Page 58 of The Last Dragon
My heart pounds. A brief flash of the Redsnout swirls in my head. It didn’t cock its head. It looked her straight in the eye.
“It’sfemale,” we whisper in unison. She locks eyes with me.
“The information in these books that we’re learning from is false,” she says. “There’s barely anything about the Silverscales either.”
I lean back in my chair, letting out a long sigh as I drag my hands over my hair. This is bad. Why wouldn’t such vital information be in these volumes?
“Is this what you’ve been studying from?” I lean in, tapping on the dulled green cover.
“Yes,” she responds, pulling it closer. “It’s over eighty years old, if not more.”
“And I’m assuming so did Joseph?” I ask carefully, hoping not to press any bad memories.
“I helped him with it. I helped him study—created questions and challenged his knowledge every night. I did everything I could for my brother to become a good Tracker.”
“Do you think he knew? About the Redsnout potentially being female, that is.” I lean back, crossing my arms. A sharp sting travels across my head, forcing me to briefly squeeze my eyes shut.
“I don’t know,” she responds, bending the corner of the page over and over again. I can tell she misses him, and I can’t help feeling guilty about it. I wish there was something I could say or do. But there isn’t.
“Don’t you think that all of this is strange?” Her voice breaks the silence, and I meet her gaze.
“Maybe the dragon evolved.” I rub my temples, trying to ease the sudden sting. “It surely evolved when it comes to protecting itself.”
She shakes her head. “Evolution doesn’t work that way. Sure, its behavior may have changed, one can learn that quickly. But from a biological standpoint, it’s impossible. Dragons live forcenturies. For a behavior linked to anatomy, a change would take thousands of years. And several generations.”
I narrow my eyes at the book, taking in her every word. “If what you’re saying is true, then why wouldn’t we know this? The dragon I fought always cocked its head.”At least I think it did.
She lets out a thoughtful hum. “Could there be a possibility of…” she hesitates, scanning me, as if debating if she can truly trust me or not. “Two dragons? The one you fought, and the one I saw. Male and female.”
I tense. If that’s true. If there is a male and female Redsnout. There could be far more. No. That can’t be. There would be signs.
Her eyes dart to the side in thought. “I think the general knows.”
“What?” I blurt.
She violently taps on the book. “This book was still being used when Grogol became General. There’s a chance he’s read it. There’s a chance he knows.”
I lean in, fingers trembling. “You’re asking me to believe the general is lying.”
“I’m asking you to believe me.”
More dragons? He wouldn’t lie about that…. Would he? My stomach drops. He lied to me about Pirlem. Withheld information. But that information felt like it was hidden to keep me focused. A personal lie. This information is hidden fromeveryone. And I can’t think of a reason for it.
We stare at each other in silence—the flicker of the candlelight growing louder, more noticeable. Then I think back on the records. She stares at me, as if she’s expecting to have some answers—reading me.
I sigh, leaning back in my chair, my thoughts winning, and I feel a sudden weight shift, like my shoulders have grown lighter.
“I checked the records,” I say, knocking on the wooden table. A nervous tick. Nida’s breath hitches like she doesn’t want to miss a single word I’m about to say. “I even looked up my previous Tracker. Kayus.”
“His death?” she asks gently.
I nod. “Yeah…Yeah, his death.” I sink into my chair, tossing my head up, knuckles still pressed against the table. The shadows of an unlit chandelier dance across the ceiling from the candlelight.
“I…namedhim,” I say, slowly straightening myself up. “I saw his body. I made the report.” I pause, my mind drifting to thatnight in the record room. The sensation on my arm returns, as if I’m writing it all over again. Like the pen is still moving across my skin, tracing the words from pen to flesh. Nida waits patiently, leaning forward like she’s trying to reach for me across the table. I look at her, and everything she’s said ever since we’ve reunited consumes me. Like a force I can’t resist—but a force I should resist.
Doubt.
“The thing is,” I continue, reaching for the pages of a closed book inches away just to keep myself calm. I brush the edges with my thumb. “The general said that… he was killed by a Redsnout. But…” I hesitate. “Isawhis body. But… Redsnout fire—”
