Page 66 of Blood of Dragons
Like I did every day, I thought of my child…who would have been born by now.
Tears glistened in my eyes and blurred my sight.
The sound of powerful wings was heard overhead before Khazmuda landed on the other side of the stream, facing me as he tucked his wings into his powerful body. Against the vibrant colors of green and brown, his black scales stood out.
He stared at the stream for a while before he looked at me.Your pain is more intense than usual.
I stared at the stream. “My child would have been born by now.”
I’m sorry, Talon.
The tears bubbled over my eyes and spilled down my cheeks.
Your sorrow is painful to feel…
I sniffed before I wiped my eyes on my forearm, forcing the tears to retreat.
You don’t need to hide your tears.
“I’m not. I just can’t do it anymore.” A month of constant sorrow had wrung me dry of tears. To be this depressed, this irrevocably broken…was emotionally exhausting. There were times when I thought about slitting my own throat, but I hadn’t found the courage yet.
He watched me, his black eyes focused on my face.
In the month we’d been together, he told me that I had a gift, an ability to communicate with dragons that not everyone possessed. In another time, it would make me feel special, but now, it was hardly noteworthy.
“You should move on, Khazmuda. You owe me nothing.”
He looked down at the stream, seeming to look at his own reflection.I have nowhere to go.
For the first time in a month, I felt pain that wasn’t my own.
The only home I’ve ever known is gone—and you’re the only person who understands.
“There must be dragons somewhere else in the world.”
Maybe. But I’m not sure if I have the energy for such an undertaking.
“If you find more dragons, you can ask them to fight with you to free your kin.”
To leave their home and risk their lives…I find that unlikely.
“But it’s their kin too.”
Humans are your kin, but your kingdom wouldn’t rush to the aid of another.
My eyes dropped to the stream.
What will you do, Talon? You can’t live here forever.
“No, I can’t.” And I didn’t intend to.
His eyes remained on me.
“Perhaps other dragons escaped.”
Maybe a few. But I don’t know how I would find them. The world is a big place, even for a dragon.
All I’d been able to focus on were the flashbacks, the memory of the screams and the smell of burned flesh. I hadn’t thoughtof anything else until that point. “What exactly happened? Why weren’t you turned?”