Page 42 of Consort's Dragon
“For the good of all.Or would you rather we become victims of Zhos?”
Her lips pinched.“This all seems so rushed.Not to mention the unknown factors that might crop up.”
“Rushed to you.I’ve been planning for a while.I’ve spent years searching for the stones on Verlora.”
“How did you even know they were there?Did your viziers tell you?”
“They suspected so, as did I.It seemed likely, given Basil’s visit followed by the erupting volcano and the reports of a menace killing those who went ashore.It wasn’t until some of my scouting groups actually spotted the dragon that I knew for sure.However, even then one dragon didn’t mean the eggs were present.The scavenging parties that attempted to go deep into the city never returned.Thus, you can imagine my excitement when Kachezi finally had a vision that indicated you would be the one to find them.”
“So she’s the reason you had me kidnapped and forced to seek them out.”
At her accusation, he had the grace to look chagrined.“Not my finest order or moment, I’ll admit.However, there was too much at stake for me to take your feelings into account.We had to retrieve the eggs.It’s the only way for us to counter the coming menace.”
While Avera understood, she didn’t necessarily forgive.“I’d asked Koonis to take me to Verlora and he refused.Wouldn’t it have been simpler for him to agree, instead of using force?”
“Wait, you asked him?”Surprise raised his brows.“I wasn’t aware of that.He claimed you were being held hostage by the pirate king and that he’d have to extract you by force.”
Not a surprise the slimy captain had lied.“Pity we can’t chop off his head twice.”
“In the end, you succeeded, and now we can work together to rid the world of Zhos once and for all.”
“Assuming the book tells the truth.”What she’d learned thus far seemed rather fantastical.
“Speaking of the Dragon Compendium, would you like me to read it to you?”
An overloaded Avera needed time to digest what she’d learned already.She shook her head.“This is a lot to take in.I need a moment to think.”
“We don’t have long.My viziers have finally returned, which means the pilgrimage to Mount Ygnis begins tomorrow.”
“Mount Ygnis being your volcano?”She thought she’d heard Prielli mention it but wanted to make sure.
“Yes.It used to be the home of Merisu’s last dragon and will now see four dragons hatched before the end of the week.”
“This seems rather quick.”
“Weren’t you the one in a hurry?”
“That was when I thought I’d be putting the stones back inside the spire to act as a shield.You’re talking about awakening creatures that haven’t been seen in a thousand years.Sentient beasts our ancestors killed.What if they hatch and are angry at us?”
“As I’ve told you, we have collars to control them.”
Collars like a slave.She did her best to not show her repugnance.“Assuming you can get them on faster than they breathe fire.”
“They can blow all they want.They cannot harm the blooded.”
He’d claimed before they were impervious to flame, she just had a hard time believing it.“So we might survive, but what of everyone else?”
He shrugged.“I imagine there will be some casualties until we manage to get them to see sense.”
Get dragons to see sense?It sounded utterly insane, and she didn’t appreciate his callous attitude.“Let me sleep on it.”
“Very well.Good night, Avera.”Titus departed but left the book.
A book that had answered some questions while spawning even more.
Dragons had been sacrificed to save the world.
Zhos could be neutralized but it would require another sacrifice.While the ones that bled to paralyze Zhos would either recover or come back from a new egg, what of the dragon that would be flying through the rift Titus claimed would appear?It would be trapped on the other side.Why should she care?She couldn’t have said except there’d been something in that moment when she’d exchanged gazes with the dragon in Verlora that stuck with her.Did they have the right to condemn an intelligent creature?
