David Farland - Worldbinder

But Daylan shook his head. “This task is not for you. Your people need you. They need to be warned. They need to prepare for the wyrmling attacks that will surely come. And now that you wear wings, there is no one better than you to warn them.”

Rhianna stood for a moment, torn. She had thought of Daylan as her uncle when she was a child, and she loved him still. But she knew that he was right. Millions of people were depending upon her.

Fallion was depending upon her.

“The Emir will help,” Daylan said. “He and his men have brought blood metal, to make forcibles. They plan to strike out ahead, with the hopes of attacking Rugassa and freeing its prisoners. But they will need to take endowments if they are to win through. You will need to find Dedicates for them, and convince them to aid in the quest.”

Rhianna looked to the Emir. He stood beside his daughter Siyaddah, holding her close, comforting her. He was a tall man, with a gladiator’s build and a hawkish face. With his over-sized canines and the bony plate in his forehead, he looked like some evil beast. In another life, on another world, he had been her enemy. Even now, she did not know if she could trust him.

How will I persuade people to give their endowments to this monster? she wondered.

Tell them that they are doing it to save the Earth King, she realized. And Fallion, whom I love. Tell them the truth.

Rhianna flew so high that the morning sun touched her wings, so that they sparkled like rubies in the sky.