Page 23 of Dragon Valley
Nadi stroked her hand with motherly affection across Dusa’s horns as she spoke. “The Dragon God was grateful to the human for saving one of His children. He blessed the man and all his future generations with protection and harmony with dragons. And we’ve been here ever since.”
“But not everyone is a Rider,” I pointed out.
“Correct,” she nodded. “I suppose in your world it’s like living in an area with lots of cattle ranches, but not everyone is a cattle farmer. Here, children can choose to become Riders when they’re ten years old. They are assigned to a mother dragon with an egg. When the egg hatches, the Rider spends all of their time with their hatchling to socialize it for riding and training it to obey commands. The first five years is a crucial part of the training. If you’re too harsh with the dragon, its mother may attempt to roast you. If you’re too easy, the young dragon will never respect you enough to let you ride.”
“And when the five years are done?” I asked.
“The young dragon no longer needs its mother and is kicked out of the nest. That’s the make or break point. It’s either bonded with its Rider, or rejects the Rider and lives as a wild dragon.” She leaned down and planted a kiss on Dusa’s head. “For Dusa though, she was kicked out at three years. Sometimes dragon mothers reject their babies much younger. So we bonded much sooner. I think we found common ground in feeling like rejects.”
“Your mother didn’t reject you, though,” I said softly. “She was taken from you.”
“Yes.” Nadi’s face hardened. “But she still left and never came back.”
“Well,” I said, leaning back on my elbows. “I wish our people had an interesting origin story such as that. Apparently we were kicked out of our homeland for believing in multiple Gods instead of one, washed onto this empty land and then settled it. The end.”
“You’re living at a very interesting time right now,” she said, green eyes flashing excitedly. “You’re about to overthrow a powerful monarchy. Hundreds of years from now, our children’s great-grandchildren will be talking about this point in history.”
“Maybe. But we have to live to pass on the stories,” I said softly. “And most importantly, we have to win.”
9
NADIYAH
I spentthe next week actively avoiding Azaria while performing my newly appointed duties of overseeing the army encampment. To be honest, I just took it as every possible excuse to spend time with Caden.
In his spare time, he showed me maps of Tannia and taught me how to read them. It was surreal looking at Dragon Valley as a few markings on a piece of paper. Was that how the Dragon God saw us?
He then drew detailed maps of certain areas he believed got hit the worst by bandits. Some were so far away, the valley didn’t even fit on the same piece of paper.
“This is why someone should go with you,” he told me with a furrowed brow. I found his concern annoying but also a bit sweet. “What if you lose your sense of direction and have no idea where to turn?”
“I can follow the sun well enough,” I told him. “Dragon Valley is always to the west. I know that much.”
“And if you’re a thousand miles out with no food or water?”
“Dusa can roast any animal that’s smaller than her. I can get by.”
“Nadi, the Firesands Desert is a practically a wasteland,” he said, tapping a finger on the largest map. “Nothing but sun and sand dunes for hundreds of miles. You need an emergency plan, always.”
“I’m resourceful. I’ll figure something out.”
He leaned against the table and sighed. “Seriously, Nadi. You could die out there.”
“Aw, worried about me, are you?” I playfully poked him in the forehead where his brow furrowed. He responded by grabbing my finger and tickling my sides.
“You love being difficult,” he growled with a chuckle as he wrapped me in a bear hug.
“You love it, too!” I squealed, squirming against his solid chest until he let me go.
He never held me for too long, but at some point we passed a touch barrier and seemed to be feeling blindly for another boundary that would make us stop. I never missed when his fingertips brushed my lower back when leading me through the encampment. I found myself poking and jabbing at him playfully, much like Azel and I did. Only with Caden, I realized I was looking for excuses to touch him without making it intimate.
Even though my heart lifted whenever I saw his blue eyes, and my pulse fluttered when he gently dragged my fingers over the maps, the ache of missing Azel remained present.
Twice a day, at sunrise and sunset, I flew Dusa toward the dense forest that ruled the north side of the valley. It had only been a week but I still carried the hope I would see him coming through the trees. Maybe a bit skinnier, a bit dirtier, but still the same man who told me how much he loved me before he left.
Now that I was no longer talking to Azaria, and I felt firmly ostracized by the clan, I spent nearly all of my spare time with Caden and the army. They were slowly getting used to mine and Dusa’s presence. Some of the younger ones were even brave enough to say hello to her, although no one else had touched her yet. She definitely had a preference for the ones with golden hair and blue eyes.
When not with Caden or awaiting Azel, I flew Dusa around the perimeter of the valley with a roll of parchment and a pot of ink. I wanted to make my own map of Dragon Valley to ensure I understood the landscape well enough. Dusa also needed to build her endurance for long flights once we left, and every day she was making progress.
