Chapter 280

SPREAD LAZILY ACROSS THE WARM leather of Phroma's saddle, Gredel pushed up enough to look at the cavalry below. A steady dust cloud rose but the breeze at this height snatched it away before it reached them. The army kept a strong pace while it negotiated the narrow mountain pass. From this height they looked to spread for miles.

'Glad the smell can't reach us here,' Phroma thought to Gredel.

'Or the noise,' he added. Nothing breached the peace up here, not even Kerak and Sito playing ahead, ducking and darting around each other. Sian's laughter drifted back to them occasionally.

'I thought Daron would be on Nesha, rather than riding,' Phroma observed.

Gredel shrugged, the pointless gesture an ingrained habit. 'She needs space. He knows it.'

'We all know it.'

'Hmm.' Gredel watched the tan dragon twisting through the air, gold sparks of light reflecting off the creature's scales. 'Grief hits everyone in different ways.'

They both fell silent, thoughts melancholy despite the bril