said. “Leyra can control them, but that volcano is releasing toxins into the air as we speak. In a few hours, it’ll be everywhere. It won’t kill a person, but it can kill a dragon.”
“So we need somewhere airtight.” Catria stopped in front of them, her stance wide, arms crossed pensively. Her gaze was hard and filled Tauran with gratitude. Catria had a gentle heart, but she was stronger than most. “For how long?”
“A few days,” Kalai said. “Two or three, preferably. The toxins are in the top layer of the volcano. The first to spread. Once it settles, the air should be safer to breathe, even if it takes longer for the ashes to stop falling.”
Catria turned her gaze to Tauran. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Tauran sighed deeply. Skies, his head hurt. His ribs, too. “How are we going to pull that off?”
“Are you talking about the Sunrise Tower?” Kalai asked.
Catria nodded. “The cellar, specifically.”
“The cellar?”
Tauran sank onto his good knee, then shifted to sit on the dusty mosaic tiles with a grunt. He felt like he’d aged forty years in the span of a week. “It was built as a safe room to house the entire guard and its dragons in times of emergency. The outside cellar doors can be opened wide enough to fit even Leyra inside. It expands underground, a good distance beyond the tower itself, plenty of space to fit every dragon here. And then we’d only have to worry about sealing one door.”
Kalai frowned, crouching beside him, extended arms rested on his knees. He looked troubled, and it wasn’t hard to guess why. The Sunrise Tower was very much occupied. And even if they got the dragons inside, they’d be dead in the center of enemy territory. They might exchange all the dragons’ lives for their freedom. “Doesn’t this tower have a cellar like that?”
“It did,” Tauran said, darkly. “Itana crushed its ceiling when we fell.”
Catria’s gaze was heavy on Tauran. He looked up to meet her eyes. Something passed between them and Tauran knew what she was thinking. They had enough dragons on their side to mount an organized conquest of the Sunrise Tower. There would be losses, but they could take the tower by force.
Was that really what they wanted?
Was there even another choice?
“We have to do something,” Catria said, breaking the silence. “If we stay here, we’ll suffer, no matter what.”
“Did I do the right thing?” Kalai’s voice was quiet, and he sounded suddenly years younger. “Bringing them here?”
Tauran shifted toward him, despite the pain in his leg. “You did everything right,” Tauran assured him, placing a hand over Kalai’s.
Kalai smiled, but it was a fragile expression. He got up and wandered to the stairs, sitting on the top step.
Tauran exchanged a glance with Catria, who angled her head in Kalai’s direction. She offered Tauran a hand.
Letting Catria pull him to his feet, Tauran went to Kalai and sat beside him.
Kalai wrung his hands between his bent knees. His voice was a whisper. “I love you and I was so afraid I would have to watch you hang.”
Tauran swallowed, the sadness in Kalai’s voice stealing the words from him. Instead, he leaned his head against Kalai’s shoulder, sliding his hand between Kalai’s and lacing their fingers. “I let you down. I’m so sorry, Kalai.”
Kalai shook his head. “I should be pissed at you, but I’m not. I’m so glad you’re alive.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “A part of me just wants to run. Away from Falka and the guard and Valreus. I’m so scared.”
“Running can’t help us this time,” Tauran said gently. He gave Kalai’s hand a squeeze. “But I’m glad you’re here. You’ve watched over the dragons. Now I’ll watch over you.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about.” Kalai glanced at him sidelong.
Tauran raised his head and leaned his side against Kalai’s instead. “I may be a stupid idiot, but I do try not to make the same mistake twice.”
“You’re not a stupid idiot.” Finally, Kalai looked at him. His eyes were shiny with sadness, but his smile was full of warmth. He rested his forehead against Tauran’s. “Please be safe.”
“I swear.”
“For real this time?”
“For real.”
Kalai’s lips were velvet soft when they met Tauran’s.
* * *
The air stung Tauran’s eyes and burned his throat. Leyra suffered, too. All the dragons did. Coughing and pawing at their eyes, the ones with eggs sought frantically to shelter their precious treasures from a danger they didn’t understand.
Tauran tugged the knot of Leyra’s