Ride the Wave

23

Kira sighed. “I’m not sure we can trust anything the Gods tell us, and I have no idea what to do about Nysa now. We have to defeat her, but I worry that doing so will only make things worse. And although I still hate her, I understand why she became the person she is now. She thought she was doing what was best for the world but made some bad choices that led her down a dark path. Who’s to say we won’t do the same?”

I wrapped a golden wing around her. “We’ll figure it out. I have faith in you, and we’ll be with you through all of it.”

She ran her hand along my scales slowly. “Thanks. I couldn’t do this without the four of you at my side.”

“Once we reach the Water Temple, I’ll talk to the priests and see if they have any old texts about the Gods. Perhaps we’ll find something useful.”

“Perhaps,” she replied, although she sounded doubtful. I didn’t have much hope either, but I had to try.

She leaned against my large side, gazing out at the water again. I wished I could shift back into my human form and hold her, but I still had all the supplies strapped to my back, and we would be leaving soon. Doran would grumble at us if we held the group up by even a minute.

“We’ll be at the Water Temple soon at this pace,” I said, trying to distract her from her dark thoughts. “Is Reven going to be ready?”

We’d all heard them arguing the night before we went to the Earth Temple, and Reven had never been very amenable to the idea of becoming a Dragon. But he’d also sacrificed himself to save Kira, so we knew he cared for her—even if he didn’t want to admit it to himself.

“I think so. Things with him have been…difficult.” Her eyes darted to Reven, who stood apart from everyone else, leaning against the palm trees with his arms crossed. As usual, his brooding face made him look like he would rather be anywhere else, unless you noticed that he was turned toward Kira. He always kept an eye on her, even though he tried to make it seem like he didn’t care.

I rubbed my head against her side. “I know he’ll come around when it’s time.”

“I wish I had your optimism.”

“It’s not optimism. I believe in you, and in your other mates.” I grinned, giving her a glimpse of my fangs. “And I don’t see how Reven could possibly resist you.”

She took my large, scaled head in her hands, then pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Thank you. I always feel better after we talk.”

Through our bond I did sense that her troubles had lifted slightly. They’d always be there, at least until all of this was over, but they no longer weighed her down quite so much. Good. If I could ease Kira’s burden or make her smile, I’d done my duty as her mate.

“Enough standing around,” Doran roared, as he flexed his wings. “Do you want to make it to the Water Temple before the Dragons find us? Then let’s get moving.”

The others grumbled at the shortness of our break while Kira rolled her eyes. I nudged her with my tail. “Come on, let’s join the others before your father yells at us again.”

“He can be quite annoying, can’t he?”

“Sometimes, but he’s just looking out for you.”

“Is he?” She cast a skeptical eye at him. “You’re the only one who seems to trust him.”

“I’m trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. I truly think he wants to help us.” I flexed my talons and bared my fangs. “But if he turns against us, I’ll be ready.”

17

Kira

W

e stopped that night at a small fishing village where everyone knew Doran and greeted him warmly—a reaction I'd never seen before. Most people cowered in fear from the Dragons, but he'd flown right into the village and had shifted in front of them. Instead of hiding, people had run out to say hello with smiles on their faces.

“I saved them from a group of elementals a few years ago,” Doran explained, as he led us to the small building that served as a tavern and inn for sailors.

“I thought we were supposed to be traveling in secret,” I said.

“Trust me, no one from this town will go running to the other Dragons, and it's such a small, inconsequential village none of them will bother coming here.”

I glanced across the town, with its wind-battered and sun-bleached buildings, some of which had straw roofs. Palm trees blew lazily overhead, and the air smelled of saltwater and fresh fish from the nearby harbor. Memories of my childhood, living in a place just like this, came rushing back. “This town reminds me of Tidefirth.”

“Does it?” Doran asked. “I suppose it is similar.”

“Is it possible to go back there?”

“No. Sark burned it down after you left, probably to punish me for making him spare your life. The entire village is little more than ash, along with all the people who once lived there.” He rested a hand on my shoulder briefly. “I’m sorry.”

Pain gripped my heart. Sark took all those innocent lives...and for what? Some petty rivalry between the two of them? Maybe he and Nysa had started out with good intentions, but they'd done many terrible things over the years too, which couldn’t be forgiven. They had to be stopped.