The older dragons had not been exaggerating when they said that the castle was notorious. Tall, dark towers ascended into the sky, each of them jagged and out of place. Leached of colour, it was made completely of glum dark stones.
Master breathed a sigh of awe on my back, his grip on my reigns loosening.
I could not understand how the humans found such a thing majestic and glorious.
Reluctantly, I followed the Black Beast to the city. Each wing-beat came with a trill of fear as we neared the massive human buildings. There was very little colour anywhere in the whole city. All of it appeared to be either the same dull grey, or a dusty brown.
Humans payed little attention to us as we started to descend from the skies. And, as I glanced around the city, I could understand why. Dragons were everywhere - and all of them were fatigued. Even if some had gleaming scales that had recently been cleaned, each dragon was scrawny.
With my scales crawling with horror, I watched as the Black Beast landed in a small courtyard near the castle. My heart hammering against my ribs, I closed the distance to the city, carefully landing on the cold, hard stone.
Waiting nervously behind the older dragon, I watched a group of humans emerge from the shadows of the city, their expressions either stern and bored.
They were similar to the humans that were with Lord Raffael yesterday. Similar flowing black gowns that billowed in the breeze, similar metal swords hanging from their waists. But there was one figure in front of them, wearing bright red robes threaded with gold instead. Was he another lord?
The human in the lead stepped forwards. He was young, perhaps only a few years older than Raffael. Blue eyes washed over us, and long golden hair rustled in the wind. "You're here! I was hoping you'd come soon, Raffael." I could not help but notice how he did not use the Lord's title. That meant he had to be equal rank or higher.
"Carlos," Lord Raffael greeted with a tired smile - and I realised with dread that this was the lord that he had mentioned several times. The lord who was in charge of the whole thing. Fear reverberated through me, and I shied away.
"Lord Carlos," the pale green dragoness breathed beside me, trepidation and awe creeping into her voice. But a grumble from her master silenced her completely.
Running a hand through his dark, shoulder length hair, Lord Raffael said, "I'm afraid I had to leave my companions back at Fehïrk. You didn't give me much warning."
"My apologies," Lord Carlos furrowed his brow, frowning slightly. "But we must speak in private, as soon as you are ready... How is Fehïrk going?"
Fehïrk... was that the name of those fields and Dragon Stables? It was a strange name; very strange. But then again, humans were always strange. Strange and cold and cruel.
Lord Raffael cast a glance towards us, "they are doing the required amount. But the dragons have clearly been pushed to their limit. I fear we will have to invest in a new batch if they are overworked any further."
Narrowing my eyes, I stared at Lord Raffael. The last thing I had expected him to say was that we had been pushed to the limit - and even though not in the best way, he was telling the other Lord that our conditions were harsh, and that they had to do something about it.
Hope stirred within me.
Conditions would always be brutal, but even if they were improved the slightest...
Lord Carlos chuckled, cutting my train of thoughts off. "You always did have a passion for dragons, dear brother. But rest assured, I will see what I can do..."
Brother. The word echoed in my mind, and I stared at both lords in disbelief. Not once had I even thought that they could be brothers. I had merely thought they had just known each other. But... brothers!
Both Lords stopped talking.
Master slid off my back. "Lord Carlos," he bowed low, respectively, before standing as still as a statue beside me. His gaze was lowered, not daring to look at either Lord in the eye. After all, to them, he was just a mere slave. "Perhaps conditions would be better if there was someone in charge at Fehïrk?"
Both lords watched Master warily.
"It takes too long waiting for your orders, my Lord. Most things we have to work out together, but..." Master shook his head in frustration, his weathered face going a slightly red. Still, he did not hold either lord's gaze. "There are some situations where we can't do anything to make the conditions better, because we can't all agree on anything."
"What are you suggesting, slave?" Lord Carlos scowled.
"That maybe you put one of us in charge, and ride a dragon here every month or so..." Master's voice trailed off, and I narrowed my eyes. Of course he wanted more power. And, given that he had not shouted quite as many insults as normal on the flight here, he enjoyed being in the air. Interesting.
"We shall see," Lord Carlos dismissed Master with a wave of his hand, before he turned towards his brother. "Get the dragons lodged somewhere, then come back here. I'll deal with the slaves." There was something in his voice that warned the humans not to argue.
Nervously, I glanced around the city. "What are the lodges like - for dragons, I mean?" I whispered to the Black Beast, whom was watching the ordeal with hostile, grey eyes.
His massive bulk turned towards me, yellow fangs bared in a silent snarl. Black Beast did not reply, instead lashing his black tail.
Somehow, that was answer enough.
Lord Raffael cleared his throat. "If you are done grumbling, you can come with me," he growled out, prowling towards us. Hastily, our masters retreated away from him, towards Lord Carlos. I paid them little heed, instead warily watching the younger lord.
Grabbing the Black Beast's chains, Lord Raffael turned around, dragging the large dragon through the city with him. "Follow me, and behave," his words were clipped, his eyes shadowed, and his jaw clenched.
There was no doubt that this human, this lord, would punish us if we did not do as he commanded.
Left with little choice, I followed, both relieved to be away from Master, yet horrified to be in the middle of such a giant, human city.
"I'm sorry," Lord Raffael suddenly murmured the moment we were out of Lord Carlos' ear shot. Completely stepping away from the Black Beast, he held his hands up in front of us - where we could see them. "If I had it my way, you'd all be free."
Confused, I exchanged a glance with the pale green dragoness beside me. What was the human trying to do? Humans never apologise - especially not lords. Or was it a trap, to distract us? Warily, I strained my ears, listening for any strange activity around me. Aside from humans bustling down the streets, I could hear nothing. No harsh breathing as a human waited to attack. No scraping of metal as humans pulled swords out to harm us.
Nothing suspicious.
"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you," the Lord murmured softly, glancing down the streets to make sure no one was watching. With a flick of his wrist, he gestured for us to follow as he continued. "You want to be free."
Rolling my eyes, I snorted. Of course we wanted to be free, especially after so long labouring for the humans. But why on earth would a lord say such a thing? Too busy trying to figure out why he would say that, I barely kept up with Lord Raffael. Several times, I had to increase my pace to catch up to him.
All at once, he halted. "Here we are."
In front of him, a massive building loomed high above us. Unlike the buildings, it was not plain grey. It was black. Pitch black. It did not shine under the sunlight, nor would it in the moonlight.
Wrinkling my nose, I stared at the human in horror. There was no way that we would be staying at this foul place! Not even inside the building, there was a strong scent of rotten food and blood and... death.
Eyes wide, I swallowed nervously as a group of guards approached.
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