Page 68 of Lady Dragon
I’m afraid we’re short on fish here, Kirek said.But you might be in luck. I see sand heads.
“Sand heads?” Samansa repeated. Which didn’t sound appealing and, in fact, looked even less impressive, as Kirek headed toward the only visible feature around other than rock—a few blades of dead grass sticking above the sand.
But the dragon’s claws quickly unearthed far more, buried under the surface. A pair of fat, pale bulbs hid beneath those wispy stalks, indeed about the size of heads, if shaped more like turnips. With a careful claw, Kirek poked a hole in one, and instructed Samansa to drink.
Samansa frowned at it dubiously, but she dusted off the sand, lifted it to her lips, and drank. The liquid inside was surprisingly light and refreshing, if tepid and a little sour.
Now for the rest, Kirek said, nodding for her to set it down, after which the dragon used her claw more like a scythe to split it open.
Samansa leaned forward with interest—and then shrieked.The bulb’s flesh was a pale orange, but lining the hollow center of it was some kind of white larvae, writhing in the exposed air and sun.
“I just drankbug juice?” she cried, wiping at her mouth in horror.
It’s water, Kirek said patiently.And food. The flesh of the bulb is edible, but the larvae are the most filling. Admittedly, a dragon would only eat this if dying, because it’s little more than half a bite and flavorless compared to meat.Kirek glanced at the sky, in the direction the decrepit dragon had vanished.The old mother probably would have done so, if you hadn’t looked more delectable.
“You’re not serious—you don’t expect me toeatthat?” Samansa said, pointing in disgust at the ground.
Kirek bent over and scooped up the whole second bulb in her jaws, chewing and swallowing with little more than a brief chomp.See? Food.
Samansa nearly gagged.
Kirek huffed—and then blew out more than air, sending a gout of fire to envelop the split halves on the sand. When the flame dissipated, the bulb’s flesh was lightly charred, steaming, and smelling much better than it looked.
At least the surface wasn’t writhing anymore.
“A dragon, cooking for a human.” Samansa giggled. “Who would have ever guessed?” Despite how unappealing this so-calledfoodstill was, the thought was actually unbearably kind, and so Samansa scooped a warm glob out with her hand. Tentatively, she held it to her mouth, closed her eyes, and took a bite.
It’s just like squash, she told herself. And, amazingly, it was similar enough. A very nutty, slightly burnt, and unfortunatelycrunchy squash. Still, she shoveled more into her mouth once she realized how much her body wanted it, eating until she’d cleaned out one of the rinds.
Pack the other half. Now we need to saddle up and go. We might be spotted again.
Samansa thought the dragons weren’t supposed to hurt them—aside from the occasional mad, exiled dragon, whom she hoped they wouldn’t be meeting ever again. Which made her ask, “Whereare we going?”
Somewhere we maybe shouldn’t, Kirek said, and then turned to regard her fully.We’re going to fix the Heartstone. And you know the way to the cave.
Samansa gaped. “And so does Pavak!”
She’s injured, preoccupied, and doesn’t know what we plan.
The princess shook her head, looking away from the dragon’s piercing stare. “Kirek, I thinkRakawants me to go there. Which means we probably shouldn’t. Pavak herself said it’s not a forge anymore, which means we probably won’t be able to fix the Heartstone anyway!”
We have to try.For a moment, the dragon’s rigidly powerful shoulders seemed to slump.What else would you have me do?
Samansa found her jaw clenching again. “We should go to Andrath. Kill my brother.”
Kirek nudged her with her snout, sending her stumbling toward the saddle.If we make it through this,Iwill go to Andrath and tear out your brother’s throat. I promise.
The princess gave her a rueful grimace and bent to work. “Okay, fine. But only if you let me watch.”
So vicious, little one, the dragon said, but coming from her, it sounded wryly endearing.
If only Samansa hadn’t felt so vicious inside, it might have made her smile.
Later, once they were safely in the air, flying low—though Samansa didn’t know how safe it was with the risk of transforming or even with the saddle, after everything it had been through—the princess couldn’t help asking Kirek, “How—how are you doing? Sorry, that probably sounds foolish.”
Kirek had just watched her mother die, after all, and then been disinherited, however the dragons worded it. She’d said she didn’t want to talk about it, but Samansa couldn’t just leave it at that.
I’m fine, the dragon said succinctly.
