Firedrake - By Bianca D'Arc Page 0,54

her.

“The gryphons didn’t bother to hide their sign.” Mace had calmed considerably and was now stalking around the area, looking for clues.

Jenet straightened, and Drake joined the knight, nodding as he went. “And they’re well within Draconia’s borders. They knew someone would come after them on dragonback. It’s like they wanted us to know who and what they were…and follow behind.”

“Do you think it’s some kind of trap?” Krysta asked astutely, coming up beside the men.

“Even if it is, we have no choice but to follow,” Mace said, turning to her. “Securing Prince William’s return is paramount. We can’t turn back just because we fear a trap. But we go in with our eyes wide open and plan as best we can to avoid whatever the enemy may have in store.”

“The other possibility is that they want us to find them so they can make their demands. They may still want to negotiate for Prince Wil’s return.” Drake sifted some of the sandy soil through his hands as he studied the tracks and thought.

“Then why make us run the length of the land to find them?” Krysta wanted to know.

Drake looked up at her. “To bargain from their place of strength. They may have some sort of stronghold they believe sufficient to contain a royal black dragon. You must admit, there are few places that could hold him if he didn’t want to be held. Mace and I both ran with Nico and Roland when they were about Wil’s age and they already had the strength of ten men and magic to go along with it.”

Mace nodded. “The gryphons are probably part of the reason we had to come south. They would have been seen and remarked upon had they ventured farther into Draconia than this. As it is, they probably flew at night to avoid detection. This is about as far inland as they could get in one night’s work.”

“But where did they come from?”

“Gryphon Isle.” The dragons spoke in unison as the men turned to regard them with surprise.

Jenet stepped forward. “It’s a place of legend that the elders speak of only rarely, but we’ve heard the stories. It is part of every dragon’s training to learn the history of what came before. Gryphon Isle is the place where Gryffid, one of the last of the wizards, fled when the end came for their race. It was he who created and nurtured the gryphons in the days before, and he retreated with his children to his island when the end drew near for wizard kind.”

“Where, exactly, is this island supposed to be? And why have we never heard of it? Or this wizard Gryffid?” Drake stepped forward, curious. Apparently there were things dragons were taught that humans no longer knew—if they ever had.

Nellin moved next to Jenet protectively as Drake confronted them both. “It is not for humans to remember the distant past, but we dragons must keep the memories alive against the coming days. That’s what we’ve been taught. It is our role.”

“And why is this the first I’ve ever heard of it?” Mace moved to stand beside Drake. “I thought there were no secrets between us, Nellin.”

Nellin’s head shook. “Not a secret, exactly. Just something you didn’t need to know. Now you do.”

“There’s more, but it’s not our place to tell,” Jenet said with quiet respect.

Drake grew intrigued. He’d had no idea the dragons were keeping—if not secrets—then their own counsel on certain things. Drake’s eyebrow rose as he regarded the dragon he’d known all his life. He knew her…and trusted her. Yet it was strangely unsettling to find out there were things about her kind, unknown even to a knight.

He sighed deeply and made a quick decision, hoping he was right to trust his instincts—to trust her.

“Keep your secrets for now, sweetheart. I believe you would never withhold anything that could harm either Mace, Krysta or myself.”

Jenet sighed in smoky relief. “That means more than I can say, Drake. And it’s the truth. Dragonkind is mankind’s ally in this. If we have longer memories than you, do not fault us. It will be for your benefit in the long run.”

Curiouser and curiouser, Drake thought, but he’d leave it for now. They had little time to waste.

“We have to go.” He shot a look at Mace, and the knight nodded.

“But how do we track them across the sky? There’s no trail to follow anymore.” Krysta followed Mace to Nellin’s side and mounted.

“We don’t need a trail,”