Chapter 5.3- The Seadragon's Roar

I looked over at Corlys behind her shoulder and he just winked in my direction. Yeah, he’d definitely be sending more even if I squandered this bit. Good news, because I hd no doubts that my experiments would end up being quite expensive.

“Is Laena coming?” I found myself asking, even if I knew the answer already.

“She seems to have gotten it into her head that you will not leave without her saying goodbye and so has locked herself away in her rooms” Mother said with a shake of hr head. I smiled at the thought. One year older than me, but the dynamic between Laena and I had always been one of me being the older sibling and her being the younger, less mature one.

I reached into my jacket’s inner pocket and took out a sealed letter. I knew she’d pull something like this.

“Please give this to her when she gets out for dinner” I said. Mother nodded, before pulling me into another tight hug that I returned.

“Now, you should get going. You remember the designated rest spots?”

“Yes mother”

“Good. Even if you feel like Igneel can continue, it’s best if you stop at those spots to avoid having to stop somewhere else. Your father has spoken with the affected Lords and made the right payments, so don’t hold igneel back from hunting to his heart’s content” She said, and I nodded again. I knew this already. She knew I knew this. We’d gone over the route multiple times. She herself had flown the route on Meleys’ back to make sure that there would be no surprises. With what we measured of Igneel’s speed, and assuming two hours of rest at each spot, we were scheduled to arrive at Storm’s End before the end oof tomorrow.

“Goodbye Laenor.” She said, placing a kiss on my forehead. I nodded at her, and then her husband behind her. The ship with my staff and the rest of my supplies had set out a day earlier so there was nothing holding me here. I patted Igneel’s neck, and he rose from his crouched position, rising to his full height.

We heard a roar off to the sides, and it was the Bronze Bitch, just as expected. She was perched on one of the many hills that dotted Driftmark, watching us leave. I scoffed in her direction, never noticing the small figure atop her back. I sent my intentions to Igneel, and he turned in the other direction, taking five quick steps before shooting off into the air like a bullet. I felt the wind press against me, trying to toss me off the saddle but I kept my grip around his neck tight even as I buried the urge to whoop and holler. This was it, finally.