Page 12 of Dragon Valley
“If we’re still here in the morning, I’ll make you some tea,” Caden offered with that adorable smile. “And thank you, but I got word that our fields and orchards were burned down about a year ago.” He chewed his lip. “I don’t know if any of my family is even still alive. We’ve heard… awful rumors. With all the able-bodied men off to war, bandits and deserters have been raiding defenseless villages. Stealing weapons and grain stores, killing children for fun, and stealing women away for… the Gods know what.”
“No!” My eyes grew even bigger with disbelief. “Who would do things like that? How could they?”
“War drives people to do awful, desperate things,” Caden said sadly. “Tannia has become a lawless wasteland, unfortunately. If you’re starving and come upon a village with more food and shelter than you’ve seen in months, wouldn’t you take it?”
“I might ask,” I said. “But I wouldn’t ride in there on Dusa, torching everyone who got in my way and just taking other people’s food and supplies for myself! I would deserve to be burned alive if I did that.”
“Then I’m grateful you have dragons and those people don’t.”
At first I was merely curious. I wanted to hear stories and see what these people had to offer. If we could get new goods into the valley, why would we turn that down? The Dragon God already deemed these people trustworthy. I wanted to soak up their foreign drinks and tales of their lives beyond the mountain range until I was fat on all this new knowledge.
But now, I was beginning to feel invested in helping these people. I’d never known war myself, only in our history and stories. No one ever talked about bandits raiding defenseless villages. No one told about the downtrodden, simple people who just wanted to return to their families and simple lives.
As I looked at Caden’s face, the fire deepening the shadows under his eyes and cheekbones, I realized real war was not full of glory and victory. His face, and all the others asking for aid despite their fears, were the real faces of war. They were good, trustworthy people and dying by the thousands. If we didn’t help, they would surely lose.
“It doesn’t matter what your father decides,” I said to Azel. “I’m taking Dusa out to villages that have been raided and giving them food and supplies they need. They’re the real victims in this whole situation.”
“What?” his head snapped around to face me. “You are aRider! You have a duty to your clan, you can’t just go off on your own mission!”
“If the chief thinks my duties are serving food and drink, I might as well do it for those who need it,” I shot back.
“Nadi, the chief is an old man,” Azel said pleadingly. “He isn’t going to adapt to things changing, even if that’s already happening.”
“Then the army might as well just turn around and leave, because any kind of alliance with them is going to be the biggest change our people have seen in hundreds of years.”
“You know what I mean,” he sighed with exasperation. “He’s always been used to women filling certain roles and duties in society. Alliances aren’t a new concept, but women Riders who go off on their own absolutely are.”
“I. Don’t. Care,” I answered slowly. “The valley is bountiful. We have more than enough food to share. We ride beasts that can fly hundred of miles in a day. Why aren’t we doing more? Why didn’t we even know about this war until now? Why are you talking about keeping your father happy when innocent people are dying out there, Azel?”
My temper slowly rose until I was certain smoke was coming out of my nostrils like Dusa’s. Azel was my best friend and no one knew me better, but his desperation to please his father made me want to throttle him sometimes. He would rather wait for the chief’s approval foreverything. Yes, he was the leader of our clan but he was also human and imperfect. And as we were all realizing, old and slowly deteriorating.
And that also begged the question of how Azel would fare as our new chief when the time came. He would have no one to give him approval then.
“Forget I said anything,” he mumbled, rising to his feet and storming off.
“Don’t worry about him,” I said to Caden’s look of surprise. “He doesn’t like anyone questioning his father’s authority, especially a woman. He’ll get over it, though.”
Caden nodded, returning his gaze to the fire.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
I looked at him. “For what?”
“For saying what you did about helping our villages. It means a lot, more than you know. We all feel so helpless being far away from our loved ones.” He took a swig of mead. “Even if your chief forbids it, I appreciate your willingness to help.”
“I’ll do something,” I promised him. “Azaria will back me up. It’s just absurd to me that we’ve been holed up here, living so well while all of you are fighting, dying, and suffering. It doesn’t feel right. It’snotright.”
“Tell me something.” He turned his sky-blue gaze to me. “Why are you so willing to help outsiders when one of them killed your mother?”
“You just made me realize it tonight,” I said. “When driven to desperation, there are those who raid villages and kill innocent people. And there are people like you and your captain, who come to us with gifts and wine and simply ask for help. I hate that man for taking my mother away from me. I never got to know her and wish I had evenonememory to look back on. But I won’t blame all outsiders for what one person did. That’s foolish.”
“The more I talk to you, Nadiyah, the wiser you seem,” Caden chuckled. “Maybe you should become the next chief.”
I laughed so hard I nearly slid off my log. “And the more I talk to you, Caden, the funnier you seem.”
5
AZEL
