"He's right," Ashyn said. "The dragon is small, but the dragon is not tiny. Let's all just back up and watch. No sudden moves." She glanced at Gavril. "That goes for you, too. Lower the sword, please."
"If they back away, I will lower it."
They did. The dragon only watched them, looking from Tyrus to Moria, seeming sleepy and confused. The beast made an odd little noise, almost like a mewl. Then it moved. A sudden move that had Gavril jumping, but it was only the dragon trying to get to its feet and instead falling forward. Moria dove to catch it. Tyrus let out a cry, but the whelp had stumbled into Moria's arms and come to rest there, shaking against her, still mewling.
The whelp was as big as Tova. Its scales seemed white at first, but when Moria looked closer, she could see they were iridescent. It had a thick, serpentine body, tapering to a long tail that ended in what would someday be spikes, but were for now, only bone nubs. Likewise, the nubs on its head would grow to curving horns, with more spikes radiating out around its face and down its spine. Its wings ended in single claws, like a bat, but it had both forelegs and hind legs, each pair already thickly clawed.
Moria rubbed its cold sides, feeling them warm under her touch. The dragon nuzzled against her.
"It needs heat," Moria said. "And food. Is there--?"
"There's a goat," Tyrus said. "I'll cut off some if Gavril can start a fire."
THIRTY-NINE
When Tyrus walked away, the dragon whelp let out another little mewl, its head rising to watch him go.
"He'll be back," Moria whispered. The dragon leaned against her, keeping warm as Ashyn gingerly approached and reached out a hand to pet the beast.
"You have a dragon now," Ashyn said, smiling.
Moria chuckled. "It's not mine."
"Did you truly see a vision of--?" Ashyn broke off and leaned in to hug her sister. "It does not matter. How do you feel?"
"As if I've drunk an entire skin of honey wine."
Ashyn laughed softly. "You look as if you have, too." She kissed Moria's forehead. "My sister, curled up with a baby dragon. If I wasn't seeing it, I'd not believe it."
"The dragon? Or me as a nursemaid?"
"Both seem equally unlikely."
Moria rubbed her eyes and looked around. "Where are my--?"
Ashyn handed Moria her daggers.
Moria stuck the blades in her belt and shook herself a little, throwing off that oddly intoxicated feeling. The dragon mewled, but only repositioned itself once she stopped moving.
"Zuri," Ashyn said as she stroked the beast's neck.
"Hmm?"
"Her name is Zuri. The female is the smaller, and Edwyn told me her name is Zuri. He said . . ." Ashyn trailed off, and Moria was about to pursue it, to ask her more about what had happened here, but as soon as Ashyn said the name and looked at the old man's corpse, everything rushed back.
"Alvar . . ." she said. "Tyrus! Gavril! We need to--" Pain ripped through her as she tried to move. The bleeding had stopped, but Gavril's magics could not completely heal her so quickly. "Alvar," she said again.
"We were just discussing that," Tyrus said. "All seems quiet beyond the cave, and I would like to think that is a good sign,
but if we have not seen Ronan or Dalain . . ."
"Neither Ronan nor Dalain nor any warriors of Alvar and Edwyn," Ashyn said. "Which means a battle still wages. It has simply moved where we cannot hear it."
"I'm going out to look around," Tyrus said, handing a chunk of meat to Gavril.
He started for the exit, but when Zuri saw him leaving, she began to mewl and weakly flap her wings, and tumbled off Moria. She scrambled after the dragon and hissed in fresh pain. Moria had to stop, and Ashyn went after the dragon, who was trundling along on unsteady legs, trying to get to Tyrus. Zuri snapped at Ashyn, who drew back quickly.
"I'll go," Gavril said. "There's nothing more I can do for Moria, and that beast is going to give us all trouble if you leave."