Free Tears of War by A. D. Trosper

leg. “Trust me, my heart.”
    Maleena felt his internal struggle as he stared at her, his face a blank mask. Finally, he backed Blaine out of the way. He didn’t like it, but he did trust her. She walked forward again, her eyes locked with the black eyes of the big male in front. She’d seen the empty blackness of a Kojen’s eyes before. These were not empty. A mixture of distrust and curiosity filled these intelligent eyes.
    She stopped when she was only a few paces from him. He towered over her. She felt Mckale directly behind her. His fear had turned to terror, though she knew without looking that none of it would show on his face. Maleena gazed up at the broad face. The Kojen stared back as if he didn’t know what to make of her. They stood there, studying each other for several long moments, the morning still and quiet around them. Maleena broke the silence. “You are not like the Kojen I’ve encountered before.”
    A startled look flashed across his face followed by anger. Behind her, Mckale shifted slightly and Blaine pawed the ground. Maleena felt no fear of the anger that flashed through the non-Kojen’s eyes. It was anger born of pride, not rage.
    “We are not Kojen.” The deep, thick voice surprised her, as did the way he spat the word Kojen. She’d never heard a Kojen speak before and wondered how she knew this one could or would respond.
    “You look like them though.”
    A low growl ran through the gathering. The big male drew himself up taller and glared at her. “We are not filthy Kojen.” His voice was harsh this time.
    Maleena nodded. “Alright, not...Kojen. What are you then?”
    Surprise flickered in the deep black eyes. “We are Ke’han, and you are very brave human.”
    Mckale rode Blaine up beside her. Sitting atop of the massive stallion, he was tall enough to look the male in the eye. “What are Ke’han?
    “We are warriors. We are what the Kojen were before Galdivan the Traitor.”
    Maleena felt her own flush of surprise. “You know of Galdivan?”
    He looked down. “Of course. He is the one that tore my people apart and scattered us. He and his kind are the ones that captured our warriors, our women, our young, and twisted them with his magic until they became beasts.” He stared at her for a long moment. “You are not like Galdivan and his ilk. Our Shama told us you were not, but I did not believe her until now. Who are you? Why do dragons take to the skies once more?”
    “I am Maleena, and this is my bondmate, Mckale.”
    The black eyes flicked between her and Mckale. “There are bondmates again? You are Guardians. We have seen the Shadows in the dawn; we know the black dragons fly again. We saw dragons last night and again today, but they were too high to see what color. They are your dragons?”
    Maleena smiled. “Yes, would you like to meet them?”
    The big Ke’han inclined his head slightly. “I am Hakan, headman of this camp of Ke’han. I would like to meet your dragons.”
    “Nydara, would you and Tellnox please come down here?”
    Nydara didn’t need to answer; Maleena felt her shift direction and dive for the ground. The dragons landed in the canyon behind them. They furled their wings and walked forward until they stood right behind Maleena and Mckale. A collective gasp went up from the group of Ke’han. Both dragons lowered their long, wedge-shaped heads to look at the group. Like the Kojen, the Ke’han were huge compared to humans, but the dragons’ heads were bigger than the Ke’han.
    Nydara fixed Hakan with her large violet eyes. “This is not a Kojen. I have distant, ancestral memories of these beings.”
    Maleena looked up at Hakan. “This is my silver, Nydara. She says she has ancestral memories of your kind. The green is Tellnox. He is Mckale’s dragon.”
    Hakan put his fist over his heart. “I am Hakan. I am honored to meet you. I am also glad to see you. We were fearful after we saw black dragons flying again. It is good you are