Soar

Chapter 31

Hedyr held onto me only as long as it took Shomadir to climb to a sufficient height and then level out. As the patrol rider's arms left my waist, I glanced back at him. He was sitting tall and ridged, his face set in concentration; it did not take him long to adjust.

"Almost easier than a horse, not counting the height," he remarked to me in a falsely light tone.

Shomadir grunted. "I should imagine so." He spread his wings to their full length and angled downward, sweeping gently. I leaned into the motion; Hedyr crashed into my back.

"No," he grunted as he tried to ease some of his weight off of me. "I lied. Nothing like a horse."

I laughed.

There were thirteen dragons to our ten Shaderi. The dragons had spread out into two lines: six above, seven below. Of the dragons bearing riders, only Nadika, carrying Darriad and Jurisa, flew among the upper line.

None of the men had taken to riding as quickly as Hedyr. Idumo was making the best effort, yet he kept falling forward to catch himself every time his dragon dipped or tilted with the wind. I saw one man whose face had gone considerably green, and another who kept his eyes squeezed shut. The rest were beyond my sight.

"Where are we going?" I asked Hedyr.

"Darriad's people live in a city in the far north. That is all I know."

"His people," I repeated. "Kelron called him a rebel."

Hedyr had to lean close to my ear for me to hear him. "They say the same thing about your parents."

I did not answer. First my parents were rebels who took up with a monster so they could freely ride dragons; now I learned they had found Darriad, a commoner who had never lived under the king's rule but who fought the same enemy. Niloth's people fought because Umreo threatened their existence. Why had Darriad's people joined this war?

Hedyr had fallen silent and I could not think of anything to say. I was keenly aware of how close we sat; his legs touched mine, my back rested against his chest, occasionally his hand brushed my shoulder when Shomadir shifted suddenly.

I shivered a little. Desperate to distract myself, I tried to imagine what Darriad's city looked like. But that made me think of my parents, who must have lived there, and that made me think of Erizar.

My grandfather.

Another person I had lost. Another person who had loved me as I was.

The sun was almost at its zenith when Hedyr shifted a little closer and his shoulders pressed against mine. I held still, barely breathing, until I realized he had fallen asleep.

At first I laughed to know Hedyr trusted me enough to fall asleep not hours after he first rode a dragon. Then I was crying; not the gut-wrenching sobs that had consumed me before, but quieter, so I did not wake Hedyr or disturb Shomadir. The tears were for my parents, who had given up everything for their people; for Hedyr, who had started on the same path for me; for Runedan, lost in a world he barely understood, perhaps not knowing how much I missed him.

Perhaps some of the tears were for myself, though I did not know why.

The light was fading. Hedyr's head rested on my shoulder now. He had stirred several times but never really wakened.

Something red flashed in the corner of my eye. I choked on a scream as Darriad clung to the iron bars along Shomadir's neck. The dragon jerked slightly at the sudden weight but adjusted quickly.

Darriad wore a helmet that covered his face to his mouth, which was grinning. "We have another day's journey before we reach home. You do not stand much chance of getting sleep with him like that," and he nodded to Hedyr, "but there are plenty of dragons if you want to rearrange when we land to stretch our legs."