Page 28 of Kingdom of Spirits
“What?” Tahlia never thought she’d see the day Fara wanted to ride a dragon. “You can’t do that and you know it. Squires don’t ride dragons.”
“They do in some instances.” Fara glanced at the Seabreak, her eyes a little too wide for the confidence she was pretending to have. Tahlia knew well how scared Fara was of flying on dragonback.
Tahlia squinted at her. “You actually want to ride Vodolija?”
“No. Not even a little bit,” Fara said.
The dragon twisted and eyed Fara cooly. Fara gave her a nervous smile, all teeth and Fae fangs.
“But if she’ll allow it, I’m riding along.” Fara straightened and put her hands on her hips. “As a proper friend, I can’t let youhead off into who knows where on your own, following a scary male who doesn’t want you there.”
Tahlia’s heart turned to pudding. “Aww. You are the dearest friend.” She hurried over and gave her a quick hug before going back to helping Vodolija slide on her bridle. “But Fara, Marius isn’t going to hurt me.”
“Normally, no. But he’s acting off.”
“He is. He heard me use Vodolija’s name, but he didn’t even mention it. We’ve been talking about Vodolija and my bond with her a good bit, so that seems like strange behavior.” A shiver of said bond link traveled from Tahlia’s heart and branched into her arms, a delightful sensation.
Vodolija nickered and eased herself against Tahlia gently.
“If he’s being different than he has been the entire time you’ve been here, then you have no idea what’s really going on,” Fara said. “It could be one of a million horrid things! I can at least watch your back and give you some rest at night to sleep. Or whatever. Squire things like that.”
Tahlia chuckled. “Squire things. Right. Well, Vodolija might not want you on her back. What do you say, my friend?” she asked the dragon.
Vodolija lifted her head and jerked it down again.
“Wow, all right. She says yes,” Tahlia said, giving Fara a wide-eyed look. “You’re certain about this?”
Fara grimaced. “No, but also yes.”
“What about the million things that could go wrong?”
“There always are that many, really. Another day, another potential moment to die in a flurry of mistakes.” Fara shrugged.
“That’s the most Fara response in the world.”
“Thank you.”
Tahlia shook her head as they used the rope to fasten the girth under Vodolija’s belly. Fara put out the stall’s onetorchlight, then they waited, still and quiet in the dark stall, until Marius and Ragewing passed by.
As they followed in Marius’s footsteps and left the stables, the sky dimmed, clouds wrapping the stars and moon in black. The scent of rain blew past Tahlia’s face. Ragewing was a slash of movement far above Dragon Tail peak.
“We have to move now, or we’ll lose them.”
Vodolija bent low and allowed them both to mount, Fara sitting behind Tahlia. Fara’s whispered curses weren’t exactly calming Tahlia’s already frazzled nerves. She’d only escaped punishment by dragon fire a handful of days ago, and here she was, breaking yet another rule, ignoring a direct order.
The Seabreak coursed into the sky and Tahlia prayed to the Old Ones that she wasn’t making the biggest mistake of her life.
Chapter 12
Tahlia
“This is officially the worst idea you’ve ever had,” Fara shouted over the pelting rain and thunder.
Tahlia glared over her shoulder. “I told you not to come. This is your idea. Not mine.”
Fara buried her head between Tahlia’s shoulder blades, which was comical because Tahlia was so much smaller than Fara. “I couldn’t let you go alone. You know that!”
“Yes, you could have.”