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52
Netra had yet to stir. Whatever they had done to her, she wouldn’t awaken anytime soon, which was just as well because her furious screeching would have only made things more perilous. And in this cramped run-down stable she had followed the men into, there was no room for sudden movements and ill-advised sounds. Her eyes darted between them both, watching their hands and feet as she kept her hands close to her sword hilts.
“You’re not going to cut us down before I crush this one’s neck,” the man holding Netra assured her. “Wyrms and dragons are the same when it comes to this. She’s small enough it makes no difference. One good wring, and…”
She knew it. He didn’t have to remind her. Her eyes rested on the limp dragon’s form that trailed from the man’s grasp, and she had to swallow back a hissing command for him to hold her up properly so as to not strangle her. With his hand gripping around the base of her skull like that, she feared
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Called by the Dragon 53
Five minutes in and they had made no progress beyond introductions. This was going nowhere. “The Emperor’s weakness.” “I don’t know. Pass.” “The secret to taming a dragon.” “Obviously, I don’t know. Pass.” “The names and abilities of every dragon rider?” “I already told you I’ve only been at this for a month,” Anzi snapped. “I haven’t met but one actual rider, and as for the Emperor, other than finding out he’s not one to trifle with, I don’t know anything substantial about him.” “This is useless.” The bearded man paced back forth across the stable. “I’ve asked you a hundred questions you have no answers to!” “Ask the right questions, then!” she fired back. “You’re looking for a magic potion to fix all your problems. It’s not going to happen. I can’t fight back yet, probably not against Bisset and certainly not against the
Called by the Dragon 54
The coastal cities had always been more diverse than landlocked ones, but Anzi’s knowledge of the various cultures within the continent was stunted by the degree of their relevance: if it didn’t help Imperial soldiers fight and defeat their enemies any better, they never learned it. All she was certain of was that in seaside Lumenera, humans still reigned at the top of the hierarchy while inhumans took up their positions at the foot. At least in the Imperial City, outright discrimination and abuse of the mixed-blooded was outlawed. Here, they had no such protection. So why was this girl so fiercely loyal to the men who cared so little about her? Anzi stared down at the urchin from earlier, unimpressed by the ferocious scowl on her pointed face. She was skinny and small, swimming in the gray and brown rags she wore, and her badly cut dark hair was cropped so close to her head it couldn’t even curl. Dirt smudges and bruises all over, to
Called by the Dragon 55
Anzi wasn’t used to giving orders, but that didn’t mean she lacked the ability. She was firm, cold, and gave away no uncertainty. And while she had lost all respect for the colonel upon learning the truth, she mimicked his countenance and sophistication now because if there was anyone who could exercise authority with immaculate precision, it was the colonel. She would leave no room for Isvan and his men to doubt her, not when she was the one shouldering the heavier end of the yoke. She didn’t like Isvan. She didn’t like any of them. They were the exact opposite of what she needed, made passionate by their bitterness and acting on the suppressed, violent wrath of a generation trod on by outsider overlords. What she needed was determination and cold composure, patience and frigid logic. How could she work with men like these? She had no choice. This was all she had. And the farther out from the Imperial City and the cradle of the Empir
Called by the Dragon 56 -
The central plaza. It was a pretty sight, or must have been before it became the chipped and shattered ruin it was now. White stone blocks made up the bottom, rimmed with opalescent stones that went around it in a wide circle. In the middle of it all was a broken fountain, flowing with water but half of its upper stone tier sheared off. And that was it. Nothing else. Besides the gentle burbling from there, Anzi heard nothing else, not a whisper nor a breath. Of the hundreds gathered around the plaza and hundreds more trudging forward to join the crowd from behind, not a single person made their voice heard. It was so eerie a shiver trickled down her back. Never had she encountered such a silent crowd. There was only the distant sound of stray dogs barking, a rustling of the wind against cloth awnings set over market stalls, the rush of the waves against the sands along the far pier… “Your governor is being retired today,” Bisset annou
Called by the Dragon 57
She didn’t see Rania again nor Isvan. There was no opportunity to sneak even a single final instruction their way before Bisset dragged her slumped body by her hair, although she did her best to try to spot them among the screaming people of the fast-scattering crowd. All chaos, all fury, all terror—it was so overwhelming even Netra’s first-ever display of dragon magic went largely missed: she let out a terrible, ear-piercing screech that rent the air and ejected a stream of white fog straight at Bisset’s back. White crystals solidified and formed over his shoulders and the back of his arm, coating the upper right half of his body and locking his neck so the couldn’t move his head. But the only thing he had done was grunt, tense, and wrench free of the ice, sending broken, sparkling shards down to the ground where they evaporated into misty plumes. And that was that. Netra tried again several more times, but he hardly seemed to notice. When she gave up
Called by the Dragon 58
“You did great this morning,” she murmured to Netra. “I’m proud of you for not flying off the handle.” The dragonet let out a sound like a cross between a purr and a snarl before lowering her serpentine neck and sunning herself on the broad rock by the water. “I see you’re still not talking to me. Considering that I know for a fact now that you can talk, that’s hurtful.” Anzi ripped up several grass blades and tossed them in the reptile’s direction. “You talked to that piscin girl instead. So either I’m just a chump, or she’s extra special. Either way, it means you don’t like me very much, huh?” She should have known better than to try to play the pity card with Netra. Not only was she terrible at it in the first place, the dragonet had no pity to spare. She only opened one scaly lid to give Anzi a contemptuous glance then rolled away again. “Fine. But…I mean it. You and I are going to have to fig
Called by the Dragon 59
Anzi! She pushed out all of Kai’s emotions. She couldn’t handle them. Too intense, too heavy, too much. The way his mind tried to swamp hers the instant she stepped into his mind—she wasn’t going to deal with it. Anzi, what’s happened to you? Why are you- “Hurt? Because that’s part of my job. If you keep asking me why I’m hurt every time you see me, I’m going to start wondering if you know what a soldier actually does.” Don’t do this now, he snapped, startling her. He sounded terrible. She didn’t know how an inner voice could sound as fatigued as a physical one—but no, it wasn’t mere fatigue. It was rough and hollow like a boulder chiseled out from the inside, full of crags and brittle spikes. I’m coming to you. And you won’t stop me this time. I’m coming for you. “Careful, sounds like a threat,” she said, light and sardonic. Could she calm hi
Called by the Dragon 60
The entire way back up to her room, all Anzi could think about was what Kai would do if he appeared this very second. She didn’t know why. She was still jarred by what he had done to her last night, and her skin crawled at the memory of being trapped under the strength of his presence. She didn’t know if she would have died if he’d held on any longer, but it had certainly felt that way. Even now, her heartbeat quickened, and her pulse throbbed in her neck with remembered fear. Maybe he hadn’t meant to, but the damage was done. She couldn’t even fall asleep again lest she accidentally transport herself to him and end up imprisoned once more. So why was she still thinking about him now? If she could drive a hammer into her skull to knock out her wandering thoughts, she would. She’d promised herself she would stay away from him no matter what, regardless of the suspicion she had that he hadn’t been in his right mind when it had happened. If anythi
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