Home / Fantasy / Beneath Stained Glass Wings / Chapter 1 - Chapter 2

All Chapters of Beneath Stained Glass Wings: Chapter 1 - Chapter 2

2 Chapters

Chapter 1: The Fall

To disobey a dragon is to disobey a god.— The Caretaker’s Oath How long is the fall down to earth?I lean against the fence that marks the drop from the floating city to the desert below, digging my fingernails into the wet wood. The city rests drowsy behind me, golden spires and cobblestone roads cloaked in morning mist. My legs shake underneath me. I fidget with my scaled fingerless gloves.It’s morning already.And the smell of blood is still so strong.I should have left hours ago, but I couldn’t leave my room, couldn’t stop scrubbing. Hot iron blooms in my nostrils as if the sticky red liquid is still smeared across my face, my clothes, my palms.But it isn’t on my skin. I’ve washed myself raw. It can’t be there.Gravel scrapes behind me. I curl my wings snugly against my back, gripping the fence tighter and looking around. I don’t need to see through the fog to know the maze of the tall stone buildings and metal roofs beyond the cobblestone yard behind me—but what moves throug

Chapter 2: The Others

Beneath Stained Glass Wings/K. Wolf

Vito and I exchange a glance. My breathing comes quick, lungs full of the smoke and spice scent of dragons. We can still run, but they will chase us. They can report us to the dragons of Caelum.I guess there isn’t a choice.Rising to my feet, I spread my wings wide and step on top of the dune. The woman stands there, hands crossed over her chest, her clothes and hair as dull and dirty as the dust around her. But her eyes are a sharp green that I can make out from here, contrasting against dark bronze skin, darker than mine. But like me, her hair is cut short, almost to her scalp. A scar cuts straight across her face, but I can’t tell whether it’s from a blade or a dragon’s talon. The excessively large man has some muscle, and his sandy hair, grey eyes, and dusky skin could blend into the desert. So plain it almost seems like it’s on purpose.Behind them is a centimare. The massive myriapod’s eyes gleam in the sun, hundreds of pointed legs pacing as it resists the urge to crawl undern