The Strength of the Nameless: Heart of Dragons Book 2 by J.D. Neptune

Author:J.D. Neptune [Neptune, J.D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Neptune Publishing Company LLC
Published: 2023-08-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Forty-Four

Bhen’s chest was heaving as they crested the final stair on the ascent from the beach. The staircase led them to an open square of white cobblestone filled with shops and cafes made of grand stones and red slate roofs. Potted plants filled open spaces to breathe static life into the otherwise gray landscape, but even without the planters, the bustle of people scurrying across the square filled the air with energy.

Romar stared at everything and everyone with wide eyes, sometimes letting them linger for slightly too long when a pretty girl passed by. Bhen patted the young tribesman’s arm and shook his head.

“Just a glance,” Bhen said.

“And if you look twice,” Lhoris added as he tied his horse to a post, “you have to go talk to her.”

They followed Legate across the square and down a long roadway with a slight upward slope as it snaked back and forth up the side of the mountain. As far as Bhen could tell, there were structures built all the way to the summit. If that was the case, the first staircase hadn’t even brought them halfway there. They stopped at a bench on the side of the path.

“Where are you leading us?” Bhen said.

“You’ll see,” Legate said.

They waited for several minutes until a long carriage drawn by four horses arrived at the roadway. They climbed on and settled into the cushioned seats with great sighs of relief.

The carriage snaked up switchbacks paved into the mountain before reaching the end of the roadway terminating at yet another staircase. Legate thanked the coachman then led them up the stairs in silence, the click of their boots the only sound accompanying the faint whistle of the wind.

A dragon flew overhead, whisking through the air and diving down the mountainside towards the coast. Bhen followed the dragon’s flight and took a glance back over his shoulder at the sea below them, so far down that the humans now looked like ants crawling over a mound of dirt. It gave him a sense of vertigo, being so high in the air. The last time he was this high was when Imret still had his wings.

Bhen pushed those thoughts down, for to linger on them would only bring him sadness, and focused instead on the opportunity to rectify his losses laid out before him.

A guarded gate awaited them at the top of the stairs. It was the first time Bhen had seen anyone bearing a weapon since arriving in the mountain village. They made as if to open the gate until they were interrupted by shouts coming from behind them.

“What is that!” a bearded man shouted as he ran for the gate. He pointed at Romar with a scowl twisting his face into a contorted image of pure hatred. “You let it in?” he asked Legate. “What spirit overtook you to think you could let it approach such a sacred place?”

“What’s the problem?” Bhen said, stepping closer to Romar with one hand hovering over the ground in a peacemaking gesture.

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