Page 153 of The Last Syphon

Actually, no.

She knew the woman did not believe her, but regardless, she inclined her head and agreed to pass along the message.

With nothing else to add, they both left, and Inara breathed a small sigh of relief.

It did not matter if neither the princess nor Prince Walder believed that Inara was actually sick. By the time they came to realise something was amiss, she would be long gone.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Inara held her head high, the wind skating across her skin, her hair flowing freely in the wind. She sat atop Fraener, his powerful wings pumping up and down at a leisurely pace. They weren’t in a rush, and the view was nothing short of spectacular from his back as they flew across the night sky. The view deserved to be adored. Admired.

In the dead of night, she’d crept out of her bed, slunk through the main palace, moving as slick as the shadows until the rush of cold air smacked her in the face. She’d met Fraener in an empty field a few miles away, climbed on, and left the kingdom of Arelia behind.

She didn’t run into any problems. Part of Inara had been expecting someone to stop her. Demand to know where she was going. Especially when she ran into the Chosen monitoring the edge of the lower cities. But they did nothing but watch her fly on by. Inara thought perhaps they were there to stop people from coming in, not leaving. Either way, it worked out in her favour. She didn’t care if they reported her departure to Prince Walder. By that point, she would be long gone, and she highly doubted the Crowned Prince would follow. It was why she didn’t mount Fraener from her bedchamber. Inara needed as much time as possible to get as far away from the kingdom as she could before he was notified. That way, he couldn’t stop her.

They flew for an unmeasurable amount of time. Inara was actually a little worried she would get lost. She had followed Prince Walder when flying to Arelia, so she didn’t really pay much attention to the directions. Lucky for her, though, dragons had a phenomenal memory. All she had to do was picture her home, and Fraener knew exactly where to go. Exactly which flight path to take.

He was the most amazing creature in existence. She was sure.

Fraener preened at the thought.

Of course, her main mission was to head south to Tolanaa and find out what was going on with the cursed land, but she could not travel so far and not stop at home. She was curious to know what state it would be in. Did the villagers listen to Venerable Cias, or did the whole place descend into ruin?

By the time the desert line of the Borderlands eventually came into view, it was morn, the sun rising behind her. She couldn’t help the smile that pulled at her lips. Deadhaven was located close to the border, so even from that distance she could see the outline of her home. Of all the small huts and deteriorating buildings.

Excitement thrummed in her bones. She leant forward, tucking her elbows tight into her body, and pushed Fraener forward. He whipped his wings faster, and they shot ahead at a speed that had her heart racing.

As they neared, she heard the gong of the warning system they had in place. Cezar must have glimpsed their approach along the horizon and sent out a warning to their people.

She commanded Fraener to come in nice and slow. As least threatening as possible, which was quite hard considering how menacing he looked. She spotted the villagers far below, running for cover and shelter. It didn’t take long for the Drunken Trio to come into view, and again, she smiled.

Inara had missed those idiots.

A stream of lightning came hurtling towards her, and she threw up a shield to block the attack with ease.

That was all it took. Once that golden barrier snapped into existence, they knew it was her. That she had returned. All the fear and anxiety permeating the air seemed to vanish in an instant, elation quickly taking over the panic that had arisen from her arrival.

Inara waved in greeting as Fraener landed just before the village, a cloud of dust blowing into the air.

People screamed her name, waving back with enthusiasm as they jumped up and down. Youthen squealed, excited to see not only her but Fraener. Inara wasn’t sure when things had changed. Her people were terrified the last time she was here with Fraener, but perhaps that terror came from the impending wrath of the Arelian Army and the Crowned Prince.

They had nothing to fear from them now that she’d gone to Arelia.

Inara dismounted quickly and was immediately encircled by people. She laughed, trying her best to hug them back, but she had become so swarmed she could hardly move. They were all so excited to see her, and it brought the biggest smile to her face.

She didn’t think they cared so much about her. That they didn’t notice how hard she worked, so it was nice to see that they really did appreciate her and all she did for them and Deadhaven.

Last time, Fraener had been uncomfortable with people surrounding him, but even he, too, had changed. A bright hum of happiness and excitement thrummed down the soul-link as the villagers approached him to lay a hand on his rough, scaled body. He even lowered himself down until his belly hit the ground, allowing anyone and everyone to touch him if they so wished to.

And they did.

After greeting her, they moved to the dragon, patting him as if he were just like any other animal in the realm.

Zave, Lina, and Ralf pushed through the throng of people and greeted her with wide-open smiles. Even Ralf, who was the perpetually sour one of the trio, seemed happy to see her.

“Well, well, well, look who’s back.” Zave hugged her tightly. Emotion bombarded her, and she hugged him back.

“Miss me?” she asked cheekily.