Table of Contents

- Chapter One

- Chapter Two

- Chapter Three

- Chapter Four

- Chapter Five

- Chapter Six

- Chapter Seven

- Chapter Eight

- Chapter Nine

- Chapter Ten

- Chapter Eleven

- Chapter Twelve

- Chapter Thirteen

- Chapter Fourteen

- Chapter Fifteen

- Chapter Sixteen

- Chapter Seventeen

- Chapter Eighteen

- Chapter Nineteen

- Chapter Twenty

- Chapter Twenty-One

- Chapter Twenty-Two

Dragon School: Initiate

Dragon School, Volume 2

Sarah K. L. Wilson

Published by Sarah K. L. Wilson, 2017.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

DRAGON SCHOOL: INITIATE

First edition. November 25, 2017.

Copyright © 2017 Sarah K. L. Wilson.

Written by Sarah K. L. Wilson.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Behind the Scenes:

Chapter One

I pressed my cheek against Raolcan’s searing scales. On a night as brisk as this, it was hard not to revel in his warmth.

Meanwhile, you’re chilling me to the core.

I laughed sleepily and nuzzled in closer. In the week since we’d passed First Flight, I’d been sneaking up here to the stables every night to sleep curled against Raolcan. It felt safer here.

It is safer. I will keep you safe, spider. You can count on me.

“And you can count on me,” I whispered, wary of the stable guards making their rounds. If they saw me, I would likely be in a lot of trouble, although I hadn’t been caught yet.

Never, not in my wildest dreams, had I imagined I’d be best friends with a dragon. I was trying to enjoy every moment of it that I could sneak because I’d hardly had a moment with Raolcan during school hours - beyond cleaning his stables.

“We need to rush your studies,” Grandis Elfar had said on the dawn of the day we passed First Flight. “There will be time enough to learn to ride on the journey ahead.”

“Journey?” Savette had asked, never afraid to speak up to an instructor. She tossed her perfect silvery hair and held her chin high.

“We won’t speak of that yet,” Grandis Elfar had said. “For now, we have exactly one week to cram four months worth of geography, history and social training into your heads and then test you on it and I swear to the moon and the wide-open skies, I will not have any of you fail to learn what you need. You’re Inducted now!”

It had come as a surprise to me after First Flight, that I was suddenly included in the ranks of the Inducted who had almost refused to acknowledge us only a week ago. I shifted against Raolcan, trying to ease the pain from my crippled hip that was a constant ache in the back of my head. I wasn’t even sure why I bothered shifting when it hardly seemed to help. This time, as I shifted, I felt the stiffness and creak of my brand-new uniform of grey leathers. It was a finer piece of clothing than anything I’d ever worn. I’d been given three full sets plus fresh underthings to go along with them and a leather bag with buckles to keep my things in. I still felt like a different person whenever I caught a glimpse of myself in a looking glass.

“It’s a pity to have to wear leather all the time,” Starie had said when we were given them. “I smell like a tannery.”

“I think I like them,” Savette protested. She looked perfect in hers, as if the form-fitting leathers had been cut to specification for her lithe figure.

I hadn’t looked at the other girls for long. Comparisons get you nowhere. They only make you ashamed of what you should be grateful for. I didn’t need to be beautiful. I needed to be capable - and the leathers helped with that. With them, the bite of the wind would be lessened, the heat of Raolcan’s scalding scales easier on a long ride, and I could wear them many days without needing to wash or mend them. I let those feelings of gratitude fill me and replace any need to compare myself to others.

You need to get back to the dorms, Raolcan’s mental voice cut through my sleepy reminisces. Soon it will be sunrise and you don’t want to be caught out of your bed.

I clambered to my feet, adjusting my crutch to bear the weight my bad leg should have carried and gently caressed Raolcan’s wing before hobbling away. He was right, of course. It was only that since the night of First Flight there had been something strange in the air, as if everyone but me was waiting for something. It made me want to stay close to Raolcan.

I eased my way onto the supply bench rigged to the pulleys and made my decent to the dorm level. I was getting better at riding that bench and it was saving me time. I just ignored the frowns and tried to remind myself that they didn’t matter. If the frowners found themselves with one working leg in a vertical structure like Dragon School, they’d be doing the exact same thing.

I was almost outside the door of the girl’s dorm when I heard the sound of whimpering. Our filmy curtains were flapping in the stiff wind so it took a moment to find the girl curled into a ball under one of the windows, a white letter clutched in one hand.

“Are you hurt?” I whispered, easing myself down to sit beside her.

Savette pulled away from me but she didn’t stand up. She always did that, like she was allergic to other humans.

“I’m fine,” she said, voice stiff.

“I wouldn’t be outside in the cold crying if I was just fine.” I wouldn’t have said that a week ago. Saving someone’s life made you feel bolder around them.

“I can’t be a Dragon Rider anymore.”

“Why not?”

She bit her lip, glanced at me like she was going to say something and then changed her mind and stood up. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

She was gone before I’d finished exhaling.

Chapter Two

The next morning, the girls’ dorm was alight with excitement.

“Magikas!” Starie said excitedly to an older girl as we cleaned our teeth around the stone basin. “I heard that Magikas are coming here!”

“Magikas came here last year,” the other girl said with a superior air. There were two hundred of us at Inducted level now that our wave had been initiated. The initiated who came before us treated us like children – or maybe unwanted stray pets. “Two clusters of them led by a three-stripe and a two-stripe. They’ll think you’re inferior if you act like they are special.”

“Inferior?” Starie sounded furious. “I’m a High Castelan!”

The older girl sneered. “You’re Inducted, and until you’re brought before the Dominar to swear, that’s all you’ll be. Your titles don’t make you better than anyone else.”

She stalked out and Starie whirled to face me. “What are you looking at?”

I swallowed. I hadn’t done anything wrong, but conflict made me nervous.

“Why are Magikas coming?” I asked, trying to diffuse the situation. Unlike the others, I was a commoner and I’d never seen a Magika – not even one riding by on the common road.

“They travel, hogweed.” Did Starie get away with talking like that in her High Castelan family? “That’s what Magikas do. They travel to find power wells and tap them, or to seek wisdom. And their apprentices travel with them. You’d better figure this stuff out or you’ll fail examinations and they’ll never let you swear.”

Her smirk was meant to get a reaction from me but a twinge of pain in my hip distracted me. She could talk all she wanted. These twinges were because I’d pushed myself on the night of First Flight. Climbing all those levels with just one leg on a tight timeline and then leaping over the edge onto the back of a dragon was a whole lot harder than sitting a few examinations.

I followed her out of the washroom and joined the stream of girls flooding out of the dorms and to their morning tasks. I felt a little bad about the fact that I had a leg up – ha ha – on everyone when it came to geography. I’d found that as long as I studied near Raolcan, he dipped into my thoughts and added visual memories of the geography I was studying. It was easy to remember the way a river ran across the landscape when you’d seen it in your mind’s eye. His added commentary lent depth to the studies.

The ruby islands on the eastern reaches of the Dominion are oft-disputed and of no wonder. Their caves contain rich minerals and the ancient carvings of our ancestors, I’d read only yesterday.

In the sea nearby sleeps the Crimson Kraken, Raolcan told me in my mind. One day she will awaken and pull the isles back beneath the depths. We dragons avoid the isles if we can.

Study time was full of his asides. I found myself enjoying the time I spent reading. I had no idea the world was so large or so complicated.

I followed the line of initiates heading up the ladders to the stables. Even at the back of the line, I caught more of their whispers.

“Baojang,” one girl whispered. Without our studies, I wouldn’t even know the name of our massive neighbor to the east. “I have a letter from my parents saying that they’ve closed trade to our silver merchants.”

“And now there are Magikas coming. I heard that we’re going to throw them a banquet when they arrive,” someone else said.

When we arrived at the stable level Grandis Elfar was already waiting for us. Her mouth was in a thin line and the shadows under her eyes were darker.

“Inducted,” she said, “you must hurry through your stable and tack today. All those in the most recent wave will sit examinations for geography and nations. Those in wave two will sit examinations for etiquette and castelans. Those in wave three will sit examinations for resources and logistics. Despite our best efforts, things here at Dragon School are changing – rapidly. We will do all we can to prepare you for what is ahead.” She paused and wiped her forehead with her neck scarf. “But we remain people under orders and those orders will be followed.”

“What orders are those?” Starie demanded.

Grandis Elfar’s expression grew dark. “That’s none of your affair, Inducted. Hop to work. All of you, get to work. Except you, High Castelan Savette Leedris. We need to have words.”

I followed the line of Inducted, a bit behind them with my stilted pace. As I turned the corner on the narrow path around the dragon cotes, I looked back over my shoulder at Savette. Her shoulders were hunched and her arms wrapped around her body. I was starting to worry about her. Something wasn’t right and she wasn’t telling me what it was. It was hard to help someone when they refused to even speak to you about their problem.

If it’s important, she’ll tell you at the right time, Raolcan said.

I let out a long breath, letting myself relax into the feel of his mind against mine. I always felt safe with Raolcan.

Chapter Three

I was rubbing the last of the oil into Raolcan’s scaly spine when a flutter of wings and a loud thump drew my attention. Here, at the very end of the stables, there were no full dragon cotes past Raolcan’s and yet someone had had just landed – rather clumsily – in the cote beside his.

Ahlskibi, Raolcan told me.

His ears were up and his wings taut. Was something wrong?

Yes.

I pulled my crutch up from the ground, secured it under my arm and hobbled out onto the narrow path between the dragon cotes and the cliffside. The height hardly bothered me anymore but there would never be a time when I wouldn’t have to be careful walking here. I’d already lost one crutch over the side – that fateful night of First Flight – and I doubted that Dragon School had many more lying around. Dragon Riders were physical people. There were no other Dragon Riders like me. No one else with a broken body who still desperately wanted to ride.

There was no curtain covering the entryway to the next cote, but I was still careful as I turned the corner around the curve of the cliff and looked in. I’d almost had my face torn off the last time I stuck a head into a strange dragon’s cote.

Raolcan had been right. Ahlskibi, Leng’s purple dragon, was hunched within the cote, his head low over something – prey? A kill?

I gasped when I saw it was Leng, limp on the floor, his black leather clothing slick with blood and a wooden cylinder gripped in one hand. What should I do? No one would hear me if I called out from so far down the stable line, but I didn’t dare leave him.

Bells. Above your head. Look for a red rope.

Raolcan had come to the rescue again. I found the red rope hanging above my head and stretched upward to pull on the knot at the end. I didn’t hear a bell, but hopefully, someone did further down. That done, I limped toward Leng, wary of Ahlskibi who had laid his massive head down beside him.

“Don’t be angry, Ahlskibi. I’m just checking on him. Easy, now. I just want to see if he is okay.”

Nervous fear made my hands tremble as I drew close. His jaws were so large and so close that I could feel his hot breath gusting over Leng. I put a palm above his mouth, sighing with relief at the feel of his exhale. It was light, but it was still there. I felt his forehead – hot. Where was his injury? There were no obvious marks on him despite the blood. I sank into a one-legged crouch, but my balance gave way, dumping me onto the ground. Not a problem. I could work better from here, anyway. Leaning up on one knee, I gripped his side and rolled him over, gasping at the dark quarrel sticking out of his lower back. Blood oozed out from the wound. I bit my lip. What did you do for a wound like that? The oilcloth! I jammed it against the wound, trying not to move the quarrel, but he still gasped at my touch.

“Elfar?” he asked.

“It’s me,” I said, realizing too late that he couldn’t see my face and that I couldn’t lean him back down so that he could. I needed to keep his weight off the quarrel. “Amel Leafbrought. Ahlskibi landed in the stall next to Raolcan’s.”

“Hurt,” He gasped.

“You were shot in the back. I rang a bell for help.”

“Ahlskibi.” He coughed. “Is he hurt?”

I looked at him, but how could you tell? He wasn’t bleeding. He looked like he wanted to flame something. How could I tell if he was hurt?

You could ask. As always, Raolcan was to the point.

“Are you hurt?” I asked him.

No answer. Perhaps Raolcan could ask.

He’s unhurt.

It was pretty irritating that he wouldn’t speak to me directly. I knew he could. He’d done it before.

It’s purple dragon tradition, Raolcan said.

I rolled my eyes but Leng needed to know. “He’s fine.”

“Baojang. Scroll.” His hand reached around and handed me the cylinder.

“I think you should rest,” I said, uncertainly, stuffing the scroll into my waistband. “I’ll hold onto you.”

He slumped like he had passed out and I held him there, wobbling on my one knee, until finally there was the sound of feet running and then Grandis Elfar burst into the cote with four Dragon Riders - guard bands around their arms. They must have been the ones on watch.

“What happened?” she asked me, as she motioned to the other men to position the stretcher they’d brought.

“I was with Raolcan and we heard them land. There’s a quarrel in his back.”

“Leng?” Grandis Elfar leaned in close to Leng at the same moment that one of the Dragon Riders gently took over bracing him up on his side. The other helped me to my feet, business-like in his desire to clear me out of the way and help Leng. I hobbled to the side of the cote, my eyes riveted on Leng. How bad was his injury? Would he recover?

Grandis Elfar was whispering to him. I strained my ears to hear, but only heard the word “Baojang.” I played nervously with the cylinder he’d given me before I realized what I was doing and then froze, guiltily. Leng muttered something and I felt a pang in my chest. I needed him to be okay. Apparently, Ahlskibi felt the same way. She bared her teeth as the Dragon Riders gently lifted him onto the stretcher and then carried him away.

I chewed on my thumb, then realized what I was doing and stopped just as Grandis Elfar’s eyes fell on me. “Will he recover?”

“It’s not mortal. They’ll take him to the infirmary.” She had a strange expression on her face, like she was considering something. “I’m glad you chose Purple, Amel. Days are coming when we will need more of your kind.”

Why did that sound so ominous?

“He gave me this,” I said, offering her the scroll.

She held out a hand, but then drew it back before she could take the scroll. “It’s marked with the purple seal.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that it may only be given to a Dominion Envoy. Or carried by a Purple Dragon Rider.”

“I’m not either of those,” I said, nervously.

Her expression was grim. “By law, I can’t take it from you. You must keep it for him either until he can take it back, or until you are in contact with a Dominion Envoy or a Purple Dragon Rider. You must not break the seal or read the message.”

I licked my lips nervously. “There must be other Purples here...”

“There are not.” She clapped a hand on my shoulder with a strong smile. “Consider it your first job as a Purple Dragon Rider. Someday, this will be your life.”

She strode out of the cote and I followed, not wanting to be alone with Ahlskibi. I wanted more than anything, for Leng to be whole again, but I couldn’t avoid the nagging feeling that I should open the cylinder and read the missive inside. There were too many secrets at Dragon School and I wanted to know what they were.

Chapter Four

All I could think about while I sat the geography and nations exam were Leng and the cylinder that was still tucked in my waistband.

Concentrate. You know the name of the High Castelan who governs the Ruby Islands.

Without prompting from Raolcan I’d be failing this examination, but who wouldn’t be curious when they held a Dominion Dispatch on their person? I fought to answer the questions on my slate instead of envisioning what must have happened that left Leng with a quarrel in the back and an important missive in his hand. If he’d risked his life to deliver this message, it should be read by a Dominion Envoy, not held by a Dragon School Initiate who had only just achieved the grey uniform.

Even Grandis Leman seemed nervous as he supervised our examination. His gaze drifted constantly to the wide-open windows and his fingers tapped a rhythm on the desk. Something about his expression reminded me of a bird about to leap from a branch.

At the end of the examination, he appeared relieved, ringing a tiny silver bell to signal the end of our time and then carefully collecting our slates for examination.

“Good luck to all of you,” he said, as he worked. “Those who pass will continue on with Dragon School. Those who do not will be given to the servant halls. Remember, each step of your training is equally important. None of this is optional to learn. It will mean life or death for you as Dragon Riders.”

Really, it was a wonder that there were any Dragon Riders at all. I chewed my lip, hoping my distraction hadn’t hurt my chance of passing the exam and followed the others out of the examination room. Squeals of delight broke out from somewhere at the front of the line but Savette leaned in from beside me, her forehead lined with worry.

“How did you do?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I was distracted. How did you do?”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. They won’t let me be a Dragon Rider anyway.”

“Why not?” Maybe now, with more time to have thought about it, she would tell me.

Her expression was cynical – a wry twist of the lips. “I’m a High Castelan. They have other plans for me.”

“Once you get in Dragon School, there’s no leaving,” I reminded her, happy in the comfort of that. “You’re either a Dragon Rider or a servant after that.”

Savette barked a harsh laugh. “I used to think that was true, too. Enjoy the celebrations. They’re putting on a huge banquet for the Magikas there will be food you’ve never tasted before.”

She slipped away through the moving crowd of students leaving my belly rumbling at the thought of a banquet. Ahead of us the servants were stringing bunting and hanging colored lanterns along the side of each of the tiered levels of Dragon School – the only school I’d ever heard of that was built into the side of a cliff. The examinations had been long and now dusk covered the landscape below. Snaking through the dusk was a snake-like trail of bright lights. What was that?

Magikas with their magic lights, Raolcan informed me.

I stopped, letting myself enjoy my first sight of Magikas – even if they were so far away that I couldn’t make out the actual people. I couldn’t wait to eat with them tonight, but first I needed to do something more important.

Chapter Five

I snuck up to the healing ward, grateful for the excitement all around me. No one was looking at what one crippled girl was doing with decorations to hang, looks to primp and last-minute cleaning and preparation to help with. I squeezed between Tamas and an elderly woman who were lighting the colored lanterns. I smiled at Tamas, but he turned his face away, just like he had every time I tried to talk to him since the night of First Flight.

It made me feel both sorry for him and incredibly angry at myself. Could I have been a better friend? Could I have guessed what he was going through and helped him? Who else was I letting down by not noticing their problems? Savette needed help, but she wasn’t willing to get it from me yet.

My thoughts kept me occupied until I reached the healing halls on the second level – all levels of Dragon School were named from the top down, level one being where the Dragon Cotes were at the top of the cliffside. A pair of guards were stationed at the entrance, but they didn’t so much as blink as I walked between them and into the ward. Likely, they thought I was here for help, not to find Leng.

There was no Healer at their counter in the entrance, although cut herbs beside a pestle and a small sickle nearby suggested that someone was around. I limped past the counter and into the airy rooms beyond. Warm fires crackled in the wide hearths, but even here the windows were kept open so that the fresh air from outside could refresh the spirits of those recovering in the healing ward. I peeked behind curtains, one at a time, looking for Leng. All the beds were empty – probably a good thing – until I saw a lump lying in a bed.

I was about to step behind the curtain when I realized who it was – Dannil, his arm missing where his dragon had bit it clean off. His gaze was looking out the window, but his expression was sad. No wonder. I, of all people, knew what it was like to live without the use of a limb.

I snuck back, letting the curtain fall back in place. I should know what to say to him to help him, but I didn’t. I could say that he would find ways to deal with the pain, that he would find ways to do the things he needed to, but would that be of any comfort to him? We both knew that mockery – while very real – was the least of his worries. He’d be a servant here with just one arm. His prospects had gone from soaring to plummeting and there was nothing I could do for him to fix the hole that had torn in who he was.

With a heavy heart, I continued my search. There. One curtain was tied open and within was a white bed with white sheets. Leng laid there on the bed, on his belly with his bare back exposed. The wound was packed with a poultice and dressed, and the quarrel was set on a silver platter beside him. A Healer worked over him, daubing his forehead with a cloth and wiping dried blood from his skin. My belly flipped with worry. Would the injury cause a fever that could take his life? Had something vital been hit by the quarrel? Would he be crippled like me – or worse, die from the shot? I swallowed hard, blinking back tears at the thought. I knew so little about Leng, but everything that I knew I liked. It felt wrong for someone so wild and free and full of vitality to be crumpled on a white bed.

The Healer looked up from her work, sympathy in her aged face.

“Are you lost, initiate? Do you need care for an injury?”

I shook my head, trying to compose myself before I spoke so that my emotion wouldn’t show in my words. “Will he live?”

She shrugged. “Perhaps. It is a deadly injury, and he flew many hours after being shot. He lost blood and with it energy for healing.”

“Can I help him?”

“Are you a Class One Healer?” she asked, with a wry expression.

I shook my head.

“Then it’s best you leave it to the experts, initiate. We will do our best with him. Are you his friend?”

I nodded. “Can I visit?”

She paused, considering me before she spoke. Eventually, her gaze found my crutch and seemed to soften. “Don’t come too often. He needs his rest and he won’t know you’re here. Not yet, at any rate.”

I nodded.

“Run off and join the festivities. We’ll take good care of your friend.”

I nodded and left, feeling the cylinder in my waistband to confirm it was still there. Leng wasn’t going to be able to tell me what to do with it, but he’d left it in my charge. He wasn’t the only one who knew about it or where it came from, though, was he? I needed to ask the other person who might know what to do.

Chapter Six

“Ahlskibi?” I asked, peering into the dark cote. I really hoped she didn’t bite my head off ... literally.

Just be polite, Raolcan advised.

From below, the sound of seventh bell rang out – supper. I should be there, but I should also be here. It was hard to choose between good and best.

“If you’re there, can we talk?”

His head emerged from the dark, golden eyes glittering in the lantern light. He bared his teeth and I stepped back, trying not to stumble over my crutch.

“Leng gave me this message.” I pulled the cylinder from my waistband. It was as long as my hand and as wide around as my finger. Not large, by any means, but it felt heavy. Maybe that was just a trick of the mind. After all, it was weighted with responsibility. “I’m not sure what to do with it. Maybe I should wait for him to recover and give it back to him. Or, maybe I need to give it to someone right away. Can you help me?”

He says that it needs to go to a Dominion Envoy.

He could speak for himself. He didn’t need to talk through Raolcan.

Don’t be rude. He’s not your dragon. He doesn’t want to touch your mind.

I couldn’t help but feel frustrated, but I held it in check. “There isn’t a Dominion Envoy here or any other Purple Dragon Riders. What would Leng want me to do with it?”

He wants you to hold onto it until you can get it to a Dominion Envoy. He says it’s important.

Maybe I should read it. Maybe Grandis Elfar was wrong about that part. If it were urgent, then someone should read it and act on it. The fact that Leng was shot should be proof enough. Maybe Ahlskibi could tell me who shot him and why.

He doesn’t want to talk about that.

Maybe he should anyway. He wasn’t doing Leng any favors staying closed-mouthed about this.

How do you know?

Either way, I wasn’t getting answers here.

“Thank you for the help.” It was hard to get that out without letting irritation drip into my voice. I tucked the cylinder back into my waistband, adjusted my crutch and limped away.

Learn patience. Raolcan’s advice followed me. Learn patience? I had to be patient all the time. Patient when I couldn’t do things quickly, patient when no one believed in me, patient when it took me five times the effort to do something that was easy for other people. If I was anything, it was patient. But this was different. It felt important, somehow.

I scooted onto the bench and lowered myself to the banquet hall. At least I could rest there and enjoy some good food without having to worry about important messages or problems.

Chapter Seven

Mouthwatering scents, the clatter of dishes, the murmur of voice upon voice, and the warmth of many bodies packed into one space greeted me as I entered the dining hall. Steam puffed up from serving dishes as the covers were removed and they were placed on the broad tables. Big, scrumptious dinners were typical at Dragon School but tonight the food had doubled. Fresh fruit cut and heaped on platters and large pitchers of mulled wine were on every table along with freshly baked rolls and juicy meats. My mouth was watering before I’d hobbled a single step into the hall.

Someone had strung brightly colored cloths across the ceiling and hung thickly embroidered banners on every space of wall. The colored lanterns had multiplied here. Not only were they hung at intervals over every table, but they were piled on benches at the side of the room and on the edges of serving tables and over arched doorways. Crimson, emerald, golden and cyan light gave the room a magical feel – appropriate, considering our guests.

The Magikas were not hard to pick out among our Dragon Rider ranks. Where dragon riders were sun-baked and dark, they were pale. Where we were dressed in closely fitted leathers, they wore insulating, fur-trimmed robes large enough to smuggle a baby dragon under. Where we wore braids and scarves as trim, they had golden ornaments and impractical staves, with no clear purpose.

I felt shy in their presence, though none were looking at me, and tried to slip around the edge of the room to the table where most of my wave of initiates sat. I couldn’t avoid them completely, as they were spread out between the tables, but there didn’t seem to be many Magikas at the initiate tables.

“It’s strange to be here and not see droves of trainees,” one Magika commented to Grandis Leman as I slipped by. “I mean, you have some, but there are no wet-behind-the-ears recruits here.”

“We’ve been ordered to halt recruitment for the time being,” Grandis Leman replied. “All commoners that can be spared are being funneled to the army. It takes years to train a Dragon Rider to usefulness. But mere weeks to train a hand to hold a spear.”

The Magika grunted in reply and I moved on. The conversation seemed jovial enough, despite a serious air that pervaded everything. Not for the first time, I itched to read the missive I carried. Would it have news that would make sense of all this?

I found my usual table and slid onto a seat beside Savette, grabbing a roll and tossing it on my plate. At Dragon School, everyone had a healthy appetite and if you wanted to eat, you needed to be quick about it.

“I didn’t know you allowed the Blighted in your ranks,” an arrogant voice cut over the conversation around me. I found the speaker across the table from me, talking to Daedru, but there was no mistaking that she meant me. I hadn’t heard that derogatory term in a long time. Blighted – as if I were a plant taken by a pestilence and not a girl

Daedru blushed at the girl’s words. She was incredibly beautiful – a rival to Savette, though with black, cropped hair to Savette’s long silver hair and a very buxom display in the keyhole neckline of her robes, compared to Savette’s willowy slenderness.

“It’s not up to me what the Grandis allow. This is not my Castel.” He looked embarrassed, as if my presence was a shame to him.

I sighed inwardly. This, again? I thought I’d dispelled doubt and prejudice the night I’d ridden Raolcan. My own classmates had eased their disdain, but now it seemed I had to prove myself all over again.

“Why are you here, girl?” the female Magika asked, raising her voice like I was deaf or particularly dense.

“The crutch isn’t for her ears. She can hear you just fine,” Savette answered for me. Her eyes were far away – clearly still fretting on whatever problem she had, but that didn’t keep her from noticing what was happening.

“I don’t think I asked you, High Castelan,” the Magika said. I didn’t like the way her lip curled.

“Respectfully, I’m here to train as a Dragon Rider, Magika,” I said.

She scoffed. “I’m not a Magika. I’m a Magika Apprentice. I should have guessed you wouldn’t know enough to see that. Still, ignorance is no excuse. Neither is being Blighted. In Magika training we refine that out of you – beat it out or delve you so deep that the Blight leaves. Being around the Blighted fogs our magical reckoning. They leave a stain.”

How did you beat your leg into working again? I’d always been in awe of Magikas. I was starting to revise my opinion.

“Then it’s a good thing you won’t be around us for long,” Savette said, almost absently.

“Think again,” the Magika girl said with a smirk, and while she was still gloating over us, Grandis Dantriet stood and clinked his knife on his glass, waiting for the roar of voices to die down before he spoke in a loud, clear tenor.

“Attention Dragon Riders and Students. We are pleased to welcome our fellow servants of the Dominion here tonight. To the Magikas and their apprentices, we give our sincerest welcome. They have brought with them an Envoy of the Dominion to speak to us. Please, give him your full attention. His missive is from the Dominar himself.”

Grandis Dantriet sat down and a tall, drawn man with a dark face and eyes took his place. The man wore Dominion silver, his clothing thickly embroidered and his collar high in the Dominion style. He pulled out a cylinder from his waistband – one that looked almost identical to the one in mine. I felt for mine, wanting to be sure I had not lost it, that he wasn’t holding my treasure. From within it, he drew a white paper, unrolled it an read it out in a clear, bell-like voice.

“From the towers to the seas, all ravens fly and with them, the stars of the sky, to their appointed places.”

Around me, the full Dragon Riders gasped a stillness filling the room like a fog. I exchanged confused glances with Savette and the other initiates. What in the world did that mean?

Grandis Dantriet stood again, his face pale. He tried to speak but had to clear his throat twice before he could.

“At the decree of our Dominar,” he said, his voice trembling. “We fly.”

Chapter Eight

“Wait!” I called, trying to push through the excited crowd. Everyone was on their feet talking, shouting, and questioning those around them. I watched the Dominion Envoy disappear out the door while I was still trying to pick my way through the throng without stabbing someone in the foot with my crutch. Here he was – an envoy of the Dominar – the only person to give the message to and he was gone like a breath in the wind. I clenched my teeth, putting my head down to try to push between four Greens engaged in an intense debate.

From the back of the room, a voice rose over the others – Grandis Elfar. “Initiates of all levels are to present themselves in the dorms immediately or risk expulsion.”

I deflated. My chance to catch the envoy was gone. Savette pushed in beside me, no one ever stood in her way when she wanted to be somewhere.

“Come on, Amel,” she said. “Let’s get to the dorm.”

I followed in her wake, grateful for the added help in pushing through the crowd. The Magikas and full Dragon Riders were caught up in their own discussions, oblivious to the initiates trying to push through to obey orders. Savette kept her pace slow in deference to my speed limitations and we arrived with the last wave of girls flooding into the dorm. Grandis Elfar was standing on a crate at the back of the room, her hands making suppressing motions to calm the worried chatter before her. Starie was pressed in close, trying to get the Grandis’ attention.

“Attention, Dragon School Initiates: Inducted, Sworn and Colors,” Grandis Elfar said, her strong out-doors voice booming across the open room. “You can stop trying to get my special attention, Castelans and High Castelans. You are included in this. There are no special situations. Yes, Starie, this means you.” She frowned, her hands pushing down again to suppress the murmurs. “We have been called up by the Dominar and we will do our duty and obey our vows. That means we are leaving Dragon School.”

A gasp rushed through us and questions poured from every direction.

“What will happen to us?”

“Where are you going?”

“How can that message have possibly meant that?”

“We’ll be servants! That’s not fair!”

“Calm yourselves,” Grandis Elfar’s voice boomed out. “All of you, calm yourselves. I’m not going to explore every detail of every message with you. That’s full Dragon Rider business and you are not yet Dragon Riders or you would know what it meant. That being said, this will mean changes that you need to know about.”

“But how can we become Dragon Riders if you all leave?” Starie asked.

Grandis Elfar raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. “You saw the Magikas and their apprentices?”

“Yes.” Starie matched the Grandis’ posture. She really was impudent!

“That is how they train their apprentices – in the field, learning from a master. That’s how we will have to train you because believe me, we will need every one of you for what lies ahead. Those of you who look excited – don’t be. There is no option anymore for you to opt out and become a servant. From now on, you pass or die.”

A chill passed over us and I shivered. I’d never considered any other option, but that didn’t make this feel any less serious.

Grandis Elfar continued, now that she had caught our attention. “You will be divided up among the full Dragon Riders present. Some of you might be with teachers, some might be with those who never wanted to teach. As of this moment, our curriculum and written tests are over. You will learn what you can as quickly as you can from whoever you are assigned to. They will be the final judge of when you are ready to move up in our initiate ranks. They will determine what you may do, what you will learn, and where you will go. Before you ask, no you may not choose who you are assigned to – not even you who came from Castelan families. Yes, your dragon will go with you. We are Dragon Riders.

“Hopefully, you have learned enough in my tack and stables course to care for your Dragon and his tack. Your life will depend on your ability to apply what you have learned. Yes, some of you will have to stay here.  A skeleton crew will be left to run Dragon School in our absence. It is an important fortress as well as a school. Hands down. I already told you that I wouldn’t hear requests for assignments.” She frowned at the luckless students who had raised their hands. “I am sorry not to be able to watch all of you journey to the completion of your studies, but I am loyal to the Dominar and I obey his decrees. You will, too, or you will have me to answer to. Now, pack your bags and prepare yourselves. You will be given your assignments tomorrow at breakfast. Get a good night’s sleep. Some of you may be dispatched to cities, towers, and Castels, but others will be roughing it in the outdoors. You’ll look back on these days of warm soft beds and full meals with longing. Best to enjoy them now.”

She stepped down from the crate into the murmuring crowd. The murmurs grew louder as she strode through our ranks. I waved to her, trying to get her attention.

“If she won’t listen to our requests, she isn’t going to listen to yours, Blight!” Starie called out.

“Who said that?” Grandis Elfar spun around. She scanned the crowd before she sighed. “You are all Dragon Rider initiates. Remember that. Everything else is unimportant.”

“Grandis Elfar?” I called.

“Yes?” She looked tired.

“Can I have a word with you.”

She nodded and came to where I was, letting the crowd of initiates close behind her as their voices rose with a babble of speculation.

I leaned in close when she reached me, wondering if Savette was listening in. Her eyes were elsewhere, but she was still at my elbow, brushing against me.

“Grandis Elfar,” I said. “Can I bring the message to the Envoy? I couldn’t catch him in time in the banquet hall, but I really want to discharge this duty.”

She frowned but nodded. “I understand that, Amel. Let me discover where he has gone and we will arrange it. For now, stay here so I know where you are. I don’t want to have to find you in a Dragon cote in the middle of the night.”

So, they did know that I slept there.

“Yes, Grandis.”

She left and I slumped a little. With the future so uncertain I longed to be rid of the missive tucked in my waistband. How could I find another chance to give it to the right person? And what would Leng think if he knew that the message he risked his life for was in the hands of an initiate instead of being delivered properly?

“I think it’s time we talked,” Savette whispered.

Chapter Nine

Savette pulled me through the crowds of girls and into the washroom in the back. It was as empty as I’d ever seen it, not a soul in sight. She looked around every corner before pulling me to the basins where water splashed continually and whispered so quietly that I could hardly hear her above the babbling of the flowing water.

“I need to read that message you’re carrying. Leng Shardson brought it, didn’t he?”

I swallowed. Why would she ask this of me? “I’ve been charged to give it to no one but another Purple or a Dominion Envoy.”

Savette rolled her eyes. “You think I don’t know the protocols? They’re stupid traditions. Think, Amel. What if the message is dire and you’re just holding it here, doing nothing with it.”

“That’s what I told Grandis Elfar!”

“Exactly. If you let me read it, I’ll be able to interpret it and we can decide if we need to rush away to deliver it.”

I felt sweaty, suddenly. Her words made sense, but if we tried to do that we’d be caught and that would end our careers as Dragon Riders.

“Grandis Elfar is looking for the Dominion Envoy. I’ll give it to him.”

“What if he isn’t here anymore?” Her tone was wheedling. “Shouldn’t you let me read it?”

“I don’t think so,” I said, wrapping my hand around the cylinder. There was something strange about the way Savette was acting.

“Listen,” she said, running a hand over her face like she was upset. “I need to see that, Amel. My life depends on seeing that message.”

“Your life? That doesn’t make sense, Savette. It can’t have anything to do with you.”

“It does, Amel. It does! You don’t understand.”

“Then tell me.”

She looked torn, her hands running over her clothing, like she was trying to wipe the sweat from her palms.

“I can’t tell you.”

“Then I certainly can’t break my duty.” If only Grandis Elfar would return with the Envoy.

Savette bit her lip and said, “They’re selling me for peace, Amel. Like a horse. A tribute to a foreign nation.”

That didn’t make any sense. “No one would do that.”

She scoffed. “How do you think we get the dragons we ride? They do the same thing to them.”

Hadn’t Raolcan said the same thing? “Then you should run away.”

She looked pained. “I can’t. Not until I know...Listen. If your message is about that, then I have to read it. I have to know...”

“Know what?”

“I’ve told you too much already. Please, Amel. You saved my life the night of First Flight. Please tell me you didn’t save it just to throw it away.”

Her words stung. I, of all people, knew what it was like to be considered disposable. A twinge of pain shot through my leg and hip as it did every time I let my mind remember my injury. Why was it me who had to decide whether to help Savette? This shouldn’t be my burden, too.

“What’s the Dominion ever done for you that you should be more loyal to its rules and traditions than to me?”

If I agreed, then my honor was nothing. I might not have much – no title, no lands, no possessions, a broken body – but I had my honor. I couldn’t abandon it so easily.

“I’m sorry-” I began, but her lunge cut off my words. She launched her whole body at me, striking me with her shoulder in my belly and knocking me off my feet. I threw my hands back to catch myself, the cylinder flying loose and spinning across the washroom to glance off a stone wall.

“I am, too,” Savette said, pushing herself up and kicking my crutch away so I was forced to stay on my hands and knee. She spun, striding towards the cylinder on the floor, but her path was cut off by Grandis Elfar who had entered the washroom without either of us noticing.

“You two need to be more careful,” she said, scooping up the cylinder and giving us both piercing looks. “It can be slippery in here.”

How much had she seen? Did she see Savette attack me? She handed me the cylinder and helped me retrieve my crutch.

“The Dominion Envoy will receive your message, Amel. Come with me.”

Chapter Ten

I followed Grandis Elfar, refusing to look behind me at Savette. Was she angry? Disappointed? Should I have helped her like she asked? Maybe if I had, I really could have prevented whatever bad thing she feared was coming, but what would that say about my loyalty and honor?

I tried to keep my chin high as I hobbled behind Grandis Elfar. The girls in the dorm were busy packing. It wouldn’t take me long. I had nothing but the clothing, tack, and gear I’d been given by Dragon School. Packing it in a waxed cloth and tying it up into a bundle would be quick enough.

Outside, it was dark, although the colored lights still burned like a painful reminder of our hope and joy only hours before. It felt like I was saying goodbye to home, even though I’d only been here a short time. When my parents thought of me, this is where they would imagine that I was. I had no way to send them word of what was happening now. No way to let them know that things had changed. So much of life was out of my control.

We made our way to the Healing Ward – a strange place for a Dominion Envoy, but what did I know? Perhaps they always stayed with the Healers. Grandis Elfar’s steps were sure and she was careful not to get too far ahead of me. Any worry she felt over the drastic changes we all faced wasn’t present in her demeanor.

We found the Dominion Envoy beside Leng’s bed, speaking quietly with the Healer I’d met before.

“...recovering,” she said. “We are very hopeful. He woke once, but we gave him a draught to put him back to sleep. He needs his rest to heal.”

I let my eyes linger on Leng. He was so alive and powerful usually, but he seemed small and vulnerable laid out on a bed with everyone talking as if he weren’t there. I felt a pang of worry rush through me and a protective instinct that longed to watch over him and nurse him back to health. It wasn’t my place, I reminded myself.

Grandis Elfar cleared her throat respectfully and the Healer looked up. “Ah. They’ve arrived. I will leave you to it. Please try not to disturb his rest. If I am to comply with your request, he will need all the strength he has.”

What did she mean? Should I be worried about what they were going to do with Leng? Truth be told, I knew little about him, not if he had family or friends or where he came from. I didn’t have much time to dwell on that. The Envoy turned to me, his long, drawn face looking ghostly in the flickering candlelight.

“Inducted.” It was not a question. “You bear the message brought here by this Leng Shardson?”

I nodded, shyly, and produced the cylinder handing it to him.

“Have you read it?”

I shook my head.

“Or shown it to anyone?”

I shook my head again. He nodded, gravely and cracked the seal, scanning the message before telling me: “Thank you for your service to the Dominion.” He turned to Grandis Elfar. “I’ll see High Castelan Savette Leedris now.”

Cold filled me. Savette had been right. The message really was about her. I bit my lip, took one last look at Leng and as I followed the Grandis back into the night I couldn’t help the tear that trickled down my face. I had three friends here: Leng, Savette, and Raolcan. One lay injured in a bed, the other injured by my refusal to help and the last one would once again go out into the unknown without the certainty of return. What could I do to make things safe for all of them and would I be able to figure out how to do that in time for it to matter?

Chapter Eleven

Savette still wasn’t back from her meeting with the Envoy when my eyes could stay open no longer and I drifted into sleep. She was missing, still, the next morning as I rose, washed, and rolled my few clothes and bedding into a roll of waxed cloth and leather bindings. My roll looked the same as every other roll on every other bed as we filed out to breakfast.

Breakfast, lavish as always, was laid out on the tables, but we ate with funeral-like moroseness and some did not eat at all. Whatever our next few years were to be like, we would find out here. I caught sight of Tamas in a long line of servants at the side of the hall. He had an air of satisfaction in the way he stood. It must feel very secure to be one of the servants right now. Perhaps he had made the right decision for his family after all.

There was no sign of Savette at breakfast, though I scanned the crowds for her. The Magika Apprentice, from dinner the night before, sat beside me and made a show of being careful not to rub elbows with me or touch anything I had touched. She needed to forget herself. I had more important things to worry about than her.

I ate as much as I could, despite my worry, glad for a chance to fill my belly and mindful of the words from the night before. This might be my last chance to eat like this. As we finished our meal, Grandis Dantriet stood and addressed us.

“I wish prosperity and safety on all of you,” he said. “To our guests – we salute you. To our Dragon Riders, I fling you out into the world in hope for a return. To our students – I wish for fruitfulness and maturity. Don’t disappoint me. Following the orders from the Dominar, all required food, supplies and provisions have been brought to your dragon cotes. You will travel in knots of five – one rider and the assigned students. Each rider has been assigned students of his or her color to the extent that we could do that. Some of you will help to transport our honored guests and their apprentices. Grandis Elfar will read out the roll.” He paused like he wasn’t sure what to say to wish us well, but eventually he added. “May you all return here to us by this time next year. Peace be with you.”

There was a cheer and I joined it. What could possibly keep us away for a whole year?

Grandis Elfar stood and read off the roll. Savette’s name was not on the roll. I fought a knot of worry in my belly. Perhaps her fears had not been unfounded after all. Eventually, my own name was called.

“Under Grandis Leman: Amel Leafbrought, Rais Tenpenny, Starie Atrelan. Bearing the injured rider Leng Shardson.”

My heart leapt. He wouldn’t be left behind. He was coming with us and I would be able to keep an eye on him. I could hardly wait to get to Raolcan and share the good news. I didn’t even acknowledge the poisonous glance that Starie cast my way. That, I would deal with later.

Chapter Twelve

“Pack your dragons’ panniers carefully,” Grandis Leman chanted as he paced back and forth before us. “Include your own bedrolls and packs, but also the gear you have been assigned. You will all have extra passengers for the first journey, so pack accordingly. You will need room for their gear as well.”

He seemed happier out under an open sky than he usually did in a classroom. His golden scarves and the long, woven metal strands that hung in his tied-back hair like feathers, made him look like a golden hawk about to take off. We were laid out on the top of the cliffs, preparing the dragons for our knot under his careful gaze. Five other knots were doing the same. All morning, they had been bringing groups of dragons and initiates up in waves to prepare and then launch on the journey.

“Where are we going, Grandis Leman?” Starie asked, as she fitted the halter and saddle around her dragon. He snapped half-heartedly at her and she dodged the aggression. As trainees, our dragons were still too fresh to be anything close to civilized. Once again. I was grateful for Raolcan.

I’d snap at her, too. She cinched that saddle belt too tight. You can see how it’s going to chafe him. He’ll be sore and irritated by tonight.

Should I warn her somehow? Would she even listen if I tried?

Let Asteven fight his own battles. He’s a golden dragon. You’ll reduce his honor if you fight for him.

That just seemed crazy. But was it any crazier than keeping a message I knew nothing about from my friend when she needed it? I chewed on my lip as I hooked the panniers into the sides of Raolcan’s saddle and clipped them into place. I could see other initiates across the field readying their dragons. They were too busy to notice me.

“We head north east,” Grandis Leman said. “Five days flight from here to the Ruby Isles. We carry Magika Hectorus and his apprentices Tred and Corrigan. Rais, as a Color – and the most experienced of the initiates in this knot, you will carry Magika Hectorus and apprentice Tred. Starie, you will carry Apprentice Corrigan.”

“What about her?” Starie pointed at me. It seemed like terrible luck that we’d been put in the same knot.

“Amel will carry Leng Shardson.” Grandis Leman took a few steps closer to me, so that he could speak more quietly. “Carrying an injured man – especially one as injured as Leng – is not a job for an initiate, Amel Leafbrought, but unfortunately, our options are limited. I will be shepherding his dragon, as well as my own, and the others will all have additional riders. You and Starie are not actually ready for this but we have no other option here. You must take care not to jostle him, monitor how he is doing and offer him the draughts prepared by the Healers. They tell me he is conscious now, but he will need all the rest he can get. I’m charging you with his care on the journey. Don’t let me down.”

“Yes, Grandis,” I said, trying to convey that I took the responsibility seriously. Inwardly I felt a tingle of excitement at the prospect of being able to care for my friend in person. I wouldn’t have to worry if he were healing or not. I could see with my own eyes. On the other hand, if the best help he had was me, maybe I should worry.

I’ll help you, Raolcan assured me.

Did Raolcan know much about healing?

I know enough.

“The long pannier you’ve been issued has a sheepskin padding and several straps. We’ll strap Leng into the pannier until he recovers enough to sit during the day. Be sure to use your whistle to alert us if there is a problem.”

Grandis Leman was about to stride away, so I spoke quickly. “Whistle?”

He tapped a small silver whistle that hung around his neck, the length and shape of my smallest finger.

“You’ll find it in your assigned gear. Now, hurry up. Our charges will be here any minute.”

“Grandis Leman?”

He adopted a patient look, like he’d spent too much time with me already.

“Is our knot traveling alone?” I asked.

“We are accompanied by Dragon Rider Kazatan and his Reds.” He pointed at the knot preparing beside us. “And Grandis Elfar and her Greens.”

“Why does every other knot get to be with their own color and we have to be a big mix?” Starie asked.

“You’re Gold?” Grandis Leman asked, as if we couldn’t all tell what color her dragon was. She nodded. “Might I suggest that if your calling is diplomacy, perhaps your teachers think you could benefit from practicing it.”

I had to cover my mouth with my hand to keep my grin from showing.

Chapter Thirteen

“You don’t need to check me so often.” Leng’s voice was hard to hear amidst the rush of air as we flew. He was propped up in the pannier in a semi-sitting position, so he could watch where we were flying but also lean against Raolcan’s hot back for support. Raolcan seemed unconcerned by the additional load.

It takes concentration to remember not to move in a way that might dislodge you but you aren’t heavy, he reminded me again.

I couldn’t help but check Leng often. I was worried about him. The Healers had given me a tincture for his pain and another to give him at night to help him sleep. So far, he’d refused to take either one. He’d also refused the dried meat and bread I’d offered but he was willing to share the hot tea that was packed in the flask I’d been given.

“I don’t think you should be traveling in your condition,” I said. “You had a crossbow quarrel in your back only yesterday.”

We were flying our dragons in formation. It had taken me the first few hours of flying to get used to watching my position and to watching Leng. With so much on my mind, I hadn’t really talked with him until now.

“I was worried about you,” I added. It didn’t feel like enough – or maybe it was too much. Would Leng feel like I was a silly girl worrying over a man I hardly knew? “I delivered your message to the Envoy and I visited you.”

He rubbed his nearly-bald head awkwardly, like he wasn’t sure what to say. “Thank you.”

I felt my cheeks go hot and diverted my attention to flying – not that Raolcan needed any guidance. We were flying in formation and off to my right I saw Starie fighting to keep Asteven in place. Not every novice dragon was so willing to work with his rider. Raolcan, however, could fly just fine on his own, even heavily laden with packages and two people.

As we headed north-east along the coast I was seeing more of the country than I’d ever seen before. The grey, rocky beaches along the ocean rolled into ancient pine forests. Fog wreathed everything and the sky was grey with clouds.

Why couldn’t you have received a position to the south? Raolcan complained. It’s getting colder, and I don’t like the cold.

It wasn’t that cold but anything warmer than a furnace was cold to Raolcan. I noticed Leng was staring at me.

“Do you need a drink, Leng?” I asked. “Some of your medicine?”

“I’m glad that we’re traveling together, Amel. If I tell you something, will you keep it to yourself?”

I shivered slightly at the thought of being trusted with a secret. I hadn’t been much help to Savette when she finally tried to share her secret with me.

“Of course,” I agreed, swallowing as his dark eyes seemed to grow deeper and he leaned close enough to my saddle to be heard without raising his voice.

“Something is happening with the Magikas. Watch yourself with them.” I bit my lip and he leaned against my leg, his face pale. “I think I might need to rest after all.”

He fell asleep, leaning against my leg and Raolcan. At least I didn’t need to worry about staying warm with Raolcan under me. He kept us all warm with his furnace-like body heat. I watched the other dragons, trying to pick out the Magikas riding on their backs. What was I supposed to watch them for? Rais’ dragon behaved better than Starie’s despite being loaded down with three people, and Asteven was still giving Starie a hard ride. Beyond that, it was hard to see anything from this distance.

Leng leaned heavily against my leg and it tingled as it fell asleep – just like he was. I didn’t mind even one bit. There was something endearing about a muscle-bound, intense man sleeping sweetly that tugged at my heart. I tried to think about anything else except Leng, but until we landed for a break two hours later, I couldn’t think of anything else.

Chapter Fourteen

We landed, a little after noon, on a rocky river bank where the river met the sea. The dragons descended quickly, lining up along the river bank. I was nervous as we landed, checking and re-checking that Leng was safe and not being jostled. He was still asleep as Raolcan settled gently on the ground. I had expected a much more jarring landing – like the one Starie treated Apprentice Corrigan to - and I breathed with relief as I tried to slide my leg out from beside Leng without waking him.

You didn’t need to be worried. I can be as gentle as I need to be. Besides, Ahlskibi would be very displeased if I made his rider uncomfortable.

I glanced up the river bank to where Ahlskibi stood with Grandis Leman’s mount, Leepsain.  He bared his yellowed teeth at me and I looked away quickly. He certainly was an unfriendly dragon, although, if I was being honest, no other dragons other than Raolcan were particularly friendly to me. Maybe it was just a dragon thing.

Yes, and no. Notice how Leepsain tolerates humans? Apparently, we grow used to your presence – or at least non-Purple dragons do. Purples never seem to really adjust to being around humans all the time. Ahlskibi wishes that Leng was on his back. It irritates him that you have him with us.

It wasn’t my choice, but I didn’t like the idea of him being with anyone else when he needed protection. I dismounted from Raolcan, pulled my crutch from where it was strapped behind my saddle, and did a quick lap around him checking for any straps that might be rubbing or coming loose.

They’re fine. I would have told you if they weren’t.

He was busy draining the river of water, but I had no food for him. I should have asked about that.

I can go a long time without food. Leepsain or Ahlskibi may hunt for us. The rest of us will be required to stay here. They don’t trust us yet. We must prove ourselves as much as you must.

It hadn’t occurred to me that he was being tested, too. He snorted, great gouts of steam streaming across the river. I thought that might have been a laugh. I ignored him and crouched beside Leng’s pannier, keeping my crutch firmly planted in the soft soil for balance.

“Leng? Are you awake?”

He groaned sleepily, wiping his eyes as he woke. I hadn’t noticed before that his eyelashes were so thick. It seemed a strange feature for him to have – completely at odds with his otherwise rough and energetic look.

“We’ve landed for a short break,” I said. “I’m going to refill our water skin and see to necessities. Would you like help out of the pannier?”

“Please,” he agreed.

I loosened his straps and then stood, squatting slightly on my good leg and sliding my arm under his and across his back to help him up. He gasped as we stood, wobbling against my crutch.

“The lame leading the lame,” Starie called out, elbowing Apprentice Corrigan. It turned out that she was the girl with the short dark hair who called me “Blighted” at the banquet the other night. I ignored her.

“Can you help me to the edge of the forest?” he asked, his mouth tight with what could only be pain.

“Of course,” I agreed. It wasn’t easy to move together with only my crutch to lean on, but the rock was flat and easy to navigate and the forest was close by. I left him beside a large clump of trees before scanning the area for a place to take care of my own necessities. A few moments later, I emerged. He was back where I’d left him, leaning against the largest tree of the clump. Maybe he needed help back again.

“Are you ready to return?” He nodded with a tired smile, his body was hunched over and he flinched when he put an arm around my shoulders to be helped back. I eased him into his seat and then pulled the draught out of the saddlebag. “They said you’re supposed to drink this.”

He started to shake his head but I frowned and took his hand with mine.

“What?” he asked. He wasn’t unkind, but he seemed confused by my touch. I just wanted him to pay attention. That was all.

“I need you to take your draught. If you catch a fever, it will be my fault for not taking care of you.”

“I’m a grown man, Amel, and a full dragon rider.”

“And maybe a bit afraid to admit you need help.”

He looked away.

“Just take it,” I said, pushing the skin into his lap. “I’ll go refill our waterskin.”

I left and made my way down to the rushing river. It was too steep for me to reach the water where Raolcan was drinking. His long neck gave him a little more reach. I could see that the bank grew shallower a little way toward the sea, so I picked my way across the rock toward the spot I’d chosen. I was going to have to practice maneuvering in the outdoors with my crutch. Then, maybe I’d be faster. I was moving so slowly, that my movements were almost silent, so Starie and Corrigan didn’t hear me as I crept up on them.

“Your father sent us a message only last week,” Corrigan was saying. “It’s one of the reasons that we came. Our loyalty to Atrelan Castel is of utmost importance.”

“I would have thought that was obvious since you’re Dominion servants.” The cynicism in Starie’s voice made it sound harsher than usual.

“You have a problem with Dominion servants?” Corrigan sounded almost as if that was funny to her.

“I have a problem being one. I was meant to be more than a lowly Dragon Rider – a servant of the Dominar for the rest of my life! Tested and pushed and demanded from! This is not the life I was born to. I should have had power and influence as my siblings will.”

“Perhaps that dream is not yet over,” Corrigan said. She leaned forward, glancing around as if she were about to impart a secret, but then she noticed me and she straightened suddenly, her face going blank.

I held up my water skin as evidence of why I was there. Starie shook her head as if to say that I couldn’t even get a simple task like drawing water right. Corrigan spun on her heel and strode back up the river bank, giving me a wide berth. With a frown, Starie followed her.

I dipped my waterskin in the river, letting it fill as my mind processed what they’d been saying. Leng had told me to watch out for the Magikas but they certainly didn’t bear any ill will toward Starie. In fact, Corrigan seemed anxious to befriend her. Could it really be true that the entire contingent of Magikas had come to Dragon School partly to see Starie? It hadn’t seemed like it when they were there. Perhaps Corrigan was lying to Starie because she wanted something from her. What could she want from a Dragon Rider trainee besides transport to another city? She was already receiving that.

When I returned, Leng had fallen back asleep, his waterskin in his hand. I lifted it gently away, pleased that it was lighter and strapped him in. It was too bad he was so injured. I could have used a bit more information from him, and maybe some protection as well. I was getting a creeping feeling up my spine that usually accompanied disaster.

You have all the protection you need from me.

I stroked the scales on Raolcan’s neck in thanks as I finished buckling Leng’s straps and then settling myself into the saddle with my own safety straps. A moment later, his muscles bunched, and we were soaring into the sky. Elation overtook worry and I held on tight, delighted to be able to soar when I couldn’t even run on my own.

Chapter Fifteen

The rest of the day was spent at the rear of the formation of dragons. The Red and Green groups were both ahead of us and our hodge podge group was in the rear. I wanted to keep an eye on Starie and Corrigan on Asteven, but they were on the far side of our V-shaped formation, and I couldn’t make out more than a speck in the sky.

Grandis Leman had told us at the beginning to just fly in a V behind the person in front of us and not to get creative. He said it was a pity we hadn’t had - at the very least - flying and formation training, and I had to agree as the sun sank low and it became harder and harder to make out the dragon ahead of me.

Eventually, there was a long whistle and the dragon ahead of us seemed to be descending. Raolcan followed, without any need for me to suggest he follow. As we drew closer to the ground, a string of fires appeared, dotting the ground below. They were arranged across a hilly clearing and white tents were already grouped around the fires as the Reds and Greens settled in.

When Raolcan landed, I dismounted immediately, my leg and rear aching from the long ride. I tried to shake out the soreness, but it wouldn’t budge. With a sigh, I moved around Raolcan to remove his baggage and saddle.

“Inducted!” Grandis Leman called through the dark. “It’s late and we are all tired. The dragon picket is behind us to the south. Bring your dragons there. The Reds have already established a watering area and pickets.”

Pickets? How did you picket a dragon? The idea was laughable.

They’ll bind me with magic. It’s crude but effective.

Would he be alright out in the cold and dark, bound in place by magic? His answering snort was all the reassurance I needed.

“In your packs, there should be a tent and bedding. You will need to share your tent with the passenger you have brought. Get them settled, then come to the fires to cook your food. This will become habit. It is our standard routine when traveling in the countryside. Learn to do it quickly and efficiently. For tonight I will be happy with simple completion. Here after, there will be penalties to the one who finishes last.”

Great. That was almost certain to be me. I would need to learn to be quick at this. Too bad I couldn’t just sleep against Raolcan like I had at Dragon School.

Why can’t you?

Leng would need a tent so he could rest properly. It seemed indecent to share one with him. I tried not to think of it as I hobbled beside Raolcan to the pickets. When we arrived, a Red Dragon Rider strode over, lifted his hands for a moment and then moved on.

It’s the binding. I’m trapped here, now.

“What do you need, Raolcan?”

Just get the bags off me and let me sleep for a while.

I unloaded the bags, slipping them off and piling them beside him. Leng was still asleep, so I left his pannier to the last.

“Leng?” I whispered in the dark. “Wake up, Leng. We need to unload Raolcan.”

He grunted, but he sat up, easing himself out of the pannier before I could leap to his aid. He stood, breathing raggedly, both hands pressed to Raolcan’s side for support. Raolcan’s head swung back and forth. He’d better not be thinking about snapping a bite out of Leng or he’d pay for it!

Empty threats, spider. You’d never go through with them.

Well, he’d make me very sad.

And that is all the motivation I need to control myself.

I eased off the pannier, saddle, and harness, setting them in a careful pile with our baggage. I located the tent, bedrolls, and the draughts and waterskin, slinging them over one shoulder in a very awkward bundle. I could carry them all to the fires if I was careful, but it would be a difficult journey. I certainly couldn’t help Leng, too.

“I’ll come back for you, Leng,” I said, worry in my voice. “Raolcan will take care of you while I’m gone.”

“He’ll snap my head off as soon as you’re out of reach, Amel.” Leng snorted a laugh. “You give this dragon too much credit.”

“I promise you, he will be honorable.” He would be, wouldn’t he?

“I think I can make it. Just lead the way and I’ll follow.”

I hesitated. This was a bad idea. He wasn’t in any shape to walk across unfamiliar ground in the dark. I wasn’t even in the right shape for that. He stood, straightening his shoulders with the stiffness of pain and I sighed. I could see a losing battle when it was before me. I gripped my crutch tightly, hitched my assorted bundles with the other hand, and began the rocky journey through the dark.

It took three times as long as it should have. I navigated tree roots and stones with difficulty, but without slipping. I looked back at Leng every few steps. His footsteps were short and tight, a man in deep pain. I knew what that was like, but I couldn’t go any slower. I was at the point where if I stopped, I wouldn’t have the willpower to get up and go again. I needed to keep on my feet until we got to the fire.

When I arrived, my arm carrying all the supplies was burning and numb. I let them slip to the ground and turned to see Leng stumbling into the ring of light around the fire, his eyes shut in a wince. He shouldn’t be here. He should be recovering in a healing ward, not camping out in the woods. With a sigh, I realized I needed poles for a tent, just before Grandis Leman emerged from the dark, carrying the very poles I needed, stripped of bark and ready to go. He seemed so much more alive out here.

Without a word, he helped me set up the tent. We were just finishing, when Leng joined us. Quickly, I pulled out his bedroll and set it up within the tent, arranging his water and medicine beside it. He leaned down to enter, almost falling on all fours and then half crawling, half dragging himself onto the bedroll. Grandis Leman poked his head in the tent, his mouth a grim line.

“I’ll get you both a bowl of stew. Take care of him, Amel. I’d send someone else, but I don’t have anyone.” He looked uncomfortable and a little shameful, like he thought he wasn’t doing enough. He was right, though. There were no Healers with us, and my disability didn’t prevent me from watching an injured man.

“I will. Thank you,” I said. When he left, I turned to Leng. “What do you need.”

“A new body.”

I laughed, helping to tug off his boots and pulling the blankets of his bedroll around him.  “Do you want another draught?”

“I want the stew the Grandis is bringing. Who ever thought I’d be waited on by a Grandis?”

I laughed again, but a moment later, Grandis Leman had arrived with the food. I set Leng up to eat it, propping him against the bags we had as the Grandis made an awkward exit. Leng ate a bite, but then his hand fell to the side.

“Too tired to eat?” I asked, taking the bowl and spoon from his exhausted hands.

“Too tired to feed myself.” His grin had a rueful twist to it.

I settled myself so that my weight was off my bad leg, and then took a spoonful of the stew and brought it to his mouth. If he wasn’t able to feed himself, he’d just have to let me feed him.

“Wondering why I didn’t choose white?” I asked, playfully, to take away the awkwardness.

“I already know why you didn’t,” he said between bites.

“You do?” It was nice to be useful. To be able to take care of someone who couldn’t care for themselves.

“You have kind eyes,” he said, his hand lifting up for a moment, almost unconsciously, before falling back in his lap. What had he meant to do with that?

“I think a Healer would have kind eyes,” I suggested, scraping the bowl to get the last bite for him.

“Oh, that’s not why. You’re noble. You believe your word is your bond, that you will uphold values outside yourself.”

I cocked my head to the side, questioning as I took his bowl and placed it to the side. I reached to help him lie down again, but he put a hand up.

“Eat. You can give me a drink after that and then I’ll sleep again.”

I smiled and ate my stew, surprised by how hungry I was.

“Purples are on the noble side of the feud. You’re not supposed to know that until later, but we are. And I think that’s one reason you chose Purple. You have a noble spirit.”

“I like that,” I said, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks. He thought I was noble. He thought of me as Purple, like him. I felt a warm flood in my chest and I blinked back a wetness that came to my eyes.

I didn’t want to say anything else that might break the spell, so I ate my stew quickly, only looking up when I was full. I was surprised to see his gaze on me, a tender look in his expression. Shyly, I reached for the draught, offering it to him, and then the waterskin to wash away the taste of whatever they put in it.

“You’d better rest now,” I said, taking the drinks away and helping him slide to a more restful position. “I’ll give you your privacy and go rest with Raolcan. Will you need me in the night?”

“Preserve your reputation, sweet Amel.” His words were slurred with sleep. “I will be fine.”

I left, bedroll in hand, feeling torn as I stopped for one glance back. It felt wrong to just leave him there, but there were others nearby and he should be fine. It felt like it would be taking advantage of him if I stayed. People would talk, and they might think we had acted inappropriately. He didn’t deserve that.

I stumbled through the dark, towards where Raolcan was tethered, wishing life wasn’t so complicated.

Chapter Sixteen

I woke with a start, the ground hard beneath me and my head throbbing. I’d fallen asleep against Raolcan. Had he moved suddenly?

I’m waking you so you can check on Ahlskibi’s rider.

“Mmmmf.” There was nothing like sleeping against a hot dragon to make you feel chilled to the bone the second he moved away. I rolled my bedroll up sleepily and stacked it against our gear, gave Raolcan a thankful pat on the back and headed toward the camp. If I walked this way many more times I was going to wear a path into it. Which would make it easier to walk. Not a bad plan.

When I got to the tent, I squatted beside it. I shouldn’t just go in. He might need privacy.

“Leng?” I whispered. The sun wasn’t up yet, but the cold and dark had the feeling of the time just before dawn.

There was no answer. I tried again.

“Leng?”

When there was no answer, I pulled the tent door open. Had he passed out? Was he in worse shape? His bedroll was empty. I spun around, anxious now, and hobbled toward the fires. They were banked low, but still burning. Maybe someone had seen something. There was just one dark figure near the closest of the campfires. I hobbled toward the figure, my hip protesting with a jab of pain for the cold morning air. When I drew near, the figure turned. Leng’s face was orange on one side, highlighted by the light of the fire.

“Oh, Leng! I was worried about you. Why aren’t you in your bed?”

He smiled. “I’m a dragon rider, Amel.”

“You’re injured!”

“I can’t lie around all the time. I need a drink and to check on Ahlskibi.”

Was that sweat on his forehead? In this cool weather? A tiny sliver of light along the horizon started to tinge his face with the grey of dawn but was that the only grey I was seeing? He looked pale.

“I think you need to lie down,” I said, glancing around me to see if there was anyone to help me.

“When I was a boy we had horses and I rode all the time,” he said dreamily. “There was one named Flasha. She was so, so fast.”

“Come on,” I said, humoring him. “Tell me all about it while I get you back to bed.”

“She had eyes like yours. Kind. Free.”

I took his arm gently, trying to guide him to the tent.

“Beautiful.”

He was clearly hallucinating.

“Is that why you wanted to ride dragons?” I asked him, slipping an arm under his to help him as he stumbled towards the tent. We were a bit like a wheelbarrow with a crooked wheel, unstable and awkward.

“My parents died. They brought me to Dragon School to learn to fly.” His words were slurring.

“Who is they?”

He didn’t answer, and his weight was getting heavier on me.

“Leng?”

I felt him begin to fall and wrapped my arms around him, abandoning my crutch and letting him fall on top of me so that I broke his fall. I pulled myself out from under him. Rolling him over onto his back and feeling his forehead. It was hotter than Raolcan. No one warned me he could take fever from this! He should never have left Dragon School.

“Help!” I called. “Can someone help?”

There was no way I’d be able to carry him on my own. I bit my lip, concern filling me. I shouldn’t have left him to sleep on his own, appearances or not. I could have kept him from getting up and wandering to the fire. I felt my eyes growing wet and I blinked hard to keep tears back. It wasn’t too late for Leng, was it? It shouldn’t be too late for the man who remembered his childhood horse with such fondness.

Chapter Seventeen

“The Reds and Greens will be going on without us. Our orders are too urgent for them to stay,” Grandis Leman said, looking more worried than I’d ever seen him with a deep dent in his forehead from anxiety. His hands kept fidgeting with the scarf around his neck. “To be honest, our own orders don’t allow more than a day or two of delay. We need to get Leng over this fever – and fast.”

We were gathered around Leng’s tent. Grandis Leman and Rais had carried him back in and helped me fetch cool cloths to ease the fever, but that was hours ago. It wasn’t helping. He was thrashing and talking in his sleep, agitated and burning up. I chewed my bottom lip. I didn’t like this at all. If I had my way, I’d be flying him home to Dragon School right now, but Grandis Leman had vetoed that. I wasn’t even sure I could find my way back.

I could. It’s not hard.

I hadn’t been this close to the Magika or his apprentices before. He seemed a somber type and his robes were more embroidered and ornamented than any clothing I’d want to wear. He and the apprentices smelled of strange spices. Something they ate or something used in their magical arts? I shivered at the thought of magic so close.

“We’ll lend our aid in helping him heal,” the Magika said.

“Thank you, Hectorus.” Grandis Leman said with a sober nod.

In the distance, the last of the Red dragons leapt into the sky. The Greens had already left, leaving the wide area they’d camped in tamped down and abandoned looking. It felt lonely with just the eight of us and our four dragons. Rais and Starie had been sent to give the dragons the last of the drinking water.

“We’ll need clean drinking water. There is none here and we only had a day’s worth in our packs,” the Magika added.

“And the dragons need to be fed.” Grandis Leman nodded as he spoke. “I’ll hunt for them at the same time. I’ll take Leepsain and Ahlskibi and leave the initiate’s mounts here. Can you maintain their tethers?”

“Of course,” Magika Hectorus said with a smile. The smile didn’t look right on his face – like it wasn’t something he used very often. “Go and get the supplies we need. Trust us to do what we need to here.”

Grandis Leman turned toward the pickets, but I grabbed his sleeve. “What do I do for Leng?”

“Trust the Magikas. They’ll do what’s needed.”

I let go of his sleeve, but I felt a lump developing in my throat. My head hurt. I didn’t like being thrust into this position where I had to trust the very people Leng told me not to trust – and with his health and life. What else could I do? I couldn’t protest. I had no evidence that they were anything but what they said they were. They’d been accommodating and helpful – how could anyone object to that? And yet, the feeling ate at me and I couldn’t shake it. I wanted out of this situation. I wanted to be smart enough or wise enough that I always knew what was the right thing to do.

I ignored a sudden flare of pain in my hip and hobbled towards Leng’s tent. An arm was raised in my path.

“It’s best if you give us room to work,” Magika Hectorus said as Corrigan and Tred moved to flank him. The smile he had worn before was nowhere to be seen.

Chapter Eighteen

I watched warily as they entered the tent. Corrigan looked back to mouth the word “blighted” to me. I felt at a loss. What should I do? There was no water to draw, no food to feed Raolcan. I felt exhausted from little sleep, an early morning, and more physical exertion than I was used to. I stretched lightly, adjusting my crutch under my arm. My behind was sore and my good leg felt like a cramp was coming on. I should probably make my way to where Raolcan was and oil the tack but I just needed to rest for a moment.

There was the murmur of voices inside the tent. Were they performing magic? I strained my ears.

“Wait until the girl is out of earshot.”

Ha. Well, that might take longer than they thought. I rolled my neck, trying to get the kinks out of it. Across the field, I watched as Grandis Leman launched into the sky with Ahlskibi tailing him. If he could ride looking for food, why couldn’t we ride to carry Leng back to safety?

“Is that for the fever?” That was Corrigan’s voice. I crept a little closer to the back of the tent so I could hear, crouching low and grimacing at the spike of pain in my bad leg.

“It’s to keep him fogged. Those purple riders can signal to their dragons somehow. We can’t afford to have him come back here too quickly.”

“Why not just kill him right away?”

I gasped, falling backward onto my bottom in the long grass. Kill him? What were they talking about?

“For a High Castelan you seem remarkably thick-headed, Corrigan,” Magika Hectorus said. “You don’t think the others will notice that? We need time to work our binding on the dragons. They need to be freed from their current bonds and bonded to us.”

“We could do that just as easily if they were dead.”

“Dragons are uncommonly clever. They would notice if we harmed their riders. Some may even have affection for their captors. Until they are magically bonded to us, we can’t risk them turning on us.”

“If one turns on us we can easily destroy him.” I was right about Corrigan. She was a terrible person.

“My, but we’re bloodthirsty today. Keep that in check until I release you, or it will be Tred and I alone who leave this camp.”

I felt a chill run through me. They spoke so casually of death, as if it hardly mattered. No wonder they thought of me as disposable. They thought of everyone like that. Imagine being part of a people who thought life was worth less than the convenience of a moment. My hands were shaking as I pulled myself up on my crutch. I needed to find Rais and Raolcan to warn them.

We were all in danger now, with no way to signal Grandis Leman, our dragons tethered in place and two of the four humans left either sick or crippled. When your body failed what did you have left to resist evil people?

Your spirit.

I gripped my crutch with one hand and balled my other fist. Raolcan was right. We’d fight with what we had.

Chapter Nineteen

What did I do now? Where were Rais and Starie? Were they with the dragons?

Rais is here. I haven’t seen Starie since last night.

I pulled myself to my feet and swung my crutch quickly, fleeing the tent where the Magikas held Leng captive and rushing to Raolcan. Perhaps I could free him from whatever tether they’d tied him with.

You really can’t.

Or perhaps, Rais would have an idea.

I can’t find Ahlskibi’s mind. She is already too far away. But if you light a fire on the cliffs to the east, she will see it. It will have to be a large fire to tell them that something is wrong.

I’d need Rais’ help for that. I flew along the path, crutch whooshing through the tiny plants that lined the lightly-worn trail. At least the dragons were in a heavily forested area, so it wouldn’t be easy for the Magikas to see us once I got there. We could follow the forest all the way up to the cliffside. But what about Leng? It felt wrong to leave him where they could work their magic on him.

What other choice is there? When Ahlskibi returns, she will destroy any who harm him.

Revenge wasn’t what I had in mind. Protection was.

We can only do what is in our power to achieve.

In that case, we were going to have to find more power. I felt his laughter through our mental link.

Once this tether is released, I will have all the power I need.

If only my own limitations were so easy to discard. I bit my lip. It always came back to this, didn’t it? How could I help my friends when I was always slower, always weaker, always dealing with challenges no one else faced?

There are different kinds of strength. Yours is rarer.

It’s too bad that you couldn’t send a mental hug to a dragon. If you could, I’d be hugging Raolcan right now. I burst into the area where our dragons hunkered low under the massive trees. Raolcan lay on the ground, as if he couldn’t stretch higher.

I can’t. Their tether keeps me in a physically small space.

Yet another cruelty to dragons. I scanned the area. Starie wasn’t there, though her dragon – Asteven – looked like he was asleep. Rais was rubbing oils into his dragons scales in an attentive manner. Nenebeph preened in response.

I rushed past Raolcan, running a hand affectionately over his wing as I passed and calling out, “Rais! We’re in trouble.” I paused before him, catching my breath. “We need to run up to the edge of the cliff east of here and build a huge fire. The biggest we can.”

Rais looked puzzled. “Does Leng need a pyre?”

I sucked in a breath. He’d better not. He’d better hang in there and survive this.

“The Magikas are going to turn the dragons’ bonds to be attuned to them instead of us, and then they‘re going to steal them and fly away.”

“I think you need a rest, Amel. It’s a big deal to have so many changes at once.” His dark face was sympathetic and his hand rose and hovered close to my shoulder, like he wanted to pat it reassuringly but wasn’t sure if he should. “Why don’t you curl up in your bedroll for a while? I’ll take care of your tack.”

“You have to take me seriously, Rais. I overheard them talking and they aren’t our friends.”

“Why would they do any of that, Amel?” He looked irritated now, like I was causing drama where it wasn’t needed.

“They didn’t say.”

He sighed. “Look, aren’t you supposed to be watching over Leng? Go do that.”

“So, you won’t help me?” I felt worry tighten my belly. I wasn’t sure I could do this alone.

“Look, I’m not saying you’re crazy ... just get some rest.”

I turned and started to hobble away when his panicked cry startled me. I spun around and saw Rais pinned to the ground, his dragon’s teeth pinning him in place. He didn’t look hurt, only startled.

Nenebeph agrees with us.

My eyebrows rose. Sometimes Dragon Riders seemed to forget that dragons were sentient creatures with reasoning of their own. I wondered if dragons ever did something like this once they were bonded and trained.

She understands this is important.

“Come on, Rais,” I said. “We have a fire to light.”

His eyes went large with disbelief but Nenebeph relaxed his jaws enough for him to squirm out of his grip.

“He’s never done that before.” He dusted himself off, looking warily at his dragon. “Nenebeph? Are you sick?”

“I think he wants you to come with me.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Nenebeph hissed, sulfurous fumes filling the air. Rais took a step back, hands held up.

“Okay, sure. We’ll build a fire.”

He still looked both shaken and irritated as we left the picket line and headed up the forested hill. It didn’t take long for him to leave me well behind him, but he hardly seemed to notice. He must have been very preoccupied with Nenebeph’s behavior. If things hadn’t been so serious, I would have found it embarrassing to be so easily forgotten.

Chapter Twenty

I stumbled through the woods up the rocky hill. I was still able to climb, but it was getting trickier as I had to weave between great redwood trees and boulders larger than a man. It was the perfect country for dragons and not at all perfect for girls dragging a dead leg.

I’d lost sight of Rais ten minutes ago. All I could do now is hope that he was still working his way east towards the cliff face where he could light a warning fire for Grandis Leman. Would the Grandis see it? Would he understand that we were in trouble? He had to.

I was getting close to the top of the hill, at least by my reckoning, when I saw a plume of smoke in the sky ahead. Rais had started the fire. I stopped beside a large boulder, leaning on it as I tried to catch my breath. I was going to get a lot fitter now that I was a Dragon Rider initiate, that was for sure! I rubbed the sore point in my hip, rolled my shoulder to ease the ache from the crutch and tried to steady my breathing. It was maybe another ten minutes before I managed to ease the pain enough to continue on.

It was in that moment, as I sat so quietly regathering my strength, that I heard the voices from a distance and coming closer. They were both female. I recognized Starie’s immediately and after a moment, Corrigan’s as well.

“We’ll take you to your family’s Castel. You were right when you said you were meant for better things. You were meant for this. The revolution.”

“I’m not sure what good I’ll be to you. It’s Savette Leedris they chose to marry the Lord of Baojang, not me.”

Marriage! And to our terrifying neighbors. No wonder Savette had seemed so desperate.

“It was supposed to be you. You’re who we all thought they would choose for a tribute bride! If it was you, then the Dominion could be taken over by Baojang and there would be an end to this constant restriction of magic. Do you know what it’s like to have access to complete power – to be above those around you – and to be forced to act like you are smaller than they are?”

“Of course, I do! Why do you think I hate this life my parents chose for me?”

Their voices were so close now. I could almost swear that they were on the other side of the boulder. I could hear the crunch of dry grass and the rustle of leaves as they carried on up the hill.

“It’s not too late for that Starie Atrelan. The only thing standing between you and that future is this Savette girl. And girls are easy enough to dispose of. We just need to get there – and fast, before any vows are taken.”

“Then why are we climbing a hill?”

“I swear, I saw Rais climbing this way...” She sounded distracted as she faded off, but then she shouted, “Look!”

“A fire!”

“Quick, we need to stop him. He’ll alert Grandis Leman to what we’re doing.”

There was the sound of scrambling and I grabbed my crutch, fitted it under my arm and scrambled after them. It was rough going. I tripped in my haste, fell, and skinned my forearm. It took me precious moments to find my crutch and start out again, only to fall a second time. This time the crutch snapped in half. Half-sobbing, I scrambled up the hill on my hands and knee, dragging my bad leg behind me.

“Rais!” I called as I climbed. “Run!”

There were two of them and only one of him. Starie couldn’t really hurt him, but what could a Magika apprentice like Corrigan do? We Dragon School Initiates learned to fly almost immediately. Was it the same for students of magic?

I crested the hill to see Rais standing on the edge of the cliff, the fire between him and me, burning with bright intensity. Starie stood on one side of him and Corrigan on the other, slowly walking forward as he backed up. Soon, there would be nowhere for him to go but over the edge of the cliff. Maybe, If I could get behind Corrigan, I could push her to the ground or do something else to keep her from using magic on Rais. I crept forward towards her. She was right on the edge of the cliff as she stalked toward him.

Rais lifted his hands. “I’m not sure why you are both upset. It’s only a fire.”

“Douse it,” Starie said.

“With what? Do you see water here? Maybe if Grandis Leman returns he’ll have water with him.”

“What would lead you to build a fire like this, Dragon Boy?” Corrigan asked, hands held outwards. I saw Rais’ gaze catch on me, but I put a finger to my lips and he quickly focused on Corrigan instead.

Just a little further and I’d be right behind her. Then – together - Rais and I could stop this madness.

“I-” he began, but before the words were uttered, a fire ball – as long as a man’s arm, round, and blazing – appeared between Corrigan’s raised hands. She flung it at Rais and he screamed, stumbling backward and then bursting into flame as the fireball hit him in the chest. He flew backward through the air and over the edge of the cliff. I couldn’t even see his face in the cloud of fire.

Chapter Twenty-One

I gasped, my hand covering my mouth as the horror of his fall filled me. Rais! I’d sent him here. This was my fault. Raolcan! Raolcan!

I’m here. What happened?

The Magika apprentice shot fire at Rais and he fell off the cliff! Could Raolcan think of a solution to this problem?

Hold on!

I scurried backward but Corrigan took two long strides and grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, hauling me to my feet. My belly swam with fear, but I kept my eyes on hers. I didn’t want to betray my feelings. I had the feeling that Corrigan liked watching people squirm.  She flung me to the ground and put her foot on my neck. I grabbed her foot with both hands, fighting it as I choked and gasped. How was she so strong?

She ripped the whistle from the chain around my neck and put it to her lips - producing a single note that pierced the air - before turning to me with a wicked smile. “And now we wait for the Master and see what he says. Come and help me watch her, Starie.”

Starie’s face swam into my blurring vision. She was chewing her lip nervously. Revolution felt different when it meant abusing people you knew, didn’t it Starie?

I clenched my jaw and twisted as Corrigan increased the pressure on my neck. How long would it take for Magika Hectorus to arrive? At least twenty minutes, right? Could I keep from passing out that long? My head swam but Corrigan eased up on the pressure a bit. She spat beside my face and I was just glad it wasn’t on my face.

“Don’t pass out on me, Blighted. We’re going to dig out what you know. Douse that fire, Starie.”

“With what?” Starie sounded both whiny and obstinate.

Corrigan rolled her eyes. “With dirt, Starie. Find some dirt and throw it over the fire.”

Starie disappeared and as the minutes ticked by into what felt like hours, I found my mind racing. Were these my last minutes? Would I have done something different? What would my life be like if I had stayed home? Was Leng safe? And Raolcan? I felt more worried about them than about myself. They were both under the power of the Magikas. Was there any way to get out?

I was mid-thought when the Magika arrived. “What do you have cornered here, girls? You are delaying our work with the dragons.”

“We dealt with Rais and his fire, but then this one crept up. I thought you might want to question her.”

“Pull her up.”

Corrigan took her foot off my neck, reached for the front of my tunic and yanked me up.

“Bring her here.” He walked to the edge of the cliff. “And now, Blighted, you tell us what you know and who you told it to.”

“Nothing,” I croaked.

“Wrong answer,” he said, pushing me suddenly, while still holding the front of my tunic so that I didn’t fall over. He dragged me to the cliff edge and held me over it, leg’s dangling. How was he so powerful?

Raolcan! Please, if you can hear my thoughts right now, please think of something!

Hold on!

There was nothing to hold on to – except for maybe hope. I hoped as hard as I could.

“Did you know about our plans before we left Dragon School?”

“No,” I gasped.

“True,” Corrigan said, her voice far away as if she were focused on something a long distance away.

“Did you tell anyone what you heard us talk about?”

“No,” I said.

“False,” Corrigan again.

“Who did you tell?” The Magika’s face was hard. “Don’t think I won’t drop you.”

“Raolcan,” I gasped, not sure if I was answering or calling for help.

“True,” Corrigan said. Did she have a way to discern truth from falsehood? She seemed uncannily accurate at this. They didn’t teach us about anything like that at Dragon School.

“Who?”

His confusion was genuine. He was going to kidnap the dragons and he didn’t even know their names?

“Her dragon,” Starie said from beside Corrigan. Her voice was tight like she was finding this stressful.

“Dragons do not count,” the Magika said. And that was the problem, wasn’t it? Because Dragons did count and anyone who thought otherwise was deeply flawed and completely untrustworthy. That was the problem with the whole Dominion, thinking that some people didn’t count as much as others – especially when those people were dragons.

“Does anyone else know?” Magika Hectorus’ eyes studied my face like I might betray an important truth in a flicker of an expression.

Perhaps, this was simply the way Magikas were. Maybe we were naïve for thinking that they held to codes of honor and loyalty like we did.

“Did you harm Leng?” It was clear he was going to kill me no matter what I said. After all, they hadn’t given Rais a chance out of this. I wanted to die knowing Leng was going to live.

“What’s that to you, cripple? Answer my question. Or is that the answer? Does Leng know the threat we pose to you and your people?”

“No,” I said, hoping it was true.

“False.” Corrigan said.

“We could just leave her here,” Starie said. “We don’t need to kill her. She won’t get very far. I think her crutch is even broken.”

Was it compassion or cruelty that motivated that speech?

“We are above that,” Magika Hectorus said. “We are people of compassion.”

Starie looked relieved, but ice filled my veins. What did compassion look like to a man like Hectorus? His hand shoved me at the same time that he let go of my tunic and I fell backward over the cliff, a scream breaking from my lips.

Chapter Twenty-Two

I screamed as I fell, shutting my eyes tightly. No, no, no, no, no-

Open your eyes.

I forced them open at the same time that my back hit resistance. I flung my arms outward. It took me a heartbeat to realize where I was. Beside me, Leng hunched feverishly in Raolcan’s saddle. His eyes were narrow slits, his hands limp on the reins. Apparently, he’d had the forethought to tighten all his straps. Even if he passed out, he’d remain in the saddle. I had fallen into the pannier he’d ridden in on the way here.

Raolcan! Leng was riding Raolcan.

I told you to hold on. There was relief in the tone of Raolcan’s mind.

You saved me - again - thank you!

You’re mine, spider.

“Leng?” I asked.

He grunted. How was he riding Raolcan? I thought dragons didn’t let other riders direct them except for their own.

They don’t. I decided that to save your life, it was worth the compromise.

Why wasn’t he on Ahlskibi?

She isn’t here yet. As soon as his mind was in range I told him what was happening, and she told Leng. He stumbled over to the tethering area and released my tether and saddled me. Just in time, too.

I pulled myself up to a sitting position. We were swooping down toward the field where Leng’s tent was.

We need to get his medicine. He was insistent about that.

“Leng?” I shook his leg. He had collapsed over Raolcan’s back so slowly that I thought he was simply falling asleep, but his mouth hung open like he was unconscious. “Hang in there.”

I missed my freedom! This feels right!

As soon as we got to camp I’d have to grab his stuff and we’d need to leave again. We couldn’t afford to be caught by the Magikas.

We won’t be.

We sailed in toward the field and Raolcan held his feet forward, cupping his wings as he prepared to land. Tred stepped out from the tent, his teeth gritted and his arms stretched above his head just like Corrigan’s had been before she threw the fire at Rais. Watch out, Raolcan!

The ball of fire flew through the air as Raolcan tried to dodge and abort his landing all at once. We corkscrewed through the air. I held on to the pannier with all my might. A powerful hit almost dislodged me, and then the tumbling slowed and I was able to get my bearings. Raolcan was lying belly-down on the ground, holding one wing a little awkwardly. Leng had woken up, but his blinking eyes and slow movements were either from being stunned at the rough landing or fever-induced.

Tred strode towards us, hands above his head again and I scrambled into the saddle behind Leng’s seat. I couldn’t walk. I had no weapons, but I could at least block Leng from the brunt of the blow.

I braced myself for the fire that was sure to come.

Golden flames flared out, but not from Tred.  They streaked past us, hitting him full in the chest and lifting him up from the ground at the same time that he flared up in flames like a freshly-lit torch. I gaped as he went from man to ash in the work of a moment and spun to see Ahlskibi and Grandis Leman on Leepsain. It was their flames that had incinerated Tred.

Was Raolcan hurt?

A little. I can still fly.

Leepsain pulled up beside us and Grandis Leman shouted. “What’s going on?”

“We need to grab Leng’s draughts and run before the Magikas come back!”

“What?” He looked as confused as Rais had when I told him. A terrible feeling of déjà vu crept over me. “Tred didn’t do this on his own?”

There were saplings lying on the ground nearby – the ones that had been used as tent poles by the Reds and Greens the night before. I dismounted and hopped over to one using it as a makeshift crutch so that I could hobble to Leng’s tent, talking as I went.

“They killed Rais. Tried to kill me and Leng. They want to take the dragons and go to Starie’s Castel.”

“Why would they do that?” Grandis Leman’s eyes scanned the landscape as if there would be clues there.

“We learned that they plan to start a revolt against the Dominion.” I ducked into Leng’s tent, grabbed his medicine, water and rolled up his bedroll, tying it hastily before emerging with my arm full of his things. “Rais lit the fire to warn you.”

“Starie?” he asked. “Where is she?”

“With the Magikas.” I hobbled back to Raolcan, stuffing Leng’s things into the wide leather pocket beside the saddle. Some of my things were there – anything that been attached to the saddle - some were not. I’d just have to abandon whatever was missing. I hoped there was at least a change of clothes. The ones I was in were filthy.

“None of this makes any sense. Perhaps you have fallen ill, as well?”

“Can you untether the other dragons?” I asked. “Leng untethered Raolcan.”

“Any full Dragon Rider can do that,” Grandis Leman said, “But are you suggesting that we take Starie and Rais’ dragons and flee?”

I looked him in the eye. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. We need to go. Now.”

I mounted Raolcan, harnessing myself into the saddle, and tried to adjust Leng into a more comfortable position. The pannier he’d ridden in hung too loose on the straps and I realized that one was broken and the other loose. I’d have to unbuckle it and leave it here. When it broke my fall, it must have done too much damage. I set to work as Grandis Leman protested in the background. A moment later, the pannier was free.

“Come on,” I said.

Leepsain moved closer to me and Grandis Leman spoke kindly. “This has been a lot for anyone to deal with, Amel. But what you say can’t possibly be true. Tred must have acted on his own – for who knows what reason. Perhaps you – and maybe even he! - have the same fever as Leng. Let’s go and find Rais and Starie and the Magikas and sort this out.”

His smile was kind but I felt my heart sink. He didn’t believe me. How could I convince him? A gout of earth sprang up behind him, sending Leepsain into a frenzy. The dragon leapt up and Grandis Leman’s eyes went wide as a second gout of earth erupted underneath him.

“Fly, Raolcan! Fly!” I yelled.

He leapt into the air, climbing as fast as he could. I held Leng tightly in my arms, hoping his harnesses held. All I saw was clouds above us and then Raolcan began to level off, curving slightly as he did so. I risked a look below in time to see two fireballs hit Grandis Leman at once. He and Leepsain crumpled, fire dancing up and down their fallen forms. It was too late to convince the Grandis of anything. Too late to save his life. Across the field, Corrigan and Magika Hectorus stood with arms outflung.

I’d never seen magic used before today and I never wanted to see it again.

I heard beating wings gaining on us and my heart leapt into my throat. Was it Starie in pursuit? Ahlskibi pulled in level with us and I breathed out a long sigh of relief. How far could that Magika fling his fireballs? I didn’t want to find out. We needed to be out of sight as fast as possible.

Raolcan reacted to my thought, swooping low to dive over the side of the cliff and out of view from the humans. Ahlskibi mirrored him and together we swept low so that the trees seemed to almost touch their bellies.

“We follow the coast,” I said, unnecessarily. I felt shaken and afraid. I’d lost our leader and everyone but Leng all at once. And we’d had to abandon Nenebeph. None of this was right! “We’ll get as far as we can and then see what we can do for Leng. We can’t afford to stop. They have dragons of their own.”

I didn’t have a map, and I’d never been anywhere but my tiny town and Dragon School. How would I find my way to the Ruby Isles?

Trust me. I will get you to wherever you need to go.

Tears pricked my eyes as I clung to Raolcan and Leng, hoping for nothing more than that we would all survive until nightfall.

Continue the story in Dragon School: The Dark Prince

Behind the Scenes:

USA Today bestselling author, Sarah K. L. Wilson, hails from the rocky Canadian Shield in Northern Ontario where she lives with her husband and two small boys. Her interests include the outdoors, history, and philosophy. Her books are always about fantastical adventures in other worlds.

Sarah would like to thank Harold Trammel and Sarah Brown for their incredible work in beta reading and proofreading this book. Without their big hearts and passion for stories, this book would not be the same.

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