Sir Danny hillith of kattegatt's Arc

Chapter 2 of 10

Danny stood in the empty hallway outside his chambers, the letter still pressed against his ribs beneath his coat. He hadn't moved it since the servant handed it back. The weight felt different now that someone else had seen the dragon seal, had held what was meant only for her. A runner appeared at the end of the hall, breathless and streaked with soot. The dragon mistress had lit the candlelit pit outside her tower. She needed him. Danny's hand moved to his coat, fingers brushing the letter through the fabric. This was it—the perfect moment he'd been planning for three years. He could bring the letter, tell her everything while she was waiting for him, while she had asked for his help. But his feet wouldn't move. The runner cleared his throat. Danny looked at the soot on the boy's face, the urgency in his stance. She hadn't called for a knight with declarations and old letters. She'd called for help. He pulled his hand away from the coat and started walking toward the tower, leaving the letter where it was. The runner fell in step behind him. When Danny reached the base of the gothic spire, he saw the dragon resting in the pit, candles burning in a wide circle around it. The dragon mistress stood beside the creature, her hand on its scaled neck. She turned when she heard his boots on stone. "The left wing," she said, gesturing to where the membrane hung torn and bloodied. "I need steady hands." Danny knelt beside the dragon without answering, reaching for the supplies she'd already laid out. He didn't mention the letter. For once, his hands were exactly where they needed to be.