Dragons of Kings (Upon Dragon's Breath Trilogy Book 2) by Ava Richardson

Author:Ava Richardson [Richardson, Ava]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-12-29T16:00:00+00:00

12

Challenged

Saffron strode back to where I waited with Jaydra, fish roasting on campfire, looking as though she hadn’t slept at all. I could see every freckle on her pale cheeks and purple stains smudged her eyes, leaving them looking huge. Her leather jerkin seemed dusty as did her boots, and she strode toward me, coming from the western mountains.

“What happened to you?” I asked and stood. Next to me the fire crackled happily. Jaydra sat not far away, watching Saffron and saying nothing that I could hear.

The sun had warmed the meadow where we had spent the night, but rivers seemed to leave a chill in the air. Saffron’s breath puffed in the air like a dragon’s.

Saffron stopped in front of me, her cloak thrown back from her shoulders. She fixed a hard stare on me and said, her voice urgent, “We should leave. Now.”

“What’s wrong? Is this about last night and Ryland not believing I could be king?” I could almost hear a sullenness in my own voice. Even I didn’t believe I really would make a great king, so why should I expect anyone else to?

“No, Bower. Please.” She reached out and touched my arm. “We can fly back to Den Mountain and then follow the island dragons to a new home. Zenema will know of other dragons who may help us, or we can fly south. Far away from Enric.”

“What are you talking ab—?”

A long, echoing call cut off my words. It sounded to me like what I had always imagined the great Dragon Horn sounding like. The call echoed again, and I traced it back to the center of the Three-Rivers clan settlement. It had to be coming from the hall where we had dined last night. From within the settlement, excited whoops rose up. It sounded to me as if this was the call to summon me to my test.

My stomach tightened. The fish Jaydra had brought back for breakfast no longer seemed so appetizing. My mouth dried.

I’m not ready for this.

Panic shook my chest and my fingers, but then I remembered I had not been ready for Ysix’s test, either. I pulled in a breath and glanced at Saffron. She was staring at the settlement, her mouth set in a hard line and her blue eyes suddenly dark and fierce.

Before she could ask again for us to leave, I told her, “I can’t turn away from this. My father died to keep my bloodline secret, to give me a chance at the throne that is rightfully mine. I can’t turn away from my duties—I have to think of all those who suffer under Enric right now. Enric won’t stop trying to kill every last person who is part of the rebels, the Salamanders. He won’t stop persecuting those who only want to know the true history of their kingdom. And he won’t stop chasing us no matter where we go. That means we have to fight—and if we want a hope of winning, then I have to prove to these people I am their king.

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