House Of Gods 9 - Samantha Snow Page 0,69

thing too.

“Thank you.” Tara reached up, and the dragon let her place her hand above the top of its nostril. Its scales were beautiful and much harder to the touch than Tara had expected. Then she took Tannin’s hand, and they walked with Ned to sit down at a table and discuss their new agreement.

When the discussions were over and a peaceful handover of the realm was orchestrated, Tara and Tannin decided that they would remain on Niflheim just long enough to institute a few changes. As Tannin got to work, which he was eager to do merely because he wanted to leave the barren iceland as quickly as possible, Tara went to go speak with Nidhogg. She thanked him again and asked him a few questions about Dragharia out of curiosity. When they were done talking, she remembered the dragon had mentioned wanting to show her something.

“Here,” he said kindly. “Get on my back, and I will take you to what I have to show you.”

Tara was apprehensive at first, but she had trusted him this far and had no reason to think he would harm her now. So she climbed onto his back and held on as best she could. Nidhogg ascended into the air and flew out of the building and up toward the mountains ahead. The air was even colder around her now as she was higher up, and the wind whipped about her. She tried to bury her head against the dragon to avoid the biting air. When they reached the top of the mountain, he set his feet down, and Tara climbed off. Ahead of them was an orb the size of which would take both her arms to wrap around it.

“Is this a dragon’s egg?” she said in awe.

“Yes,” Nidhogg answered. “It belonged to one that was once very dear to me.”

“How long has it been up here?”

“For as long as I have been held captive, many, many years.”

Tara looked sadly upon the egg.

“Dragon’s eggs are resilient,” Nidhogg said when he saw that she misunderstood. “This egg is still viable. I want you to help me take it someplace in one of your nine worlds that you think it will be safe and cared for until it outgrows its space.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to take it with you?” she asked.

“The dragon who birthed this egg brought it here for a reason. She believed there would be a need for this special type of magic in your worlds. I seek to honor her wishes by leaving it somewhere it will be safe. I cannot stay here, but the egg must.”

“Will it hatch?”

“Yes, in time and in warmth.”

“It’s huge,” Tara said. “There’s no way I would be able to take it anywhere.”

“I will take it, but I need you to tell me where.”

Tara thought. She was cold and was having trouble thinking about anything other than her fingers turning blue since she had forgotten her gloves. Nidhogg saw this and used his breath to start a fire on the top of the mountain, and then wrapped his wing around her to shield her from the cold and wind. Tara thanked him and warmed her hands against the fire as she tried to think of which world and which people to leave the egg in the care of.

“One day,” the dragon said thoughtfully, “there will be a dragon from this egg born into your worlds. There will be a new kind of magic here, one that has not existed since before time began. There won’t be another chance for this again since there will not be another dragon willing to do this. Wherever you choose to send me to deliver this precious egg, it must be the place that you feel the magic will be the most protected and looked after.”

Tara looked up into the Nidhogg’s eyes and saw the glittering reflection of the flames, made even more brilliant by the dragon’s gold pupils.

“I know where it should go,” she said.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

As soon as they walked out of the Chinese restaurant, the rain started to fall. Erik and Colby started chattering and trying to remember where it was that they were going for takeout because somehow, they had decided against the Chinese noodle house after all. For them, the memories of Brandt and Brenna had evaporated instantly as soon as they took their first step outside into the city.

But for Jerrik, it wasn’t so quick. He had been one of Brandt’s closest friends. At the beginning,