improvised neck strap tight. He’d found discarded strips of leather in the tower, dusted them off and tied them together. He didn’t have a saddle. Didn’t need one. But the strap would make navigating in the air easier.
Kalai brought Tauran up to date with everything that had gone down since he left Sharoani. Tauran was glad he’d brought Jinhai along and instructed the boy to stay in the Solar Tower with the nesting dragons. Once they had a way inside the Sunrise Tower, they’d fire an emergency flare, letting Jinhai know to bring the rest of the dragons to the Sunrise Tower.
“I will head to the guard grounds,” Emilian said. “I’m no use to you here, and Falka still has Sorcha. I might be able to free her and sway some of the Ground Guard to stand down when you approach.”
Tauran wrapped an arm around Leyra’s warm nose when she pressed it against his side. “Do you think that’ll work?”
Emilian threw out his hands. “It might. I looked in the eyes of the guards present for the second execution. I think some of them are starting to see Falka’s true nature. No doubt, Falka’s willingness to execute a child helped sway them. And not everyone is heartless enough to let half a hundred dragons die a slow death, even if they’re afraid. Besides, some of these men served under me for years. I know a few of them still have some sense of familiar loyalty.”
Tauran nodded slowly. As dangerous as it was to hope, Emilian’s words brought some relief.
“You won’t find any horses or carriages,” Catria said. She came toward them from the balcony. “The streets are dead. People are either evacuated or staying indoors.”
“You can take Arrow,” Kalai said. “He can get you close to Lavender Square and back to me in minutes.” He had perked up a little, although he still looked too pale and too tired for Tauran’s liking. Once this was all over, he wanted nothing more than to fall into bed with Kalai and sleep for a week.
“I…” Emilian paled a little, eyes darting to Catria. She took his hand.
Arrow approached at the sound of his name, rubbing his head against Kalai’s shoulder. Kalai patted between his eyes. “He’ll be good with you. And he’s trained to keep low to the ground.”
Emilian nodded. “I can do that. Thank you, Kalai.”
Kalai smiled, urging Arrow to keep still as Catria helped Emilian into the saddle. He declined Kalai’s riding harness, despite his clear unease. It’d just take extra time.
Tauran helped Kalai pull one of the balcony doors open, then hung back as Catria walked Arrow and Emilian to the balcony. They exchanged a few words, holding onto each other’s hands for another moment. Then Arrow spread his wings and dropped off the balcony, out of sight.
Leyra looked after them, cooing with a tilt of her head.
Tauran stroked her broad front leg. “Don’t worry, girl. He’ll be right back.” To Catria, he said, “You might be able to fly one of the wild ones. If you don’t want to get in the thick of it, you can hang back. Keep the dragons in the air safe until we—”
“Fuck that,” Catria said, crossing her arms. She looked as tired as Kalai, but the fire in her eyes was bright as ever. “I’ll be at the front. But…” She glanced over her shoulder at the wild dragons moving restlessly about, snapping anxiously at each other. “Sure I won’t end up with one less arm? Or maybe a head? These dragons aren’t used to riders.”
“They are, actually,” Kalai said. “The Sharoani dragon masters ride them without saddles. Jinhai’s Obu is wild.” He angled his head to where Jinhai was trying and failing to calm a nervous dragon mother by wrapping her egg inside his shirt. “You’ve only ever seen these dragons with their teeth bared. But they like people when they’re not threatened by them.”
Catria took a deep breath. “Okay. I guess I trust you.”
Tauran looked around, his gaze falling on a reddish-brown male swiftwing, one of only a few, and the only dragon in the tower that didn’t seem frantic with nerves. “Come on,” he said, offering Catria his hand. “Let’s go say hi.”
CHAPTER 48
The sky was red and full of ash.
Sitting astride Leyra, Tauran looked over his shoulder at the broken Solar Tower. It was halfway obscured, like on misty mornings, the red turning the sight ominous.
Arrow shifted on the edge of the council building roof beside them. Some