Page 30 of Dragon Valley
“I’m slowly getting my sea legs,” he smirked back. “Or dragon legs, as it were.”
Dusa’s screech returned my attention to the front and my breath felt stuck in my chest.
“Caden, look!” I pointed
“Shit,” he cursed, looking over my shoulder. “That’s supposed to be their wheat fields.”
Golden grassland abruptly ended where black, scorched earth began. A fire had ravaged through here, torching what looked to be all the crops.
“Keep going, Dus!” I yelled. “Go!”
She beat her wings with a roar, picking up speed and barreling down toward the earth. Black, lifeless earth rushed below as we flew low and fast. Caden wrapped his arms around me and pressed his chest to my back as I leaned forward, praying we weren’t too late.
A spark of hope lit inside me as the buildings in the distance grew closer. But it just as quickly sank into despair.
The homes and structures were just as black and charred as the wheat fields.
Acrid smoke filled my nostrils as Dusa landed in what once had been the village square, but was now filled with ashes and rubble.
“Stay on Dusa,” Caden ordered, drawing his sword as he slid down with far more grace than the first time.
“Get ready to fire, girl,” I whispered to her, still leaning low on her neck.
A defensive growl released from her mouth as did sparks and curling tendrils of smoke. If Caden didn’t decapitate any bandits with that sword of his, she would light them up.
Caden walked in a slow circle around the square, his sword brandished and ready as he kicked down doors and poked his head into buildings that were barely standing.
Finally, he lowered his weapon and his head.
“There’s no one here,” he said defeatedly. “They’ve already moved on.”
I slid off Dusa and went to him, taking his face in my hands. Those sky-colored eyes were harrowed and sunken in. It was the same look as when he first came to the valley. Helpless. Defeated. He’d seen this before too many times.
“The burning is fresh, I can smell it,” I said. “That means the ones who did this aren’t far away. We can catch them.”
“It’s getting late, Nadi. Dusa needs to rest. All three of us do.” His voice was flat, emotionless and detached. “We should find the building with the least amount of damage and take shelter there.”
“What?! Stay here?” I demanded. “Caden, people must’ve been burned alive—”
“They were. I saw their remains,” he cut me off sharply. “But the night is going to be cold and shelter will be hard to come by. We should rest here while there are still buildings remaining. In the morning we should see if any usable supplies are left, although I doubt it.”
“But… it’s not ours,” I protested weakly. “These people need to rest peacefully in their afterlife, not have their homes raided again. It’s disrespectful.”
“We’re in the middle of a war, Nadiyah.” Caden’s tone was harsher than I’d ever heard. This hardened side of him was completely new to me and it caught me off guard. “The dead don’t need homes and supplies.Wedo. That’s the end of it. When everything is in short supply, you waste nothing. You take what you have and you’re damned grateful for it.”
He pulled away from my touch and walked off without another word, burned debris crunching under his boots. Dusa and I looked at each other, feeling the same surprise and apprehension at his new cold demeanor.
“It’s hard for him, girl,” I said, scratching her horns. “He’s lost so much. You and I can’t even imagine what he’s been through.”
She let out a soft growl, and I felt her insecurity mixed with underlying anger. His harshness even stung a dragon, and she didn’t want to tolerate him speaking to us like that.
I gave her a reassuring head rub and tried to convey without words that we should be patient with him, and not take his demeanor personally.
With that, I walked across the square in search of a building with minimal damage.
12
NADIYAH
