Page 56 of Hearts on Fire
The ground was chilly. But I was too tired for the cold to keep me awake for long. I propped my bow and quiver with arrows behind the rock, shoved my satchel under my head, and soon drifted into an uneasy sleep.
* * *
A warm splash of sunlight on my face woke me up. I squinted at the sky, raising my hand to shield my eyes. The sun broke through the thick, gray clouds, shining straight above me.
It must be around noon, way too soon for me to start walking again. I was still too close to the castle. A flying dragon could spot me. But I was hungry and thirsty, and most importantly, I had to pee.
I grabbed some cheese and bread from my satchel, along with a couple of plums, then ate hurriedly while scanning the skies above me. After washing the food down with water I’d brought with me, I ventured to climb out from my hiding spot.
Grabbing my bow and arrows just in case, I left my satchel hidden in the place where I’d slept. Finding a “bathroom spot” wasn’t hard on the deserted mountain. After I was done, I straightened my clothes and went back to my sleeping spot but didn’t climb back in.
A flock of birds rushed from the horizon. I shielded my eyes from the sunlight and…froze. These weren’t birds. But dragons. Hundreds…no, thousands of them were flying from the valley toward the Bozyr Peak.
An even larger mass separated from the king’s castle and the surrounding mountains behind me. Their massive wings obstructed the sun like storm clouds as they flew to charge their enemy.
The final battle at Bozyr Peak was about to begin. And judging by the massive size of both armies, it was sure to spill way out of the area where I’d thought it was taking place.
I needed a better place to hide. Somewhere where the dragons’ fire wouldn’t reach me.
Gripping my bow, I yanked my satchel from between the rocks and swung it over my shoulder and across my chest, next to my quiver of arrows. Leaping from rock to rock, I spotted a deep crevasse just off the path. It was dark and probably wet in there, but I’d be completely out of sight in there.
A thunder of dragons flew over me. The wind from their mighty wings rolled like an avalanche down the mountain. I grabbed on to a rock with both arms, just to stay on my feet.
The king’s dragons from the mountain collided with the mass of the army approaching from the valley in a thundering, fiery crash.
The sky turned red with fire. Black smoke obscured the sky. Soon, the stench of burning flesh drifted through the air with violent gusts of wind.
“What are you doing here?” A voice boomed above me. A huge shape plummeted from the sky toward me. “Shouldn’t you be with the others?”
A charcoal-gray dragon grabbed me with his giant claws and swept me into the air with him.
Up here, the world made even less sense than below. Clouds of smoke mixed with the clumps of real clouds. Blasts of fire ripped through both, tearing smoke and mist into shreds, then leaving more smoke in their wake.
A dragon roared to our right. His mouth was wide open, the flesh inside burning. These weren’thisflames, but the fire of someone else, another dragon who bested him. His great wings flapped in the air erratically before his eyes glassed over and he crashed onto the sharp rocks below.
With cold fingers, I gripped onto the claws of the dragon carrying me through this hell in the sky.
“There,” he snarled above me, jerking his head at a spot on the ground below the clouds.
As the smoke parted, I spotted a group ofsalamandrasstanding on a small patch of even ground on the side of a mountain.
“Go.” The dragon released his claws, letting me drop next to them as he flew by. “And stay put. There’s no place for deserters in my army.”
The dragon turned his head my way briefly, giving me a stern look with one silver-gray eye. The other eye wasn’t there. Only a jagged scar marred its place.
The High General had been away with Elex. He either hadn’t heard about what happened in the king’s chambers in his absence, or didn’t recognize me, which was entirely possible. He saw the robe before the person, just like the king did.
Dropped by him from some height, I rolled on the ground and under the feet of thesalamandrasand their Mother.
“Amber.” Mother’s chest rose with a deep breath. Bitter disappointment rang in her voice. From the ground, I couldn’t see her face behind the lace of her hood, but I knew it also held a disappointed expression.
Now, however, was not the time to discuss our differences or my yet another attempt to escape.
I scrambled to my feet, adjusting my satchel across my chest, as well as my bow and quiver over my shoulder. Despite the High General’s mad dash through the war zone up above, I managed to keep my things with me. It had been impossible to lose them as they were clutched in the claws of the High General with me.
“What are you all doing here?” I stared at the women in confusion. None of them had any weapons. With their thread-bare red robes blowing in the wind, they seemed more vulnerable than ever on this desolate mountainside with the battle of mighty dragons raging just over our heads. “It’s not safe for us here.”
Mother clutched her hands together. “It is our duty to help the king win the war.”