Theren smiles. “I am glad.” Then he switches to common tongue. “Did you enjoy the ride last night?”
She looks up, surprised again. Then nods.
His smile widens to a toothy grin, and he begins to spout off facts about the dragons. How long they live, what they eat, and even a description of the mating season.
I listen, translating as we walk and the ground beneath us changes from the smooth stone of the city paths to the rough-hewn trails carved into the cliffs. Ahead, the silhouettes of towering nests sit. Whereas the city is in the mountainsides, the nests are near the peaks.
They are massive structures, half-natural caves and half-elven craftsmanship, woven with thick ropes and reinforced with bones I don’t care to identify. Low embers glow within the depths of some, like houselights.
Arlet sucks in a short breath. I hear her mutter something.
“What did you say?” I ask.
“Madre mía,”she says, enunciating the words more clearly. “I’m just surprised.”
Nodding, I tuck away more bits and pieces of her, and slow our pace. I draw Arlet closer to me as we press against the shadows of a stone wall.
When Theren mentions that a mating season had just completed not too long ago, Arlet beams.
“I wonder if we’ll see any baby dragons,” she whispers, clearly excited.
I don’t answer. My focus remains on our surroundings, as we are close to the edge of the cliff. My tail instinctively wraps around her.
A soft rustle of wings draws my attention skyward. High above, a onyx black dragon from before shifts on its perch, its massive talons scraping against stone as it settles.
“There’s my dragon. Perhaps you recognize him,” Theren says. “Vyrenth.”
Arlet’s breath catches. “Dioses míos,” she murmurs, pressing a hand to her chest. “It’s so beautiful.”
Beautiful isn’t the word I would use. Terrifying, perhaps. Lethal.
I say the name to her and she tries to repeat it.
“The ‘nth’is lighter,” Theren says in the common tongue.
When she gets it right, he laughs.
“How old is Vyrenth?” she asks kindly.
“I am his second rider,” Theren continues. “He tells me maybe a thousand turns of the sun.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “He speaks to you?”
Theren nods but doesn’t elaborate. Instead he asks, “Are you interested in getting closer to the dragons?.”
Arlet tenses beside me, but not in fear. “Yes.”
I narrow my eyes. “I think it’s too dangerous.”
“No danger with me,” Theren interjects.
“Come on, Vann, don’t you like adventure?” she fires back.
I should argue, should put an end to this reckless idea before it forms further, butdamn me, there’s something about the way her eyes shine that makes my grip loosen just slightly.
I exhale sharply, pressing my fingers to my temples. “Fine. But if you get eaten, I’m leaving your body here.”
Arlet beams. “I would expect nothing less,mi cielo.”