maneuvered her wing back against her body and pulled the strap over the large limb.
Leyra growled softly, and Tauran gave her a sympathetic glance. “I know, girl,” he murmured, not pulling the straps as tight as he was meant to. “The sooner you get used to it, the sooner we can get these stupid things back off.”
Leyra huffed, as if stating her thoughts on that matter, flicking her tail against the floor when Tauran moved to her other side. Despite her clear displeasure, she stayed still and let him strap her in, and Tauran wasn’t sure if he should feel flattered or guilty that she trusted him that much.
A shrieking roar of a statera broke the morning calm.
Both Tauran and Leyra turned their heads to the window, and when Tauran got up to look, Leyra followed.
Valeron’s large shadow slid across the buildings below, but he didn’t ascend. Instead, he soared over the tallest buildings and chose a perch on the city wall near the ruined district, so far away that Roric sitting on his back was nothing but a tiny dot. There he stayed.
Tauran frowned.
Leyra nudged his shoulder, and Tauran wrapped a hand loosely over her nose. “Yeah, I don’t know either,” he murmured. “I’ll be right back.”
Tauran took the stairs down slowly, the toes of his left foot still partially numb. A weather specialist passed by the stairs on the seventh floor, and Tauran called out to make him pause. “Do you know what Commander Landa is doing in the ruined district?”
The weather specialist shrugged. “No, but I think the report assistants know. They’re waiting for him to return.”
“Thanks.” Tauran headed down another floor to the lower meeting chamber. A young woman strode by him with her arms full of fresh paper, and Tauran stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
“What’s Commander Landa’s mission?”
She looked him over as if to determine whether he was authorized to know. When she recognized the rider markings on his jacket, she said, “We’ve been getting reports about possible wild dragon activity in the ruins, sir. Commander Landa and Valeron are surveying from above. If they don’t spot anything, we’ll send a team of guards out to comb the area tomorrow.”
Arrow.
How many things could go wrong all at once before everything crumbled? Tauran’s blood ran cold. He kept his expression carefully neutral. “What kind of activity?”
“Roars, mostly. The people living near the ruins have reported hearing roars this past week.” She shrugged. “Don’t know how reliable they are, though. Considering they’re all probably high on various substances most of the time. But we have to check, right?”
“Right, thank you,” Tauran said, hoping she didn’t hear the breathlessness of his voice. But her mind seemed already elsewhere as she wandered off with her armful of papers.
Tauran headed straight for the stairs, taking them down as fast as he dared. He had to speak to Kalai.
What would happen if they found Arrow?
Arrow had already killed one guard. If cornered, Tauran didn’t doubt he might kill again. And if Arrow started killing people, Roric wouldn’t hesitate to attack. A swiftwing could outmaneuver a statera any day, but Arrow was effectively cornered in the tower room. If they let Valeron in through the balcony doors and shut them behind him, Valeron would tear Arrow to pieces.
The peaceful outcome wasn’t much better. If they could, they would catch him, tie him up and bring him back to the guard grounds. With how desperate Falka seemed to get the new recruits ready for the air, Tauran had no doubt they would attempt to tame Arrow. And Tauran was almost certain they’d fail. Tauran had entertained the thought of telling the truth about Arrow, once. Now, he was glad he hadn’t.
Tauran half-ran as fast as his bad leg would allow him, across the grounds to the gates. He didn’t wait for the guards to let him through, but yanked the heavy gate open himself, earning him a protest from the guard on duty. Tauran didn’t look back, but stepped straight into the street in front of a passing coach, making the driver yelp. Tauran gripped the horse’s tack and demanded a ride to Lilypetal Street.
CHAPTER 28
The guards inside the archive were a problem, but a solution came to Tauran in the shape of a handful of matches and a bucket of hay.
He stopped the coach near a renting stable two blocks from Lilypetal Street and bought a bucket of hay off the confused stable hand. The matches he got from