🐲 Dragon and Phoenix (Path of Light and Fire Book #2) (Completed) 🐲

Chapter 17.1

Yulan flung his heavy wool blanket, but it fluttered and fell a few inches from where he sat.

It only irritated him further.

The cold did not ease. He was grouchy, tired and no female had warmed his bed. Drawing on the Blood gave him energy on days like this, but he'd told the Chanyu he would not. Yet he was sorely tempted.

I am nothing if not a man of my word.

He dressed and stepped into the brisk air. It was still cold, but with the sun out it was much more acceptable than before. The flaps to all tents were open. Clothes were hanging on lines and several cook fires roared under cast-iron pots. There were no adults in view and children surrounded him. There was no gender segregation; each wore the same folded tunic and trousers he'd seen on the Chanyu. The difference was that instead of the plain white and black, their tunics were bright and colorful, a sea of blue, red and green outfits, each with gold trim. Every group contained at least one child close to their adult-year instructing the others.

They had their facemasks lowered and chatted amongst themselves with full-sized weapons on their waists instead of the daggers the children wielded. From some distance away, collective grunts and roars echoed through the air.

One of the older children, a purple-haired Hruh-yite in a red and gold tunic, handed him a roasted animal leg and a glass of white fluid.

He took a bite of the meat and sniffed the liquid. It gave off a sharp sour smell.

"Thank you," Yulan said. "Berius, would you...?"

Yulan shook his head.

Old habits.

He wanted to give the girl a few shortlings for her gift, yet he had no money. Berius handled his finances and he'd never carried any.

It is a good thing Kaita did not accept my proposal. I would not have been able to make good on my offer.

He still wasn't sure how he'd insulted her.

The girl shrugged. "My name is not Berius. It is Marcela. Eat and drink, it will make you strong," she said. "Then you should go to the Temtsekh Gazar with the other adults. You are late, but the Chanyu is kind with new recruits."

Temtsekh Gazar?

He shrugged it off and drank the milk. Poison was the least of his worries. His cheeks flushed and his eyes felt less heavy. Even though he did not pull on the Blood, he felt much more alert.

"Where can I find the tem...?"

"The Temtsekh Gazar or training grounds are over there." Marcela pointed to the distance. The sunlight reflected off the snow and ice and blinded him, but he trusted the girl's judgment.

"Where is the Chanyu?"

She furrowed her brow. "Where else would he be? He is with the other adults."

Yulan marched over to the small army. Most paired and sparred with each other. He grimaced at some of the warriors. Their stances full of openings, not good enough to defend against a bumblebee, let alone an ugar. Warriors in the black clothes walked up and down the lines, drilling each pair.

The Chanyu stood a good distance away from the warriors, arms clasped behind his back. The Acadian witch from the previous day, Rea, stood to his left. Unlike the others, she wore a solid black dress. To the Chanyu's other side stood a man Yulan had not met. He wore loose white leggings with multicolored print running down the front. Despite the cold, the man's chest was out, and his bulk would have made his Wing look like an average man. His arms were covered in leather that looped around his back and rainbow plumes flowing from the neck guard. It was like a bastardization of his loincloth.