Rhenor still didn't like heights, but after flying for hours, he was slowly getting used to them. He still got a little queasy when looking down into the dark blue waters below them, but he also couldn't help but be in awe of it all. He'd never seen the ocean like this, especially not from above, and while the seeming infinity of it was daunting to behold, Rhenor couldn't help but wonder if sailing on a ship was truly as unpleasant as he'd assumed his whole life.

He grimaced when he heard Kaz huff, the sound very loud given how large he currently was. He must have been getting tired, though that was more than understandable since they'd been flying for a few hours now.

The tiredness was visible even in Kaz's wings, as their mighty flaps got slower and slower. Thankfully, there were a few islands on the horizon where Kaz would be finally given a chance to rest.

Rhen wouldn't mind stretching his legs a bit either. Due to Kaz's somewhat sharp scales, Rhenor had put his cloak over the dragon's back, so he and Elaya could fly with him without slicing their legs open. But that did very little for cramping muscles from the long journey.

Rhenor moved his legs as much as he could at the moment, wincing at how sore they were. Riding on a dragon was much less comfortable than on a horse, he was sure of that. And he still had no idea how he felt about Kaz being like this.

Rhen had mostly managed to accept that Kaz was a dragon, but he still had trouble dealing with him looking like this. Though mostly Rhenor missed Kaz's messy hair and those smiles that always made his eyes sparkle. He wanted to properly hug him and kiss him, make sure he was healing okay from the torture he'd gone through, and much more. And Rhen could do none of that as long as they were on the move with Kaz in his dragon form.

"Let's go to the big one," Elaya said loudly over the wind from where she was sitting behind Rhenor, pointing at the island in the middle. It did look much more inviting than the other two Rhenor could see since instead of mostly sand, there were fields of grass and a dense forest.

Kaz turned his head to look at the two humans, nodding and beating his wings faster, clearly eager to be finally given the chance to rest. Rhen ran his hand over the side of Kaz's neck as if by instinct, feeling the dragon's heart race even over the scales. Rhenor grimaced. They could have stopped along the way, but they hadn't because it hadn't seemed vital, and Kaz had been adamant he wasn't tired enough yet. But clearly, it wouldn't have hurt, and it wasn't as if they needed to get anywhere at any specific time.

Rhen would make sure to try to convince Kaz to take a break next time.

He was just about to voice these thoughts when he felt Kaz flinch, his size making it impossible not to notice. And so did Elaya. Rhen threw a look over his shoulder, trying to figure out what was going on, but all he was met with was a wide-eyed, confused look from her.

"Something's..." she said, trailing off as her frown deepened. "Something's wrong."

Rhenor tensed up. He had no idea what this could mean, but he did know that Elaya wasn't being vague on purpose. And the fact that she didn't know what was going on, just that something was, sent chills down his spine.

Kaz somehow managed to push himself even harder, flying rapidly towards the island. Rhen could practically feel the dragon's exhaustion, seeing the muscles on his wings shake with effort as they approached land.

Rhenor wanted to tell Kaz to slow down, that he didn't have to rush to get them to an island they couldn't even be sure was safe. But he didn't get to say any of that because suddenly something was flying toward them.

Rhen barely got the chance to look at what was it was before a metal net hit them. Rhenor found himself pinned to Kaz's back under the weight of it with barely enough time to brace himself when he realized Kaz's wings were now pulled down by the net.

Rhenor hit his head on Kaz's scales as they came crashing down with a thud and a cry, dirt flying all around them under Kaz's immense weight. Thankfully they made it to the island and not ended up in the ocean, but that was a small comfort. Blinking, Rhen groaned, trying to stop his head from spinning. What in Andor's name had happened? Who had shot a net at them?

Kaz whimpered, twisting under the net, which brought Rhen out of his confusion. He tried to pull the metal net off himself so he could stand up, but the thick metal it was made of made it next to impossible to move. Still, he grasped at the net, gritting his teeth as he fought back against the unforgiving material. But all he managed was to raise the net enough for it not to dig into his scalp.

He threw a look back at Elaya, wanting to ask her to use her magic to get them out of this, but the alarmed look in her eyes told him that that wasn't going to be an option.

"I can't use magic," she said, her eyes growing wide and scared. Rhen swallowed. He hadn't known Elaya for very long, but he hadn't seen her look scared. Was that what she and Kaz had felt just now?

Feeling dread spreading through him, Rhenor turned to Kaz, trying to drag the net up a bit more. "Kaz, you have to turn. We can't get this net off you when you're this big."

"I can't!" the dragon cried with a shaky voice, grabbing at the net with his claws and trying to pull it off, though all he managed was to get more tangled up in the net, a few of his claws getting stuck in it as well as his tail as he frantically moved it around.

Rhen immediately reached out and grabbed at Kaz's back to try to still him, wincing as the net hit his head. He knew it was hopeless. Kaz was incomprehensibly stronger than him, but Rhenor hoped that at least his touch might help Kaz not go into a full-fledged panic.

"Calm down, Kaz," Elaya almost pleaded as she stroked a hand over the dragon's back. "We'll get you out of this."

Kaz did still a little at that, letting out a tiny whimper as he tried to nudge the net away with his head. Rhen could do little more than watch, grimacing at Kaz's distress until Elaya's voice distracted him enough to look away.

"Let's get out from under this net, and then try to pull it off Kaz together," she said, her gaze much more intense than usual. Her previous fear was still on her face, but it had been mostly overshadowed by a hard, determined look. Rhenor nodded, begrudgingly taking his hands off Kaz and pulling the net up again, raising it as he went to one edge of it.

Kaz was so tangled up in the net that it was difficult to raise its end without trying to pull one of the dragon's limbs up with it, but after considerable effort, Rhenor managed to put a gap between the grassy ground and the net large enough to fit through, crouching down and ducking under it.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

He got up just in time to see Elaya manage to escape the net as well, but the next second his gaze was pulled away from her when he spotted movement behind her. There were figures on horses riding towards them, still relatively far away, but quickly getting closer.

Humans. This must have been the people Kaz had talked about supposedly living here. They must have been the ones to shoot them down. If they were from a free human nation, they would hate dragons, so attacking one flying over their lands would make sense. Maybe this was just a misunderstanding, and they wouldn't be hostile.

Rhenor watched them as they approached, counting fifteen of them, but his attention was then brought back to Kaz when he heard him make a confused noise. Seeing the net wrap itself around the dragon's trashing body tighter by itself, both Rhenor and Elaya immediately rushed to him, grabbing at the net and trying to yank it away from Kaz, but it only got tighter and tighter, a part of it wrapping itself around Kaz's snout, making it impossible for him to open his mouth, and muffling his increasingly distressed whines and whimpers.

"Step away from the dragon," said a commanding voice from behind them as the sound of the beating of hoofs ceased. Rhen automatically looked at whoever was speaking, but he didn't let go of the net, nor did he move even an inch away from Kaz. And neither did Elaya.

The person who had spoken, a man with a graying, short beard, shoulder-length hair, and a weathered, wrinkled face, frowned at them, not looking angry, but definitely disapproving. Rhenor barely saw that though, as he noticed that from the man's neck hung a golden amulet with a large, glowing crystal attached to it. It immediately reminded Rhen of the artifact in Arlow, and that brought a bitter taste to his mouth. He certainly hoped that was just a coincidence.

"You're the one doing this, aren't you?" Elaya snapped at the man with a righteous kind of anger, stabbing a finger at Kaz who was still being wrapped up by the net, tighter and tighter. "Stop it! You're hurting him."

Rhenor tried not to let his fear for Kaz show, hiding it behind a glare as his eyes flicked over to the dragon again, feeling his insides twist when he saw that he was barely moving. The net was so firmly wrapped around Kaz's massive form that he couldn't seem to move, but that didn't mean that he was still. Rhen could feel the dragon trembling under his hands.

"The dragon won't be harmed," the man said as the necklace stopped glowing, and the metal net finally stopped moving. The poor dragon's wings were squeezed flat around his body, and if Kaz's wings were as sensitive as they had seemed earlier when he'd gotten shot, it must have been very painful.

"Let him go," Rhenor said, trying to keep his voice as composed as possible.

"No. Dragons are too dangerous to be let free," the man replied, gesturing to the people around him. "In fact, restrain them, as well."

Rhenor shot a glare as four of the riders jumped off their horses and started advancing towards them. As much as he didn't want to, he took his hands off Kaz and sprung up, making a grab for his bow. All he managed, though, was to pull the bow off his shoulder when two of the people reached him, grabbing his arms and wrenching them behind his back.

Rhenor gritted his teeth, trying to get out of their hold as one of them tried to wrench the bow out of his hand while they dragged him away from Kaz. He could hear Elaya cursing at them as she was no doubt restrained as well.

"Neither the dragon nor you will be harmed as long as you cooperate," the leader continued, jerking his head towards the rest of the riders, who all moved towards Kaz with chains.

Seeing Kaz flinch as they hooked their chains to the net covering him, Rhen tried to get free of the people holding him, but it was hopeless and he knew it. All he could do was stand there and watch as the riders began dragging Kaz away with the chains, ignoring his weak attempts at getting free, his tails flailing around frantically as much as it could.

Rhen gritted his teeth. He knew Kaz had thick scales all over his body, so the chances of getting hurt by being dragged on the ground like this were minimal, but if they did hurt him, he would make them pay tenfold.

"We'll get you out of this, Kaz! Just hold on," Elaya called after him, sounding both worried and furious. And she looked even angrier than her voice suggested, her eyebrows drawn together into the most hateful glare Rhen had seen on her so far, aiming all of it at their captor.

Rhenor hadn't thought of her as scary before, but she certainly seemed that way now. If she could use her magic, she would have no doubt dealt with this by now. If only....

But he would be damned if they didn't free Kaz and get out of here and soon. These people had no right to hold them here. They'd done nothing.

"Of all the dragons we've shot down, none have carried humans on their backs," the leader commented, sounding curious. He gestured to the people holding Rhen and Elaya in place, and they immediately let go.

Rhen still shot both of the people a glare as he took a step away from them, still clutching his bow. He knew he couldn't use it, even if he wanted to, because there were simply too many people who would stop him before he could even grab an arrow, but holding it made him feel completely defenseless.

His eyes drifted over the skid marks in the grass where Kaz had been dragged, spotting him in the distance as he was rather quickly pulled along wherever those riders were going. Rhenor almost started running after him then, but he forced himself to stay still. He doubted he'd manage to get Kaz out of that net, even if he could somehow catch up to the people on horseback.

"Who are you to have as proud a beast as a dragon carry you like this?" the leader asked after a short pause, still frowning at both of them as if trying to solve them like some sort of riddle.

Rhenor had to admit that their situation could be seen as rather strange, given how haughty dragons tended to be, but unfortunately, the man had called Kaz a beast, which made Rhen too angry to agree with anything he had to say.

"He's not a beast," Rhen forced through gritted teeth, the wood of his bow almost bending in his hand as he clenched his hand around it.

"His name is Kaz, and he's our friend," Elaya snapped, somehow managing to glare even more fiercely than ever before. "You had no right to shoot us down, and you have no right to keep him prisoner like this."

"I have every right," the man replied, not sounding upset or even annoyed. It was more like he was stating a simple fact rather than defending himself. "You came here from Istamid, did you not? Then you know what happens when you leave dragons unchecked."

"Kaz isn't like them," Rhen immediately argued, but even to him, it sounded hollow. It was true—Kaz was like none of the dragons Rhenor had heard about, but if someone just a few days ago came to him claiming that a dragon they know is kindhearted and the opposite of power-hungry, Rhenor would call them a liar or delusional. Probably both.

Rationally, Rhenor understood why this man had done what he'd done, but it was difficult to see things rationally when Kaz was being dragged the gods knew where, wrapped up in a metal net so tightly he couldn't move. Poor Kaz must have been terrified.

"It matters little if he isn't as evil as some of his peers," the man replied. If Rhen didn't know any better, he'd think the look this person was giving him was of pity. "Dragons and humans cannot coexist. He won't be harmed, as I said, but he will be kept in chains. Even now, I have no doubts he'd attack our town if he was let go, simply for shooting him down."

Rhenor wanted to snap that maybe they shouldn't have shot Kaz down in the first place, but before he could, the older man continued.

"Speaking of, please, come along. I have many questions for you, but I think it would be more appropriate to ask them in a more relaxed setting."

Neither Rhen nor Elaya moved, and instead, they both scowled at the man. Rhenor had trouble believing how civil the man was trying to be, assuming they would simply go along with this after he'd captured and literally dragged away their friend, and Rhen's...whatever they were to each other now. No word he could come up with so far felt entirely appropriate.

"Please, cooperate. You are outnumbered and now stranded. There is nowhere else for you to go."

So they were prisoners as well. Rhenor couldn't say he was surprised, though he still got violent fantasies at the sight of the man's gentle smile.

"Now come. Rethan is not far away."

Rhen looked at Elaya, who was still keeping her full concentration on glaring at the man as hard as she could. He was right, they had nowhere else to go without Kaz to fly them around, but if anything, that just made Rhenor angrier. But as the man and his lackeys started trotting away on their horses, he followed, knowing that going along with this would be the easiest way of getting Kaz out of this situation.

Rhen huffed. This was off to about as terrible a start as it could be. And to think he'd been excited to see a free human nation.