Blood Rider [Alonia's Queenslayer #1]

4

Eli wiped a bead of sweat forming on her forehead. Her legs were strongly encasing the worn leather saddle of her brown mare, and they were aching after having travelled for hours already. The path before her was narrow and muddy, making the journey all the more difficult. The land through which she travelled was as flat as Baled's brain, with enormous mountaintops reaching above the clouds in the distance. Eli's sword was at her back, and all her other belongings were carried by her horse - food, water, clothes, flint and steel, and all the other necessities. Stealing an egg from a dragon was far from an easy feat and could take days or even weeks. The rule Ejder had told was that if they hadn't gotten it within a week, they should return and try again after a few months.

As soon as Eli turned seventeen, Ejder informed her and Blaed that the two of them were ready to get their dragons. Both were ecstatic, and both were disgusted by the fact they had to travel at the same time.

"Will you hurry, you twat?" Blaed's sharp voice cut Eli off from her thoughts. She had subconsciously slowed down whilst admiring the view – there were no trees in sight all the way up to a hill around which they'd have to pass to enter the Dragonlands.

Eli turned around to shoot Blaed a dirty look. He looked bored and impatient. His face was well formed and handsome, and he looked like a man already at seventeen. His stubble was forming into a beard and he was wearing expensive and excellent armour. The insignia of his noble house, a red eagle, was attached next to his rider insignia. Eli wasn't sure why he brought that to Linos, but she had no right to complain as she also had her rider badge pinned on her tunic.

Unlike Blaed, Eli wore a leather vest with a chainmail coating, and no other piece of armour. She was hoping not to encounter many monsters, and since she was travelling with Blaed, she wouldn't face them alone. Although he was a complete bastard, Eli couldn't doubt his skill.

"I'm going, you piece of crap." Eli replied, not even annoyed at that point. The two of them bickered and insulted each other so much that their sharp comments had ceased to hurt. The hostility, however, was still there and would forever remain.

Their task seemed simple when presented by Ejder. First, they had to arrive to the Dragonlands safely and make a temporary camp. Then, they'd have to stare at the sky and determine where the dragons landed to sleep at night. If the territory in which they were in was occupied by only one dragon, they had to move on until they found a couple or even more. Then, they'd determine their nest by where they landed at night, and sneak in in the morning when they were away. The dragons were very competitive, and a female who has laid eggs would hunt along with the male in order to get a fair share of food. And the opening would be their chance to go in, all or nothing.

Blaed just snickered at her comment, and his stallion neighed as if to support him.

The sun had nearly set by the time the two of them had arrived to the pass. It was a breath-taking sight, and Blaed made no complaints when Eli came to a halt. On their left was a hill that kept growing until it merged with the tall mountaintops. They were walking on a cliff barely wide enough for their horses to walk at a normal speed. And to their right – the endless ocean.

The waves crashed against the rocks more than ten meters below them. The water radiated cold, and if it weren't for the waves, Eli would say that the ocean was dead. Its surface was dark and entirely still a bit further away. Mist was rolling across it, but it if weren't for it, Eli knew she would have been able to see a part of the Dragonlands viewed from the side.

In front of them was an array of hills, forests, clearings, swamps and all ecosystems imaginable. And Eli's breath got caught in her throat when she saw the dragons.