made the temples and dragon masters sound, Tauran knew for a fact that he’d rather make a living shining shoes on the streets of Valreus than spend every day riding those death mechanisms.
“All right,” he said, taking a seat beside Kalai on the bottom step. “Then we wait.”
* * *
Tauran kept a curious eye on the few people moving near the edge of the town, shooting them brief glances, but none of them approached. Kalai’s weight grew heavier against his side by the minute, and Tauran was about to suggest they go find something to eat and try again after dinner when the rapid tap-tap of footsteps rose from behind.
Tauran tapped Kalai’s shoulder and twisted around when Kalai straightened up.
A Sharoani youth, maybe sixteen years of age, paused at the bend in the stairs above, eyes flicking between them in surprise. Blinking, he scratched the top of his head, his black hair cropped close to the skull. Then he seemed to realize standing still and gawking was rather rude. He straightened with a flinch and offered them a polite smile, saying something in Sharoani.
Kalai rose and turned to the boy, a little slower and stiffer than usual, before answering.
Tauran looked between them, using the handrail behind Kalai to pull himself up. “Can he help us?”
“I think so.”
The young man’s eyes, as dark as Kalai’s and sparkling with interest, darted to Tauran. “You are Kekaros?” He leaped down a few steps, not even looking where he placed his feet.
Tauran blinked. “Uh, yeah. I’m Kykarosi.”
The young man broke into a wide, dimpled grin and he extended his hand toward Tauran, chin raised. “My name is Jinhai. It is your pleasure to meet my acquaintance.”
Tauran smiled back, shaking the boy’s hand. His grip was surprisingly firm. “My pleasure, indeed.”
Jinhai parted his lips to speak, then frowned, and directed his words to Kalai instead.
“He says he’s been studying Kykarosi by himself for two years,” Kalai translated. “The dragon masters don’t think it’s worth his time, but Jinhai believes nurturing the alliance is important.”
Tauran huffed out a smile. “Smart kid. If nothing else, you’ll be able to tell the Sky Guard to go fuck themselves when they come to take your dragons.”
“Go fuck themselves,” Jinhai said seriously, clearly taking note of the words, which earned Tauran a hard glare from Kalai.
Tauran only smirked back.
“Oh, wait! Hold on.” Tauran cleared his throat, glancing briefly at Kalai before turning to Jinhai and saying, in the best Sharoani he could manage, “thank you for taking the time to talk to me.”
Kalai’s amused smile told Tauran he hadn’t been as accurate as he’d hoped, but his first official audience was thankfully easy to impress.
Jinhai broke into a grin, holding up both hands for high-fives. “Incredible!”
Tauran met Jinhai’s high fives and turned his smile on Kalai. “Hear that? I’m incredible.”
Kalai raised an eyebrow, then directed a few Sharoani words at Jinhai, which made both of them giggle, and Tauran got the sense he’d just been verbally dragged.
Tauran cleared his throat. “So. Uh… The dragon masters.”
* * *
They followed Jinhai into town while they talked. The boy had an entire list of things to get. As far as Tauran could understand, he’d been caught misbehaving, and had been tasked with getting the day’s supplies by himself, warranting seven trips up and down the mountain. Jinhai rolled his eyes when he said it, but he hardly seemed bothered by the extra chores. Despite only catching fractions of Jinhai’s and Kalai’s casual conversation when he asked Kalai to translate, Tauran was already starting to like the kid.
“He’ll speak to his mentor for us,” Kalai said, “Ask him to come down and talk. His mentor is one of the older masters. If we ask the right questions, he should be able to get us a meeting with the Eldest, herself.”
“Well, that’s great news,” Tauran said, accepting another full paper bag of fruits from Jinhai as the boy checked his supply list. “Do you think it’ll be this easy?”
Kalai shrugged. “It could be. It would be nice for something to be easy for once.”
They waited at the bottom of the stairs as Jinhai disappeared back into the mountain. Kalai had told him briefly about their trip from Valreus to Kel Visal, and since then, Jinhai had practically begged to share dinner with them and hear about their journey. As much as Tauran would prefer to hurry things along, if only so Kalai could get off his feet for a bit, he couldn’t find it in