Song of Dragons The Complete Trilogy - By Daniel Arenson Page 0,188

Agnus Dei couldn't stop glancing at Kyrie and Gloriae.

The mud was knee deep, and Agnus Dei sloshed through it. Kyrie was walking several yards away, mud covering him. He held a dagger in one hand, which he used to cut vines and branches in his way. Gloriae walked beside him, her hair caked with mud from a recent fall, the jewels and gold of her breastplate brown with the stuff. Once more she slipped, and Kyrie caught her. She lingered a moment too long in his arms, Agnus Dei thought, before righting herself and walking again.

Agnus Dei stifled a growl. She told herself that she should love her twin. After all these years, they were reunited; Agnus Dei knew she should feel rejoiceful. But whenever she looked at Gloriae, she wanted to punch her perfect, pretty face.

Lichen brushed Agnus Dei's cheek, and she slapped it aside, and now a growl did escape her lips. She tried not to, but kept imagining Kyrie touching Gloriae, their bodies naked together.

Don't think about it, she told herself. You promised Kyrie that you still love him.

Gloriae slipped again, and made a joke to Kyrie, who laughed. Agnus Dei bit her lip. Yes, she might still love the pup. But could she ever love Gloriae now?

Mother came to walk by Agnus Dei. She placed a hand on her shoulder, and when Agnus Dei looked at her, Mother smiled sadly.

"I think if you stare at her any harder, she'll burst into flames," Mother said.

Agnus Dei lowered her head. Kyrie and Gloriae were talking now, too busy with each other to notice the others.

"I know, Mother," Agnus Dei said, still watching the pair. "But I don't trust her. Even now."

Mother placed an arm around her. "She saved your life. When the nightshades grabbed you, it was Gloriae who saved you."

Agnus Dei sighed. The swamp water was deeper now, going up to their waists. "I know. It's just that...."

Mother nodded. "Gloriae and Kyrie."

Agnus Dei looked up at her mother, and saw warmth in the woman's eyes and smile. "Oh, Mother. He's just a pup, I know it, but... he was my pup."

Mother laughed. "I know, sweetness. He still is. The boy is madly in love with you."

"Are you sure he's not in love with Gloriae? Or she with him?"

Mother squeezed Agnus Dei's shoulder and kissed her cheek. "I'm sure. A mother knows these things. Agnus Dei, I don't know what happened between you three, but... try to forgive your sister. Please. We all must forgive one another now. We are all that's left of our race. If we can't live together, we won't survive."

Agnus Dei hugged her mother. "Okay. I'll try. It's hard, but I'll try."

Now that she wasn't staring at Kyrie and Gloriae, she looked closer at Gilnor's swamps. Where were these Loomers? She saw nothing but logs, lichen, trees, water, and more than anything—mud. Herons and frogs seemed to live everywhere. Mice scurried between the trees. Agnus Dei began collecting the frogs, lifting them from logs and lilies, and placing them in her pouch.

"Frog legs for dinner," she mumbled as she lifted a particularly fat one.

Movement ahead caught her eyes, and Agnus Dei stared, hoping to catch a heron for dinner too.

She gasped.

It was not a heron that moved ahead, but a huge eye protruding from the mud. The eye was the size of a mug, topped with scaly skin.

"Uh, guys?" Agnus Dei said. "There's an—"

The creature burst from the mud, roaring.

Agnus Dei shifted at once. She growled at the swamp beast. It looked like an alligator, but was the size of a dragon, fifty feet long and thin. It rushed at her, its teeth like swords.

Agnus Dei spun and lashed her tail. She hit the creature, knocking it into a tree.

The other Vir Requis shifted too. The five dragons surrounded the swamp creature, who howled and snapped its teeth. It lunged at Gloriae.

Gloriae, now a golden dragon, snarled and swiped her claws. Her claws dug into the creature, spilling blood. It screeched and bit Gloriae's shoulder, and she cried in pain.

Father snarled and leaped onto the creature's back. He bit its neck and spat out a chunk of flesh. The creature crashed into the mud, kicked its legs, then lay still.

"Are you all right?" Father asked Gloriae, blood in his mouth.

She nodded and clutched her shoulder. "It only nicked me."

They stood panting for a moment, staring at the dead creature.

"It's some kind of alligator," Agnus Dei said. "But I've never seen one so large."

Gloriae nodded.