Dragons Rising ✔️

Ch 65: The Beginning of the End

"You're going to tell your ex-rider about Kuertis, aren't you?" Moonhawk asked.

"Of course not. I'm just hungry." Leera pushed through the door into the hall.

I kept behind the door and was nearly smashed against the wall before she closed it with her tail. My heart jumped into my throat as I waited for her to choose which way she would go.

Without looking in my direction, she headed away from me down the hall. If she really was going to find the kitchen, I might as well follow her. I snuck after her, my bare feet silent on the marble floor.

After several minutes of walking, Leera went through a large door on the right. I followed her into a huge kitchen that was dimly lit by a few glow orbs hovering around the walls. She didn't seem to have any trouble navigating the semi-darkness, going straight past the high counters to what I assumed was a katalni-sized pantry.

When she came out with a whole six-legged galhok slung over her shoulders, I ducked behind the nearest worktable and hoped she wouldn't stay long. I heard her drop the galhok on the counter and roast it with a sizzling sound. The smell was delicious, especially since I hadn't eaten anything since dinner the previous day.

"Do you want some?" Leera asked the kitchen at large.

I held very still.

She laughed. "I can hear your heartbeat. There's no point in hiding."

I sheepishly came out from behind the counter.

She took a dragon-sized plate from the counter and placed it on the ground with less claw dexterity then I'd seen the katalnis use. She carved a generous portion of the meat off of the galhok and lowered it towards the plate. She seemed to have trouble managing it and dropped it onto the plate from five feet up.

Needless to say, the meat hit the plate hard and, since the plate was made of tin, dented it. I managed to keep the meat from flying off the plate, and I did my best to un-dent the plate afterwards.

"You want a fork?" She eyed a box of huge utensils on the counter.

"No, thank you," I said quickly, thinking that the fork would probably end up stabbing one of us if she tried to pick it up.

She shrugged her wings and plopped the rest of the galhok on the floor to eat it herself.

I started eating with my fingers, wondering why this whole situation felt so strange.

"Weird, I don't think we've never eaten together," Leera said, as if I'd spoken aloud. "I always hunted alone, and you ate with other bipeds."

"You're right." A question nagged at me, but I wasn't sure if I should ask it. As it turned out, I didn't have to.

"It's not like I hate you that you were my rider." She kept her eyes on her food. "But when they said they could break our bond without hurting either one of us, I thought it would be for the best. When we bonded, neither of us wanted it. You got fire powers you didn't want, and I got a bossy rider who wanted to control me."

"You're right." My mind still felt so empty, and I didn't like it, but I tried not to be selfish. I would get used to it eventually, and more importantly, Leera was free here. Even if she came back to Lykela with me, she could never be her own person there like she could here. "I'm guessing you're staying on Rytin Ikla?"

"I think so. Lykela will be chaotic after you release the mind stones. It'll be dangerous for dragons. But I might go back someday. Will you stay here? After you free the mindstones, I'm sure the katalnis would treat you like royalty."

My breath quickened at her mentioned of the mindstones. I tried to take slow, calming breaths, but I was suddenly too nervous to have much success. "Stay here? Me? Maybe, but I don't know. I hadn't even thought about doing that." It depended on my choice about the mindstones, because the katalnis certainly wouldn't let me stay if I destroyed the portal.

She frowned. "You're going to follow Callah's plan, aren't you."

"I haven't actually decided yet."

"You know why they made the katalni mages?"

I shrugged. "Tezzla told me a little. She said they were mediators or ambassadors or something during the Great Katel War."

"It was more than just being an ambassador. They were supposed to be the perfect unbiased mediator. They weren't katalnis or true bipeds, so they didn't have any particular ties to either side. Their goal was to make sure that neither side was mistreated by the other. They would never let the Lykelan dragons lose their chance of freedom by destroying the portal."

I glanced at my hands. The red scales covering them drew my gaze, as they so often had before. They marked me as different, even among half-bloods. Dragons were my cousins, and if I didn't free them, who would? Whatever mages there were remaining in Lykela likely wouldn't have the resources or willingness to risk their lives needed to make the trek here. But we were here. We could free the dragons.

"What if freeing the mindstones only means that the Ferentisians take control of the dragons instead?"

"The katalnis have come up with enchantments to shield mindstones from outside control. We would have a fighting chance to stay free. With our mindstones, we might even have magic." Her eyes lit up at the prospect.

It was strange to think that dragons would get their magic back with their mindstones, but it made sense. Katalnis naturally had magic. When Leera first hatched, she had magic, at least for the few minutes until it was taken away. The whole idea of it still kind of weird.

"Ella, I'm asking you to open the portal. It'll change everything for us."

Of that, I had no doubt. The only question was whether it would change everything for better or for the worst. "I'll think about it."

A booming alarm bell rang out through the building. Leera left the kitchen and headed off to the right.

"What is it?" I asked, hurrying after her.

"The general meeting bell. It means we're all supposed to gather outside the meeting hall."

She led me down several hallways and through a door to the outside. It was impossible to see why the bell had been rung because a huge crowd of katalnis were milling about outside. When Leera had said that everyone would be gathering, she really meant everyone. There were even skinny juvenile katalnis and tiny hatchlings perched on their mothers' backs.

"Look here, great katalnis," a voice called out over the crowd. It sounded like Farot, but I didn't have a chance to check from a better vantage point.

A blinding orange light filled the sky, burning with an otherworldly heat. It hit me in the chest like a physical blow. Wheezing, I fell to my knees. Katalnis collapsed all around me, and Leera joined them.