Page 44 of Drakhana's Treasure
For a few minutes I stare out over the mountain, thinking. The skyline and the peaceful quiet seem to be sinking into me, almost aggressively making me aware of their beauty.
“I can’t leave this place.” My voice comes out harsh, sliced by my throat. “I thought I could. I was planning to. Now I’m back…”
“I know.” He says, putting an arm around my shoulders. “I can feel it too. This land is part of you.”
“But I won’t be separated from you!” I almost choke on the words. “If they say we can’t be together, I won’t accept it. I can’t, Rastus!”
“What do you suggest? A hostile takeover, maybe?”
He’s just joking, I can tell from his tone. It’s a typical joke, especially for a guy who has spent his last few years in business where takeovers are the way to get ahead. However, the idea does have some potential.
“Kirralee.” He says softly, as if hearing my thoughts. I shrug as I snuggle closer to him.
“So far as ideas go, it is not a bad one.” I answer. “Maybe the clan should have a new king and queen.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“No, it’s you that doesn’t know! You’ve been stuck in the city for so many years you don’t even know your dragon. The ancient power chose you—it chose both of us! If a couple of ancient, out of touch dragons want to split us up or keep us prisoner, how exactly are they going to force their will upon us? We’re too powerful.”
“Kirra, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re high from the battle, maybe. They were enemies. We had every right to kill them as they were in our territory attacking us. Do you really want to attack your own kind?”
I put one hand on my belly, looking out over the horizon again.
“If I have to. Maybe it won’t come to that.”
Rastus rearranges his blankets, turning towards me to look me in the eyes.
“What’s this about, really? We wanted to petition them for sacred bonds and now we have the returning powers to discuss and I agree, all of this might not go down well. Fighting the elders is out of the question though.”
“Like I said, hopefully it won’t come to that.”
Silence stretches between us, the wind starting to whistle at the edges of the cave like forgotten voices. Rastus doesn’t speak even though the air is heavy with emphasis.
“Rastus, I think I’m pregnant.”
His arm tightens around me and the tension in the air increases tenfold. I look into his eyes and his expression is a mixture of hope and excitement.
“Kirralee, that’s amazing! Are you sure?”
I nod firmly. “Pretty sure. Almost positive.”
“The elders will have to listen to us! There hasn’t been a fertile couple in a hundred years!”
“I hope you’re right, Rastus.” I turn back to the mountains, letting their savage beauty fill my eyes. “I hope that they are reasonable about the ancient powers and overjoyed about the pregnancy so we can marry and work on strengthening the clan.”
I swallow the lump in my throat, but it doesn’t go away. It’s doubt and grief and its all I can think of now I’ve told Rastus my secret.
“I hope you’re right.” I whisper, watching the sky. “Because I will fight for me and mine until the end of time.”
Thirty
Rastus
Afew days later we are summoned to the deep chamber where the elders reside. Even though Kirralee has made every effort to help me fit in, I still feel like a spare leg on a chicken.
Everything here on the mountain is about mindfulness. Many dragons meditate high on the peaks early in the morning. Then there are long, slow flights for conditioning the muscles and some gymnastic exercises for the young ones in both human and dragon form.
Food is gathered several times a day, sometimes from the forest and sometimes from the farms at the bottom of the range. My parents still have their small farm there even though it has been dwarfed by larger ones springing up around it.
