Page 93 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
"You’ll be hobbling around for at least a few days. You’re already a terrible rider. Sending you off searching for him will only put you in more danger. I enjoyed irritating Gray before, but now that he’s a dragon?" Ellie swiped her hand across her forehead, smearing the ash with sweat. "We don’t know how many men Domitius brought with him. He might be dead, but his men are not. At least not all of them. The best thing you can do right now is rest while you can. Gray will come back."
Kallie pursed her lips but nodded. It would be reckless to go after Graeson. While Nyrri had gotten better at flying, Kallie had yet to ride her. It would not be smart to do so now, especially in the sorry state she was in.
She hated when Ellie was right.
The warrior tightened the wrapping around Kallie’s arm. Kallie bit back another groan.
"Thanks," she mumbled.
She looked at the sky once more. Graeson shouldn’t be alone right now. He had been forced to kill his mother. He shouldn’t have to bury her alone.
And what of the stolen guard—Moris? As far as Kallie knew, Moris was still alive. Was Graeson planning on killing him?What would happen when Graeson transformed back into his human form?Wouldhe transform back?
"Did you know?" Ellie asked quietly as she finished wrapping the gauze around Kallie’s thigh. She tied it in a tight knot.
"Know that Graeson was a dragon?"
Ellie nodded.
"No, I didn’t," Kallie admitted. She still hadn’t fully processed that Graeson was one.
She sat on the ground and rested her head against Nyrri’s side. Kallie ran her finger over the frayed edges of the bandage on her thigh. "Did you?"
"No. The gods are…mysterious. The stories about them—the legends and myths that have been passed down from generation to generation—have shifted and changed with time. My people have spent centuries studying them, trying to decipher where the gods came from and when they left. Some gods have been known to walk on this plane, taking control of humans."
"Rian once mentioned that he believed the gods came by way of dragon," Kallie said, recalling the days spent with Rian in the Frenzian library. "That the dragons were the ones that burned the holes in the sky and made it possible for them to come to the mortal world."
Ellie nodded. "That is one of the stories, yes. There’s even a children’s story that claims the gods could shape-shift into different common animals."
A question sat on the tip of Kallie’s tongue. It felt silly, stupid. She knew so little about the gods when she once thought she knew everything. But she needed to know if her guess was right. "Is it possible that the gods were, in fact, the dragons, then?"
"There have been stories of mystical beasts that appeared out of nowhere, such as dragons or the kraken. But the dragons have been missing for a long time. If the dragons are gods, perhaps that is why they disappeared?"
"Graeson’s only part god, though. Lysanthia was mortal."
"Maybe the rage from his mother’s death was the trigger?"
An ache pounded in Kallie’s chest, a restlessness building within her bones. "Graeson always talked about a darkness lurking within him, but I don’t think even he knew he could transform into a dragon. But to deal with that reality and his mother’s death?" She shook her head, unable to comprehend what Graeson could be going through right now. "I wish?—"
"Don’t do that," Ellie said, immediately cutting Kallie off.
"Do what?"
"Do that thing you do," she said, flicking her hand in the air.
"Whatthing?"
"Take on the responsibility when it doesn’t belong to you. You couldn’t have done anything to save her, Kallie. Death happens. While we often wish to fight against it, we cannot stop it when the Fates come knocking."
Kallie’s eyes widened at Ellie’s words. They were similar to something Lysanthia had said before she had died.
Realization struck her in the chest, and Kallie gasped. "Sheknew."
"Who knew?" Ellie asked, confused.
"Lysanthia. Before she…" Kallie choked on her words and cleared her throat. "She said she knew this was coming years ago. I hadn’t given it much thought since I assumed she was referring to the trade. But she knew her death was coming. That’s why she didn’t fight him. She knew." Kallie pressed her palms to her temples, ignoring the pain in her arm. "She said a sacrifice was needed. I thought she had meant me, thatIwould be the sacrifice. What if…what ifshewas the sacrifice? That her death was needed in order for Graeson to take on his true form?"
"It’s…it’s possible," Ellie said, more to herself than Kallie, her pitch-black gaze growing distant as she stared at the sky.
