my question, my voice shook. “Do you have a plan? To get them out?”

Karadi finally spoke as he shook his head. “No. Not yet. But the one thing we know is that Andaros is easy to anger, and obsessive in his need to conquer the Heirs, and by extension, all dragons.”

“How does that help?”

Belleo nudged my shoulder with hers. “He’s more likely to make a mistake. And that’s all we need. One mistake that gives a chance to get inside and get them out.”

“We’ll have a plan,” Ravi said. It sounded like a promise. “Once we get there, we’ll make a plan.”

It wasn’t much, but it was more than I’d had when I thought I would be going after my mates all alone. Gleym was right. There was every chance this would end badly, both for us and the rest of Viria. But I was still going to try, even if it killed me.