Page 130 of Dragon Gods

“So, what’s the plan?” he said without preamble.

“What in the dragon gods is he doing here?”

Javi’s voice sent a shock of lightning through her and she turned, parsing through the shadowy figures until she saw him, dirty and a bit gaunter than before but there—and alive.

Sofia didn’t bother with words, throwing herself at him before he even registered she was there. He let out a yelp and pulled back, squinting at her face in the dark before his eyes widened.

“Scales, Flor said, but—” He pulled her back into the hug and she couldn’t stop the tears that were burning her eyes. He smelled of the rainforest and of himself and she didn’t want to let go. His heart-mother hovered behind him, her eyes still wet with unshed tears.

“The demon-spawn has a point,” Flor said from behind them. “We need an escape plan.”

Sofia pulled back. “We don’t have an escape plan?” she said slowly, looking between them. She saw Vato standing a few feet away, as well, drawn by their conversation.

“The plan was to go out the gates, but the army reacted too quickly. Once the bombs went off, some of the morezealouscivilians started attacking the king’s men forcing the army to put up their defenses.” He paused, as if hesitant to say the next thing. “We’re surrounded.”

“What about the way Sofia and I came?”

“It just leads us deeper into the city,” Sofia said. “And there is no way everyone would make it. Especially without being seen.”

“So we fight our way out?” Flor said.

Sofia looked at their group. Even with the townspeople screaming and throwing rocks, the soldiers were closing in and behind the front lines children were huddled. Their injured leaned heavily against walls, some looking half-dead.

They had escaped the prison only to be trapped here, in the slums that had already held them, a prison of its own.

And, then like a silent explosion, the air around them crackled and sang. A wind blew through the street, sending the flames dancing violently, and a deafening roar filled Sofia’s ears, causing her eardrums to shudder. She gripped the side of her head, teeth clenched, and she wondered if this was what death sounded like.

CHAPTERFIFTY

FOX

Fox’s ears popped as the air shuddered around him. In the darkness he could have sworn he felt the press of stone and debris hitting him, throwing him back. But no. His eyes opened, and he watched as the crowd screamed and cowered, some covering their ears but more watching the sky. Their faces filled with terror.

With a sense of knowing, his eyes rose. The sun was a couple hours from rising, but the stars still lit up the sky, and a gray line stretched along the horizon where the sun bided its time. Even if it had been pitch black, the silvery glow from the dragon’s scales would have shone against the sky. Its wings stretched wide—blocking out the stars beyond.

Though this was his second time seeing a dragon, the sight of this one stretched across the sky above Suvi stole the breath from his lungs. And the chorus of screams coursing through the city only heightened his awareness.

There’d be no more denying it. The dragons were back and now all of Suvi would know it.

The ground quaked beneath their feet and people scattered as the dragon touched down on the street, creating a barrier between the civilians and the soldiers. Despite its clear wish to protect them, the majority of the townspeople that had been so brave in the face of the king’s men dispersed into the alleys, disappearing in the shadows like rats.

But not everyone did. Flor gazed up at the celestial beast with eyes wide and mouth hanging open while a few of the other rebels he recognized stood in similar awe.

It was Sofia who moved first, eyes bright as she stepped forward and stretched her hand out to brush her fingers across the dragon’s scales. Its hum sent a shudder through the air, the feathers along its neck and spine vibrating.

“She came for you,” Sofia said, soft voice somehow carrying amid the chaos.

“Who?” Fox said. She turned, looking at him with tears shining in her eyes even as her smile stretched wide.

“The dragon answered your prayer.”

“How do you know?” he said, coming to stand beside her. He examined the dragon’s silver scales as if they held the secret. She was running her hand along its flank like one might pet a donkey, but he was too afraid to get closer.

“Listen.”

Fox didn’t bother asking her to clarify, he was too busy staring at the dragon’s head which was turned to face him. It—she—had eyes so blue he might have believed they’d melt into water at any moment. And suddenly, he did hear.

Eha wanted to come. She could not. So I answered.

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