Princess of Dragons

Chapter 66

"So, is it really true that you are nomads now?" Ciara asked Rashil as he gave her a tour around camp. It was cozy and not overly big. They must've truly decreased in numbers since the Great War...

"We have nowhere to go; surrounded by nothing but enemies," he sighed. "The Chief back then decided to stay here rather than go to the island, proud as he was. We got into battle after battle with the still unstable kingdoms and found we could stay at no one place for too great a time; we had to keep moving," he explained. "The war never ended for us."

She nodded slowly. That was what she'd been told too. That they'd wished to stay and fight rather than 'run and hide', as the Chief had apparently thought of it.

"The name of our clan was soon forgotten. That is how we got our current name."

"It is fitting in terms of your prowess in battle. I saw that for myself." It was very clear where Kaisog, her brother, inherited his skills from.

"The guys who found you were out scouting the area. We just arrived here, you see."

"Perhaps I should thank them." She ran a strand of hair through her fingers.

"For what?"

"For saving me, naturally." She only then realized the look the man was sending her. "What?"

"Princess." He paused. "You must realize their intentions were not pure," he said, his voice kept low.

"Even so, I was still saved." She smiled lightly at the man. "And it led me to meet you."

He shook his head. "You are a strange girl." He chuckled.

"So I have been told," she said. "So, what made you choose this place to settle down?" she asked, steering the conversation back to where it had been.

"Well, we have stayed here before, as it happens. It is well hidden beneath the trees," he told her. "However, some peculiar stone has appeared suddenly. It makes this place easy to recognize for us."

"Really? Where?" How did something like that even happen?

"Right over here." He stopped up once they reached the outer circle of tents. "This is the one." He gestured to the 'stone' in question.

At first sight, one might indeed have thought it to be a stone. A dusty white with small freckles of black. Its surface smoothened to perfection and its form a little bigger than their tents.

"Chief Rashil..." she muttered as she slowly backed away from it. "Keep your distance from it. This is no stone."

She was cut off by a bloodcurdling roar. The pure ferocity of it made even her heart hammer in her chest.

"It is an egg," she muttered, although she figured she hardly had to.

The whole camp had sprung into motion, rushing around as though having been given an order. All of them grabbing weapons.

Well, that wasn't a smart move. There'd never been any getting between a dragonelle and her egg.

Or so she'd guess - eggs were never found anywhere but at the nesting grounds. Not in the middle of nowhere like this one. Why was it here?

The wingbeat that suddenly sounded above them made the situation worse. It came from the opposite side of the camp. They were standing right between mother and egg.

"Is there anything you can do?" Rashil quickly asked her.

"I do not know." She clenched her jaw. She feared even if these people ran now, the dragon would still chase them.