13 The News

Delaney and Selina sat in the common room of the school with one of Delaney's black skirts spread between them stitching little white flowers along its hem. Olive and Cora were teaching some girls Cora's age how to play cards and Constance was reading by the fire. It was sleeting outside this evening so everyone was staying in where it was cozy.

When there was an urgent banging on the front door, the women looked up for a moment but weren't really concerned, assuming it was just a classmate that got caught outside in the weather and was now trying to get back in.

"Cora," came the sound of a hoarse voice a moment later. Everyone in the room looked up to see a soaked and pitiful looking man panting in the doorway, his arm in a sling, and his clothes ragged.

"Miles," more than one of the young women gasped in unison and hurried to him. Cora reached him first, taking his bruised face gently in her hands and looking it over. Delaney, Selina, Olive, and Constance gathered around as well, bursting with questions.

"What's happened?"

"Where have you all been?"

"Are the others here?"

"Where are the other men?"

"Ladies!" Headmistress Warren called loudly over their panicked voices, coming into the room, "We all have questions but I'm sure Lord Adair first needs tending to."

Miles was helped out of his drenched cloak and his vest until he sat in his breeches and a long-sleeved top. A towel was provided for him to try to dry himself further and hot tea with lemon was served to warm his frozen bones.

"Did you not come in a carriage?" Cora asked as she sat in an overstuffed chair across from his in front of the fire.

"There was no time to call for it," he managed through chattering teeth, "I rode here on horseback. Your man in the stable is taking care of my mount for me. I hope that's alright." He said the last to Headmistress Warren who assured him it was fine.

"Miles please tell us what's going on," Delaney pleaded, at last, her fear not letting her wait any longer.

The man nodded and looked at them seriously, "We were all at the fort not far from the castle. More and more dragon sightings were coming in from the mountains so the King ordered every available man close at hand to march out and try to find them. Vince was in one of the first groups. He had to leave before he was able to Visit you, Delaney.

We couldn't tell anyone because the king worried it would cause a panic. Right before the new year though we all had to march for the mountains. We got there just in time to see what Vincent and his men had discovered. Oh, god it was awful..."

"What was it?" Selina gasped, blue eyes wide with fear.

Miles swallowed, "It was a nesting ground...bigger than anything we'd ever seen before... There are over a hundred nests and each has multiple eggs. Some already had baby dragons. And the mothers are all there and the big males they belong to. It looks like these males are all sharing the same spot for some reason and that's how they're staying protected and able to have so many offspring."

"What did you do?" Cora asked, biting her lip.

"Well, since the females can't breathe fire we've been trying to pick them off one by one as they leave their nests to hunt. We've also had men working to steal eggs from the nests around the edge of the land. It's risky though we've had to be careful not to draw one of the males' attention."

"So what happened to you?" Olive asked gesturing to his arm.

He sighed, "I was trying to rob a nest and the mother caught me, chased me into the woods, and attacked. Luckily she hadn't done much damage before my group found us and killed her. I hope they went back and got the rest of the eggs but I don't know. They took me back to camp to set the bone in my arm.

I volunteered to leave as soon as I was well enough, to call any of the men I could to the mountains to help. If we don't do something that colony will get out of control and no one will be safe anywhere."

The room was quiet as everyone considered his words and imagined the scenes he'd described. Delaney felt sick. She had never seen a dragon up close herself but when she was younger sometimes they had seen them far up in the sky flying off somewhere. They had always been the stuff of nightmares.

She remembered then that it had been a dragon to kill Miles and Vincent's father and wondered if Miles had thought he was going to die the same way while he was being attacked. She couldn't understand how he or Vincent could face these monsters knowing they had taken their father from them.

"Are you hungry Miles?" Delaney asked quietly, breaking the silence, "I'm sure we have something left you can have. I'll go down to the kitchen and see alright?" Miles nodded and she left the room in a daze. She felt numb as she walked down and asked the cook for a meal for Miles, waited for it, then brought it back to him.

Vincent wouldn't be coming to visit her. It was unlikely he would be coming home at all any time soon. He and the other men were going to be in the most dangerous place imaginable fighting monsters to try to keep everyone they loved at home, safe.

Miles had already been attacked and likely would've been dead if the other men hadn't found him. How many others would be injured? How many wouldn't make it home at all? Would she ever see Vincent's handsome face smiling at her again?