Sailing the Ashen Seas (Shadow of the Dragons Book 8) by JMD Reid

Author:JMD Reid [Reid, JMD]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fallbrandt Press
Published: 2022-07-18T16:00:00+00:00

27

Ree hurt everywhere.

Blood dripped from cuts on his brow and cheek. He spat a cracked tooth onto the floor of the cell. His ribs creaked when he breathed in. Duke Phaos had not held back and had asked no questions. The man had only shouted his rage with every blow. His fury had roared with every strike of the club.

Ree hugged the pain. He embraced it. This was what he deserved.

He knew that fury Duke Phaos possessed so well. It had devoured Ree. Destroyed his life. Nothing was ever the same after that disastrous moment, the brand throbbing. Alone in the dark, Ree leaned his head against the cold hull.

The rage built in him again.

Ree had never thought himself capable of harming a member of his clan. Oh, he had contested with the other young drakemen for breeding rights by proving his prowess in wrestling matches. Sometimes, he’d quarreled with them over tactics on raids or the hunt, even coming to blows.

But he had never harmed them.

Then that day.

The mockery had built for weeks after his encounter with Lumi. The glowing serpent had filled him with a purpose that no one else understood. So they mocked him. Disparaged his purpose. Insulted him as he made his vigil, waiting for the snake’s prophecy to come to pass.

On the day of his great mistake, Ree had argued with the elders to stay near Ashounz’s ruins. Never mind they had to drive their camels and flamehoof steeds to an oasis so they could graze. That new supplies had to be gathered.

He had a purpose.

The elders did not understand. They spoke such platitudes as not weakening the tribe, reminding him of his duty to defend the young. The broodmothers. He was Ree. The mightiest of their warriors. What were visions from a glowing snake?

“It will not put food in our hatchlings’ bellies!” hissed Elder Kwi.

“You would have us become half-starved and too weak to fight against the raiders of the Asuokwi Clan?” snarled Elder Tzuu.

“We are of the Moyszi Clan!” Ree roared back. “Strong. Valiant. We will take the green-winged girl to the Dead Lake. She shall cleanse the filth. Make it a bounty to our people. We must wait.”

“For how long?” Elder Aadsum asked, shaking her head. “How long should we wait? What if our oases are raided? What if the grasses our herds need for fodder are torched? If we lose our herds to starvation, how will we feed ourselves? No, no, your foolishness will not endanger us. The clan is what matters, Ree, not your . . . eccentricities.”

“You are all fools!” Ree growled and marched out.

Right into her mockery. “They’re the fools? Them? The great Ree so whipped by a spirit, you would kneel in the sand waiting for another taste of her revelation.”

He had ignored her. Or tried to. But her barbs had followed him through camp. Males stared at him, shaking their heads. Their respect evaporated. Females spat like he was a runt not worthy of being a mate.

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