The Caged Dragon (Cycle of Dragons Book 1) by Dan Michaelson (websites to read books for free txt) 📕

was true. I didn’t know if he really had a role in the building of the King’s Road or not.

“The road will get better over time, but it is pretty bad,” I said. “At least we’re riding. We won’t get as filthy as I did when I was out the other day.”

Alison twisted in the saddle, looking behind her. “This is going to take most of the day.”

“It all depends on how long you want to spend in the city.”

She looked over and a hint of a smile crossed over her for a moment before fading. “I suppose we shouldn’t spend too much time there. Mom is going to want us back before it gets too late.”

“Probably,” I agreed. “But that doesn’t matter. We can take all the time we need.”

I hated saying that, knowing it meant I would be delayed with my own chores, but Alison needed this. Maybe I needed this too. And I could tell that with each mile we took she began to relax. When we got back, I needed to have a conversation with our mom. Something had to change. She couldn’t keep going on the way that she was. I don’t know if our mom saw it the way I did, but I vowed to myself I would find a way to help her. I had no idea what reason she had for going to the city as often as she did. It wasn't just for supplies, unless Thenis and Dad's sickness had progressed

After we rode a while longer the wall of the city began to loom into view. The wall surrounding Berestal was from a time before Berestal had joined the kingdom. Gray stone towers that were situated every forty-feet or so. Even now, guards patrolled the walls bearing the king’s colors. The flag hanging above the wall bore the symbol of the marshal colored in the maroon and gold standard.

As we neared, more and more farms became prominent. They were built closer to the road in this part of the kingdom, and there were more people out. Not as many had livestock here, which was part of the advantage that our farm had. Given the space we had, and our experience in raising and breeding them, we were able to charge a premium compared to those who lived closer to Berestal. The massive gates to the city were open, as people streamed in. The crowd was larger than I was expecting.

“Why do you think there are so many people here?” I asked.

“Because of the king’s caravan,” she said.

I glanced over to her. “You think all of these people know about the caravan?”

“Not everybody is as isolated as you, Ashan. ”

I grunted. Turning my attention back to the road and the throng of people visible inside , I shook my head. “It looks almost like the Tallman Festival.”

The Tallman Festival was a celebration of the people who had founded Berestal, and a time that brought people from all over the plains to the city to celebrate.

Alison glanced over. “Do you see any posts set up outside the wall? Do you see any carvings of eagles?”

I chuckled. “No, I’m not saying it is the Tallman Festival, only that it looks like it.”

“It looks like any festival,” she said.

“I suppose that it does,” I said.

As we neared the city I motioned for us to slow, as we climbed down from the saddle. “We are probably going to need to stable our horses outside of the city. If there’s a crowd like this, it’s going to be easier for us to keep them there.”

Alison nodded. “You’re probably right.”

“Probably? I know I’m right.”

“That’s what I said.”

I chuckled. We guided our horses off of the King’s Road. Now that we were close to the city there were other roads that made it easier to navigate around the walls. A few shops and storefronts were situated outside of the walls of Berestal Most of them were a bit run-down, and they sold goods that couldn’t be found inside of the city. When we came to the city, I didn’t often shop here. They didn’t have the items we needed most of the time. I did take advantage of the stables, though. They were cheaper than the ones on the inside , and stabling a horse for a day didn’t require much in the way of accommodation. As we approached one of the stables, I nodded to Laret, a pale-haired stable worker I had come to know. He pulled his wide-brimmed hat off, sweeping an arm across his forehead, as he flicked his gaze toward the wall.

“Ashan. I didn’t expect to see you coming here for this.”

I shrugged. “I probably wouldn’t have, but we needed some supplies.”

“Now? Not the right time to be coming out here.”

“Maybe not, but—”

Alison stepped past me. “I made him come,” she said.

He blinked, turning to her as if seeing her for the first time. A flush worked up his face, and he scrubbed at the hint of a beard that had begun to grow. Flat blue eyes quickly took in Alison, her deep blue eyes and wavy brown hair, sweeping along her figure.

“You wanted to see the testing?”

I frowned. “Testing?”

“I thought that was why you came. The king sent the Academy out to the far reaches of the kingdom to look for candidates for dragon riders and the Academy.” He frowned. “I suppose since you aren’t in Berestal all that often, you might not have known about it.”

I looked over to Alison and found her staring toward the wall, an unreadable expression on her face. Was that longing? Maybe something else. Maybe she was concerned about the king sending the Academy here. Or, that she’d known and had talked me into coming today for this reason alone.

“There have been posters up throughout the city for the last month.”

I chuckled. “I suppose you weren’t surprised when the caravan came.”

“Surprised? Gods, we’ve been counting on it. We needed the business. After the rainy season that we had,