Page 38 of Dragon Gods

She looked at him, trying to understand. “And what exactly would you describe as hard labor? From the age of six, I was working ten hour days cleaning out literal shit, walking the hour to and from the slums to get there.”

She might have suspected guilt passing over his face had he not immediately sneered. “Well, you look like you’ve been plenty fed.”

“I’d like to remind you who caught the rabbit,” she snapped, picking at her cuticles as she watched the meat cooking. “I might change my mind about sharing.”

She wouldn’t, though. As much as it pained her, she knew they had a few days’ travel at least until they made it back to the base, and she wasn’t going to listen to him whine and complain. Additionally, it was clear he was nearly helpless without her when it came to forest survival skills. She didn’t understand what the army was even teaching its soldiers.

But at least the comment shut him up.

They ate their rabbit and the anemic mangoes Ocon had found in silence. Even Sofia was unsure if their reticence to talk was because of their dislike of each other or their first warm meal in days. She wasn’t anywhere near full when she finished off the last bite, sucking on the mango’s pit until there was nothing left of the sour pulp, but her stomach wasn’t aching as it had been before, and her tongue didn’t feel like sandpaper anymore.

Ocon appeared to be savoring the gamey meat and sour fruit just as much as she was, licking the last bit of juices from his fingers in a way she doubted polite society would approve of.

“We should take turns sleeping,” he said when he saw her looking, quickly wiping his hands on his pants, as if she might be judging.

“Sure. I’ll go first.”

“I’m not tired,” he said. “I can take the first shift.”

“You look like you’re barely keeping your head up straight.”

“You don’t look any better than me.”

She knew he had a point, but the idea of lying down and closing her eyes with him so close made her stomach turn.

“Fine,” she finally said, not bothering to move farther from the fire. She made sure the weapons were all in her bag and tucked it into her chest before winding her arms around it. “Wake me up when you get tired.”

“Of course,” he said in a tone that clearly read:not going to happen because I don’t trust you either. She just shrugged him off, lying down wrapped around her bag, eyes focused on him.

He stared back at her, lips turned down in a scowl.

She wasn’t sure how long they stayed that way, long enough that Ocon had to add a log to the fire a few times. After the third log, he laid down, facing her from across the flickering flames. She felt the tremor in her own body as he wrapped the cloak around himself. Her shawl just covered her shoulders and the thin leggings she wore weren’t keeping her warm, even next to the fire. She wasn’t cold enough to ask for help, though.

Time drifted like fog as they both struggled to stay awake, each second dragging heavier as the night went on. Until at some point, between one blink and another, the fire had gone out and the clearing had turned dark. Her body shuddered with the cold, skin icy beneath her clothes. Split between the choice of getting up to restart the fire or stealing his cloak and hoping he was a deep sleeper, there wasn’t much choice. So she moved quietly in the darkness, barely able to see in front of her. The night blooming flowers that had lit their way previously were closed and Sofia had to wonder if they, too, were hiding from the frigid wind blowing down from the mountains.

It wasn’t until she returned with a small pile of twigs that felt dry enough to burn that Sofia noticed the emptiness of the clearing. The remnants of the evening fire were dark shadows against the night, but nothing—no one—was nearby. Ocon was gone.

As if her sudden awareness of her solitude had summoned it, a sound echoed in the woods behind her—the snapping of twigs under foot.

FOX

AGE 14

There are numerous accounts of mythological beings wandering the rainforest of Wueco, from the strange or creepy to the outright absurd. The Dragonborn wrote of beings that could shapeshift, creatures that fed off the energy of others, and ones that fed only on the blood of humans. It is unclear where the roots of these legends came from, but they likely represent a general fear and lack of understanding of the various dangers hidden within the forest.

- Tales of the So-Called Dragonborn by Jules Vond

“Iwant to go into the army.”

Fox was standing in the doorway of his father’s office, back straight even as his father barely acknowledged his presence. He’d knocked and been invited in, but his father hadn’t even looked up from his desk.

“I want to go into the army.” He repeated the words, as if it were possible that his father hadn’t heard him. The sound of his pen scratching on the papers dominated the room.

“I heard you.” He still didn’t look up, dipping his pen in the ink bottle once more before finishing off whatever he was writing with a flourish. “I was just hoping you’d think better of the statement if given the chance.”

“Leon was?—”

“Leon was an expert with the sword, bow, and dagger by your age. The only thing you put any energy into is sneaking around the manor reading when I’m not looking and playing with that boy.”

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