Slither by Melody Steiner

Author:Melody Steiner [Steiner, Melody]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy
Published: 2017-02-09T18:17:07+00:00

NINE

Warmth creeps along my cheeks. My jaw drops while I drag my gaze back and forth from the king to Adom’s sad visage.

Adom…

Damn him!

I pull the dress up around my shoulders and hook it with nimble fingers. The tear is small, and I don’t think anyone will notice it, but I still feel guilty because Rhydian gave it to me.

“You’re Fire Breather?”

The king’s eyes narrow. “I’m not going to eat you.”

A tide of sickness washes over me. “So Adom isn’t trying to connect with the other dragon changelings to work against you?”

“I’ve worked for King Siles ever since he came into power.” Adom steeples his fingers. “He ordered me to take control of the dragon herd. That’s why I came back after Ona killed the dragons who protected me. That’s why I challenged him.”

“You acted under orders. Not revenge?” My voice sounds strange and breathy to my ears.

The haze grows thicker. Adom’s words, slow and succinct, become oddly unintelligible. “We’re attempting to make contact with all the changeling dragons. We have large numbers of them hiding in a changeling compound in the foothills of Skydive Peak. Mostly, they are frightened and want only to live normal lives. But some have refused our attempts to help.”

“So you are certain that it’s not the herd scorching Tranar lands?” He shakes his head. “Did you murder my parents?”

The king opens his mouth to interject, but Adom holds out a hand. “I didn’t.”

“Then why did you let me believe it?”

Concern and reluctance wars on his face. He takes in a breath, his shoulders squaring. “You told me you wanted to die. That first night on Onyx. Don’t you remember? You wanted me to kill you. So, I told you what you needed to hear. Something to channel all your hopeless rage into so that you would live. I didn’t think you would make it, otherwise.”

There it is. So simple an answer to a question that has plagued me for weeks. I don’t remember telling him that, but everything about those first days on Onyx is a blur. If Adom didn’t kill my family, who did? Was it one of the changelings he was tracking? Or someone in the changeling compound he mentioned earlier? My heart quickens. “Why didn’t you tell me what you were doing in Trana? And why did you bring me?”

He stands now, and the circle is complete. We are, all three of us, standing around the banquet table: me, with my dress askew; the king looking like he might pull out a sword at any moment; and Adom, now bizarrely vulnerable.

“I didn’t tell the king I was bringing you to Trana,” he answers. “I made that decision independently. So I couldn’t tell you fully about the mission until I spoke with him.” He can’t seem to meet my eye. “It wasn’t an easy decision. I wanted to tell you. But I didn’t want to jeopardize everything we were working toward. I had to see how you’d react to being back in Trana, surrounded by humans, so that I could report to the king.

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