Free Requiem's Hope (Dawn of Dragons) by Daniel Arenson Page B

winter day.
    Standing at her side, Jeid cleared his throat and spoke for the first
time since entering the cavern. "Will you fight with us, Oritan?
Will you send your beasts to battle alongside ours?"
    Oritan turned his eyes toward the grizzled king, and now those eyes
hardened, losing what warmth they had given Laira. "Why should
Leatherwing fight the wars of others? These demons do not hunt us."
He gestured at the severed tentacle. "Laira's father leads them,
she said. This is a war between father and daughter, between demons
and rocs. It does not concern my tribe." He sighed and shook his
head. "Perhaps you are both honorable leaders and strong. But I
will not help you. Leatherwing Tribe is safe within our mountain;
what dangers lurk outside are not our concern. Leave this place. That
is my decision."
    Jeid grumbled and clenched his fists. "So you will hide here in
your mountain, chieftain, as the world burns? Where is your pride, a
warrior's honor?"
    The chieftain snorted. "Goad me and you'll see, weredragon. I
would gladly slay you."
    Jeid growled and raised his fists, and Oritan reached for a spear.
Laira stepped between the two before they could come to blows. She
pushed Jeid back and stared up at Oritan, her chin raised.
    "You will fight because you want my rocs," she said. "You
remember my eyes, and I remember your words. You all but begged Zerra
to wed your daughter, a pretty thing with long black locks. You spoke
of a noble marriage, a merging of two tribes. No doubt you planned to
slay Zerra—perhaps a knife in the back, perhaps poison in the
cup—and become ruler of both pteros and rocs, a single chieftain
with a great horde. Zerra saw through your trickery." She took a
step closer to the throne and placed her hand on Oritan's knee. "I
offer you a better deal. You will have your marriage, and you will
become chieftain of two tribes." She took a deep breath,
steeling herself. "I will marry you."
    Jeid gave a strangled sound halfway between choking and snarling.
Laira placed a hand against his chest, holding him back, and did not
remove her eyes from the chieftain upon his throne.
    Oritan stared back at her, his eyes hard, betraying nothing. But she
knew what he was thinking. She could see it in the tension of his
body, the twitch of his lips.
    He pities me but he craves me. And he craves my rocs even more.
    "Laira, this isn't the way," Jeid began. "I—"
    She hushed him with a finger to his lips, then turned back toward
Oritan. "Speak, chieftain! If I join my tribe to yours, will you
fight with us against the demon host?"
    Slowly, Oritan leaned back in his seat. He spoke in a low voice. "In
Leatherwing Tribe, a chieftain must only marry the greatest female
warriors. After my first wife died in battle, I sought others to wed,
but they all failed the test." He stared at her, eyes narrowed
and blazing. "If you pass the test, Laira of Goldtusk, we will
wed. And we will fight together."
    Cold sweat trickled down Laira's back, and she gulped down a lump. "A
test?"
    The chieftain rose to his feet. He stepped to the edge of the pillar,
stared down into the cavern, and shouted. His voice echoed through
the chasm.
    "A bride will be tested!" He raised his fist. "Open
the pit! Release the Beast of Bride's Blood."
    Tribesmen cheered below, and the chamber swam around Laira. She
glanced at Jeid, winced, and clutched the hilt of her sword.

 
 
TANIN

    Two
dragons flew over the sea, landed on the dark beach under the stars,
and beheld the ruined city of Eteer.
    His claws in the sand, Tanin turned to look at Issari. She stood
before him, her alabaster scales gleaming in the moonlight, and
firelight glowed between her teeth. The white dragon's eyes shone
damply as they gazed upon the walls of her city. They had landed a
mark away, too far for any guards on the walls to see them.
    "Home," Issari whispered and lowered her head. "A
place of ruin, of darkness, of evil."
    Tanin folded his wings around him. Smoke wafted from his