Page 45 of Upon Buried Embers (Upon Buried Embers #1)

Elf

“We have to go, Escor, we’ll be back soon.”

He growls, laying down, ears flattened, giving me the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen.

I look to Rohan.

“No.” He shakes his head. “He’s too young. He will get torn apart with his attitude.”

Escor bares his teeth.

I bite my lip and look back. He isn’t wrong.

“I’ll miss you.” I go to him and bend down, kissing his snout and he reluctantly licks my hand.

“Come.”

I follow Rohan to where Drogonah is ready and packed to go to The Glade.

Rohan told me we’re heading out before everyone else as we can fly over the lake that’s still frozen.

I look around at the other dragons in their beds, watching and waiting, and I realize if I were to never see them again my heart would break.

I’ve spent so much time with them now—talking and humming, they’re part of my daily life. Not having that for even a few days saddens me.

“We won’t be long, Elf.” Rohan reassures me.

“I know.”

“I don’t like leaving them any more than you seem to, but they will look after each other.”

Rohan helps me up onto Drogonah, and I settle in the saddle while he climbs up behind me.

“Be good,” Rohan says, and when an arm bands around me, I look to Escor one more time.

“I’ll see you soon!”

“Drogonah, fly.”

Drogonah’s wings expand, and we rise up through the middle of the mountain, those glistening veins of ore leading our way.

Riding on Drogonah will never get easier, and the height still makes me feel dizzy, but something magnificent has happened.

Because I’m not scared anymore.

In fact, I’m not holding on to the saddle for dear life as we head for The Glade, and I’m somewhat relaxed, enjoying the view, even with the freezing wind up here.

I feel free, and getting away from Darcia for the next few days will be wonderful.

I’ve avoided her, and it seems she has also been avoiding me. I’ve seen her bruised and dirty with the punishment Rohan gave her, same with Beau, but I stay far away.

I still haven’t found the courage to tell Rohan how I got those injuries the night of the snowstorm, afraid that he’ll throw me away.

I did try one night while he was braiding my hair and I was flipping through the book he gave me, looking at the pictures, but when I opened my mouth to speak, I couldn’t do it.

My throat would close up and my ears would ring.

I’ve never been cared for the way he’s been looking after me. I selfishly don’t want it to stop, and I think it will if I tell him.

Rohan felt the shift and asked me what was wrong, but I managed to avoid an interrogation by asking him more about The Games at the Enclave.

Rohan holds me against him, resting his chin on my shoulder as we fly at a leisurely pace. Seated with Rohan and feeling somewhat confident—which is unusual—I spread my arms out wide, banishing those thoughts.

“What are you doing?” The gruff tone of his voice is easily heard with him being so close.

Thinking about it, since the night he told me to leave, he has been closer than usual, always finding more ways to touch me.

I lean into Drogonah’s tilts, my eyes taking in the icy lake below, and I wonder when it will start to thaw.

“Flying,” I grin, and he huffs out a laugh, his hands on my waist. After a moment, he lifts me until I’m standing.

“Ah!” I yelp, fear holding me frozen for a moment, but when Rohan squeezes my hips as he stands behind me, I know he won’t let me fall.

Trust. That’s what this is.

My smile is so wide my face aches and my arms extend out again.

“This is amazing!” I shout, laughing and feeling lighter than I ever have.

Drogonah growls, flapping his wings a little aggressively, but he stays steady.

“You think that is amazing?” Rohan asks, arms curling around me.

“It is. We’re so high up, aren’t we?”

“Very. It’s better not to be seen with the clouds as our shield.”

We enter one as he speaks, spearing through it with ease.

“Are you feeling brave, Little Whisperer?”

Am I?

I scan the expanse of the horizon, from the mountains and the trees at its base, to the clouds not far above us and the rising sun.

“Will it hurt? If I’m brave?”

“Never,” he says vehemently, “not with me around.”

I take a breath.

“Then yes— Aaaah,” I scream as Rohan throws me off of Drogonah.

I’m free-falling, my hair flowing around me as I watch Drogonah get smaller and smaller. The wind whips around me, my arms and legs spread wide as fear and excitement overtake me.

Is this how I die? Falling upon the ice? Or will I fly to the end?

I close my eyes and accept my fate. Maybe I will pass out before I land, or maybe…

A shadow looms over me, and my eyes fly open at the sudden darkness as I’m engulfed inside a giant claw.

“Oomph.” My body jostles as Drogonah closes me within it, and I gasp, one hand holding on to Drogonah, the other to my chest as I try to get my breathing under control.

“You’re insane,” I whisper to Rohan, but there’s no way he can hear me.

“Elvanan save me,” I whimper as I look down, the lake so close now. Then, I laugh.

Half from fear, the other half in amazement as I reach down and let the tips of my fingers slide over the ice.

So cold.

So smooth.

“Do you like it?” My head snaps up as Rohan steps inside the closed claw that acts as a cage.

How did he even get down without falling?

“I could’ve died.”

His eyes darken as he crouches next to me. “I would never let that happen.” He brushes a strand of hair behind my ear, looking at me intently. “Did you like it?”

“Falling?”

“Yes.”

My heart beats like crazy, and there’s a tingle to my limbs.

But I’m alive.

So very alive.

“Yes,” I laugh softly, “I liked it.”

He grins and pulls me into his arms. “Then hold on.”

“What?”

“Drogonah, up!”

We’re jostled a little, and then pulled to one side of Drogonah’s claw as he ascends at speed. I look down, gripping Rohan’s shoulders tightly as the lake gets further away.

“What are we doing?” I shout over the rushing wind.

“Getting on his back.”

“What? How?”

“You’ll see.” He grins down at me, and for the first time, Rohan looks… relaxed.

He’s having fun, I realize. That’s what’s putting this carefree look on his face.

A look I like very much.

All of a sudden, the momentum shifts as Drogonah folds his wings and falls backward.

“Ahh!” I grip onto Rohan tightly as he laughs, and then, Drogonah’s claw opens and we’re left out in the open, falling once more toward Drogonah’s belly.

He looks at us as Rohan grabs me, and I scream, nearly strangling him with how tight my arms wrap around his neck, my legs going around his waist and he pulls me closer.

“Brace yourself.”

“Brace for what?!” I shout.

A moment later Rohan tips us back, doing some sort of flip mid-air, while Drogonah turns so his back is to us, and we land directly on the saddle.

My chest heaves and Rohan pulls me from his neck, grinning at me.

“It has been a while since I’ve done that.”

I just stare at him, heart pounding and then… I laugh.

I laugh like I never have before, head back, hands on his shoulders as he watches me.

“We’re doing that again,” I grin, and he mirrors it.

“On the way back.”

I can’t wait.

Rohan moves me to his front again, and we ride the rest of the way in silence until we spot The Glade.

It’s a large forest on an island, surrounded by a lake. It looks just like any other forest, but I can sense the air changing as we get closer.

It’s nothing you can physically see, more like a feeling—knowing that you’re about to enter somewhere different.

“We’ll land near that area down there,” Rohan points, and I see a large patch of grass just before a large knoll.

“And we’ll stay there?”

“Yes, I’ll set up the tent we brought, and then the others will arrive in the following days before we have to enter The Games.”

I swallow roughly, remembering The Graveyard and how Karag looked at me and Rohan. “Are we safe?”

His arms tighten around me. “We’re never safe, but I will make sure you are.” I nod, believing him.

We land easily, and Rohan helps me down before he grabs the tent and pack that are attached to the saddle.

Drogonah grumbles, stretching wide before he takes off.

“Where’s he going?” I thought he would be tired after hours of flying.

“He’s going to see the others here, though he doesn’t like you to know that.”

I huff out a laugh, then freeze when I hear a rumbled chorus of growls and purrs.

Rohan smirks. “Looks like they were also waiting for him.”

“They’re that close?” I say, hugging myself and he nods.

“Just over that hill is where they usually come out.” He nods to the right. “Though not all are on the outskirts of The Glade. Most nestle deep within.”

“And we’ll go in there?”

“Yes.”

“Right.”

That’s fine. All will be fine.

“Sit, Little Whisperer. I’ll set up the tent and we can sleep for the night. There’s much to do tomorrow.”

I nod, helping Rohan unpack the tent. “Escor was so sad when I left,” I tell him, flattening out the material.

“He needs to stop being so needy.”

I pause. “What?” That thought is ridiculous. A needy dragon?

“He follows you everywhere, he’s even started staying outside the cabin at times near the roses,” he grumbles. “As soon as you leave he’s right in your face, he makes training difficult.”

“He’s fine.”

“He’s in the way.”

I turn to Rohan, noticing the frown on his face and slowly, I go over to him, my splint-free wrist twinging a little when I grab his arm, the ribbon smooth under my fingers.

“Is he really a bother? Should I leave before you in the mornings?”

He eyes me, then he looks down at my hand on his arm, the bite scar from Escor above it. He slowly shakes his head, bringing my wrist up and gently resting his mouth there.

“No, you will only leave when I do.”

I shiver at the heat of his mouth resting on my skin, but I smile, my cheeks heating when he drops it gently.

“Go unpack the waterskins and have a drink.”