Page 104 of Swift Wings Shadowed Heart
“We don’t even know which of us will be selected for the mission,” Adelaide complains. “Knowing my luck, it won’t be me, so I’m going to the tavern. Someone mentioned something about… liaisons with willing Claws in the back of the tavern. I wouldn’t mind a… different kind of distraction.” She wiggles her eyebrows.
They’re quiet for a moment, and I see my chance to get my anger off my chest. Straightening to my full height, I slam the trunk’s lid shut and turn to Adelaide.
“I thought I could trust you.” I glare at her.
She frowns and sits up. “Huh?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
“I honestly don’t.”
“You told Silas about my difficulties in training.”
She stands, the bed between us. “I did no such thing.”
Her words are firm, adamant. They make me doubt. I shake my head. There’s no way Nate was the one who told him.
“Oh, no,” Adelaide shakes her head several times, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “it couldn’t have been Nate, the one who fucking shares a Clutch with Silas. It had to be me.”
“Nate wouldn’t do that,” Phoebe says.
Adelaide sneers. “Sure. Whatever you say.”
She stomps out of the barracks, causing others to watch her progress, then look back at us with curiosity.
I sit atop my trunk, rubbing my forehead.
“Do you think Nate would do that?” Phoebe asks, her tone fearful, as if a positive answer to her question would destroy whatever image of Nate she’s carved inside her head.
I shrug. “I don’t know.”
After a moment, she says, “We… should ask him.” She sounds resolved now, unafraid to shatter what they’ve just begun to build.
* * *
“Things have been fairlyquiet the last few days,” Commander Voltguard says. “Our troops stationed closer at the border have reported only minor incursions, which suggests the Screechclaws are planning something. They think their attack on Hearthdale will drive us to lower our defenses here. They know our numbers are precarious and that if we were to spare any Skyrider to combat their transgression, their next attack on Cinderhold would give them the advantage and a more direct route to Emberton. And they are not wrong.
“Still, we could no longer ignore what happened in Hearthdale, so we sent two riders on a scouting mission. They had instructions to only observe and report back their findings. They were due the day before yesterday, and they have not returned. This is the reason we asked you to come even sooner than planned.”
A low murmur goes through the room, a large rectangular space packed with every Prime, every new Skyrider, and senior members of every Clutch. The thought of two more dragons slayed by our filthy enemies tears at my heart. Every loss is momentous and could change the entire direction of this war.
The Commander shakes her head, expression grave. “Everyone shares a deep unease about this. For two decades, the Screechclaws have been relentless in their attacks on Cinderhold, which makes their current behavior unsettling. We could not afford to have every Prime and so many dragons in Emberton—not when we’re facing an unknown threat.”
The fact that she only mentions the Primes and dragons isn’t lost on me. We’re inexperienced and hardly an addition to the forces needed to fight back the Screechclaws. But I suppose more dragons with fresh riders is better than fewer dragons, when even a single creature can help tip the scales in a battle against the enemy.
She goes on. “With our numbers back up, we’re in a better position to send a larger party to Hearthdale. The team will consist of a mixture of new recruits and more experienced riders. The Primes and I will discuss who will go and who will stay to protect Cinderhold.” She turns to the map behind her. “Now, here is what we know so far.”
Commander Voltguard proceeds to give us a quick report. The first part isn’t much different than what Vaylen shared with us in Sky’s Edge. But she shares more details about the scouts—their names as well as their dragons’ and their mission to only spy on Hearthdale. When she finishes, Vaylen looks stricken, one of the missing scouts was a Skysinger.
Anger evident on his face, he speaks up in an urgent tone. “Why not leave immediately?”
Exactly my thought. We have no time to waste.
“I would like that as well,” she replies, “but all the Primes have been gone for a while, and there are things all of you need to take care of before you depart again, especially you, High Prime.”
Vaylen shifts from side to side, clearly unhappy. He doesn’t argue, however. He only nods, deferring to his superior.
After that, the Commander dismisses all Skyriders and remains only with her Primes. We wander out onto the courtyard, everyone looking bewildered. Two dragons. Gone. Only a tragic end explains why they haven’t returned.
