Dragon Born

Chapter 9

We set off early in the morning. The precious egg stayed in Rose’s care while we returned to the dragon’s corpse with my bag of supplies, which she had been keeping safe for me since Midnight came back without me. Finding the body wasn’t as big of a hassle as it had been yesterday, though the forest was quick to fill in the hole in the canopy Daemon had made. He dropped us off at the thinnest part of the canopy then circled the sky above us to keep an eye out for trouble.

Quinn stayed by my side, fire sword crackling in his palm, while Camden took the lead. My pack bounced on my back as I trudged through the thick foliage, eyes set on the corpse not too far from our landing spot. More of the contamination had spread since yesterday; it seemed to have a life of its own and move from one source to the next without hesitation, regardless of the size or origin of its host.

What an awful creation. The dragon scavengers probably didn’t know the strength of their own brew. It killed dragons--and that was all that mattered. Who cared what happened afterwards, if it killed ecosystems or wiped out an entire village?

However, I suppose the better question would be: how did dragon scavengers make a poison this powerful? Everyone knew they were a bunch of criminals, outcasted by society, who had banded together to survive the wilds. To create something so potent would take time, testing, and resources. A lab. I couldn’t see dragon scavengers whipping up a lab in the middle of a forest. It just wasn’t feasible.

I paused in front of the dragon corpse, studying her features. More pieces of her had gone missing since yesterday, but the predators had given the contamination a wide berth. They knew it was deadly.

The poor dragon must have known she was dying the moment the arrow had sunk into her flesh. In a last ditch effort to save her progendy, she had flown East, if the trajectory of her body was any indication. She had been flying to Histero in hopes the Dragon Princes could help her. But her wounds had been too great. She was forced to land here, lay her egg and protect it with her body until the bitter end.

My heart tore.

We found it, I wanted to tell her, to give her some form of peace. Your egg is safe with us now.

“What are you thinking?” Quinn asked softly. He stared at the dragon with me, but not at anything in particular. He was so close our arms were a hair’s width away from touching. His heat radiated from his body in powerful waves and kept the chill of the forest away. “You’ve been scowling since we landed.”

“I’m curious how dragon scavengers had the resources to make a poison like this.”

His features hardened, shoulders stiff. “Dragon scavengers are resourceful--they have to be in the wilds--but Rauner especially is smart. This is the closest we’ve come to finding him since he became the Noble Killer. He never leaves a trail.” His eyebrows bunched together. “This work here is sloppy, very unlike him.”

My breath caught in my throat. The Noble Killer. Rauner wasn’t a familiar name, but everyone in Histero knew about the Noble Killer. Given the name, you could guess he targeted mostly nobles. His band of scavengers tore apart their caravans as they travelled between towns, taking their valuable goods, and left no witnesses. He had been at large for years. No wonder the Dragon Princes were eager to make a cure. If this was the Noble Killer’s new direction, then the cure will be integral to combating his latest tactic.

My stomach clenched. There was more at stake than I realised. Now wasn’t the time to let my emotions weigh heavy on my mind. I had a job to do. A village to save.

I set my pack down then knelt and rifled through it for my vials. “This won’t take long.”

He studied me, eyebrows bunching together curiously, then he nodded. “Cam and I will keep watch.” He stepped away to speak with his brother.