Page 5 of Elven Oath

Dragons.

I’d never seen one before, not in real life, only a picture in our oldest texts. But there was no mistaking them.

The sleek, powerful shapes, the way they moved so gracefully despite their size. They were dragons. And they were heading toward the castle.

My breath catches in my throat as panic surges through me, but I can’t let the children see. I can’t let them be afraid.

"Go," I say quickly, my voice steady even though my heart is racing. "Back to the servants’ quarters, now. Run, and don’t stop until you’re inside."

The children look at me, wide-eyed and confused, but something in my tone must have convinced them to not argue.

Without another word, they turn and sprint back through the trees, their laughter replaced by the sound of quick, frightened footsteps.

I stand there for a moment, watching the dragons circle overhead, their wings beating slowly, almost lazily, as if they were in no hurry.

There were at least three of them, maybe more, but it was hard to tell from the ground. They weren’t attacking and they didn’t seem aggressive. But their presence sent a chill down my spine. Why were they here?

I didn’t wait to find out. The children were safe, and now I needed to get back to the castle.

Running through the orchard, my feet pound against the earth as I make my way back toward the castle gates.

The guards would be furious that I’d slipped away, but that didn’t matter now. There were dragons flying over our lands. Creatures we haven’t seen in our lands in generations.

The war was over, wasn’t it? The peace between our people and the Dragonkin had been fragile for years, but surely, surely, no one would be reckless enough to threaten it now?

I’m breathless by the time I reach the gate, my heart pounding in my chest. The guards are at the gate, their faces pale as they look to the skies.

They didn’t even seem to notice me slipping back in, their attention focused entirely on the massive creatures overhead.

I hurry through the corridors, my mind racing with questions. I need answers.

There was something happening, something bigger than I’d realized. And I was right in the middle of it somehow, whether I liked it or not.

Dragons over the castle. What in the name of the stars was going on?

My emotions are a tangled mess of fear, curiosity, and frustration. What had brought the dragons here? Why now?

The halls were buzzing with nervous energy. Servants rush past me, their faces pale, and no one spares me a glance.

The same tension that had been hanging in the air for days seemed thicker now. Something big was happening and it had to do with the dragons.

I make my way toward the main hall, where I know my father will be. He had been acting strange too, distracted and distant, brushing off my questions. But he couldn’t avoid me now. Not with dragons flying over our heads.

I push open the heavy doors of the main hall without hesitation, stepping inside before anyone can stop me.

My father stands at the head of the room, surrounded by council members and advisors, all of them with grim expressions.

But what catches my eye isn’t their faces. It’s the three unfamiliar men standing near the table. Huge men that look as if they were sculpted from clay.

They were strangers to me, and something about them set my nerves on edge. They most definitely were not Elfkin.

"Vevina," my father says, his voice stern as soon as he sees me. "This is a delicate matter. You shouldn’t be here."

I open my mouth to protest, to demand answers, but the hard look in his eyes stops me. There’s no warmth there, no understanding. Just a firm, unyielding resolve.

"Go clean yourself up," he says, his tone sharp, as if I were still a child playing in the dirt. "You are needed elsewhere."

I want to argue, to ask about the dragons and the men in the room that I didn’t know, but something in the way he spoke told me it would be pointless.

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