Apex [Imperial: Book 2]

Chapter 26

"Thank you," I'd murmured after the lord stiffly removed my saddle and chains.

Had it not been for his furrowed brows and clenched jaw, the Lord Carlos's face would have been blank when he looked at me. "Same place, same time," he stated simply, before squaring his shoulders and followed in the same direction the queen and his brother had gone.

The message was clear. I'd been dismissed; the lord did not want me following him.

I had free roam of the city. Which meant I could easily go back to the Royal Caverns as I had previous times and spend the rest of the day resting - or to explore the city. As tempting as it sounded to hide away from the probing humans' gazes, I could not simply ignore the fact that acting like the other dragons here and enjoying the city's benefits could help the humans to start to trust me.

Could. A possibility, a chance! And anything that would help me escape would be worth it!

Spreading open my wings, I launched into the sky. Within seconds I spotted Keda circling around the city, now without a human on her back. Confused, I tilted my head slightly. Why wasn't the human still on her back? After all, I was sure he hadn't been on for very long at all - only when Keda had told Lord Carlos that the queen wanted his presence. So why -

"Argentum!" the maroon dragoness exclaimed, swooping towards me elegantly. "Are you heading back to the Royal Caverns?"

"No," I glanced back towards the city. "I figured that if I'm going to live here, I might as well learn where everything is." Perhaps that information would be useful when I escaped, should I ever return with the rest of my wing to burn the city to the ground.

The maroon dragoness's gaze brightened, her green eyes gleaming. "Follow me!"

Without waiting to check if I would follow her, she swept towards the city, her wings lightly hammering through the air as she descended towards the bustling streets.

Curious as to what she wanted to show me, I chased after her. She led me further away from the castle itself, although the buildings we glided over were by no means small - several dragons would have been able to fit in each.

Finally, she landed in the middle of a street, pushing past humans and even a few dragons as she approached one of the large, stone buildings. With a flick of her tail, she gestured for me to follow her, even as she stepped delicately through the building's large entrance.

Nostrils flared, I tentatively followed her. I had yet to go inside one of the city's buildings; the last building I'd been in was the Dragon Stables back at Fehïrk. A massive building made of brick and stone and metal, that separated dragons into many small cages of a night. 

But this building was different. A warm glow filled its interior, emanating from the candles that lined its otherwise blank walls. Unlike the more crowded walls of the Dragon Stables, this building was spacious, easily big enough to comfortably hold several dragons.

Nonetheless, I couldn't help but flinch when a human stepped towards me, so close that she could reach out and touch my scales. Tensing, I eyed her suspiciously, before nervously looking for Keda.

The maroon dragoness was near the back of the room, her tail curled contentedly around her body as a human groomed her scales. As though noticing my stare, she blinked open one of her green eyes and gazed lazily towards me.

"Right this way, dragon," the human announced, jolting my attention towards her again. Her dark brown eyes holding mine calmly, even as her hands beckoned for me to follow her further into the building.

Much to my relief, she didn't lead me to far within the building. Tucked near the building's stone walls, I was still close to the entrance. Could raise my head and see not only the street and the many humans bustling through it, but also dragons soaring through the sky.

Nor did the human waste any time. Moments after I had settled down, she'd scurried off, only to return with a large metal bucket full of water. Crouching down beside me, she'd started scrubbing my wing, gently wiping shocking amounts of dirt off the membrane.

It was a strange sensation, which might have been pleasant were I not so tense and weary. Warm water trickled down my wing, sending occasional shudders down my back as the human kept rubbing.

Shaking my head, I stared into the sky, watching as a several dragons - including a copper dragoness circled the city. The copper dragoness glided over the streets, her red eyes scanning them carefully. Her stiff wings thundered through the air as she flew overhead, and her tail lashed behind her.

Then, even as I watched, she circled the city once more - before her gaze locked on me. Clipping her wings against her flank, she dived down, landing heavily outside the building. "Argentum, I've got a -"

She froze, as though noticing the human beside me for the first time. Her red eyes narrowed into slits. When she spoke, her voice was quiet - and yet I couldn't help but flinch at the emotions; the sorrow, the betrayal, the pain in her voice as she murmured, "you, too? Converted into one of the city-dragons already?"

"Reida," I shook my head slightly. How was I supposed to let her know without giving away my plan to the other humans and dragons around us? I'd have to fill her in later, but for now ... "I'm just taking advantage of a bad situation."

Wrong thing to say.

She stepped away from me, her red eyes darkening rapidly. Another step away, even as her copper wings unfurled. Not meeting my gaze, she crouched down, her talons scratching the stone road. Without so much as a word, she sprang into the air.

Stunned, I watched as she hastily gained more speed and altitude. Watched, as she circled around the city, just once, before flying East. Not stopping once, not even when she neared the city's borders.

With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I watched as she purposefully ignored the many dragons suddenly springing into the air.

She had no chance to escape. Not with so many dragons. Even if I did help her, it was impossible. Such an escape would surely be suicide. I had to stop her.

Leaping to my feet, I ignored the human's startled cry beside me, and raced  into the air.

*~*

1106 words

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