Page 9 of The Storm of the Empire (Flyers Of The First Kingdom #3)

EIGHT

HAZEL

I woke with a gasp, not sure what pulled me out of my sleep. Sweat pricked on my forehead while my breathing was rapid, as if I was pulled from a bad dream, but my memory was blank. Unease consumed me. Something wasn’t right.

I listened, but there were no sounds out of the ordinary. I pushed out of bed, too restless to fall back asleep. Could something be wrong in the palace?

My blood ran cold. Now that I’d had the idea, I couldn’t let go of it, so without looking for my slippers, I tiptoed across the cold floor to the balcony doors and peeked out of the curtains. Nothing stirred in the darkness beyond. No disturbance in the courtyard below or dragons in the dawn sky. All was calm. So why did I feel this way?

I stretched out my hearing again, as if some sound or errant detail would finally process in my brain, but nothing came. Not even animals stirred at this hour.I closed my eyes, leaning over the rail, letting the cool wind dry the sweat on my brow. Fae went mad from lack of sleep. I had to stop giving into these delusions and stay in bed.

I needed a change. I couldn’t keep hoping for my life to turn around overnight. I’d long given up on finding my ryder, so longing for any sort of opportunity to arise where I could prove myself some other way was just short of descending into madness.

I forced myself back to bed and sank in with a huff. But sleep eluded me. I turned one way, then the other, but couldn’t recreate the comfort I had only minutes ago. I half-wished Luka was here so I could entertain myself that way, but after our night together, he had grown distant. I supposed I should have expected that with his reputation, and I wasn’t upset. The male knew what he was doing, though; it seemed a shame not to do it again.

Thumping the covers with my fist, I growled. Well, fantastic! I was fully awake, and I would drive myself crazy if I just lay in bed. Wallowing abed gave me too much time to think, and that never ended well.I needed purpose.

Throwing the covers off again while muttering to myself, I made for the bathing chamber to start my day. I would head down to the training wing to start my practice early. If sleep wouldn’t come easily, I’d force my body into a state of exhaustion.

But as I dressed, even the thought of extra training time didn’t seem to relieve the itchy feeling from the balcony. It followed me all the way to my training room while I stretched and ran through my warm-up. Not even a sword in my hand made me feel any better.

Frustrated, I considered alternative ways to get this feeling off my back. I could take a walk, or maybe I should fly it off? I would have the skies mostly to myself at this hour. I just had to avoid the patrols if I wanted to be alone, I saw enough of those fools in my training sessions. I didn’t want to deal with them when I felt this way.

Reluctantly, I stashed my training equipment back in the store and headed for the nearby landing platform. For a dragon, I didn’t use it much. I was far too wrapped up in my work. And I was a storm dragon. We were built different.

Smaller and more nimble than most other dragons, we were raised in conditions other dragons avoided at all costs. Other dragons didn’t typically fly into a storm if they could help it, whereas we were one with the storm. But the need to fly daily was not as strong for us as it was with other dragons. I guess when the weather was always volatile, you didn’t feel the urge to be up there as often. But the sky pulled me today.

I stripped and stowed my clothes, then ran and leaped off the ledge.

My wings ripped from me as I fell, and I caught myself, soaring out over the city.

Maybe the feeling building in my gut was disappointment.

My ancestors expected more of me. I expected more of me.

I could not be just this.

Why did I have to know I was meant for more and be forced to settle for less?

I’d long thought of myself as a failure. How long until I was a disgrace? I used to think the only way I could disappoint my family would be if I were a dud, but at least a lack of magic was something I couldn’t control. This waiting was a slow and painful death where I was forgotten while those around me all progressed in their lives, and I stayed stagnant.

I flew and flew with no aim until I found myself nearing the coast of the Middle Sea.

From high in the sky on a clear day, a dragon could see the faint coast of the opposite shore.

Home.

The dark clouds that always lingered on that part of the horizon called to me today more than usual, and I felt a tug towards them from deep within. Something still felt so wrong, and it was becoming clear to me that was where I needed to be.

My family… Were they in danger? Did I believe it was even possible I could feel it if they were? Goddess only knew, and I needed to find out.

I wanted to just leave now and fly until I could see those who mattered to me and know they were okay. But I had responsibilities, training and… Well, training. Let’s face it, that was all I had, but I had a lot of it, and the legion relied on me, though not in the way I had dreamed of.

Lightning crackled along my wings as the frustration I felt at my life collided with this sense of unease. I banked before I made a rash decision and left without a word.

I turned my back on the coast to head back towards the city, firm on my next move. That feeling of unease grew with every mile I put between my tail and my home. As if getting further from the Storm Kingdom was causing it to multiply. By the time I landed in the palace, it was verging on panic.

“I need some time off,” I burst out to Nyx in a rushed breath as he opened the door to his office.

He stepped aside, letting me in. “Okay… What’s going on?”

I sighed heavily. The first full breath I think I’d taken since I woke up.“I don’t know. Something feels wrong, and I need to go home.”

“Home?” He looked at me like I had two heads.

“Yes, Nyx, home—to Storm,” I snapped, regretting the outburst immediately.

Nyx remained calm and patient, though. Something I noticed had become his default. Long gone was the spirited and passionate leader. A far cry from the old Nyx, but I supposed that was what finding your ryder and fulfilling your destiny did for you. He’d grown, and I’d stayed still. If we could all be so lucky.

Goddess, I was getting bitter.

I closed my eyes, summoning some of the energy he was putting out. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.”

“Tell me what’s going on, and I will help however I can,” Nyx soothed.

“I don’t know what is going on. I just know I woke in the night with a feeling of dread, thinking something was wrong, and the feeling is pulling me home. So I came to see if you could spare me so I could fly back and make sure everything is okay.”

“Of course. If you need to go, I will rearrange things here. You never take any time off.” He hesitated before asking, “Are you sure it’s not anything else?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Like what?”

His expression morphed, and he tried to play off. “Nothing—I just had to be sure. Would it not be easier to send a raven?”

I gave him a flat look. “Firstly, you know I’m faster than a raven, but secondly, ravens get lost in the Storm Kingdom all the time. The only way I can be sure is to go myself.”

“I always forget you come from the land that wants to strike all airborne creatures out of the sky, and still, you fly with abandon and add to the mayhem with lightning of your own.” He shook his head, chuckling.

“Theres nothing about Storm that’s any more dangerous than any other kingdom, if you ask me.” Not to a storm dragon at least.

“Sure, that’s easy to say if you’re immune to bolts of electricity flying through the sky at random intervals.” Nyx actually shuddered at the thought.

“We are not immune. But come now, they only tingle.”

His brows shot up. “Tingle my arse. I think I’d rather be bitten by a hydra.”

I scoffed. “Hydras only have small teeth.”

His eyes bulged. “But they have dozens of heads to bite with! You storm dragons are psychotic, if you ask me.”

“How the Dragon of the Night bloodline could originate from somewhere as soft as the First, I will never understand. There’s nothing in this kingdom to test the mettle of a warrior except maybe the politics and bureaucracy.”

“Listen, the inner workings of this palace might be the most inhospitable environment in all the kingdoms. You don’t know the things I’ve seen.” His eyes told me that it was only half a joke, but I didn’t delve deeper since my need was more pressing.

“If you say so,” I dismissed. “So you can spare me for a few days?”

“Take as long as you need. If you think it will be longer than a few days, send a raven. Everything here will be fine. You deserve a break.”

“Thank you, my friend,” I said, standing. I didn’t bother to tell him that nothing about this felt like a break should. I didn’t stop to even pack anything. I was sure I would still have clothes at home. Goddess, I’d be naked. I didn’t care. I just wanted to go.

Within minutes, I was launching off the landing platform again, and this time, I would not stop at the sea. I would get answers to this feeling and make sure my family was fine.