Page 48 of Exquisite Monster (Dragons of Viria #2)
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
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SIRRUS
W e chose the courtyard to meet. Large enough to be comfortable, and easy enough to make sure no one was spying. We didn’t believe anyone knew we were here, but we would never take that for granted.
Endre finished explaining what he’d learned, and the possibilities it offered.
The shock rolling through our dragon companions was about the same as what I’d just experienced. The anger too, though I didn’t think it held a candle to the three of us.
“It does solve one problem,” Karadi said. “But not the other.”
Belleo spoke from where she was tucked between her mates. Ravi had a hand almost indecently on her thigh, and Mesene was curled around her. They looked inevitable, like us with Lena. “What’s the other?”
“With the sheyten still broken, the human lands are starving. Even if the Elders are overcome, the humans still rage against us and wish us ill, if only to take healthy land from us. Until they are healed, there is no chance of true peace.”
“Why haven’t you fixed them?” Lena asked.
Everyone came to stillness and looked at her. Mesene was the first to smile, as if they already knew the extent of her question.
“How do you mean?” Endre asked.
She gestured to everyone assembled. “Clearly a small number of dragons can move past your barrier. And I believe most of the humans are only agreeing to war because they’re desperate.
They have no other choice. By rescuing the three of you, it’s been proven that dragons can get there and back without being detected, so why not fix them? ”
I reached out and took her hand from where it rested and wove our fingers together before kissing the back of it. “You need every piece to heal a sheyten .”
She nodded. “And they don’t break like stone. So we don’t have to concern ourselves with an errant pebble.”
“Correct,” Mesene said. “Smooth pieces. They are closer to metal than rock, though they are not fully of this world, so we do not know everything about them. The material can be shaped, if necessary. But such a thing is rare.”
“Oh.” She was relieved but cautious. “Then my question still stands. ”
“Because after the humans cracked the stones, the broken pieces were hidden. They had to have been, because even scalefire could not destroy them. If we knew where they were and were sure we could retrieve them without being killed, we would have done so.”
“Oh,” she said again. Softer this time. Her soul was weary, and I hated it.
“Part of me hoped it would be that simple. Heal the stones and the land so their reason for war had all motive taken from it.” Lena shook her head.
“I should have known better. It’s been centuries.
Surely you would have healed them long ago if you could have. ”
“There are no bad questions,” I tugged her closer to murmur in her ear.
“We both know that’s not true. Have you met human men?”
It made me laugh despite the conversation. “A fair point. But no one here will fault you for asking things you had no way of knowing.”
The soft rushing sensation I felt from her bond had me studying her. That feeling usually meant she was thinking, and swiftly.
“There is no way through this without conflict.”
It was not a question, and Zovai shook his head along with most of the other dragons. “No.”
A flurry of emotions from Lena. Sharp interest followed by regret and shame. Then determination. Not so different from the path her thoughts had taken before we called this meeting.
“The Elders. They have to return to the stars if there’s any chance for Viria.”
“Yes,” Endre said.
Lena stood and wandered around the edges of the courtyard, weaving between the chairs and the columns. “And you said you only need a moment? For the Elders.”
I felt the shift in the air and the sharpening of interest from my brothers. My beast rose to the surface. Eager. “You have an idea.”
“I wish I didn’t,” she said. “But that doesn’t matter if it works. It needs to be done.”
“Lena—” Endre said, and she didn’t let him finish.
“Scalefire. Even the Elders can’t fight against it, right?”
Every dragon in the room froze. Familiar traces of both fear and relief rolled through me.
I’d had the idea more than once, but it wasn’t as simple as saying it aloud.
“It could work,” I told her. “But we would be at risk ourselves using it. We also have none, and no one on this half of the continent knows how to make it.”
“Gleym does,” she said.
Zovai frowned. “You said she won’t teach you.”
“Maybe she’d change her mind if she knew our intent.” She turned to Endre. “Or maybe she would teach you . You are not human. She already agreed to help you.”
“Maybe,” he nodded his head in acknowledgement. “But I don’t think it’s likely. Her single choice eventually led to where we are now. I doubt she wants to make that mistake again.”
I held out a hand to my mate, and she took it. “I understand why it is tempting. But as strong as we are, dragons are not infallible. Given the right opportunity, a knife to the throat is just as deadly.”
A flash of green flew overhead, followed by the rumbling vibration of a dragon landing. Idroal.
They came to meet us wearing the loose robes they often favored and carried with them, pausing to stand in the doorway and observe us all.
They seemed tired, but their posture was tall and straight as they bowed to the three of us.
Smiling, they lifted a hand in greeting.
It felt casual, like they hadn’t been flying across the continent trying to figure out our fate.
All things considered, it hadn’t been that long.
“I hope that your smile means we are still invisible,” I said.
“Invisible?” they asked. “No. You are very much on the minds and in the mouths of many dragons. But your whereabouts are currently unknown to the Elders. They know something has occurred, but they do not have confirmation of your escape. They are unsettled and restless, but nothing, for the moment, has changed. At least with respect to them. It will not remain that way.”
Zovai moved so there was a place to sit. It was only the heaviness with which they sat that gave away Idroal’s exhaustion.
“Then something else did change?” Lena asked.
Idroal accepted a drink from Ravi and swallowed deeply before speaking once more. A wry smile crossed their face. “You could say that, Your Highness.”
Beside me, Lena tensed. She didn’t like to claim her royal heritage anymore, but she was still royalty. Both to the humans and to us. Being addressed by her title wasn’t going to disappear anytime soon.
“If our discovery is imminent, why are you smiling?” Zovai asked.
“Because I come bearing new and different news. Something I think will intrigue you.”
We waited, and when they said nothing, Endre huffed a breath. “Please don’t keep us in suspense, Idroal.”
“Word reached me while in Doro Eche of a human party approaching the barrier. We had to move very quickly.”
“We?” Lena asked quietly.
I felt the realization when they looked at Lena. She was understanding what she hadn’t before. Idroal wasn’t merely an older dragon who had an invaluable skill and had seen many things. They were connected . They heard things others couldn’t, and more than that, they knew dragons everywhere.
Living in Skalisméra was more than a preference for them. It was self-preservation. To the Elders they were a threat . They knew too much, and the fact that the Elders hadn’t yet killed them was evidence enough of how valuable they’d made themselves.
Now, they knew something before it reached Doro Eche. They had a network that spread across the continent. Like they had been waiting for the world to change just enough that action could be taken. That was my realization too. They had been waiting for this moment longer than we could imagine.
My brothers weren’t far behind my thoughts. Zovai’s eyes sharpened. “You’re having the barrier watched?”
“We,” they said to Lena before moving their gaze to Zovai, “and of course.”
Lena began to fidget, so I pulled her in, sitting her next to me so I could calm her nerves with my presence and touch. Little things I never dreamed would matter before we met.
“Once I was informed who was at the barrier, we made sure they were not discovered by those who would bring them harm.”
Lena’s brow furrowed. “Do humans often cross the barrier?”
Karadi stood and moved to be closer to Sotai. “Sometimes. Those who want fame and glory by risking their lives. Some who merely get lost. Rarely more than that.”
“So why does this group matter?” Lena’s voice was nervous. “Is it Andaros?”
Idroal smiled. “No, it is not. This small group of humans consists of the Prince of Trutis, the Prince of Zastea, and the Princess of Denao. They had one, and only one, goal.” Shock rolled through the room like a physical blow.
No one moved or breathed. Human royalty entering dragon lands wasn’t the same as scavengers or the curious. It was a choice.
“What goal?” Endre asked.
“They want to speak to the Heirs of the dragons,” they said, eyes landing on Lena. “And their human mate.”