house to aid her ascent, following Arrow into the night sky.
A deathly silence followed the rumble.
“Let’s get away from the buildings.” Tauran took Kalai’s hand and led him around the shed and into the street. “Does Sharoani get earthquakes often?”
“No,” Kalai said. “I felt my first earthquake in Valreus.”
An even louder, thunderous roar broke the silence, but this time, everything was still. Tauran spun, trying to locate the source of the sound when Kalai’s hand on his shoulder made him stop.
“Tauran, look.” Kalai pointed. “The mountain.”
Tauran turned, and the sight that met him made his heart sink. Smoke enveloped the peak of the mountain, large chunks of rock tumbling from the top and crashing into the street below.
“Is that where the temples are?” Tauran asked.
“I… I think so.”
“We have to do something!”
“It’s not safe!” Kalai’s grip tightened on Tauran’s shoulder. “Not while the rocks are still falling.”
“If something happened to Jinhai…” Tauran ran a hand over his face, sick from the thought.
The shriek of a dragon made them both look up, a silhouette of wings descending out of the darkness.
CHAPTER 41
The second silhouette appeared already before the first dragon landed. Another followed, and another. They crowded the streets and buildings around them, people sliding off their backs before the dragons took off, back to the mountain to ferry more people to safety. The streets flooded, not just with the dragon masters and their students, but with people coming out of their homes to see what was happening and to help the injured.
“Help me find Jinhai.” Kalai’s voice dragged Tauran’s attention from the wild dragons to the people around them.
“Look for Obu.” Tauran spun, trying to spot the ashen statera in the chaos. Dragons crowded the air, their roars and rumbles mixing with the sound of voices.
“Jinhai!” Tauran called. Focusing on the back of Kalai’s head in the crowd, he hurried after him.
Kalai stopped beside a young woman, pressing a hand to a bleeding cut near her brow. “Here,” Kalai said in Sharoani. He pulled down the sleeve of his shirt, then tore the fabric, handing it to her to press against her wound. “What happened?”
The woman spoke too fast for Tauran to grasp all the words, but he didn’t have to be a language expert to understand that the earthquake had collapsed a section of the temples.
“Has she seen Jinhai?” Tauran asked, but before he could get an answer, a hand on his shoulder made him turn.
“Tauran-Ahala!” Jinhai stood before him, face and shoulders covered in a layer of dust.
Tauran searched him for blood, but spotted none. “Are you all right?” He touched Jinhai’s arm, and Jinhai stepped close, pulling Tauran into a hug. He was so small compared to Tauran, the top of his head barely reaching Tauran’s mid-chest. A soft coo made Tauran look up. Obu stood behind Jinhai, the dragon as dusty as his human companion.
“I’m okay,” Jinhai said, letting Kalai brush the dust from his face with his remaining intact sleeve. “Most people was on the top. For the funeral. The big top room fell. But no one inside. It was very lucky.”
“No casualties?” Tauran asked. When Jinhai frowned at the word, he said, “Did anyone die?”
Jinhai shook his head. “I don’t think it. I saw some hurts. But not so bad.”
“I’m glad you’re safe,” Tauran said, rubbing Jinhai’s shoulder. His gaze traveled past Jinhai to a group of people gathering at the base of the mountain, climbing over fallen rocks to get a closer look.
“Kalai.” Tauran turned him by the shoulder. “We need to get people away from there. And someone needs to fly back up and check that no one’s left behind.”
Kalai nodded. “I’ll get them to move.”
“I can fly up,” Jinhai suggested. His eyes burned with excitement.
“Are you sure you can handle it?”
Jinhai nodded firmly. “I can handle it, Tauran-Ahala.”
“All right. But stay safe.”
Tauran watched him take off, then headed for the nearest group of people. Despite his limited grasp of the language, he managed to convince them to gather the injured, making sure nobody in need of help could wander off alone until medics arrived. An older man in a house across the street opened his doors to them and Tauran guided them all inside, then returned to the street. Obu materialized out of the darkness like a shadow, landing beside Tauran with a quiet coo.
“Nobody is up,” Jinhai said, dropping from Obu’s back.