At the exact same moment, both Ava and Nira answered, “We want to find a dragon.”
Though several people close enough to have heard turned around with interest, it didn’t look like Kingston knew how to react. Part of him appeared to be in disbelief, and another part seemed so appalled he wanted to laugh. “Pardon?”
There was a lengthy pause as Ava and Nira waited for me to explain. “Cornwall is set against a mountain,” I began, and he nodded. “I can’t jump beyond the walls alone, but if I could control a dragon with my magic, it could take a few of us straight to the door, or to a tower where we could infiltrate the castle and find Hazlitt before our troops fight through.” I glanced around at the various people who’d leaned in to listen, suddenly worried that I’d get their hopes up on something I couldn’t deliver. “What if we could end the battle early, without losing more lives than we need to?”
Kingston shook his head, saying, “You’d be facing Hazlitt without our army. You’d be alone.”
“Not alone,” Nira protested, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ava’s chin drop with agreement.
It was no comfort, however, and both Kingston and I knew it. There seemed to be very little Ava or Nira could do against Hazlitt’s magic. “I always was going to face Hazlitt alone,” I said, pursing my lips with a reassuring smile. “You know that.”
“Kiena,” Kingston sighed, “I’ve not heard of anyone who’s even seen a dragon in hundreds of years. Where do you intend to search?”
“Deep in the mountains of the Amalgam Plains,” I answered, and I could see his face fall with reluctance and recognition. “You told me the legend yourself.”
“A legend,” he agreed. “One so old and perhaps altered that you can’t even be sure if there’s any truth to it.”
“What if I told you I’d seen it?” I asked, suddenly eager to make him believe as I did. “In a memory evoked by the mind masters. What if I told you that I’d seen proof of my magic’s origins? That I’d been eye to eye with a dragon, and touched it with my own hands?”
Kingston didn’t respond right away. It appeared he didn’t know what to say at all, and he just sat there, pressing his palms together to put his fingertips against his mouth and stare at me. “If you fail to find one?” he asked eventually, letting his hands fall.
“Then all that’s lost is a few days,” I told him. “We’ll be at Cornwall to rally with the rest of you.”
“And if you do find one,” he suggested, “and you can’t control it. It could kill you.”
“Is it not worth the risk?” I asked. “We don’t know that we can succeed at fighting our way into the castle in the first place, or that Hazlitt won’t have hundreds more of his soldiers waiting beyond the walls to protect him.” I leaned forward with the sheer importance and weight of this mission, an importance I felt more deeply the more I talked about it. “I don’t know if his troops will lay down arms the very moment they see that we’ve a dragon on our side, but if I could get one to fight for us, Kingston, so many more of our rebels will get to see their families again.”
Kingston let out a heavy breath, and thought on everything I’d said for a long minute more. “You two,” he pointed at Ava and Nira, “you’ll be accompanying her?” They both nodded. “Give me your word,” he requested, returning his focus to me, “that no matter the outcome, you’ll be at Cornwall.” His brow furrowed imploringly. “We need you there, Kiena.”
“You have my word,” I said. “I swear it.”
“Very well,” he agreed, and I heard murmurs go up amongst the people who’d been eavesdropping. He added in an endearingly stern tone, “The three of you spend the day with your family, be sure to enjoy yourselves.”
“Yes, Commander,” I said. “You be sure to attend the festivities as well.”
“Yes, First Ward,” he replied with a teasing smile. “Go on.”
All three of us left him to eat his breakfast in peace. I knew Nira was eager to be active in the competitions, but they didn’t begin for a while, and I’d promised Nilson I’d spend time with him and Akamar. So we strode out of the caves to the meadow outside, where plenty of the mountain’s inhabitants had already set up an abundance of games. It took a bit of wandering to locate our brothers and my mother, but eventually we found them. They were playing at a game of horseshoes against two grown rebels, and despite our brothers being so much younger and so much smaller, the scores were actually quite close.
Seeing as they’d be preoccupied for the next handful of minutes, I told Ava that I’d be right back, and left her and Nira with my mother while I headed toward the edge of the meadow. Because there were so many people around, I paced well into the woods, a good distance from the noise so the she-wolf wouldn’t be intimidated by it. Once I felt I was in a safe place, I let out a shrill whistle, and waited a minute for her to find me.
She padded toward me, already sniffing the air for food. “I’m sorry,” I apologized, squatting down and holding out my empty hands, “I haven’t brought you anything today.” Whether she cared or not, she stopped in front of me, sitting back on her haunches and watching me with her good eye. “We’re going to war,” I told her, “I leave tomorrow,” and her head cocked just slightly. “You haven’t got to come,” I added, saying under my breath, “don’t know why you’ve even stayed this long.” I extended my hand, grateful that she let me scratch her neck. “What have I done to earn your loyalty all these months, huh?” My fingers lifted to trace her missing ear. “What’s a wild thing like you doing following me around?”
In response to my wondering aloud, the wolf stretched forward, touching the tip of her nose to the dragon pendant behind my tunic. At first I thought maybe the magic was why she stuck around, but I never controlled her. She’d always seemed more than content to follow my instructions despite refusing to be tamed.
“If I didn’t know any better,” I said with an amused huff, “I’d think the gods sent you to save me that day in the woods.”
And at that, for the first time since I’d known her, she did something to show attachment. She bowed her head, leaning forward to press the top of it to my chest, and it lingered, and it was gentle. It was the kind of affection a dog would give when it knew you needed it most, and it had been so long since I’d felt this kind of fondness and devotion from an animal that I couldn’t help it. My eyes filled with tears. I set my hand against the back of her head, stroking down the back of her neck to return the gesture.
“You stop that,” I said after a moment of affection, sniffling away the moisture and grabbing her head in my hands. “Or I might think you’re starting to like me.” She let out a low growl as her upper lip curled, and she pulled away from my hands. “That’s more like it,” I laughed, and ventured to pet her again despite the growl. “We leave first thing in the morning.” She huffed an acknowledgement, pressing against my hand for only a moment before she turned to start making her retreat into the forest. “See you tomorrow, Haunt.”
Once she’d disappeared into the foliage, I strolled back to where I’d left my family. Ava and Nira were in conversation with my mother when I returned, and all three of them were laughing about something. It left me immediately skeptical, especially because, as I reached them, Ava threw her arms around my neck in an endearing hug.
“Do I want to know what you’re all laughing for?” I asked.
Ava released me, saying as she pulled away, “Your mother was just telling us about the day she realized you fancied women.”