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

couldn’t decide which way I needed to go, but it might be best to at least see if that was a horse I’d seen before. If it was Adela, maybe she would resist my father trying to lead her away, and she would slow so I could catch her.

The way I saw it, he was either my father decided to head back on his own—and knowing him recently, he most likely wouldn’t—or he’d continue to wander around. Knowing that she was a good horse, the last possibility was that Adela would decide to bring him back. This was what I was hoping for, knowing she wouldn’t intentionally lead him away from us, not if she understood.

It was possible I was giving Adela too much credit. She would follow my father’s command. How could she not?

I hurried forward, heading toward where I had seen the figure.

When the thunder rumbled again, at least I didn’t have to worry about soothing Flop, but I did have to worry whether the storm would come before I had a chance to find my father. The lightning that followed illuminated everything, and with that flash , I could make out a shape in the distance.

I stumbled.

The ground was soft, though not completely muddy. I couldn’t run nearly as fast as I would along the King’s Road, but fast enough that I might be able to catch up to the figure in the distance. As I ran, I caught sight of it moving away.

“Adela!”

Lightning burst again, and the horse turned toward me.

She wasn’t moving.

Strange.

I raced forward, hurrying to where Adela was. There was no sign of my father.

At least, not sitting atop her. Someone was laying on the ground next to her.

My breath caught, as I grabbed her reins, not wanting her to bolt. My father lay motionless. I touched his forehead, brushing his hair back from his head, and realized that he was cold. It was a sharp contrast to my brother, who had been so hot.

“Dad!” I yelled.

Thunder rumbled around me emitting a deep, brassy note, practically shaking the ground. I shook my father’s shoulders, but there was still no response. I lifted him, putting him up in Adela’s saddle, and then climbed behind him, holding on to him. Everything about him was freezing. If the rain came, he was going to get even colder.

I didn’t have any other choice but to try and get back home. Hopefully he could warm up there. I had a sinking feeling he was more injured than that, though. He didn’t make any sound, and didn’t moan. When I checked his neck, he had a pulse, though it was faint and thready.

I had no idea how much time we had. Probably not long.

My sister was gone. My brother had a raging fever. I feared my mother and brother might have gotten caught in the same storm, and the gods only knew what happened to them. Hopefully they had reached the city before the weather turned. And now my father was dying.

I patted Adela on the side, and leaned forward. “We need to go as quickly as you can,” I said to her. “I know you don’t want to run in this weather, but we need to get back to the farm.” I nudged her sides, and Adela started off, trotting as quickly as she could. I had been around her enough times to know she had some speed to her, though she wasn’t that fast.. But I had to hope she would be fast enough.

'When we reached the King's Road she set off at an even faster pace. The thunder seemed to chase us, as if the storm was taunting us. The wind whipped around, chilling the air around me.

It wasn’t long before the rain hit. It was gentle at first, drenching me, but not with the same ferocity as the storm a few days ago. I held on tightly, squeezing my father, trying to keep him in place as we rode. I was afraid of losing control of her, but she was sturdy and quick. When we reached the small ravine where the road had washed out, she trotted down as if to tell me that she knew the path to take, before ascending back up, and hurrying onward.

It was late by the time we neared the farm. The thunder and lightning was a constant companion. The rain had yet to increase in intensity, and I offered a silent prayer in thanks for that. I soon realized something was off. There were lights on in the windows. My mother had gone off with Thenis to the city, and I couldn’t imagine she would be back by now. It would’ve taken a whilefor her to get to Berestal and back, let alone have time to have spoken with a healer.

The barn was closed, which was reassuring, but who was in the house?

I guided Adela up to the front of the home, climbed down, and carefully pulled my father down. I looped Adela’s reins around the post near the door. He hadn’t moved the entire time we’d been ridingand hadn’t made any noise either. I tried not to think about it, onlyfocusing on getting him inside, to give him a chance to warm up and hopefully recover. As I pushed the door open, I almost dropped him.

“Joran?”

He was pacing in front of the hearth, as he looked over to me. He saw me carrying my father, and he hurried over , helping to take the burden as we carried him to one of the back bedrooms.

“What happened?” Joran asked.

“I don’t really know,” I said. “He wandered off. It’s not the first time he’s done it, and not even the first time he’s done it this week. ”

“Where did he go?”

“Toward the forest,” I said.

“You were all the way over there?”

I nodded. “I chased him there earlier this week as well.”

I set him down on the bed, not mindful of the fact that he was still drenched, and raced out to