Sixteen
“You’re late,” Aurora says the following morning. Her arms remain in position, her eyes fixed firmly on her target, as I hurry toward the area where our archery practice takes place. “I was supposed to give you a lesson before we go to the dragons.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I was looking for Dash. He said he’d join me for breakfast this morning but he never showed up. Have you seen him around?”
With a whoosh and thwip, her arrow strikes the center of the target. She lowers her bow and turns to me with a frown. “Dash left late last night. Didn’t he say goodbye to you?”
I blink. “No. I haven’t seen him since dinner. Why did he leave? I thought …” I shake my head, this unexpected news making no sense to me. “Roarke was so insistent that he stay. Since, you know, he didn’t trust Dash no
