was working. He raised his hand in front of his face, clenched and unclenched it. The trembling was new. Was it a side effect? Or maybe it was a good sign?
Breathing deep, Kalai sagged against the chair. He closed his eyes. Focused his breathing. One physician he’d seen in his youth had told him his condition was simply a result of him working himself up into hysterics, and that he could control them with breathing and relaxation. He’d spent endless weeks trying to stay as relaxed as he could, only to fall unconscious during one of his countless calming exercises, where after he’d abandoned the idea. It hadn’t made a difference. Nothing ever did.
But this time...
His whole life was different, now. And it wouldn’t hurt to take a chance.
CHAPTER 15
“Hey! Didn’t think I’d see you in here so soon.”
Tauran paused with his hands on the boxes of dragon first-aid kits and looked up. He smiled and gave Roric a mock salute. “Commander Landa.”
Normally, the tower storage rooms were void of people so early in the morning, which was why Tauran had bothered to drag himself out of bed at such a horrendous hour. But Roric had always been an early riser. One of the few things that set the two of them apart.
Roric winked at him. “Call me Roric, you idiot. What are you doing?” He came toward Tauran from the top of the stairs.
“Just getting some supplies.” Tauran patted the pile of towels next to him. “For when the egg hatches.” It was an easy lie. It wasn’t even entirely a lie. Some of the supplies were for the egg. Some, like the antiseptic and the bandages, were for Arrow.
“I’m sure Falka is pleased to see you so involved.” Roric leaned on the boxes beside Tauran and smirked. “So when are you joining us in the air?”
Tauran barked out a sharp laugh, swinging his bag off his shoulder. He stuffed the towels into the bottom. “Never. The only reason I was able to make my way to the third floor is because I’ve been avoiding the windows and pretending really hard that I’m still on the ground.” He chewed the inside of his cheek and glanced away. He hadn’t told Roric how terrified heights made him until now. He hadn’t even really meant to. But Roric had always been easy to talk to.
“You should give yourself some credit. You looked pretty comfortable on the plateau.” Roric elbowed him gently.
“Tell me about last night,” Tauran said, instead. He packed the rest of the supplies and tugged the strings tight. “All those wild dragons.”
“Yeah,” Roric said, dragging out the word. He ran a hand through his hair in a gesture that sent a pang of familiarity through Tauran. He’d had a habit of it since they were both recruits. He had told Tauran it gave him that wind-swept look that made all the young women fawn. “They come here all the way from Sharoani just to wreak havoc. Recently, they’ve been killing livestock in smaller Kykarosi towns, too. We started handing out notices to the public about the Wild Sky alarm. Go inside and stay away from doors and windows. That sort of thing. Seems like it was the right call. I heard one of the wild ones collapsed a roof last night. A child got hurt.”
“Shit,” Tauran murmured. Abandoning eggs. Attacking people. He’d never heard of anything like it. He swung the bag over his shoulder. “Have any of you spoken to the Sharoani dragon masters?”
Roric shook his head. “The Sharoani don’t want to talk to us about the dragons. As soon as we mention we’re Sky Guard, they lock themselves in their damn mountain. And we’ve been nothing but kind to them, even though their titan is now leading attacks on our city.”
“I saw it,” Tauran said, remembering the giant silhouette in the night sky.
“Oh, yeah.” Roric clicked his tongue, following Tauran as he headed for the stairs. “We call her the Executioner. Cheery name, right?”
“You don’t say.”
“As far as we know, she came from the north, settled in Sharoani about a year after you left Valreus, and she’s massive. She could lay waste to half the city if she wanted to.”
“But Falka and Excellor could stop her, right?”
Roric hummed. They reached the third floor where the recruits were only just waking. At the sight of Roric, they all stood to attention in various stages of undress before Roric waved them off. “Falka is worried about engaging the Executioner