A Night of Dragon Wings - By Daniel Arenson Page 0,100

his fist against the map. "Then let us fly to her! We'll attack that mountain with everything we've got. Soon it'll be called the Palace of Solina's Blood… and Guts." He tapped his chin. "Yes, Guts too; I like that."

Elethor was about to reply, but to his surprise, it was Mori—shy, timid Mori who never spoke in their councils—who replied first. Her voice was soft, and her lips trembled, but she clutched her luck finger tight and spoke for all to hear.

"We must attack Irys too." She looked at the map and spoke as if to herself. "Maybe Solina now lives in the mountains. But Irys is where her palace is, where the capital is, where she…" Mori swallowed and reached out to clutch Bayrin's hand. "We have to attack it. We have to burn it down."

Bayrin held her hand tight and pulled her closer to him. Mori bit her lip and said no more.

"Princess Mori is right," Elethor said and nodded. "We will attack Irys too. The city still holds the garrisons of her men, phoenixes, and wyverns. It still holds her palace, her greatest symbol of power. We must topple that palace, crush her forces there, and cut off the capital from the rest of this desert."

Lyana spoke up, chin raised.

"Irys gets its supplies from the river," she said. She ran her finger along the map, tracing the Pallan down from Irys in the north. "It snakes many leagues down to here, its sister Iysa." She tapped the map at the southern city. "Here in Iysa is where Solina forges her steel, grows her grains, and mints her coins. The supplies flow up the river on a thousand ships." Lyana snarled. "We will boil the river. We will burn all ships along it and crush southern Iysa. Without the river and her southern sister, the capital will dry up and die like an old fruit."

Elethor nodded. "We'll have to guard the northern sea too. Solina still commands many forces in the ruins of Requiem—wyverns and riders, men-at-arms, warships, phoenixes, and hordes of nephilim. These forces will not sit idle in Requiem's ruins when Tiranor itself is under attack. They will fly to Solina's aid. We must prevent them from returning into the desert."

For a long time the council talked. The sun disappeared and the stars emerged, brilliantly bright above the desert. No moon shone. The camp slept below. And still the council talked.

Finally at midnight, Elethor rolled up the map and nodded.

"We all know our tasks." He looked at the wise salvana who coiled before him, crystal eyes glimmering. "Nehushtan, you will guard the northern seas, preventing Tiran aid from the north. Take with you five thousand salvanae; you will need them to patrol the coasts."

The High Priest nodded. "The dragons of Salvanados shall keep the coasts secure. This I vow to the stars of Draco that shine above. They bless us this night. We will succeed, King Elethor."

Next Elethor turned to look at Lyana, and he felt some of his fear melt. His wife looked up at him with her green eyes—eyes that for years had taunted him, that for years he hated to see, yet which now spoke of her love, which now lit his heart.

"Lyana," he said. "You I will send south. Fly along the Pallan; burn any ships that sail north. Fly until you reach southern Iysa and burn her smelters, her mines, and her shipyards. Take with you a thousand dragons and ten thousand griffins; bear on your backs soldiers of Osanna to fight among the streets. Nehushtan will cut off Irys from the north; you will crush the south."

Lyana nodded and held his hands. "I will not let you down, my king. We will take Iysa and the river."

Mori spoke up again, chin raised. Her lips trembled but her voice was strong. "And I will attack the capital of Irys." She clutched the sword that hung at her side. "I will fly there. Bayrin can fly with me. We will burn them." A strange fire lit her eyes; Elethor had never seen such fire in her. "We will burn their palace, and burn their soldiers, and burn them all." She nodded, face pale. "We will burn them all."

Elethor placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure, Mori?" he said softly. "You can fly south with Lyana if you want; she will keep you safe."

Mori shook her head. "No, El. I'll do this. I… I have to. I want to fight in