Tricked Into Flight

Chapter 12

*Katerina's POV*

My lips were wind-chapped by the time the dragons gave up for the evening. I was more exhausted after a day of sitting in the saddle than I had been when I traveled on foot, which shouldn't have been possible.

Rakota landed and walked to the side before crouching to let me off. My leg muscles burned as I stiffly climbed down from the saddle. I leaned against a tree and tried various stretches, wondering if I'd even survive a two-day flight to Emerson City. My muscles sure didn't seem to think so.

Rakota's broad back was much wider than a plow horse's. If the saddle hadn't been high enough to cover the vertical plates running down his neck, it would have been much worse. One thing was clear: riding definitely used different muscles than walking. And every single one of them was telling me about it.

A shimmer of light appeared over the harness, and by the time I blinked, the harness disappeared. Rakota shook his scales out, and after a brief glance at me, he walked away.

He called back, "We'll be staying here tonight and will resume our search in the morning."

Judging by the sun's position, I had an hour or so until darkness fell. My stomach grumbled, reminding me that it had been a long time since I ate a trail bar around noon. Rakota's other landings had only been long enough to allow me a bathroom break.

I trudged into the trees for another break and to collect firewood. The nights got cool enough that my cloak and light bedroll weren't quite sufficient to keep me from shivering. If nothing else, collecting enough wood for the night would help me loosen up my muscles.

About a dozen trips later, Randel appeared near my neat pile of branches and moved some into the ring of rocks I'd set up for a fire pit. I frowned, but since I had planned to start the fire shortly, I shrugged it off and went to find more wood.

By my next trip, he had a decent-sized fire and was still adding more wood. I hesitated, but keeping warm at night was more important to me than remaining politely silent.

"I'm sorry, but could you please stop adding wood to the fire?"

He looked up with a blank expression. "Why? There's plenty here."

"There isn't quite enough to last all night, especially with a bigger fire."

"It's not?"

"No..." I examined the man who only had his clothing, sword, and waterskin. "How do you stay warm at night?"

"Andar lets me lean against him," he replied with a dismissive shrug as he put another branch on the fire.

I bit my lip to keep from berating him again for wasting the firewood I'd gathered. I was sorely tempted, but a scolding probably wouldn't work on someone with such a lovely personality, and leaning against a dragon wasn't exactly an option for me. I needed to think. Could bribery be the answer? I already knew he liked food, and he didn't have a backpack with provisions.

"If you want to gather more firewood, I can start cooking some bread." I held my breath, hoping it'd work.

His stomach growled as he turned to stare at me. "You can cook bread over a campfire?"

I was beginning to think this guy wasn't the sharpest knife in the butcher shop. "Yes, but it takes a while to cook, so I need a lot of firewood. I can't cook and gather wood at the same time."

The lie worked, and he got to his feet. "Alright."

I breathed a sigh of relief as he disappeared into the trees, muttering about me having already collected all the easy stuff. I'd lose some flour, but if he was bold enough to take food from kings, my bread wouldn't have been safe anyway.