Khollo smiled amiably in reply. “Then Kanin and I will be happy to tell you the story. Whenever and wherever you choose.”
“Tomorrow, then?” Relam suggested. “Is there a place where two men and a dragon can have a private conversation?”
I will need to hunt, Kanin said. He is welcome to join us at the place where the streams and herds are many, if he wishes.
Khollo repeated the suggestion and Relam smiled. “I think I would like to see that,” he decided. “I will meet you there tomorrow at noon.”
“I look forward to it,” Khollo replied.
Relam turned back to Janis. “You’ve done well here, Lord Kurkan. Despite the heel-dragging you got from the rest of the realm.”
Khollo noticed that a few of the riders behind Relam frowned at this, though the king was smiling grimly again.
“So far, it has all worked out,” Janis replied generously. “And please, your majesty, my name is Janis.”
Relam nodded. “So be it, Janis. I’ll let you get back to the task of running an embattled fortress. In the meantime, I need to get camp set up for my own men.”
“Let us know if you need anything,” Janis said quickly. “And again, thank you.”
Relam shrugged. “I’m not the one who needs thanking. I didn’t hold the South on my own for months.”
The young king swung up into the saddle and wheeled around, riding through the fortress gates. He was followed by the numerous leaders who had accompanied him, each jostling for a position closer to Relam. Khollo saw immediately why Janis and Leon had been worried about the politics of royalty getting to the young king.
Slowly, the masses in the courtyards began to break up. Some headed for the healers, and some began piling the dead vertaga in carts to be wheeled out onto the plains and burned. Khollo stepped closer to Janis, who was watching the retreating entourage carefully.
“What did you think of him?” he asked his uncle without preamble.
Janis shrugged. “He struck me as oddly distant, but I think he is only being careful. After all, he is new to this role of king and still learning to navigate as the chief predator in these waters. It is no easy task.”
“I know,” Khollo agreed. “He did not seem to like me.”
“I don’t know about that,” Janis said quickly. “I think he is just wary of what you represent, and what you will demand from him.”
“And so he agreed to meet me alone with only a small guard?” Khollo asked.
“You do raise a good point,” Janis conceded. “I think a number of things are in play here: he knows legends of dragons, and I am willing to bet that he has always wanted to see one up close. What young man wouldn’t? Secondly, he is a king and has always been taught that the king is the supreme authority. Yet here you are, with a different sort of authority, perhaps higher than his own. It’s unsettling for him to say the least.”
“The idea that I am not his subject is contradictory to everything he knows,” Khollo agreed. “But he did not seem bothered that Kanin would not bow.”
Does anyone really expect a dragon to bow? Kanin demanded.
Khollo laughed and repeated Kanin’s question for Janis’ benefit. The lord of the West Bank smirked and shook his head, looking up at Kanin’s head.
“I don’t think anyone expects a dragon to bow,” Janis said after a moment. “But he may have hoped to control the pair of you.”
I do not like him, then, Kanin decided.
“We should reserve judgment for now,” Khollo warned. “Relam is under a lot of pressure from a lot of nobles with a lot of agendas. Let’s hear what he has to say tomorrow before we jump to conclusions.”
Fine, but he had better not disrupt my hunt.
I’m sure that nobody could be foolish enough to try and stop a hungry dragon from hunting, Khollo assured him.
“I’d better go,” Janis said abruptly. “There’s a lot to be done, organizing a guard until the gate can be fixed, removing vertaga from all over the fortress. Not to mention getting the villagers back to work now that it’s safe.”
Khollo nodded. “Go. I need to take care of Kanin’s wounds and clean up. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
Janis embraced Khollo warmly, surprising him slightly. “Thank you,” he said when he released Khollo.
“For what?”
Janis was already moving towards the keep, but he stopped and looked back. “Relam’s army may have saved the day, but you and Kanin carried the battle on your shoulders for a long time before that. I wouldn’t be surprised if the pair of you are being revered as heroes in the morning.”
Now that is how a dragon should be treated! Kanin said smugly, licking his gore-smeared claws.
“Hopefully people won’t be too eager to show their thanks and crowd us all day,” Khollo said to Janis, grinning. “I don’t think Kanin would like that.”
No, Kanin said, a little apprehensively. Does that happen to heroes among your kind?
All the time, Khollo assured the dragon.
Kanin thrashed his tail back and forth, agitated. Finally, he looked down at Khollo, eyes whirling.
Can we go to the hunting grounds tonight? he asked.
Of course, Khollo replied immediately. Has the battle made you that hungry?
Yes, and I would like to wash my scales in the rivers, Kanin said wistfully. I have not been properly clean since Ethgalin.
Khollo smiled and climbed up onto Kanin’s back, groaning
