From Shadow to Flame (The Legend of Adani Book 2) by Ryan Kirk

Author:Ryan Kirk [Kirk, Ryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oliver Heber Books
Published: 2024-07-02T00:00:00+00:00

19

The potent force of the dragon’s adani, combined with the vicious mix of emotions swirling through Elian’s spirit, almost made him cry. Had a Vada stood before him, he would have attacked it with bare hands and not a sliver of hesitation. He needed something to hit, but there was nothing within reach that deserved his wrath. Only Capricia’s arms around his waist prevented him from turning the dragon around and attacking the Debru army singlehandedly.

The injured dragon’s slow pace gave Elian plenty of time to stew over his failure. Night approached by the time they returned, but that didn’t stop dozens of adanists from gathering at the edge of the field the dragons used as a home. Each and every one had known that Elian had led three other dragons this morning. Now he returned with one healthy dragon and one injured, his failure laid bare for all to see.

Capricia was silent behind him, and he didn’t know what to say to her. He’d thought the scouting would be without risk, but he’d almost killed her, too. She would be right not to want to speak to him ever again.

Elian landed first and collected himself before jumping off to face his judgment. Capricia landed beside him, and he looked at her. “I’m so sorry,” he said.

She reached out, took his right hand, and squeezed it. “You have nothing to be sorry for. When you’ve realized that, come find me.”

She let go of his hand and walked away, leaving him feeling dreadfully alone. He longed for the privacy of his room at home, but it felt farther away than when he’d been traveling the deadlands with Harald. He took a step toward the rapidly growing group of visitors but stopped.

The whole flight back, he hadn’t spared a thought for the dragons. He didn’t know how they related to one another, but he’d been rude not to ask. He pressed his hand against the dragon’s neck and connected. “I’m sorry.”

The emotion that emanated from the dragon turned his insides to liquid. He thought he’d understood all the different flavors of grief, but he’d only scratched the surface. Brief memories flashed, one after the other, each a tiny drop that, when combined, could fill a raging river.

He often mourned all the time he’d never get to spend with his father, all the experiences they would never share because his life had ended too early. He’d long believed that was the most brutal legacy of Father’s passing. The torrent of raw sorrow from the dragon forced him to reconsider.

Perhaps it was worse to grieve a companion of countless years.

He choked and fought back a sob. He couldn’t afford to mourn, not with every eye on him. “I’m sorry,” he repeated.

The words seemed woefully inadequate, so he added a few more. “We’ll make them suffer. I promise.”

He placed his forehead against the dragon’s scales as memories that weren’t his own flooded his thoughts. He endured them a moment longer before pushing himself away and separating his adani from the dragon’s.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.