Page 51 of The Last Dragon
“I only wish I got to see you,” she says, breaking the silence that I wish stretched just a little bit longer. “Back then in Pirlem… after the attack.”
I clear my throat. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
She furrows her brow—a flicker of hurt.
“I wasn’t in the right place for that. I didn’t want anyone to see… I didn’t want to come back. That place… Home or not—it reminds me of what I lost. Not only a home. But a life. Now… I just wait for it to end.”
She releases a hitched breath, as if my words somehow wound her even more. And perhaps they do.
“You outlived the odds after taking a hit from a Blightclaw,” she says slowly. Softly. There it is again.
Hope.
Hope should never be given to a dying man. Because once he tastes it, dying isn’t the hardest part anymore—losing the chance to live is. I once had hope. Aris gave it to me, claiming she’d find the cure with Sam, even though she was only a second-year Medic. But then she died. And all hope died with her. After that, I never let the thought of getting old plague me ever again.
Yet here I am, fooling myself into believing that living three years longer than the average survivor of the venom actually means something.
I shrug the thought away. I raise the barriers that are slowly crumbling. The barriers that I’ve built to not let in things like hope.
“What happens to you?” Nida asks, clearing her throat. “In what ways does it affect you?”
I don’t even know where to start. Excruciating pain? Dizziness? The feeling of drowning?
“Under extreme pressure, the venom disrupts every motor function,” I say, pressing my thumb in my palm. “I’m unable to move. It feels like being buried alive inside my own body, everymuscle locked in place, lungs burning for air.” My voice lowers. Talking about it is like reliving every second of it. “Sometimes they’re minor. But sometimes… sometimes it’s not just the body—it’s the mind that suffers too.”
Her palm rests on my shoulder, warmth radiating through the fabric and into my skin. It’s somewhat soothing.
“I’ll look out for you,” she says.
I shake my head as I meet her amber eyes. “No. If I ever seize, you need torun.”
“But you—”
“You have to save yourself. Because I won’t be capable of protecting you.”
“Zel—”
“Do you understand?”
She doesn’t say anything, only gives a nod. The one that feels like a lie, but at the same time, a painful acceptance.
“You should get some rest,” I say, rising from the bench, brushing away the dust from my pants.
There is no dust. Just an attempt to conceal another twitch in my hand. They’re always subtle. Always painful.
I don’t glance back. I only hear a small shift on the bench, and moments later, a clicking noise of boots against stone.
I may not like the idea, having to rely on someone else in battle—of watching their movements, of focusing on their weak spots. But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe she can handle this on her own. Maybe it’s not so bad to have a Tracker after all. If there’s anyone I’d trust my life with right now, it would be her.
My stomach twists a little bit—like a tickle. It’s like a feeling of missing a step on the way down a staircase. Or tripping on a flat surface. The type of feeling I used to get when I was younger—every time I looked at her.
CHAPTER 19
Five days have passed since the first sighting of the dragon. And five days it took us to clear the bodies and mourn the losses. And after that, there is only one thing to do—drink away the sorrows at the nearby tavern. The night brings a cold, bitter breeze along the moonlit cobblestone path from the Hold to Nedersen, the closest village to the Stronghold in the Front.
Not far away, the village is beautifully lit up—a mixture of cool colors from the full moon and the warm tones dancing from campfires. Nedersen is known for its stony houses and lit-up roads.
A sweet smell of soft sugar buns tempts my nose the closer we get. Most of the food that’s transported to the Third comes from other Strongholds or Nedersen—the village with the most fertile land in the Front. The rest of the food comes from villages in the Middle—closest to the Center and the Black Mountain. That’s also the safest place.
