Dame Elara Brightshield's Arc

Chapter 7 of 11

Elara stayed at the breeding ground through the night, watching the pool and waiting for the mother drake to surface again. She didn't. The water remained still except for the broken shells drifting in slow circles. Just before dawn, Skarsh appeared through the mist, moving fast along the edge of the pool. He barely glanced at the water before he spotted her. "The hunters are loading cages into a wagon," he said, breathing hard. "A shed past the ridge, near the old path. They'll be gone by sunrise." Elara stood, hand going to her sword, but Skarsh shook his head. "The mother drake is already there. I saw geysers erupting around the shed. She's hunting them." Elara cursed under her breath. If the drake tore the hunters apart before she could stop the wagons, the cages would roll into the marsh and the creatures inside would drown or starve. She needed those hunters alive long enough to open the locks. "Can you reach the shed before the geysers do?" she asked. Skarsh hesitated, then nodded. "If I go through the tunnel." They ran together, Skarsh leading her through a passage that cut beneath the standing stones. When they emerged, Elara saw the shed surrounded by pools of churning water. The wagon sat just beyond the hunters' reach, loaded with cages and ready to move. The mother drake rose between them and it, a tower of water and fury. Elara stepped forward, calling out to the creature the way she had at the pool. The drake's eyes fixed on her, and the geysers stopped. Skarsh slipped past while the hunters stared, reaching the wagon and cutting the horse loose. The cages stayed behind. The hunters ran. And Elara understood what trust looked like when a creature chose to let you stand beside it instead of in its way.