Page 8 of Upon Buried Embers (Upon Buried Embers #1)

Elf

Snow crunches under my feet. Rohan doesn’t slow down for me as I stumble my way forward, teeth chattering. The Pit was much more comfortable, the lava —though deadly, kept me warm.

I pull the cloak around me tighter, making sure my hood doesn’t get blown down and uncover my ears. We’ve been walking for many hours it seems, and I think we’re all slowly faltering as the snow falls faster and visibility gets more difficult.

Horses huff behind me, and the other dragons that were with us flew into the sky not long after we began our journey.

I look up and see who I think is Drogonah circling us high above, dipping in and out of the clouds. I wonder how dragons decide to be with the Dragorie.

I know only one has a main bond with its Dragonbond, its chosen, but what about the others?

They seemed to be drawn to Rohan earlier, is it a mutual respect thing or something deeper?

“Where will we camp tonight?” Olaf asks, walking with Adora. The woman always seems to be on alert, and though she hasn’t said anything horrible to me, she also hasn’t said anything at all.

I prefer it that way.

“We won’t be,” Rohan says, and Olaf whips his head toward him.

“Why not? We have been at it for hours and some of us are really slowing down. Even the horses are struggling with how deep the snow is getting.”

I look down at my own feet and although they sink in a little, it isn’t as much as Rohan’s or any others, but I make sure to step in his imprints.

Rohan looks around, axe in hand. “I know that, but I don’t think we are alone.”

I stumble at his words, then gasp when I trip over my own foot and fall face-first in the snow. I don’t even have time to register the cold on my face before a hand in my hair pulls me up.

“Do not slow us down, Elf,” Rohan spits, pushing me in front of him. “We cannot afford to.”

I rub the snow from my face, my teeth chattering as tears gather. Like I wanted to fall in the snow and make myself even colder.

My too-big boots scuffle on the ground, and I take extra care to make sure I don’t fall on my face again while I think back on his words.

We aren’t alone.

Who’s here?

I look to the sky and see another dragon, this one a blue color, as a horse comes up next to us.

“Will we scout ahead?” Kaldar asks, and Rohan nods.

“Go check on the carts first, make sure they’re secured. We may need to move quickly through the trees.”

“Got it.”

With that, I’m left alone with Rohan as Adora and Olaf fall back. Rohan doesn’t say a word to me, only shoves my back when I falter, making sure I keep moving.

“We are not dying out here because you’re too slow, Elf, hurry up!”

I do the best I can, but my legs are tiring, and my stomach hungers for more of that stew.

Will I get more? Or was that a one-time thing?

I don’t know what he wants with me, so will he need to feed me?

A pull on my rope has me stopping, and Rohan moves me to the side as we reach a copse of skinny trees, their twigs dangling down with icicles.

“Come now, into the trees,” Rohan shouts at everyone, axe ready, face hard as he looks for danger.

I unconsciously step closer to him, looking around with wide eyes. All I see are trees and snow, the flurry of snowflakes falling heavy and thick.

I’ve never been this far in Dracozar before, I only ever traveled with Master, when we went to the underground, but that was at night through the streets of the city. I always had a hood up, head down, but looking around now, it’s nothing but wild land.

Rohan halts us as Adora, Kaldar, Garret, and Olaf guide others into the trees, making sure to take routes wide enough for the three carts.

The wind picks up, snow slashing against my face and I can barely see two feet before me.

Rohan nudges me forward. The terrain is getting more difficult the deeper into the forest we go, but Rohan pushes us hard.

He keeps me ahead of him, forcing my legs to keep moving and he nearly crashes into my back when I suddenly freeze in place, spotting what’s ahead of me.

It’s a deer, I think, but it’s much taller than a deer.

Its antlers are large, belly round and it scrapes its head up against a tree, unaware of the people heading past him, and uncaring of the ferocious weather.

My eyes are glued to the animal, and a familiarity weaves its way into my being for some reason. It’s almost like I know it, that it’s a friend.

It suddenly stops its scraping, and its head turns, eyes on me. I stare, locked in some sort of connection as it makes a noise.

I go still, Rohan coming up beside me.

“Is it true harts are the elves’ animal?” he asks, and I let the words sink in.

It’s called a hart?

How fitting.

“I’m not sure,” I say softly. “Is that why I want to go to it, perhaps?”

He makes a noise from his chest. “Maybe.” A pause. “Do you really not know?”

“I-I don’t know a lot of things about my people,” I say sadly, watching as the hart begins to walk away. I lift a hand and touch my ear within the hood, feeling its small point. “I think that may be true though because—”

All of a sudden, a large jaw appears, swooping down between the trees, and the hart is enclosed in a dragon’s mouth, its cries tearing me apart.

One moment it’s there, and then it’s not.

Rohan moves me along with a shove on my back. “Drogonah was hungry.”

I feel like there’s a warning in his tone, and dread fills my stomach as we pass the snow now splashed a bright red.

“Don’t like dragons to be fed?” Rohan asks when I release a stuttering breath. I shake my head, looking away from the blood. “All have to eat, Elf.” He scowls. “Even you.”

He passes something to me, and with frozen fingers, I take it tentatively.

It’s brown in color, stiff, and I look it over.

What even is this?

He sighs and takes it, shoving it against my mouth. I claw at his hands, but he pinches my nose and as I take a breath, he shoves it in.

“Chew,” he says, almost angrily, and I do.

Oh. This is food.

It’s hard, and my jaw begins to ache quickly, but the subtle saltiness of it bursts across my tongue and I lick my lips, enjoying it.

“Do you even know how to take care of yourself? You’re like a hatchling.” He rips more off a long strip of, I don’t even know what, passing it to me and I stuff it in my mouth, my eyes closing briefly.

When I’ve finished and look to him for more, I see he has none in his hand and my mood sours.

“Pick up the pace,” he suddenly orders, and others repeat it through the clan.

He seems to have one on the smaller side, I think, from what I overheard from Master over the years. Clans usually have a hundred, if not more.

Rohan’s clan seems very small in comparison.

Night begins to fall, the sky brightens with colors of reds and oranges through the falling snow, and I can barely walk straight.

My eyes try to close more often than not, and the rope attached to me is pulled almost constantly as I falter behind him.

Torches are lit in front of me, carried by members. The dragons still take the sky. Not like they could walk in this forest anyway with how dense it is in places.

I watch Drogonah with his wings spread wide, tail pulling to the side with his maneuvers. He’s the biggest one here, and the dark color shimmers in the dusk sky when he passes right overhead before he flies off.

“Hurry up!”

“Ow!” I’m yanked hard, a rough grip bruising my arm.

“There’s a clearing up ahead, we will not slow down—”

“Wild Dragon!” Someone shouts, and I’m pushed to the side, watching in horror as talons swoop down, picking up a cart ahead of us.

Screams penetrate the quiet, two people falling out of the cart as the horse attached tries to flee, dangling in the harness helplessly.

Oh no.

It’s lifted higher into the air and out of sight through the treetops as people scramble about.

“Get to the clearing!” Rohan shouts as my wide eyes stay on the grueling scene before me. “Drogonah!”

Everyone runs ahead, the squeals of a horse filling my ears. Then all of the sudden... it stops and blood rains down from above.

And then comes the fire.

It spews like lava upon the ground, the snow instantly melting. Shouts of alarm ring out and everyone scrambles for the clearing. Rohan barks more orders as he moves toward that fire, and I’m dragged along, being pulled by the rope.

He stops when he realizes and turns, face harsh as he lifts the axe high and I squeal, pulling away, but all he does is cut through the rope.

“Follow the others, and don’t you fucking dare run.” He gets in my face. “Do you understand me?”

“Y-yes,” I gasp, and with one last glare, Rohan runs toward the fire, and my chest wheezes with fear as I look around me.

It’s…chaos.

Horses run, carts are being abandoned, and that fire…

It’s all burning, even the frozen trees, running along its branches as flames spread around us.

I get to my feet, only to be shoved down again by a fleeing man, who doesn’t even look back.

I get up again and begin to run with the others, looking back to make sure that fire isn’t near us. Another roar, and I spot a blue dragon landing ahead of us, I think it’s one of the Dragorie’s because it stands sentinel while the others go around.

I’m one of the last in the group that will reach it, and I have to pause and lean against a tree to catch my breath, my side aching. I’m not going to make it.

But then… Why am I trying?

I look from the clearing to where Rohan approaches the fire, axe in hand, standing tall and I take a breath.

He cut the rope, no one is paying attention to me.

I move around the tree and pause, waiting to be called out, to be shouted at and looked for, but nothing comes.

It’s now or never.

I run.