The Escape from Serrok (The Kingdom of Dragons Book 4)

VII - A Bittersweet Farewell

The closest Kaz felt comfortable taking Nova was within the fifty-mile radius of the Capital, and Rhenor wasn't going to push him to go any farther. At least Nova had been given some money by Elaya, so hopefully, she would be able to stay in the nearby roadside inn and recuperate before traveling to the city.

They'd spotted the inn on the way over, and hopefully, no one had seen Kaz, though even if they had, he, Rhenor, and Elaya would be gone by the time anyone could do anything. Kaz was incredibly fast—even more so without an arrow in his wing, unsurprisingly. Though from the way he winced every once in a while, it was clear his wounds still hurt.

After saying goodbye, Kaz flew them to a large hill dotted with trees to give himself some cover. It was time to discuss a plan, though Rhen had no ideas. He dreaded the thought of flying to some strange new land. He didn't even know what was outside of Istamid's borders, aside from rumors, most of which were no doubt fictional.

So Rhen mostly just watched light bounce off Kaz's scales as he and Elaya discussed where to go. Somehow, he had no problem seeing this massive, dangerous-looking lizard as Kaz now, but at the same time, there was a certain disconnect. He missed the hair that sometimes fell in Kaz's eyes despite the headband, his gentle features, his big smiles.... At least his eyes still looked the same, even if they were much, much larger.

"How far do you think you can fly?" Elaya asked Kaz, her gaze full of worry as she looked over his injured wing. "If we are to leave the kingdom, the easiest way would be to fly west, but the closest town there is supposed to be.... I don't know, very far."

"I'm not sure," Kaz replied, sighing. "Flying from Sigallah to here has been the longest I've flown."

Rhenor blinked. "Really?"

The one word and his surprised tone were enough to make Kaz look down at the ground, ashamed. Rhenor shook his head. Kaz had spent his whole life in libraries, of course he hadn't gone out adventuring, and flying around the entire kingdom. He really should have known better than to say this.

"But, um, I'm not tired, at least?" Kaz added, giving Rhen a pleading look. He probably thought Rhenor was implying he was a disappointment, especially after what Rhen had said about him slowing them down back in Sigallah. Rhen swallowed. He still had to apologize for that. "And there must be some small islands to stop at on the way."

Elaya didn't say anything and only embraced him again. At first, Rhenor thought that was a bit strange. After all, Kaz didn't seem nervous or scared. But seeing him relax made all of that confusion go away. He ended up joining in on the other side, running his hand over Kaz's neck.

"I'm sorry," Rhenor said, feeling like it was long overdue. He should have brought this up earlier. "About what happened. I'm grateful you saved us on that ship, but you should have never been put in that situation."

Kaz's eyes softened into a smile. "It's okay. I'm glad I could help."

Rhenor just exchanged a look with Elaya. He knew she felt guilty over this technically being her fault as well, but it was probably best not to force the issue. As long as Kaz knew they appreciated his involvement.

Rhenor smiled when Kaz hugged them both with his wings. For how sharp the rest of him was, the wings were surprisingly soft.

"And as for flying all the way to Rethan, I think I can do it."

Rhenor pulled away to look Kaz in the eye. "What is Rethan?"

He barely managed to hide his smile when he saw Kaz's eyes light up with that intellectual glee of his. "Rethan is the town Elaya mentioned. It's part of a small, human, island nation of sailors. As long as they don't see me like this, I'm sure they'll be welcoming enough."

Kaz grimaced a little, though it didn't seem to stop his excitement at talking about new things. Rhenor was taking barely any of it in, though.

"Wait. There is a free human nation?"

"Yes! At least that is what several books Elaya and I read claimed. Supposedly there are several, as well, but we couldn't find any specific names or locations."

Rhenor just stared at Kaz with his mouth open as the dragon kept on chattering. He'd never heard of anything like that. He didn't know how large their world was, but he'd never really given that much thought. Everyone he'd ever come across was so sure that their kingdom was the only place humans lived that no one had ever questioned if maybe there was more to it, including Rhenor.

"I was surprised too," Elaya told him, shrugging with a grimace on her face. "I didn't know until Kaz told me. I don't think the dragons want anyone to know about it, so we don't attempt to contact these people."

That made sense, though it made Rhenor very angry. But at least he'd already mostly managed to accept this as fact. After finding out Kaz's true identity as a banished Dragon Lord, he felt like very little could faze him for long.

Maybe they could do exactly what the dragons didn't want, then, and try to convince these people to help them. And now Rhenor was very interested in flying there. He wanted to see how similar their nations were, and what it looked like when their people were free to live however they wanted to.

"Okay, then," said Rhenor, feeling saddened by the prospect of leaving his home, but he was also intrigued and curious. And perhaps inspired, as well. "Let's go to Rethan."