Page 96 of A Kingdom of Wild and Power
Ramil studied them both in silence, his pale eyes thoughtful. Then he sighed and gestured for the Dunayan to lead them upwards, towards the roof.
Dawn fixed the king’s advisor with a long, unimpressed look. She then turned that same look on Kai before pivoting on her heel and following the Dunayan out, the weight of stone lifting ever so slightly with each step she took away from the table.
They climbed a winding staircase carved straight from the mountain’s heart, the stone steps worn smooth by centuries ofpassing feet. Floor by floor they climbed, hurrying through a narrow corridor before slipping out through a door and scaling a final flight of stairs that clung to the mountain’s side.
Dawn gasped the moment they emerged at the summit. Sunlight struck her full in the face, bright and unrelenting, forcing her to squint, yet she smiled all the same. Air. Real air. Freedom unfurled in her chest as she drank it in. The rooftop bustled with life: tents pitched in careful clusters, desert folk moving with purpose, hands busy with work both mundane and vital. It was a place of vigilance and survival, alive in a way the caverns below could never be.
She drifted towards the edge and peered down with care. Far below, the dragons and Mareena’s phoenix waited, vast shapes resting against the sand and stone, patient and watchful as they lingered for their return. A quiet unease tugged at her thoughts.
What if Alina never came back?
Dawn wondered whether the dragons would wait forever or whether, without their fire princess, they would simply lift into the sky and vanish, leaving only scorched sand and unanswered questions behind.
The moment Kai came to stand beside her, Dawn exhaled sharply.
‘We’re wasting time,’ she said. ‘We need to return. Only the gods know what havoc has already been unleashed back home.’
‘We need those dragons,’ Kai replied.
‘I know.’ Dawn dragged a hand down her face. ‘But Alina refuses to see the urgency. She’ll keep us stranded in this cursed kingdom until she decides the moment is right, and who knows when that will be.’
Kai glanced at her. ‘And what do you suggest we do?’
‘We steal them.’ Dawn didn’t turn to face him, but she heard the faint, involuntary gasp he failed to suppress.
‘Those dragons won’t leave without Alina.’
‘Then we kidnap her.’
‘I don’t think—’
Dawn twisted towards him, her eyes sharp. ‘Are you not worried about your army? About what the world might look like now, without us?’
‘Of course I’m worried,’ Kai snapped. ‘But if we leave now, everything we’ve done here will have been for nothing.’
‘Then we take Alina by force,’ Dawn pressed. ‘Throw her onto the back of a dragon and fly home.’
‘That won’t happen.’
‘Why not?’
‘Mareena.’
Dawn let out a slow, exhausted breath. ‘Then perhaps we ought to kill her.’
Kai turned fully to her, disbelief etched across his face. ‘Pardon?’
Dawn shrugged, cold and unflinching. ‘Don’t pretend they wouldn’t do the same if our roles were reversed.’
‘Just because they would cross that line doesn’t give us the right to,’ Kai shot back. ‘We don’t get to excuse ourselves with their cruelty.’
‘Then what do you suggest?’ Dawn folded her arms across her chest, frustration tightening her posture.
Kai rubbed at his eyes and sighed, glancing back towards the endless horizon. ‘We wait. And besides, I promised Alina I would help her. I keep my promises, Dawn.’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘Is that the only reason?’
Kai frowned, turning back to her. ‘What other reason could there be?’
