Scale of the Dragon by Richard Fierce

Author:Richard Fierce [Fierce, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy
ISBN: 9781947329720
Google: ybxqzgEACAAJ
Amazon: B096MS4BKN
Goodreads: 58326948
Publisher: Richard Fierce
Published: 2020-12-31T13:00:00+00:00

12

When the morning horn blared, Caden was already awake and prepared.

He was one of the first to rush out of the barracks and begin the morning run around the castle. Captain Eduard had told them ten laps. That had seemed easy enough, but as yesterday had proved, it was much more difficult than he first thought. Midway through his second lap, he could feel the soreness in his muscles flaring to life.

He kept a smooth pace and tried to focus on something other than the pain. His thoughts turned to Lord Klodian, and he wondered how the man was faring. Klodian seemed tough, and Caden had heard the stories about how he had evaded multiple assassination attempts. Whatever had happened to him yesterday in Slia, it hardly seemed possible to keep him down for long.

The morning air was crisp and cool. Within a few hours, the sun would start baking the land with its unforgivable heat. For now, Caden enjoyed the slight chill. He was well ahead of his fellow Runesmen, by at least two laps, but it wasn’t a competition. It was about endurance and training his body. By the time he finished his final lap, the sun had driven the chill away.

Caden entered the castle for breakfast. The line was nonexistent, and he got fresh servings of scrambled eggs, two biscuits smothered in gravy, and a thick slice of ham. The steaming food made his mouth water and he devoured the meal hungrily. The other Runesmen began to file into the dining hall, and Thais carried her tray to where he was, sitting down beside him.

“You trying to show off or something?” she asked.

“No, why?”

“Just asking. You didn’t wait for anyone before you bolted off like a dog on the scent of its prey.”

Caden smiled. “I just love to start my days with a relaxing run, so I was eager to get going.”

Thais eyed him like he was insane before his sarcasm dawned on her. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“Oh, we’ve got a jester here. Great.”

“I’ll be here all week,” Caden said.

“You’ll be here longer than that, I hope. You don’t plan on dying anytime soon, do you?”

“No, of course not.”

Caden considered telling her his plan, but he decided to keep his mouth shut. He’d initially assumed his days of training would be torture and that he would end up keeping to himself, a lone wolf among the pack. It was only his second full day as a Runesman and he felt more at home than he had in a long time.

It was a great feeling, but if he wanted to make a name for himself, he would still need to transfer Dominions. He was feeling conflicted, which made things confusing. Should he stay where he was and be content with the way things were, or should he forge ahead with his plan?

He didn’t know the answer. Not yet.

Thais dug into her food, but she turned to him and spoke with her mouth full.

“You should show Captain Eduard what you found in Slia.

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