their claws into.”
The word claws made his healing wounds twinge. “These marks…” He fingered the damage. “You’re telling me a dragon did this?”
“So it would appear.”
The facts matched. Giant flying lizard. How could he not make the connection before?
“Holy fuck.” He slumped forward since there was no wall or headrest to lean on. “The damned thing plucked me from the ground like I weighed nothing.”
“It’s how they hunt. What is surprising is the fact you escaped. That doesn’t happen too often.” Not that she seemed impressed. More curious. Her gaze perused him as if she couldn’t figure out how he’d managed it.
“I got lucky, I guess.” He rubbed his face, feeling the beginning of a beard, the rough whiskers poking from his jawline. Give him a few days and he’d have enough to stroke. “Let’s ignore the dragons for a second. They aren’t the only reason you’re stuck here. Diamond’s problem started with the ash, right?”
“That is correct. It and the poison in the air are the byproducts of the volcano that erupted and is still going more than twenty years later.”
“Why didn’t you evacuate when it happened? Surely your people could have fled.”
“At first, they didn’t believe it would last and thought the fallout would be contained. By the time they realized how dire the situation was, it was already too late.”
“Because of the dragons,” he surmised.
“Dragons and other things that crawled from the rift the volcano created. Then there was the poison in the air. It sickened the plants, the animals, the people.”
“Not everyone obviously.”
“Too many of us, though. To remain safe, we abandoned our homes and moved into the tunnels that crisscross a good number of the mountains.”
“Because the dragons can’t come after you in here.”
“Not the big ones. The little ones we can handle.”
The incredulity had him muttering. “Dragons are real, and they can fly. It seems impossible. I mean the size of them alone.” He remembered the shadow he’d seen with its massive wingspan.
“They weigh less than you’d imagine. While we’ve not managed to take out many of the large dragons, we have had success with the less sizeable ones. Their bones are quite light, extremely sturdy without being fully solid. They are comprised of an intricate matrix system that is quite durable and light. Everything about them has adapted to allow them the ability to fly.”
“And track down prey despite the lack of visibility. They are probably hunting via heat signature,” he mused aloud.
“Gorri says it might be motion or scent.”
“Who is Gorri?”
“One of the people, along with Milo and Lila, who helped carry you.”
Meaning there were at least three other survivors. “Your friend Gorri obviously hasn’t hunted outside much. To hunt via motion implies the dragons can see through the ash, which seems unlikely, and as for scent, given they emerge from above the air currents, we are more likely to smell them first.”
Her nose wrinkled. “You are right about scenting them. It’s very distinctive and not very pleasant.”
“Other than flying and being able to carry off people, what else do they do?”
Rather than immediately reply, she stared at him. “Aren’t you going to check on your wounds at all? Ask me what we plan to do with you?”
“I will. Eventually.” He offered a slow smile. “But seriously, dragons. Do you have any idea how radioactive that is?”
While not one for fanciful notions, there was a certain appeal in being the heroic knight that rescued a damsel from them. He cast a covert glance at Kayda with her long hair tied back from her face, the angles of it sharp, probably from lack of proper meals. Her brows light like her lashes. Her lips pale and her eyes the palest blue he’d ever seen. He noted the pointed tip of an ear peeking from her hair.
“Radioactive?” She mulled the word aloud. “In Diamond, we prefer the term icy.”
His lip tilted at a corner. “Learn something new every day. Wait until I tell my sister I saw a dragon. She will freak.”
The light in her expression died.
He didn’t need to read her mind to know why. She didn’t think he’d ever see Casey again. As if. He wasn’t about to die without goading her about something he’d done that she would envy. “Tell me more about the dragons.”
“What else do you want to know?”
“What do they eat? How do they fight? Weaknesses?” He wasn’t even sure she could answer, although she seemed pretty knowledgeable about their general structure. He found it odd that she’d