The Dragons of Nova (Loom Saga #2)(3)
The Dragon had become bolder around her and Arianna hadn’t done enough to discourage the disdainful behavior. His mannerisms were his own, but every now and then she saw the shade of someone else in them. Someone that gave her pause even when she was at her boldest.
“I’d rather you just tell me.” She leaned against the wall at his side with a hefty sigh.
“By the time I did, you—”
The air from the flapping of large wings buffeted the side of her face and Arianna turned as a loud screech nearly deafened her. A giant bird-like creature had been saddled with an ornate leather seat like those intended for horseback. Her fingers closed around the hilt of her sharper dagger.
A Dragon the color of pale sea foam sat poised on its back as the bird perched with ease on the ledge. The rider had golden eyes not unlike Cvareh’s, but his hair was a darker shade, closer to the color of fired brick or wet clay. He ran a hand through his shoulder-length locks, smoothing them from the ride. His eyes drifted to her instantly.
“You brought a Chimera?” Disapproval radiated from the man’s pores.
“The ends, Cain.” Cvareh’s tone had a cautionary punctuation, the words strung together with a vibrato of authority Arianna had never heard from him before. It made her look sideways at the man she’d traveled across Loom with.
“Looking forward to hearing more of those.” Cain shook his head. “Come on then. Petra’Oji wants you in the Temple post haste.”
Cvareh made a start for the bird, Arianna at his side. He stopped her with an arm. “You need to wait here.”
“Excuse me?”
“The boco can’t take more than two riders at a time.”
“Then leave this petulant Dragon and take me.” Arianna motioned rudely to the man named Cain. Cvareh had earned his name; all others would as well.
“What did you call me?” The man on the boco growled.
“Peace.” Cvareh held out his hands between them. But amusement was alight in his eyes—amusement for her.
Bloody cogs, first his boldness and now she was endearing to him? She was losing her edge.
“Wait here. Time is of the essence and I can’t explain now. Cain will come back for you,” Cvareh said.
“If he doesn’t—”
“He will,” the Dragon cut off her threat. “Trust me, Ari.”
She rolled her eyes and leaned against the side wall again, arms folded across her chest to communicate her general displeasure at the situation. Cvareh shook his head, squeezing awkwardly into the saddle behind Cain. She watched them depart, questioning the choices that had led her here.
Arianna drew her dagger and commenced flipping it in the air, attempting to take her mind off the fact that she had just willingly walked into the Dragon’s den.
2. Petra
Petra walked the tightrope of treason. On either side were the voids of failure, an oblivion from which there was no escape. Dangled at the far end before her was the title of Dono, Queen of the Dragons, glory of House Xin. The sight of it was enough to keep her toeing a line that even the most suicidally ambitious dragon wouldn’t dare to walk.
She grinned madly into the wind, baring her canines to an invisible foe.
Islands of Nova flashed beneath her, reduced to green blurs by Raku’s speed. She fisted his feathers and altered course slightly. The other three bocos behind her followed suit.
She had the Dono and two riders in tow. Their magic sparked with aggression, but only one held weight. Yveun Dono, King of the Dragons, barely held his emotions in check. She knew when his eyes fell on her back by the ferocity that lit the wind between them.
He knew he’d been played. It had been a plan years in the making, ever since Finnyr had slipped. Petra had cut it from the cloth of knowledge given to her by her elder brother—the King’s financial adviser for Loom. That knowledge of the Philosopher’s Box would be the pattern for the tapestry of her ultimate victory.
She’d moved carefully, sending Cvareh to acquire the documents and entrusting him to get them to the resistance on Loom. Her younger brother was underestimated by the whole of Nova. She’d kept him in the wings, cultivating his skills when no one watched. When the time came he was overlooked and slipped through the cracks, just as expected.
Her years of patience were now paying dividends. She knew he was stronger than anyone gave him credit for, but even Petra had not expected her brother would be the one to slay the King’s Master Rider. Poor Leona; for all her airs and appearances, she was felled by sweet little Cvareh. Not bearing witness to her ultimate demise had already become one of Petra’s few regrets.
Now the King sought justice for his slain bitch. He wanted Cvareh’s head in recompense, and that was a price Petra wasn’t going to pay. When Cvareh arrived hours ago, Petra had lifted the baton on the next movement of her orchestrations. Her brother was seen to the Temple of Xin. The Chimera he’d brought...well, that was an unexpected deviation that she had yet to attain a full explanation for.
Petra shifted in her saddle. One thing at a time, she reminded herself. The Chimera was hidden, for now. She’d deal with the creature later when she didn’t have a King in tow.
Her shadow zipped across the God’s Line far below, jumping on and off smaller islands as she crossed above them. The isle of Ruana, twice the size of House Rok’s Lysip, came into view. Mountains curved on the far ridge-line, spilling bountiful plains and fertile farmland in their shade. It was impossible for Petra to keep a smile off her face when her home came into view. No raging Dragon King could damper the way her soul soared alongside Raku as she crossed the threshold of Xin land.