Where Dragons Go to Die (The Commodore #1.3)
* This is the third installment of WHERE DRAGONS GO TO DIE, a serial that’s posted every Friday morning. If this is your first time reading, start at the beginning. Please check back next week to find out what happens next!
Myria squinted at the glittering snow leading up to Kindred Mountain. The soft blue dot of the mountain was so far ahead that the middle of their journey simply disappeared from sight. After crossing the snow covered expanse, they would abruptly be on the edge of a cliff looking down at a great canyon. They would then turn to the mountain, enter the cave, avoid burning alive, pack up some bones, and head home—hopefully running into their sisters toting their baby dragon back to the mountain, assuming they were still alive.
Klara sniveled at Myria’s feet. “Do you think they’ll make it?” She was resting before they continued on; they’d already walked half the day away.
“This is the last time I’m going to tell you this, Klara. It doesn’t matter whether they survive their wounds or their mission. If we don’t complete ours, we’ll all be killed. They’re depending on us to focus and get this done. Vera and Darya will be fine; they’ve made it this far, right?”
“Right.” Klara nodded, her blond hair covering her face, and looked back up with a smile so genuine that it took Myria aback. The smile annoyed Myria even more than the sniveling.
They returned to their trudge through the snow without any more conversation. Myria took the lead, unable to stand watching Klara struggle with her snowshoes. She’d never seen anyone have such a difficult time with them.
While the words she’d told Klara were true enough, she only half-believed them. She knew that her sister was not fine. She’d only seen Vera for a moment before being shoved off on her first mission, but that was long enough to get a glimpse of the blood, the weak sound of her voice, the panic in Darya’s eyes. None of that compared to the smell. No one could survive that smell. And who knew how long the Commodore would let her heal before sending her off to take care of that dragon. No, Vera, at least, was most certainly dead. It was almost enough to make her forget the assignment and plot revenge for her sister’s death instead—if only she didn’t believe that the Commodore would come up with more creative punishments than she may be able to imagine. And anyhow, Vera may still live… What a foolish thought to cling to, but she couldn’t let it go. She needed it.
And so she kept moving forward, with Klara huffing and puffing and misplacing her steps behind her, trying to figure out how they were going to complete this mission.
Vera had always been the capable one, and she was torn to shreds. And Darya? Darya was a soldier beyond compare. Their missions were always successful, everyone told their stories. And they’d failed. And there she was, with Klara, who seemed barely able to even make it to the mountain itself. What were they going to do once they got there?
She let the useless thoughts attacking her take up residence in the back of her mind, not having the energy to fight them off. She muffled their volume with the sound of shallow breaths into her scarf and the crunching of snow under her boots. It would have to do for now. They’d have more distracting problems soon enough.
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* This is the third installment of WHERE DRAGONS GO TO DIE, a serial that’s posted every Friday morning. If this is your first time reading, start at the beginning. Please check back next week to find out what happens next!