head-on. Even if he won, there’s no way he’d come out of a fight like that unscathed, and Excellor is the only titan we have. As far as we’re even aware, Excellor, Executioner and that egg in the archive are the only titans on this side of the vast ocean. We can’t afford to risk it.” He shook his head. “I’ve heard some of the flight assistants whisper that the dragon masters are sending the dragons here to attack on purpose.”
Tauran frowned. “I don’t think that’s true. Kal... The archivist told me the Sharoani are a peaceful people. That they barely control the dragons, themselves.”
Roric shrugged. “I don’t think it’s true, either. But once a rumor starts, it can be hard to kill.”
“So long as it doesn’t lead to a conflict,” Tauran said. “First Irades, then the dragons, then Sharoani.” He huffed. The Sky Guard was weaker than it had ever been, and yet, stretched thinner than ever.
Roric paused at the bottom of the stairs, gripping Tauran’s shoulder. He lowered his voice. “After the fall... When the dragons were laid to rest...”
Tauran’s stomach flipped, and he took a measured breath, keeping his expression carefully blank. “Roric...”
“Easy, big guy.” Roric gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Do you want to know what happened?”
Tauran looked away, trying to brace himself. Despite their years of friendship, not even Roric’s touch could match Kalai’s grounding hold on him. “What?”
“They didn’t have to cut her up to move her.” Roric said softly. “I know that’s what you feared. Why you didn’t want to talk about it. It was a struggle, but Falka and Excellor managed to carry her all the way to the mountains. We spent two weeks building a stone tomb for her and the others. It was beautiful.”
Tauran swallowed. Unshed tears stung his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. “Thank you.” When he looked back at Roric, he forced a smile. A bit of the weight lifted from his heart and he patted Roric on the arm.
“Are you heading back to the archive with that?” Roric asked, angling his head at the bag.
Tauran nodded.
“Would you like some company?”
“Sure,” Tauran said. “Why not?”
Instead of heading for Watercress Avenue, Roric led Tauran on a detour that brought them into Lavender Square. When Tauran saw the amount of people gathered in the open space, he hesitated, but Roric encouraged him with a hand on his back.
“What’s all this?” Tauran slowed down to more easily mask his limp.
“Just a little mingling.”
Lines of ground guards sectioned off the crowd from a cleared space near the city council building. Roric nudged his way past their lines and pulled Tauran with him.
A deep, bellowing roar rolled through the air, near physical in its intensity, and the crowd gasped, all eyes turning to the sky.
“Is that...” Tauran started, but the cheers from the crowd drowned out his words when a massive form in the sky cast the city center in shadow.
The barrier of guards was nowhere near far enough back to keep the onlookers from getting struck by the rush of wind from Excellor’s over two-hundred foot wingspan. A few hats and hairpieces near the front row took flight, their owners frantically grasping for them.
Tauran felt the impact of the titan’s landing through the soles of his boots. Something in him stirred. Titans were the mightiest predators the world had ever seen, surpassed by no creature, with a twenty foot shoulder height and rows of teeth as long as a forearm, built to grind bones to dust.
Excellor’s black scales shone like gems in the sunlight, the rows of spikes running down the length of his neck clicking as he shook his massive head. He leaned forward, touching one shoulder to the ground to let the rider on his back climb from the saddle and slide down the strap keeping it attached.
Falka raised both arms to the crowd, and cheers erupted again.
“Excellor’s grown,” Tauran said, trying hard not to think about how much he looked like her.
Roric smiled. “Sure has.”
The line of guards gestured a few people forward, letting them through the human barrier. Men and women, young and old, approached Excellor without hesitation.
“What’s this about?” Tauran asked, leaning close to Roric to be heard over the crowd’s excited chatter.
“Falka brings Excellor to meet the people of Valreus to keep them from getting fearful of dragons. The Wild Sky alerts have been spreading a new anxiety through the city. We want them to feel protected by us.”
Tauran watched as a man