Called by the Dragon

Anzi lasted all of three more hours before her spite-fired endurance ran out. Searching for dangerous serpents in the Adaraat's sands with not a hint of a scale or tail around was fast becoming torturous. She wanted to go back. Netra would definitely be awake now, and she would getting hungry. Anzi had already guessed that Bisset wouldn't lift a finger to feed her and had asked the guard on duty to tend to her instead, but she dreaded to think what the colonel might do if the hatchling irritated him with her insistent screeching in the meantime....She should go back, but she hadn't decided whether to report the encounter with the old witch crone in her head along with the information that something had triggered the migration and swarms yet. Should she? But if she did, that would be one more reason for Bisset and everyone else to keep an even closer eye on her. She didn't want to attract more attention. She needed to blend in.Yet if she didn't report the incident, sh

Last Updated : 2020-11-17

Before departing, Anzi had changed into lightweight desert garb in anticipation of boiling heat, but the sunlight that streamed down over her was more comforting than hot. It had been a long time since she had last trekked this far into the desert, although this wasn't anywhere near the true deep sands at all. They'd gone no more than twenty kilometers, roughly, and the stallion was still trotting comfortably over the dunes with no signs of tiring. Large, fanned ears flicked this way and that, and over Anzi's head, the creature's long, tufted tail did the same, providing both of them shade.Captain Gorien had been telling the truth: this stallion was a remarkable specimen. Well-trained, intelligent, strong, and possessing even greater stamina than its kind typically had. Anzi was sure they could go another twenty kilometers before they had to stop for a rest, and that only because of her own limitations, not the sand horse's.Then again, her bruises felt far less uncom

Last Updated : 2020-11-15

Surprisingly, Netra remained soundly asleep as Anzi carried her in her arms all the way down to the palace courtyard. The hatchling was an enthusiastic sleeper, but not a heavy one, and she typically screeched at disturbances that dared wake her from her post-gorge slumber. Not today, however, and that was a turn of good fortune: Anzi dreaded to think what might happen if the colonel realized that Netra could speak. It was better this way.The man was waiting for her on top of his dragon already when she arrived. As she crossed the remaining distance over the grass, the enormous creature extended her wing and blanketed the ground with a rumbling, leathery sound. The clinking of heavy scales made Anzi's hair stand on end, and although she never slowed her stride, her gaze fell away from the colonel's stern face to land on his dragon's instead.What a truly massive leviathan. Her twelve meter body lay flat on the grass, but the relaxed stance did nothing to make the drag

Last Updated : 2020-11-14

She had talked.When was anyone going to tell Anzi that not only did dragons speak, but they could also barge into someone's mind to do so? She had always thought there was a special bond between a dragon and its partner that would allow for some kind of special communication, but firstly, she had assumed all such communication would be something more instinctive and primal, and secondly, she had dashed away all such suspicions when she learned that riders enslaved their dragons rather than bonding with them.How could she have known that she was right all along - or at least half-right? Bastien had said nothing about this, certainly. Or was it possible that this had only happened because her relationship with Netra was so different? Was it because Anzi treated her with the respect and dignity due to another living being, one that thought and felt and deserved more than the future it had been promised?Or maybe it was something else entirely. What was i

Last Updated : 2020-11-13

Every part of Anzi's body still ached, but she had no regrets about remaining firmly grounded in her own body last night. After Kai told her that it was her doing and not his, she made sure to remain especially vigilant so that she wouldn't make the same mistake again. Her? Wanting to see h

Of course the healers were inadequate. Making excuses that her injuries were too extensive and serious for her to possibly get up and move around on her own anytime soon, and claiming she needed to waste several more days lying in bed and doing nothing at all - these were supposed to be the best

Anzi's chin jerked up when the Emperor grabbed a fistful of her hair, but when another blow smashed across her ribs, she doubled over again with a loud wheeze and stumbled back against the pillar once more. She didn't get the chance to straighten up on her own before a fist came crashing into her

"How are you feeling?"Anzi needn't have asked. Letti's sunken eyes and inability to get up when she had entered was indication enough, but on the other hand, she looked far better than she had before. Just yesterday, there had still been hints of bruises around her arms, but they were now