A Crown of Gold

Shadows

I didn't eat much, after what had happened. I couldn't find the power within myself to keep anything down. As soon as I'd think about it, I could feel bile rise in my throat.

It was guilt, mostly. I burned a church down out of pure anger—because I could. I'm a monster.

You're not a monster, Asha. For the last time, you are not any sort of beast, Sephraim attempted to comfort. They tormented you. They-

But they didn't, I snapped. They only barely spoke things I didn't agree with. And my father... my father lied to me.

Each time Sephraim tried to make me feel better or forget, I'd bury myself deeper into my guilt. Not even Darius's snide comments could bother me—I was too absorbed in my own blackened heart.

This is going too far, Asha. Sephraim told me, You need to snap out of this.

I can't.

You can. She affirmed, I've seen men come back from worse—much worse. If you plan on being a dragon rider, you're going to have to learn to cope with more than burning one building down out of anger. This life is dangerous, child. Worse things will happen to you, and you will probably be responsible for more fires in the future.

It upset me—the fact that she believed I'd do worse things. But it was true. Chances were, my life as a dragon rider would lead me down darker paths, and yet, I refused to think so negatively.

Even though I didn't like the idea of a looming evil hiding in my fate, I decided to swallow whatever guilt I was feeling. I couldn't sit and wallow over things that were already done and gone.

Once I'd began eating again, regaining my strength, Sephraim made a decision.

We'll go to the coast as we planned before. She announced one evening, We all need to leave this place for awhile.

I gave a silent nod, but I was more than willing to escape the cave and the territory for awhile. Darius was in agreement as well—he decided it was about time to begin exploring his options for his own territory.

And so it was decided. We'd leave a dawn.

-•-

We left early in the morning, when the sun hadn't yet peaked over the horizon and the sky was painted a dusty pink. The cool autumn air chilled me as we set out.

I had pulled the winter coat Mavis had fashioned for me over my normal riding leathers. The dark furs covered my neck, my face snuggling into them in my still sleepy state.

Darius flew silently beside us, just as he had when he was a hatchling. His ability to soar so quietly still baffled me—even his wing beats were practically silent. He was getting even bigger now, and I was sure he'd grow larger than Sephraim. Already he rivaled her in size and he wasn't even a year old. I noticed differences in their build now; Sephraim was a bit more slender, her snout more thin and sharp. Darius was a black mass of muscle, giving him a look of intimidation that even I could feel.

Occasionally, I'd catch his molten gold eyes on me, the sight sending a chill up my spine. There was something strange about being in the presence of dragons. Being around them so often should smother any fear I could have, yet at the same I've seen first hand the power of them in their rawest form. At the end of the day, they truly were grand beasts.