Page 431 of Kingdoms of Night

Even if he made the spines down her back stand on end.

CHAPTERTHREE

CHAPTER 3

Rowan followed the dragon down the cliff’s edge with his hand hovering over the dagger on his side. He knew it wouldn’t do much, but the monstrous creature had picked him up in its mouth and moved him through the cave as though he weighed nothing!

He should be terrified of her. Or at least angry. But the strange creature’s actions had made him hesitate. She didn’t act as though she wanted to kill him. She didn’t seem like she wanted to fight.

And he was certain the creature was female. Her size made him wonder if maybe the females were smaller. The crimson dragons who descended upon his village were much larger than this one, and she moved with a grace that the others didn’t. Or perhaps that was her size.

So many questions appeared in his mind and he didn’t know what to do with all of them. He shouldn’t care in the slightest about ways to tell if the dragons were male or female, or why they were different colors. He shouldn’t even ponder the reasoning of why he’d only seen red dragons until this point.

Still, the question slipped off his tongue before he could stop himself. “Are you female?”

“Do you mean to ask if I’m a woman?” She cast back over her shoulder.

But that would require skin instead of scales, he thought to himself. He couldn’t say that to her for fear of being eaten, though. “Yes.”

“I am. My name is Tanis. I am one of the few remaining amethyst dragons in existence.” The spines along her back rose, and he didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Their body language was so confusing.

“Ah.” He tried to make it sound as though that meant anything to him, when in reality, he hadn’t the faintest idea how to process what she’d just said. “I had wondered, because you are so much smaller than the other dragons here. Does that mean you are not one of the warriors?”

Those spines flattened, and she halted in front of him. Rowan stumbled, tried to move himself to the side, but her back was so large he still ran into her tail. The great whip-like appendage lashed out, caught him in the side, and tossed him into the dirt beside her. He was lucky she hadn’t thrown him off the cliff.

The dragon loomed over him, fangs bared in a terrifying grimace. “All females are larger than our counterparts, little elf. Just because I am smaller than crimson dragons does not mean that I am any less terrifying or that I could not tower over a male amethyst if we stood beside each other. You have much to learn.”

Oh, he had forgotten how to breathe. Swallowing hard, he nodded as he looked up into those giant eyes. “Point made.”

“Good.” She moved away from him and pointed with her chin. “That’s where the elves are kept. Your sister is probably still asleep, but you may wake her if you wish.”

Suddenly, he didn’t care that there was a dragon beside him. He hadn’t seen his sister, his twin, for months now. He had been forced to watch her stolen from the safety of their home and not known what had happened to her.

She was the other half of his soul. When they were children, he used to listen to her breathing at night and match his own to hers. And when they were both upset, they would put their hands over each other’s hearts and feel that they both beat to the same rhythm.

To know she was alive? That she survived the wrath of dragons?

It made his knees weak.

He looked at where the dragon had pointed and saw lines of huts that extended in rows out of his sight. Each one was small and angular. The a-frame homes were built to last, though. Moss had grown atop some of them, others had flowers planted on the roof, so even from the air they would look like they were part of the meadows.

“Which one is hers?” he asked, gulping down the terrifying emotion in his chest. Fear? No. Hope? He wasn’t sure.

“The one with the bluebells on it,” the dragon replied. “There are many flowers all over, but she’s the only one who prefers wildflowers.”

He saw the house and raced toward it. Rowan sprinted faster than he had even when the dragons were chasing him. Then he caught himself on the frame of the home, breathing hard, and staring down at the door. Could he open it? What if the dragon had referred to someone other than his sister?

Then the door opened and Aster looked back at him with a startled expression on her face.

It was like looking in a mirror. Always had been. The broad features. The sun darkened skin. Black eyes that saw right through a person’s soul.

She’d shaved her hair on either side. The strands were slicked back at the top, then tangled into braids that nearly reached the bottom of her ribs. She’d replaced the leaf earrings she always wore with ones that looked like tiny fish scales. Although, his gut twisted when he realized they were more likely dragon scales.

“Brother?” she gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“It doesn’t matter.” He dragged her into his arms and wrapped her in a far too tight hug. “I found you. You’re safe now.”

She awkwardly patted his back. “Um... Well, it’s good to see you too, Rowan. I just... I think you might have this all wrong.”

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