Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Adrian gave a small hop-step up the curb and turned down the sidewalk, heading to the hotel room they were renting. Adrian had mixed feelings about Bellcairn, which surprised him since he loved traveling to new and interesting locations. As a teenager, he’d frequently bounced between Stormbreak in Erya and Ilon’s capital of Brightspire. He loved everything about the Isle of Stone with its unique architecture and vastly different culture, though he was still hoping to hear about better treatment of the non-shifting dragons within their population. Part of him even wished he could have traveled with the others to Zastrad to see the city of Temit and its citizens devoutly dedicated to their Dead God.
But with Damardor, he had a knot of uneasiness growing in his gut that he couldn’t get rid of no matter how hard he tried. There were pleasant parts of the city with high-end shops flaunting imported goods from nearly every country. Flashy, expensive cars zoomed along those smooth streets, and everything was spotless, as if the entire neighborhood were scrubbed nightly while everyone slept.
However, that area was tiny and even walled off in many sections. Anyone could wander through during the daylight hours, but Adrian and Haru soon discovered that after the sun set, only residents of that district or those with a special work pass were allowed in the area at night. Neatly dressed “security assistants” escorted anyone else out.
The rest of Bellcairn was far more worn and ragged. Trash clogged the gutters and littered the sidewalks, making it appear as if no one had bothered to sweep in months. Grime thickly coated the windows, and cracks spider-webbed through the walls. Glowing streetlamps were sparse. Clearly, the government had its preferences for where it wanted to reinvest its revenue.
The one exception, though, was the police force. Every single beat cop Adrian saw walking around wore full riot gear as if they were policing a war zone.
Everywhere he looked, people carried a furtive air about them as if they suspected everyone and everything they saw.
Of course, that came with forcing loyalty on people when New Rosanthe had made Damardor its puppet. Yet, New Rosanthe was now dealing with its own inner struggles after the assassination of Emperor Naram Suen. It had no time to deal with underling countries such as Damardor and Uris-Oladul.
That left the capital of Bellcairn perfectly primed to come apart. It was a funerary pyre waiting for a spark. And Adrian hoped to have Shey in hand and out of Damardor before that spark set this city ablaze.
As they walked down the block, another cop in heavy body armor marched past. Adrian instinctively reached behind him, grabbing Haru’s wrist and pulling the dragon closer. He didn’t worry about Haru doing anything untoward to draw attention to them. Haru had an easygoing, pleasant manner, but people seemed to react to him in an unsteady way, as if they sensed he was far more than he appeared to be. It was odd because Adrian couldn’t remember anyone reacting to Drayce in the same manner. The only thing he could figure was that Drayce had been living in Stormbreak for years prior to Adrian meeting him. Maybe Drayce had learned to mask his magical aura better over the years, versus Haru, who was still new to interacting with non-dragons.
The cop gave them both some side-eye as they passed each other, but nothing happened.
“Ah, my Adrian, I didn’t know you wished to hold my hand. I’m happy to comply,” Haru teased. He twisted his wrist to pull free of Adrian’s grip, caught his hand, and threaded their fingers together.
Adrian snarled as he did his own twisting and fighting to pull his hand free of Haru’s persistent grasp. “Quit it! Quit it!” he whispered, his voice low and harsh.
He had barely gotten free with Haru chuckling beside him when a child in layers of ragged, filthy clothes collided with him.
“Oof!” Adrian was knocked back a step, but Haru was right there to catch him, his powerful arms nearly closing around him. A whiff of soft jasmine drifted past Adrian’s nose, and he almost shut his eyes to soak in the haunting scent. It had been a long time since he’d smelled it.
On the Isle of Stone.
In his room that last night before they were to leave Erya.
Haru had come to assert his claim over Adrian—
Nope! Not thinking about that. Not here. Not now.
Adrian lurched forward, pulling free of Haru’s grasp. The kid had bounced off Adrian and continued running as if nothing had happened at all. Adrian resumed his stroll along the block, first checking to make sure his wallet was still in his pocket, which it was.
“That was odd,” Haru murmured.
“Nope. It was a drop.”
“What?”
Adrian held up his cupped right hand so Haru could see the scrap of paper the kid had pressed into his hand the second he’d hit Adrian.