Legions of Bone: Dragon Rider Book 3

Chapter 11: Snek

I CANNOT wait for everything that comes after this chapter. It's just... it's so much fun and adventurous and plot out and just... Write, lol. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. : )

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Dagen

Dagen spun a dagger around his fingers, lounging on the floor of his room, his head propped against the wall just high enough to see the floor below.

Kaiden tossed a ball for the dog to tackle. There was such ferocity in that chase, in the prideful trot Ghost made back to his owner with a wagging tail, Dagen couldn't help but snort.

"Oh my gods," Norah sighed, sarcasm dripping off each word. "Your squats are horrible. Look at that, you're not even squatting deep enough. Are you sure you're a qualified trainer? Did you train me right? Kaiden, what do you think?"

"Horrible form." The brother ruffled his dog's ears and chucked the ball across the room. Ghost took off like an arrow. "Your thunder-thighs are fake if you're straining with Norah on your back."

"Yeah, Holland," she sneered, practically singing as she clung to his back.

Holland bared his teeth as he pushed from a squat into a stand, elbows hooked onto Norah's knees. "Can't we just get some free weights or some rocks? Anything's gotta be better than my training partner."

Norah gaped with mock hurt, turning to Bronn who watched with wild amusement from the couch. "Are you going to let your son talk to me like that? Threatening to switch his only child with a rock?"

Bronn only snorted. "If I'd known it was possible to switch my children with rocks, I would have done it years ago."

Norah laughed, having a far better day today than the last three days. Yesterday she'd spent the whole day in bed, unable to stand or hold down any sort of food.

She jabbed a finger into Holland's shoulder. "He said he'd replace you with a rock."

"Thanks," he said between his teeth, dropping into a squat. "He also said he'd replace Kaiden too."

"Kaiden is already a rock," Bronn said, earning pursed lips from his son. "The boy was calm as stone his entire life."

Holland pressed up--

A bone popped, loud enough Dagen heard it from his loft. He even heard Holland's muttered curse. Like a plea for what was about to come.

"Ah!" Norah shouted. "He's decaying!"

Bronn howled, hand clamping on his knee. Dagen was too far away to see if Norah flinched, but he suspected she did even as her eyes danced in the sunlight.

"Your bones are crumbling because you're so old," Norah said with mock seriousness, only her dancing eyes showing the truth. It was a relief to see from her usual gloom.

"Bronn, how old is he?" Holland squatted down again. "He never tells me, Holland just sips his coffee and says 'Old.'"

Bronn's eyes went distant in thought. "Let's see Kaiden just had his 950th birthday a few months ago. And Bram's four years younger than him--"

"I feel like I just stepped into calculus class," Norah mused to Holland.

"He's 946."

If Norah was surprised she didn't show it. Only said, as if receiving some old, ancient wisdom and said to Holland, "I get it now. Why you were so reluctant to tell me. if I were that old, I'd be embarrassed too."