Bloodlines: Dragon Rider Book 2

Chapter 2: Yes... This Seems Smart

Let's traumatize our favorite rider.

:)

 After a rigorous training exercise involving hours upon hours of aerial combat, Rima and I are dreading the flight back to Belonia. Four hours of fighting against the wind, under the scalding sun, with no food to munch on is something we're both not happy about.

As we fly over white clouds that grow darker the farther East we fly, I stare off at the horizon, lost in my own mind. The cumulus clouds below us start to thin as the hours go by until there's nothing but large gaps between clouds.

"Norah." My eyes snap from the horizon of blue and grey to the top of my dragons head. There's trepidation in her voice, something I don't often hear from her. A chill runs up my legs and to my spine. The feeling of being watched. "Look down."

I do so, only to have my eyes widen when I catch a glimpse of ground. It's a city. One we've flown over before and is usually filled with crowded streets of mages. Except now, the narrow streets are completely deserted. Anything green, anything usually thriving, is black.

"Gods. What happened?"

"I don't know," Rima replies, feeling something dark loom over her. She couldn't help but be curious and concerned about the city, but her natural instincts told her to fly higher and avoid the city altogether. And as long I was on her back, she was willing to do that to keep me safe.

She moves to fly higher but I push down on the saddle, counteracting her movements. She followed, flying down because two years of training has instilled certain reactions out of us. But quickly she catches herself, arching her back and trying to pull back until she's hovering. Swirls of grey wrap around us like a tiny tornado.

She shakes her head, huffing. "No. This is bad, we shouldn't be here. This doesn't feel right."

"Rima, come on, we should go check it out."

"No."

"Rima, come on. Something happened here. Aren't you even curious? What if someone's down there and needs help?"

"No."

"Come on, we'll just go down there. Five minutes tops. And if anything bad happens we can fly out of there." Rima doesn't respond and I shift, sighing heavily. I almost cross my arms and 'hmph.' "Rima you're a two-colored dragon. Your super strong and supposed to be brave and dangerous... Right now you're being a two-colored chicken."

For a long minute, Rima doesn't say anything and her stubbornness beats stronger and stronger until finally, "Fine." She huffs. "Five minutes. No more. I don't want to have to train another human."

Before she can change her mind, I push down on the saddle, making a quick descend to the ground. My dragon's uneasiness only grows the closer we get to the city. "But the moment something happens, we leave." She says as we circle, finding somewhere to land.

I agree as Rima angles herself forwards, bringing herself down in an alleyway. My heart drums against my chest but I also feel on edge, like I am peering over the ledge of a steep cliff, to which there is no return.

Cobblestone crunches beneath Rima's weight as she lands. In the absolute silence of the city, even something so minor feels like were waving a giant flag around, screaming out our location.

I slide down Rima's leg, taking a look down the alleyway. To my back, it leads to a deadend. The only way for us to go is forward.

Rima keeps close to me as we stalk onto the main road. The buildings are double her size, reminding me of the markets back in Belonia that my sister and I would walk through. Each building is made of stone and cracks spread up the sides like lightning. A breeze carries through the air and I shudder.