Chapter 38

Kaleramek shifted the leather straps on his back for the millionth time. His shoulders were already sore from nearly two days of flying, and the bags full of gold weren't helping. They pulled every time he flapped his wings, they got in the way, but there was no better way to carry what he needed.

Kaleramek was on his way to his information broker. A small, yellow Coruscaren that cared more about gold than any other dragon Kaleramek had ever met. Kaleramek didn't know what he did with it, and he didn't care. The rat did his job well, and he kept his mouth shut. For the most part.

He was gliding over the dense canopy of the Great Forests. An unbroken sea of green sprawled out beneath him; a deafening cacophony of animals, insects, and rustling leaves filled his ears. Behind him, the mountain range had long since disappeared beneath the horizon. Ahead, a cliff of red stone jut through the emerald sea. He angled himself down, aiming for the bottom of the rock face. He broke through the trees, and a wall of humidity hit him.

He touched down on the forest floor. Beads of condensation began to form on his scales. Ahead, among all of the towering trees of the Great Forests, a dead sapling stood, wedged between two boulders at the bottom of the cliff face. Kaleramek swung his leather bag of gold onto one of the sapling's branches, turned, and counted his steps away from the boulders.

One, two, three, four five. Turn right. One, two. Turn left. Seven more steps. There, in front of him, a hollowed out thicket waited for him. He squeezed between brambles into a space barely large enough to turn around in. He curled up, facing the exit, and sighed. Even after working with him for all these years, Dunmarth still demanded all of the same precautions before every meeting.

After three minutes, a tail tapped Kaleramek's back from above.

“Sorry, Red Burn Lizard, no time for formalities today. Head to the place. I'll be there," Dunmarth said, hanging from a branch above him, Kaleramek's gold strapped around his back.

“If there's no time for formalities, can you call me by my real name?"

“No."

Kaleramek sighed. “I'll meet you there, Dunmarth." He heard a low growl from above him, then Dunmarth was gone. Dunmarth's paranoia could be infuriating at times. He had codenames for everyone he worked with, and wanted everyone to use his codename: Lord. Kaleramek had known him for decades. If he hadn't, using his real name would have been the last Kaleramek ever saw of the informant.

Kaleramek squirmed out of the thicket and trudged towards the boulders again. At the cliff face, he took off and followed the rough, stone wall. A short ways east, it folded back along itself. Within the fold was hundreds of cave openings. Kaleramek angled toward one, close to the bottom of the cliffs. It wasn't the largest, or the smallest, or the most jagged. It was almost indistinguishable from the openings around it. He always met Dunmarth in this same cave. And, somehow, Dunmarth always managed to be waiting for him when he got there. Today was no different.

He trotted into the cave, shaking out his wings. They smacked against the walls of the cave painfully. Kaleramek could never get used to the size of this place. It could barely fit the two dragons. “What's with the rush?" Kaleramek asked, trying to rub his wing.

“I have an… appointment with another dragon. Soon. This visit was unexpected."

“An appointment? Since when have you done appointments?"

“I've done appointments for ages. I allow you certain… privileges, priority being one." Dunmarth cracked his neck as best he could in the cramped space. “But nevermind that. We have a few hours. How was your last job?"

“It was… a job," Kaleramek said with a sigh.

“Rescue not your forte?" Dunmarth asked with a smirk.

“No. In the future, try not to set me up with any more."

“I don't know, Kal. Maybe you're a little too good at rescue. You came out with one too many dragons, right? Losing your touch?" 

Kaleramek glared at the small, yellow dragon. “I'd ask how you knew."

“And I wouldn't tell you." Dunmarth let out a small laugh.

Kaleramek frowned at him. “Just then, you called me Kal. Now, you know I'm no fan of your… codenames, but you're the last dragon I'd expect to call me that. I thought it was your job to know everything," Kaleramek hissed, arching his neck.

Dunmarth winced. “Ah… a slip of the tongue, nothing more. No offense meant."

Kaleramek sighed. “You've already taken my gold. Do you have any jobs for me, or are you just wasting time?"

Dunmarth huffed. “You're no fun. Sighing at everything, all business… What happened to you?"

“You know damn well what happened. I've had enough of your pleasantries. If you don't start talking business right now, I'll find myself a new informant."

“Now, now. We both know you couldn't find anyone as good as me. But, if you insist…" Dunmarth sighed dramatically. “It's been rough in my travels. Anywhere even close to anything human-made has been crawling with new soldiers. I nearly got shot down a few times southeast of here! Luckily, my lightning fast reflexes and incomparable acrobatic skills allowed me to escape unharmed, but…" Kaleramek interrupted him with a low growl.

“What does any of this have to do with business?"

“Well, I haven't quite been able to meet up with the dragons I needed to see, so…" Dunmarth fidgeted nervously. “Okay, look, I don't have any jobs for you."

Kaleramek scowled and turned to leave the cave.

“Wait, wait! I'm serious about the new soldiers. I'm pretty sure the northern cities are getting reinforcements from Carcena. If you can do something about the soldiers, I'll pay you!"

Kaleramek looked over his shoulder. Dunmarth looked serious.

“Really? You'll pay me?" Kaleramek said skeptically.

“Yes! I mean, I could find a way around these new soldiers. Obviously. But… it'd be far more convenient if you could… take care of them," Dunmarth said quietly.

“Fine. Since you have nothing else for me, I'll see what I can do." Kaleramek swept out of the cave. Just as he was about to leap into the air, Dunmarth trotted up beside him.

“Their main force is marching north, just east of here. If you fly quickly, you should be able to reach them before nightfall."

“We'll see." Kaleramek beat his wings and ascended through the dense canopy into the cool air above.

Chapter 39

Nyrimyrinx lounged on the warm stone that made up the banks of the mountain spring. The four of them were deep within the mountains that surrounded their valley. Mountains shot up around them, ending in frigid peaks higher than she dared fly. Snow enveloped the valley surrounding them. A hot spring bubbled up through the stone, offering a peaceful respite from the biting cold.

Elise was lying beside her on the warm stone, a blanket rolled up beneath her head. Across from them, Thorolos was regaling Aravarys with tales of the Glaciaren palace.

“… hundreds of tunnels weave through the ice. I explored them for years and still only found a fraction of them. After you rescued me, I found a whole other layer of tunnels! I could explore that place for centuries and still never find the end of it," Thorolos said. Aravarys sat dumbfounded, and Thorolos looked half in awe himself.

“How could dragons even build something so huge?" Aravarys asked.

“Well, Glaciaren royalty of one sort or another has lived there for millennia. Some of the nobles say that the palace has been there for as long as time itself."

“That's ridiculous," Nyrimyrinx scoffed. “Even the Kuuyari don't claim to be as old as time."

“Hey, I'm not saying I believed them," Thorolos said. “Most of the noble families that say that sort of thing have been a part of the court for longer than they could possibly remember."

“… and you haven't?" Aravarys asked.

“Well… I've lived in the castle all my life. But my father, our glorious king, couldn't possibly let his heirs hear the end of how his childhood was hardship after hardship, and how we should be more grateful, blah blah blah." Thorolos snorted. “If I had a scale for every time I heard that, I'd be safer than Nyrimyrinx." 

Nyrimyrinx let out a laugh. “That often, huh?" she asked.

“He… grew up in hardship? Is that normal for your draconic kings?" Elise asked, sitting up.

“No. Well – ugh. The story of that story is long and stupid and I've heard it a billion times, but basically my family was overthrown during the reign of my great-great- great-something-grandfather. Yada yada, royal intrigue, civil wars, boring history stuff, names upon names, until we get to my father, who somehow managed to retake the throne a few hundred years ago, have my siblings and I, and- well, here we are."

“That sounds… actually really interesting," Aravarys said.

“Not if you've studied it for years and been tested on every part countless times. I swear, if I have to read any more of the names of long dead dragons, I'll join them myself."

Nyrimyrinx thought for a moment. “You said your father retook the throne how long ago?"

“I think… seven hundred and twenty three years? Hmm. He's getting pretty old. Never really thought about it."

Seven hundred and twenty three. That number seemed… familiar. She was never any good at keeping track of time in her cell, but…

“How many years ago do you think your family was overthrown?" Nyrimyrinx asked.

“Uh… like, around one thousand eight hundred? I don't know exactly. The recent history was way easier to remember."

That was it. A few years into her imprisonment, royals stopped entering her cell. She still had the occasional conversation with a curious servant, but she didn't see another dragon for… a long time. Then, seven hundred years ago, she saw Thorolos's father for the first time. He was bloodied, injured, and young. He threatened her, she refused to help, he threatened her again, she refused just to relish the presence of another dragon, he threatened her, she healed him. The same charade became commonplace for the next few centuries.

A thought popped into her head. If Thorolos's father hadn't retaken the throne, I would still be in there. I would be in there until… until the stone fell to pieces with age? Forever? Forgotten? She felt walls closing in around her. Boxing her in.

Nyrimyrinx jerked up, shivering.

“What's wrong?" Thorolos asked, frowning.

“N-nothing. I just have to stretch my wings," Nyrimyrinx said. She leapt up into the air, ascending as quickly as she could. She flew higher, feeling the wind rushing past her face, relishing the ache deep in her wings. When the air grew uncomfortably cold, she dipped down a bit and settled into a lazy spiral. She noticed that her frills were standing on end, and she smoothed them down, irritated.

She glanced back down. Thorolos and Aravarys were a bit tough to make out against the snow, but they were there. Good. She didn't want anyone following her. Not right now. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Everything was alright. She was out here, in the world. She slowly opened her eyes.

Mountains towered around her. Snow-dusted trees covered their slopes. Fresh – beautifully fresh – air filled her lungs with every breath. The pass they flew through to get here lay nestled among the peaks to her left, and the valley continued to her right. She flew through a current that pulled her towards the valley, and she let it carry her. Far below, her, within the valley, a virgin snowfall covered everything in a smooth layer of white. Muffling sounds, burying all but the tallest trees. She could hear nothing but the rush of wind this far up. Wind… and a roar? She glanced around. No dragons in sight. But she could definitely still hear a roar. It grew louder. There's no way a creature could make that noise.

She rounded a bend in the valley, and before her stood the largest waterfall she had ever seen. It poured down a sheer cliff, all the way to the valley floor. The cliffs towered above where she flew. The cascade sent up a massive spray, ringing the falls in a wreath of rainbows. Nyrimyrinx flew closer to the rocky cliffs around it. What could be feeding a waterfall this massive?

As she flew higher, the waterfall quieted. But Nyrimyrinx could hear another, quieter roar. The roar of many dragons living in one place. She flew to the lip of the cliffs and flew over, quickly landing in the snow. As fast as she could, she buried herself in the powder.

Around the lake feeding the waterfall was a massive Glaciaren encampment. It looked temporary enough. Countless tents ringed the lake, with dragons flying low over the camp, swimming in the lake, and milling about. There were more dragons than Nyrimyrinx could ever remember seeing in one place. Although, she admitted to herself, that wasn't saying much. One pavilion looked much more grand than the rest. More royal. Several dragons stood around the entrance, nearly motionless. Oh no. That's definitely not good.

Nyrimyrinx snuck back to the edge of the cliff and dove off. There was no thrill in feeling the wind snatch at her tail. There was only a desperate need to get away from that waterfall.

She flew as low and as fast as she could. She whizzed past trees, brushing off snow. What's the King doing here? The only answer she could think of was terrifying. He was here for her. The flight back felt agonizingly slow. She continuously glanced behind her, praying that nobody had seen her.

After what felt like hours, she finally emerged over the bowl where they had been camping for the past few days. She dove to the pool and landed sloppily, nearly crashing into the snow.

“Wha-"

“We have to go. Now," Nyrimyrinx said, half panicked.

“Wait, slow down. Why? We've only been here for three days. If we leave now, Kaleramek won't know where we went," Elise asked.

“I just saw the entire Glaciaren army camped around a lake half an hour's flight from here," Nyrimyrinx said.

Chapter 40

Kaleramek flew north, high above the human road. He had taken the night to rest. If he needed to get away quickly, he couldn't be running on a few hours sleep. If he was being honest with himself, he was a bit worried. He hadn't ever seen Dunmarth give away any of his gold. If Dunmarth was willing to part with some of his hoard, something had to be seriously off. Maybe this “human force" was an actual threat.

The human road itself was a mess. Kaleramek didn't know if roads were normally meant to look so… well, destroyed, but he assumed that they normally weren't. The stones of the road were covered in dust, dirt, and droppings. Some were cracked, and others were missing entirely. That, in and of itself, didn't mean much. However, the sides of the road had been torn apart. The grass had been churned into a muddy mess. There were countless footprints, hoofprints, and tracks from wheels. Why the humans were pulling their carts through the mud instead of on the road, Kaleramek didn't know. He did know that a large group had passed through. Recently.

As he flew, the mud grew wetter, the droppings fresher. He knew he was catching up to the force, but he had no idea what to expect from it. Dunmarth had claimed that they had nearly shot him out of the sky. That was worrying, to say the least. In previous engagements, Kaleramek had the open sky to retreat to. Most of the time. If the humans had figured out a way to take that route away from him…

Ahead, Kaleramek saw movement on the path. He tucked into a nearly vertical dive, feeling the wind pull at his wings and frills. He pulled up at the last moment, straining against his momentum. He landed lightly, darting off of the path into the forests.

He snuck forward, towards the movement he saw. Through the trees, he could see… two humans? Kaleramek sighed and straightened. Just some random travellers. One of the humans glanced over and saw him. Kaleramek hissed. The traveller grabbed his companion and ran toward the trees on the opposite side. Typical.

As he turned around to find a more suitable place to take off, a low, rumbling call emenatied from the trees where the humans had disappeared to. A signal horn! So they were part of the group he was hunting. But he didn't want to gauge their strength trapped in a dense copse of trees. Or anywhere, really. Not before scouting them out.

He sprinted into the trees, looking for the first sign of an opening. There! He jumped for a hole in the trees and began to ascend.

THWACK!

A massive spear whizzed past him, terrifyingly close. He dropped back to the ground and froze. He patted his wings against his body gently. Everything seemed intact. He looked around, dazed. He heard another low call from his left, heard some mechanical clicks to his right. He shook his head and took off as fast as he could straight through the forest.

He ran lightly, barely letting the pads of his feet touch the ground. Golden rays of sunlight poured through cracks in the leaves, illuminating the otherwise dark woods. He heard the light clopping of hooves on either side of him. Through the trees, he could see the shadows of four-legged beasts galloping after him. Horses. Damn it!

How could he get out of this? How could he escape them on the ground and… well, how could he escape them on the ground? He didn't even want to think of flight. He tried to focus. He didn't know the land. He didn't know their numbers or weapons. Most of their weapons, anyway. He didn't know their tactics. He did know that they were a serious threat when he was in the air, and probably on open ground. His safest bet was to outrun their cavalry and try to hide. 

He abandoned his light steps and started pounding the dirt below him, sprinting at full speed. He felt his claws tear up dirt with every step. He could feel every jolt of his paws landing on soft earth. It became harder and harder to breathe, every gasp a challenge. I really should practice this more, he thought wryly. Before long, though, even his thoughts were drowned. All he could hear was his heart beating in his ears. All he could think of was forcing one paw in front of the other. He couldn't tell how far he ran, or for how long. Eventually, he ducked behind a particularly thick trunk and collapsed. He lay there, gasping for air, for a long time. Too long. Suddenly, he remembered where he was and what he had been doing. He jerked up, listening, glancing around fearfully.

Silence.

He listened hard for the sound of hooves. He nearly jumped out of his scales when a horn blasted to his right. Another responded to his left, further away. He listened as the horns gradually grew quieter. He let out a sigh, relaxing.

Sharp pain blossomed through his tail. He spun around as best he could. A formation of roughly one dozen lightly armored spearmen broke up and scattered around him. One of them had stabbed his spear all the way through his tail. He ripped out the spear, and his tail lit up with fresh agony. He hissed angrily, spinning around. The spearmen had encircled him, and were closing in slowly. He tried to bat one of the spears away. The spear to its right darted out and jabbed his paw. Kaleramek roared with pain and fury. He felt a spear pierce the scales on his calf, another jabbed his thigh. One stabbed his spear through a wing and into his side. Nearly blind with panic, he let out a stream of flame, forcing the spearmen to jump out of the way. He charged through the opening made by his flame.

He heard shouts behind him as the spearmen regrouped. Kaleramek tried to open his wings, but to his dismay, one of his wings was still pinned to his side by the spear. Kaleramek tore it out, hissing in pain. He could feel the blood running down his legs, his tail, his side. He threw his wings open and took off into the air, flying low over the trees. Horns echoed out from below him. He just flew faster. Whatever shot that spear after him probably couldn't move through the forest fast enough to be in range for another shot. Hopefully. It was still better odds than guaranteed death by spearmen.

As he flew, though, he started to doubt himself. He was still quite a ways from home, from Elise. He was starting to feel weak. He forced himself to keep flying. He wanted to get as far away from those humans as he possibly could.

Eventually, the sound of horns blaring faded off into the distance. He started to feel dizzy. He angled for the trees. He landed heavily, stumbling to a stop. He tried to take a step forward. He lifted a leg, swaying. As he stepped down, his knee buckled and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Chapter 41

Elise clutched to the spines on Nyrimyrinx's neck and buried her head in her scales. She had never been scared before when flying. She had flown with Kaleramek hundreds of times, but something was different about flying with Nyrimyrinx. Maybe it was the little things, like how Kaleramek adjusted his body for her comfort, how he flew as smoothly as possible on her behalf. Maybe it was just the fact that Nyrimyrinx seemed almost indifferent about whether or not she survived the trip. Either way, she clung for dear life to Nyrimyrinx as they sped through the pass back to Elise's home.

It certainly didn't help that her hands and legs were exhausted from clutching Nyrimyrinx so tightly. When she travelled with Kaleramek to their mountain oasis, the trip normally took a few days. They flew for an hour or two at a calm pace, then camped out for a bit, ate a meal, then set off again. If they were pushing it, Elise would sleep on his back during what she had thought was a blazing fast thirteen hour flight. Nyrimyrinx seemed determined to make the trip in six.

Elise chanced a peak at the world beyond the scale she had been staring at. To her relief, she saw that they were flying in the valley itself. The tops of the trees were illuminated by a full moon, casting sharp shadows on the grass below. It wouldn't be long now before they got back to her home.

Kaleramek had left for another job. He thought it would be a few days until he got back, so Elise had thought they could spend some time up in the mountains at one of their campsites. She had argued with Kaleramek about it for the better part of an afternoon, but he finally gave in. She was starting to regret it. Elise thought it would be fun. Get away to the deep mountains again, relax in the spring, readjust to a life with more than just Kaleramek. Instead, she got torn from her relaxation for a terrifying flight back home just because Nyrimyrinx got spooked by a few dragons camping around a lake.

Elise was thrown forward against Nyrimyrinx's neck as she stopped suddenly in the air.

“Ow! What the-" Elise started. Before she could finish, Nyrimyrinx dove straight down. They plummeted toward the trees, Elise's stomach still somewhere far above them. Elise squeezed her eyes shut as tight as she could and tried not to scream. Nyrimyrinx landed heavily, trotting to a stop. Elise slid slowly off of her back, falling onto her hands and knees. She heard Aravarys and Thorolos land next to them, but she was still trying to find her breath.

“Next… time… can you… give me some warning?" Elise panted. Nyrimyrinx ignored her, creeping forward through the trees.

“Hey! Don't ignore me!" Elise said, running after her. She caught up to her quickly, but Nyrimyrinx was still looking straight ahead. Through the trees, a meadow was crusted with ice. Moonlight glinted off of a few jagged icicles.

“Are you feeling alright?" Elise asked, waving her hand in front of Nyrimyrinx's face.

“Look…" Nyrimyrinx said. Aravarys and Thorolos walked up to them, staring in shock at the meadow.

“What's so special about…" Elise trailed off, looking at the meadow more closely. It had looked familiar, but she was never the best with direction. As she looked closer, though, it clicked.

It was her home.

The meadow was unrecognizable. Shards of wood and stone were frozen in the ice. Rubble was strewn about under the layer of frost. She could see some pots and other cooking utensils, other odds and ends she had collected over the years. A mound in the center was of the meadow was the frozen remnants of a fireplace.

Her home was gone. Her meadow destroyed.

She charged into the frozen field. Slipping to a stop in the center, she turned back to the dragons watching her from the edge of the field. She could feel anger bubbling up inside of her. “Who would do this? Who could do this?"

“We would never-" Thorolos started.

“I wasn't talking about you."

They stood in silence for a moment.

“The army…" Nyrimyrinx said quietly.

“Now, why, I wonder, would the Glaciaren army be down this far south?"

Another pause.

A look of understanding spread across Thorolos's face. He held out a paw pad-up. “Woah, okay, look. We never meant to bring them down here. I had no idea they'd do something like this."

“Oh, sure, you had no idea. There's no way that they would follow you after you stole their prisoner."

“Wait, what? Stole? He didn't steal me, he freed me!" Nyrimyrinx said.

“Yeah, freed you. Freed you to come attack Kal and get my home destroyed!"

“Guys?" Aravarys said quietly.

“I thought we were over the attacking Kaleramek thing already!" Thorolos said.

“We didn't destroy your home! We don't even know why they destroyed your home!" Nyrimyrinx

“They destroyed it because they knew you were here!"

“How?"

“Guys!" Aravarys shouted. The three of them quieted. “Guys, fighting won't get us anywhere. I'm sorry about your home, Elise, but we should go." Nyrimyrinx glared at Elise for a moment before launching into the air. Thorolos lept after her.

Elise sighed. “I'm sorry about that."

“I really wish you guys would stop fighting. It's not helping anything," Aravarys said.

“Well, sorry for being upset about my home being destroyed," Elise said. Aravarys sighed. 

“…a-are you strong enough to carry me?" she asked Aravarys.

“Looks like I don't really have a choice."

Chapter 42

Deep within the heart of a human city, a hatchling tossed in his sleep. The sun was high in the sky, warming the soft dirt and long grass of the courtyard below. A whitewashed villa surrounded the courtyard, with a few balconies overlooking it. According to his handler, Amelle, this villa belonged to the Lord of the City. The hatchling questioned why he would keep a dragon in his own backyard.

The courtyard was one of the only patches of life in the grey city. Even still, it was painfully apparent how far he was from the wilds he knew. He always felt on edge. Even in his sleep, he couldn’t rest. He was curled up in one corner of the courtyard. It had been dark when he had limped over and fallen asleep, but now the sun was beating straight down onto his white scales. He tossed in his sleep, straining the stitches on his chest.

A hand gently patted his side, and he jerked awake. “Hey there, dude. Let’s get out of the sun, hmm?” Amelle said gently. The hatchling pushed himself up, and started limping over to a shadier part of the courtyard. Amelle stepped up to his side and helped him across the courtyard as best she could. She eased him down onto a cool patch of grass and quickly checked over his stitches.

“Well, you didn’t break any this time,” she said gently.

“This time?” the hatchling asked.

“You’ve popped stitches in your sleep before.”

“It’s not like I try to,” the hatchling said, looking up at the Lord’s favorite balcony. It was empty.

Amelle chuckled. “Yeah, I know. You can still be glad it didn’t happen this time, though.”

It had been a few months since he had woken up in the dark cell, alone. Amelle had asked him to do what the Lord asked, for both their sakes. The hatchling had thought on it. He didn’t really have much of a choice. He didn’t want to try his luck with a new handler, and a courtyard sounded nice. Better than the cell, anyway. So he cooperated. Amelle worked hard to get him into a better cell, then into the courtyard. She got him better food, better medical supplies. Some might even call his life cushy. But even with everything, he always felt on edge.

Amelle frowned. “Are you alright?”

“No.”

“Well… what’s, uh, wrong?”

The hatchling tried to flare out his wings in annoyance, but they were clamped down to his sides. “I’m trapped here, for one thing. I can barely move because of my chest, and I always feel like I’m being watched.” The hatchling glanced up at the balcony again. The curtains behind the glass door were swaying slightly. The hatchling shivered.

Amelle sighed against his side. “I know what you mean.”

“Do you? Do you really?” the hatchling exploded. “Were you stolen away from your home to some city off in the middle of nowhere? Were you held prisoner? Were you attacked for no reason?”

“Yes,” Amelle said calmly. “I’m as much a prisoner here as you. Well, depending on how you look at it, I’m more of a prisoner. My life is dependent on you behaving. You’re too precious to kill, at least for the moment.”

“Wait, what?”

Amelle sighed. “I lived in the deep south, in the deserts below the rolling plains. We kept to ourselves, did as best we could, but then these Kaarthanians came down from the North. We were attacked for no reason. I was the only survivor, and was taken prisoner. Then, they hauled me off to a city in the middle of nowhere.”

“Then why are you working for them?”

“I don’t have a choice. If I don’t, I’ll be killed. If I do, you might kill me, but at least I have a chance.”

“… if you really are just a prisoner, then why are you a… warden? A guard?”

“I’m expendable. It doesn’t matter if I die.”

They sat in silence for a moment. The hatchling looked down at the human lying against his side. She was breathing slowly. She had her eyes closed.

“I’m sorry,” the hatchling said.

“For what? It’s not your fault that I was taken prisoner, just like it’s not my fault you were captured. And, well, you haven’t killed me yet. So… thanks, I suppose.”

The hatchling chuckled a bit despite himself. “Thanks for not being terrible, I guess,” the hatchling said. Amelle opened her eyes and up at him, raising an eyebrow.

“I guess?”

The hatchling started laughing. Amelle smiled.

“How about this: I’ll work on trying to get you some time outside of the city, okay?” Amelle asked. The hatchling’s eyes widened.

“You can do that?” he asked.

“Um… I’m not sure. No promises, but I’ll try my best.” The hatchling reached around and wrapped a leg around Amelle.

“Thank you so much!” the hatchling said. 

“Ack! Yo…you’re welcome!” she choked out. “T-tight!”

“Oh, sorry,” the hatchling said, letting go. He jumped up and started pacing around. “Do you think we could go to the mountains? I love the mountains. It’d be great to get back there. Maybe… nevermind, but still, I’d love to go.”

Amelle smiled. She watched the hatchling jump around, newly invigorated. She wondered for a moment how in the world she would convince her supervisor to let her take the hatchling out of the city. She’d figure it out. Somehow. For the moment, she just enjoyed the exuberance of the hatchling.