Page 7 of Upon Buried Embers (Upon Buried Embers #1)

Elf

“I got you last time and put you on your ass! If you were my opponent, my axe would have gone through your neck!” Kaldar says to Olaf, the smaller man I saw before, as we walk through the cave.

“Yeah right.” Olaf rolls his eyes, patting the horse beside him. “I was taking it easy on you.”

“You hear that, Rohan?” Kaldar calls. “Olaf thinks he can best me.”

Rohan grunts. “He could if he wasn’t so lazy.”

“Hey!” Olaf shouts. “I like my sleep, alright?”

“You? Sleep?” Adora smiles, coming up beside him. “We didn’t do that last night.”

Olaf smirks. “No, we didn’t, did we, Kaldar?”

Kaldar laughs. “It was a late night, wasn’t it?” He moves over to them both, placing a kiss on the woman’s lips, and then on Olaf’s.

My cheeks heat.

“Enough, keep alert,” Rohan barks. “We will reach the Wilds soon.”

“Still got that axe up your ass, I see,” Kaldar mutters.

“Shut the fuck up before I make you,” he snarls. Kaldar laughs, and then mutters that he’s grouchy under his breath.

I watch Rohan’s shoulders tense as I’m pulled behind him by the rope. I struggle to keep up with his long legs, making me take twice as many steps, but I have no choice unless I want to be dragged.

The rucksack on my back is heavy. I’m not sure what’s even inside of it, but Rohan told me I had to pull my weight like everyone else and carry something.

The thing weighs more than me, but I don’t protest. I still ache everywhere, pain thumping through me with each step but at least I’m warm. The boots are a little big and hard to walk in, but I’m not complaining.

A dragon growls, and I jump, turning my head to see the one called Hedoric looking up above us. They could fit a huge underground city in here with how large it is.

I didn’t realize how hollow the mountain was, and it’s like the dragons carved out a space just for them.

Rohan turns to the dragon, and I notice the grip on his axe tighten at his side.

Something’s wrong.

Suddenly, I’m knocked to the ground, the contents of the rucksack spilling out everywhere. The rope pulls tight, and I’m dragged across the floor with a cry of alarm before I come to a stop.

“What the fuck?” Rohan growls as a smaller hand lands on my shoulder.

“Are you okay?” I see her light hair before her face comes into view, and I shy away instantly. “You need to be more careful,” Darcia says.

I nod, picking up bowls and cups that fell out of the pack, holding back whimpers of pain like she didn’t just knock into me on purpose.

“Elf, are you dirtying our washed bowls?” Rohan snaps.

“N-no.” I scramble for them faster, shoving them back in the pack and rising. The movement causing me to wince.

I landed on my hip, hard.

“You need to get her some proper boots when we are home, Rohan,” Darcia says, a hand closing around the top of his arm and squeezing. “She trips over nothing.”

“She will have to make do with what we have,” Rohan grunts, yanking on the rope.

He adjusts the pack on my back and makes sure it’s secure before he drags me to his side.

“Keep up, or I will drag you,” he growls. “Wild dragons roam in these caves, do you want to be their next meal?” He looks over my body. “Well, their snack?”

I look down and shake my head, feeling a glare on the side of my face.

“Darcia, make sure the cart’s wheels are intact,” Rohan orders.

“Of course, Rohan.” With one last nasty look my way, she walks off, her friend Fiona going with her.

I’m surrounded by people who hate me and don’t care about me. Maybe a dragon is better.

Speaking of.

A large, scaled leg appears next to me, and I’m shoved to the side a little, bumping into Rohan.

I sigh internally, knowing this will be a common occurrence now.

Being shoved around.

Just like back at Master’s place.

Nothing really does change.

“Drogonah,” Rohan says, raising a hand to move it down his scales above my head. I’m trembling below his knee, that’s how small I am to this dragon. “Did you eat?” Rumble. “We are nearly out and you can take to the sky.” Purr.

I look at the horse in front, wondering if I’ll be on horseback and not the dragon again, who clearly doesn’t like me.

Why would he?

The cave rumbles suddenly, the ground shaking and we all seem to freeze at the sound.

Rohan lifts a hand, halting everyone and the dragons look around, claws scratching the ground.

Then, lava spews up from the river to the left of us, erupting without warning and Rohan curses.

“Get to the front, now!” He barks. A flurry of activity erupts as they all move. Even the dragons run, apart from Drogonah.

Another eruption, and the heat envelops us.

But this isn’t a nice heat, this one burns .

I hiss and rub my face.

“Kaldar,” Rohan shouts, and he runs over after getting Olaf and Adora on a horse. “Take them to the entrance, try not to leave until I get there if you can.”

“What about you?” he asks, as Rohan unties my rope.

“I need to make an exit at the side for the lava to spill out of or it will fill the entire cave system and no one will be able to get back in, and then it will spew down to the Wilds.”

“Fuck,” Kaldar runs a hand down his face, watching as the lava begins to overflow, heading for us. “Fuck, okay.”

Rohan whistles, and a moment later, a dark horse comes into view. He murmurs to it quietly, and then he’s hoisting me up onto it.

“Get on.” Kaldar’s behind me, taking the reins in his hands. “Go,” Rohan says, and I scramble to hold on as the horse takes off.

I look back, wondering what Rohan’s doing when he runs up Drogonah’s wing, then waits in the saddle.

I’m not sure what he’s waiting for, but as soon as Kaldar reaches the back of the group, heading toward the light of an entrance, Drogonah takes flight.

I gasp, wondering where they’re going, but they aim straight up. I watch with rapt attention as the ground rumbles, more lava filling the cave, the heat of it making sweat appear on my brow. Kaldar shouts at everyone to get moving.

There’s a roar, and I turn as Rohan and Drogonah head for the side of the cave.

There’s nowhere to go.

“Come on, Rohan.” Kaldar murmurs, turning the horse at the bottom of a slope so we’re now facing the oncoming lava. “Come on!” Kaldar shouts, making me jump.

I think Rohan and Drogonah are going to hit the wall with the speed they’re going at.

The lava is spitting up from below them but just as they make impact, my fingers tightening on the saddle, Drogonah tucks his powerful wings to his body, and they crash into it.

The whole mountain seems to shake with the impact.

“Fuck, get moving!” Kaldar shouts, and he kicks his legs, making the horse move faster as more lava races toward us.

I squeak, holding on to its mane.

We head up the slope, feeling the heat of the lava racing toward us as more rocks fall from the top. One of the horses is struggling with a cart, and Kaldar pauses, climbing off and passing me the reins.

“Wait, I don’t know how—”

“Just hold on, Serah will take you the rest of the way.” Kaldar pushes the back of the cart, and Adora shouts up ahead, watching him.

“Hurry!” she shouts.

“Trying,” he grunts.

“Try harder,” is Olaf’s panicked reply.

I hold on to the horse as she goes up the hill, the lava creeping closer and the mountain shakes again, light spilling in from the exit.

A roar pierces the air somewhere, and I turn back again, seeing a red dragon’s head poking in from where Drogonah crashed through.

Oh Gods.

“Ours,” Kaldar says, pushing the cart and coming up beside me, noticing my fear. “Rohan is close by, don’t worry, he won’t let us get eaten. The dragons respect him more than most.”

What does that mean?

We finally crest the top of the slope, my fingers cramping with how tightly I was holding on. We all seem to take a breath, looking back at the lava moving like an angry wave, but it rises no more as it spills out of the hole Rohan made.

“What was that about?” Adora asks, dismounting and coming to stand next to Kaldar, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“I don’t know,” he breathes. “Something rattled the mountains.”

I look back with furrowed brows, my heart hammering. If it wasn’t a dragon, shaking the mountain, what else can?

A grumble comes from ahead, and we all turn as Drogonah descends, his talons landing in the snow-covered ground with ease. Rohan slides down, landing on his feet before Drogonah turns his head and Rohan pats his nose.

I stare in awe at his sheer size, now seeing him fully in the daylight. He’s black, but the tips of his scales look like they have a sheen of another color I’m not sure of. A dark blue maybe? Purple?

His horns glint even more, and that piercing purple eye locks on mine before looking away again.

The other dragons move toward him, I think in greeting, and Hedoric looks like a baby compared to him, only coming up to his shoulder. Another blue and red one, who are taller than Hedoric, are next, and they nudge up against him but Drogonah turns away.

Rohan checks over the dragons, giving them all some kind of attention before coming over to us.

“Anyone hurt?” A murmur of ’no’s sounds out around us, and Rohan’s shoulders relax a little.

“What happened?” Kaldar asks him.

“Something to the east.”

“The wolves?” That was from Adora.

“Yeah. When we flew up, it looked like their land was splitting. I think it caused a ripple effect to the mountains, and wolves were running with trolls.”

Wolves? Trolls?

“Hopefully that doesn’t happen again,” Olaf says, leaning his head on Adora’s shoulder.

They all seem affectionate with each other, and not bothered about the audiences they have. I’ve only seen it behind closed doors, well, sometimes. Master would slap a girl’s ass when he was done with her, and she would always giggle at him for it, but there wasn’t anything… soft.

I tilt my head.

Maybe that was their affection, but it’s nothing like the way Kaldar now rubs Olaf’s cheek, or the way Adora smiles at them, holding on to both of their hands.

It’s so… strange.

I blink and look away, only for dark eyes to pierce mine. Rohan watches me, looking at the three of them before looking back at me, nostrils flaring.

I bow my head, playing with the horse’s mane, not wanting him to think I’m spying or something, even though we are out in the open.

“I don’t think it will happen again, but if it comes over to us, we may need to make contact and tell them to stop.”

“And if they don’t? What’s his name is in charge, isn’t he?” Kaldar’s brows furrow as he thinks, before clicking his fingers. “Charles! I’m sure Dorkin said that’s his name.”

“I don’t care who is in charge. They fuck around with the lands to cause issues on our side then I will burn theirs.” I shiver at the danger in his voice.

Rohan moves to the side of the horse, rubbing its neck.

“Come down now,” he says to me, and with as much speed as I can, I lift an aching leg and turn to the side, only to have hands grab my hips and place me down on the ground. “Too slow. Too damn tiny.”

I scowl, but quickly mask it as I’m spun around, tied to him once again.

“Come, Serah,” Rohan says as we begin to walk, and the horse follows.

“Remember to stay sharp and vigilant everyone. The last two winters, wildlings have tried to prey upon us as we leave.” They all nod while my heart hammers.

“Drogonah, to the sky.” The large dragon’s ears twitch before he grunts, and then his wings spread wide.

One powerful downstroke later, he’s in flight, a dark mass amongst the white, snow-filled sky.

“You’re not riding him?” I wonder aloud. Rohan looks at me.

Oh Gods.

Slaves don’t ask questions.

I wait for the harsh words, the shouting and getting in my face for speaking out of turn when I haven’t been spoken to first, but he doesn’t do any of that.

He actually… answers.

“Not yet, I fear your tiny ass will fall instantly, and what a waste that is when I have use of you.” He pulls his axe from the straps on his back, then pulls the rope so I’m next to him. “If you don’t want to be dragon food, stay next to me.”

And then he’s pulling me out of the cave and into the winter snow, where wild dragons and barbarians roam.