“And neither were the fledglings he stole,” Andreus continued. “Although he tried very hard to break them to his will.”
Tauran thought suddenly of the recruits. Of their struggles to control their fledglings, of Tirys’ failed death drop, of the wing straps Falka forced them to wear to keep them under control. Roric told him they’d found the eggs abandoned and had hatched them in the tower. But if what Andreus said was true…
“Some of us protested. Elysse and I tried to get through to him. When we failed, we went to the Ground Guard General. A week later, the general was found murdered in his home, and another had taken his place. Someone Falka could more easily control. He got more cautious after that. Better at hiding his schemes. He gathered people around him who shared his aspirations. Flight analysts, weather specialists, dragon physicians.”
“I never knew about this,” Tauran said, his voice was rough and he cleared his throat. “You never came to me.”
“It was impossible to know who we could trust, and you… You were his star rider. He was betting everything on you,” Andreus said. “We had to be cautious. One misstep and I would land all my friends in jail for treason. It was my call not to involve you. Seeing how close you were with Falka, how well the two of you got along, I didn’t want to risk it.”
“But Falka never told me anything, either!” Tauran insisted. “If I had known, I wouldn’t have stood for dragon abuse!” Voice raised, he leaned forward. Kalai’s hand on his shoulder calmed the rising anger inside him and he forced himself to lean back.
“And that’s exactly why he kept you in the dark. Because he knew your heart was in a better place than his own. You were valuable to him, Tauran. You followed his command without asking questions. Falka reads people, learns to say whatever they need to hear to keep them on his side. And if he can’t convince them, he’ll control them by force.” He glanced in Kalai’s direction.
Tauran’s face heated. His entire being rebelled at the idea of being so easily manipulated, swayed to do a tyrant’s bidding, eating lies off the palm of Falka’s hand. He’d always thought himself stronger than that, smarter than that. But he wasn’t smart at all, was he? Even Kalai had seen the truth before Tauran had and he wasn’t even in the guard.
Andreus placed his glass on the table. “The day of the battle, we were planning our escape. Falka was using our dragons against us. Locking them in the tower. There were so many of his faithful, and so few of us. Myself, Elysse, Theos, Horan and Emilian. Mister Aihiri, the archivist, and Albinus, the saddle maker, were on our side, too, but there was little they could do. We were planning to all flee once the nest doors opened for scheduled patrols, but Falka caught wind of our plans. He was convinced we were setting up a mutiny, trying to overtake the guard.” He sighed deeply.
Tauran watched him closely, unable to take his eyes off Andreus’ mangled face.
“It all went south. Fast. A few of the others got out. I made to follow, but Falka and Excellor were in the air, too. Before I knew it, he was on me. Excellor was so massive, even back then. I tried to break away. Elysse spotted us and came to my aid, but… you were faster.” His gaze flicked to Tauran, then back at the glass on the table. The tension in the air was palpable. Or maybe Tauran was the only one who felt it.
Andreus continued. “You were on top and we were falling. I tried to free myself, but Itana held on too tight. In a last ditch effort to save our lives, Sylvexes locked around her throat.” He went quiet.
Tauran only noticed how tight he was gripping the edge of the table when his joints began to hurt. He released his cramped grip. “You didn’t want to fight,” Tauran whispered, echoing Andreus’ earlier words. “You wanted to escape.”
“I’m sorry about Itana. I truly am.” Andreus’ voice was full of sadness. “I never wanted anyone to get hurt. That was what we were trying so hard to avoid. Why we waited so long for the right moment. And still, we failed. I will always carry that guilt with me.”
Tauran couldn’t look at him. He stared at the uneven