She was staring, as were many of the dragons who had remained on the Far Isles, at the newcomers with us. Brown and green, small, and looking by turns shy or mutinous, they were landing in the water just offshore, uncertain of whether they would be welcomed.
“These are our kin who were lost to us for many years,” Velika said.
I had to admire her regal bearing: after days of flight, after all that she had been through, she sat on the sands like the queen she was and reshaped her people’s lives with a few sentences.
“Their lives have, until now, been vastly different from ours, and we must assist them in learning to enjoy our ways,” she continued. “They will need shelter, and friendship—but I suppose that will come in time. ”
Vannyn came forward. “We are most grateful for all that you offer us, Queen Azure-Wing,” he said. “We shall endeavor not to be a burden to you, or to our newfound kin. ”
Luka and I were still perched on Shardas’s back, too tired and too tense to dismount. Now that the speeches were done, the dragon midwives were gathering around Velika’s eggs once more.
“Are they all right?” I slid down from Shardas’s back, and found myself swaying until I nearly pitched forward onto my knees.
I felt as though the ash from the volcano would never completely leave my lungs. I was filthy and my clothing was worn to shreds. Riding a dragon was not relaxing: my thighs were stiff from holding on and my hands had been scraped by the edges of more scales and horns than I cared to remember.
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“Are they all right?” I repeated the question.
Luka staggered over to me and helped me sit in the sand beside the eggs. Hagen soon joined us, lying down beside the sandy nest with one arm over his eyes.
The midwives tutted, and asked questions about when the eggs had been clutched, and how long they had been carried in a harness. They even knocked on them gently, as though asking if the hatchlings were at home. I started to laugh, weakly, but was brought up short by the sound of knocking from inside the eggs.
It seemed that the hatchlings were at home, and eager to come out. The midwives clucked in satisfaction, and assured the nervous parents that their dear little ones appeared to be none the worse for their travails.
For the first time since Velika’s abduction, the tension in Shardas’s shoulders seemed to unknot, and he collapsed in the sand beside his children’s eggs. Velika lay beside him and nodded at me in a meaningful way.
Groaning, I lurched to my feet and took charge.
“Thank you, thank you all,” I said loudly. “The king and queen need their rest now. If you will join Prince Luka and me farther down the beach, I’m sure a celebratory feast is in order. The royal family, however, will be dining here. Alone. ” I pointed to a half-grown dragon hovering nearby: Gala’s daughter, Riss. “It’s your duty to wait upon them tonight. There will be no questions, no pestering. Bring them food, and then leave. The rest of us will be happy to tell you all that has happened. ” I flapped my hands. “Now. Shoo!”
“Masterful dragon herding,” Luka said out of the corner of his mouth as we walked down the beach.
We both stopped to take our shoes off, and I resolved to have someone bring me a large tub and some fresh water so that I could have a proper bath. Just as soon as I ate. And ate. And maybe slept first . . .
“What can I say? It’s a gift,” I replied absently.
I was staring down the beach at the wide expanse of white sand where the dragons had congregated. Someone was building a bonfire; someone else was lighting tall torches set in the sand, for the sun was sinking now. Food was brought, and Ria guided us humans over to a crude log bench and urged us to sit.
“Creel, I can see your brain working,” Hagen said. “What are you plotting now?”
“She is going to overthrow the Triunity,” Luka joked, and then sobered when he saw my brother’s expression of horror. “Not truly, though. Right, Creel?”
“Of course not!” I flapped a hand at him. “It’s just that I was thinking, with the exception of Marta and Tobin and Alle, and Miles and Isla, everyone I really care about is here on this island. But in a few days we’ll be leaving, to go back to the King’s Seat and get married in front of . . . ” I hesitated, and then plowed on. “Well, in front of a bunch of near strangers and relations who normally don’t give two pennies about me!” To my surprise, I started to cry. “Shardas and Velika aren’t even welcome in Feravel, let alone in a chapel. How can I get married in a place that doesn’t welcome my friends? No, not friends: they’re my family!”
Luka and Hagen both put their arms around me, awkwardly. Embarrassed, I shook them off, but gently, and busied myself with wiping my face on a filthy sleeve.
“When I proposed, you said you would need to be married outdoors,” Luka said slowly. “Because the head of your family was a dragon. I confess I was startled when you agreed to a chapel wedding so easily. ”
“I’ve never heard of anyone getting married outdoors, unless they were Moralienin,” I said. “It’s just not done. ”
“Dear, dear sister,” Hagen said with mock sagacity, “after all your boasting that you have set every new fashion in the King’s Seat for the past three years”—I punched his shoulder and he winced but carried on—“you mean to tell me that you can’t start a new fashion for outdoor weddings, too?”
I made as if to punch him again, but didn’t. I was staring down the sand again, at the bonfire, and the torches.
“I don’t know if it will become the fashion,” I said softly, taking Luka’s hand. “But we’re getting married right here,” I continued, in my most no-nonsense tone. “I’m not leaving the Far Isles until we’re married. ”
“Done!” Luka kissed me.
“Well, that shuts out our beloved aunt and equally light- minded cousins,” Hagen said. “They’ll never agree to ride a dragon. ” He let out a sigh of deep satisfaction as a young dragon brought us a platter of roasted meats and grilled fruit to share. “I might actually enjoy this wedding after all. Caxon knows, the food will be good. ”
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Unexpected Guests
Creel! Creel! I knew it! I knew you would get married here! It’s gorgeous!”
Marta ran down the beach toward me, waving her hands in the air with glee. She was wearing a pink tunic and trousers and wide ivory colored sash that I strongly suspected she had stolen from my wardrobe.
We hugged fiercely until Tobin came up, and then there was more hugging and the boys tried to outdo each other with backslaps. We were joined by Ria and her children, and there were introductions, interrupted by a high-pitched yapping followed by earsplitting shrieks.
“Pippin!” Marta knelt down to gather up the little white ball of hair that had been the lapdog of Princess Amalia of Roulain and now ruled Feniul’s kennel.
Despite her size, Pippin was an alpha female, though I hadn’t seen much of her since I’d come to the Far Isles. Now I understood why: trailing through the sand behind her were three minuscule brown and white puppies. Bringing up the rear was their father, a brown dog at least twice Pippin’s size. We admired her puppies until the shrieking couldn’t be avoided.
“Hello, Ruli,” Marta said finally. The monkey she had bought in Citatie was swinging from Ria’s horns and screaming at us. I’d run afoul of the little beast a number of times in the past weeks, and quickly fished a couple of nuts from a purse at my waist. I handed them to Marta, who threw them at her erstwhile pet to make him be quiet.
When he had taken the treats and scampered away, Marta brushed her hands together.
“Now then!” She started walking up the beach. “Are the guesthouses this way? I want to wash, and then we need to get to work. If you want to be married next week, when both moons are full, we’ve got a lot to do. ”
Avoiding her eyes, I said, “I don’t know what you mean—I’ve
been working on my dress for months. ”
“You’re a terrible liar, Creel. You always have been,” Marta said briskly. “I knew the minute we finished talking through the speaking pool that something was wrong. You very obviously didn’t mention your wedding gown, even though it’s all you’ve talked about for six months. It got dirty, didn’t it? Or you lost a part?”
She realized that no one was following her, and turned around. Seeing the look on my face, and Luka’s face, her mouth opened into an “O. ”
“How bad is it?”
“It’s not really a gown anymore, so much as a large pile of ribbons,” Luka said as tactfully as he could.
I covered my face with my hands.
“Creel! Caxon’s bones! What did you do?”
“I saved a clutch of dragon eggs,” I said, lowering my hands from my red face. “And I’m not going to tell the whole story until Alle gets here, because I don’t want to relive it over and over again. ”
Marta shook her head at me, then squinted into the distance. “Well, I can see two more dragons coming right now,” she said. “So it shouldn’t be long. Feniul had some sort of bet going with Leontes, which is how we got here first. I thought my hair was going to be blown right off my head. ”
The others did arrive quickly: Alle, Tobin’s sister, Ulfrid, Luka’s brother, Miles, and his wife, Isla. To avoid causing an uproar, we had invited only these few chosen friends, contacting Marta through a speaking pool and sending her to tell the rest. King Caxel had no idea that his younger son was about to be married in this unorthodox fashion, and we figured it was better this way.
But then Leontes smiled at us and pointed with a wing in the direction they had come. “My mate is bringing the other guests,” he said. “They should be here shortly. ”
“Other guests?” I frowned. “Who?”
“You’ll see. ”
Marta and Alle winked at each other, and Miles was smiling broadly. When Niva landed, we saw why.
I had a horrified flash of my aunt arriving with all my cousins, to complain about the sand and the heat and all the dragons, and sweat broke out on my upper lip. But if it were Aunt Reena, surely Miles wouldn’t be smiling?
To my delight, the Duke and Duchess of Mordrel clambered down from Niva’s back and rushed to embrace us. I greeted them with real pleasure. The duchess made much of my embroidered tunic and trousers, and that reminded me of my wedding gown dilemma again.
Marta and Alle, standing nearby, heard her, and I could see that they had been reminded as well. They immediately came to my side.
“We have a lot to do,” Marta said briskly. “If someone can show us where we will be staying, and we can get our luggage unpacked, we’ll need to get to work. ”
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“Yes, please, everyone come this way. ” Gala stood at the head of the path that led to the guest houses. “We have houses prepared, although some of you may have to share now. ” Shardas and Velika had designated her the hostess for the wedding, and she was doing an admirable job.
She led us down the shady path to the guesthouses. The Mordrels would have their own and Tobin and Marta easily agreed to share with Ulfrid. I told Alle to put her things with mine. Luka was already sharing with Hagen, so the most crowded house would have been his, now that his brother and sister-in-law had arrived. But Hagen solved the problem, saying he would move his things into Leontes and Niva’s cave.
At least until the wedding.
Shardas had told me that he and Feniul were preparing a special house for Luka and me, but we were not to see it until after the ceremony. Which was all right with me, since just thinking about it made me blush furiously.
I was helping Alle shake out her gowns and hang them on the hooks on the wall next to mine when Marta whipped into the house with a twinkle in her eyes, a basket on one arm, and Pippin and her family at her heels. Marta plopped the basket down on the bed, then boosted the tiny dogs up as well. They sat neatly in a row and watched with their dark eyes, heads cocked in identical poses of curiosity.
Wanting to avoid what was coming next, I rubbed the little puppies behind their ears until Alle cleared her throat loudly and Marta started tapping her foot with a sharp sound on the wooden floor. I turned around to explain what had happened in the forest far to the south, and instead saw . . . a wedding gown.
“I don’t believe it!” While they grinned with pride, I put both hands to my cheeks, and felt tears start in my eyes.
It was Marta’s wedding gown—I could tell by the skirt, which I myself had painstakingly embroidered with clusters of flowers and tiny crystals. But Marta and Alle had taken off the high ruff to lower the neckline the way I preferred, and slashed the sleeves to put in lace inserts. Only someone who had seen Marta’s gown every day for months, as I had, would recognize it, but even if they did it wouldn’t matter.
It was gorgeous.
Eggshells
The weeks I had spent down in the lesser temple waiting for the eggs to harden had seemed eternal, but the one leading to my wedding went by in the blink of an eye.
We had to do the final fitting for Marta’s attendant gown, since she insisted that only my stitching made her waist appear small enough. She and Alle had matching gowns of pale blue, embroidered with dragon scales and flowers in shades of turquoise and silvery gray. We had planned them before I decided to be married in the Far Isles, and I couldn’t be more pleased at the way the clear waters that surrounded the island complemented the gowns.
Ria and Gala were putting their heads together with Isla and the duchess over the decorations, so after the attendants’ gowns were finished, Marta and Alle and I only had to worry about fitting my gown. I put it off until the day before the wedding, however, convinced that something terrible would happen if I touched it: a stain, a snag, something.
So it was with great trepidation that I tried the gown on at last. I took a bath, made Marta and Alle wash their hands, and even swept the floor of my house first. My friends helped me into it, and I kept my eyes closed as they laced the tiny, tiny ribbons that ran up the back.
“Open your eyes, Creel,” Marta said in a breathy voice.
I dared to look at last.
It fit like a dream: bodice tight, skirt flaring to just the right length. Marta and I were similar in size, and of course we kept straw-stuffed dummies made to our sizes in the shop. The sleeves were the right length too, just fitted enough without impeding movement. I sighed, and grinned, and twisted to look at myself from the back.
“Perfect,” Alle agreed. “Perfect. ”
“It’s better than the one I had—” I was cut off in mid-sentence by the sound of roaring.
Many dragons roaring. In a high, strange way I had never heard before.
We ran out of the guest house and down the path, nearly colliding with Miles and the Duke of Mordrel as they came out of Luka’s house. We all raced for the beach and my only concession to my delicate, white skirts was holding them high off the sands. I was fleetingly grateful that I was barefoot, and didn’t need to worry about ruining my new satin slippers.
All the dragons were streaming down the shore toward Shardas and Velika’s private section of beach. They had their mouths open wide and were roaring or trilling—it was a bizarre combination of both.
“What is it? What’s happening?”
Some were flying, but Feniul and Ria ran out of the jungle and started trotting up the beach beside us. They were streaming a trail of children like a parade.
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“The hatching!” Feniul stopped roaring long enough to say the words with an explosion of joy. “The hatching!”
Luka caught up with us, and I told him the news as we ran. He linked his arm through mine and helped me speed along the sands. My heart was pounding against my tight bodice. We would see Shardas and Velika’s eggs hatch!
Perhaps.
When we got to their section of the beach, there was such a solid wall of dragon bodies that I couldn’t see anything but scales in front of me. Some of the dragons hovered in the air so that they could get a better look. Then Velika raised her head high (I could just catch a glimpse of the end of her snout), and said, “Where is Creelisel?”
“Here!” I jumped up and down.
“Make way for her, please. ”
Reluctantly, the dragons began to clear a path.
“Make way for all the humans,” Shardas said.
We gathered in a ring around the sandy nest. The eggs were glowing red, and rocking slightly. I reached out to touch one, then drew back, but Velika nodded at me and I touched the nearest egg. It was so hot that I quickly pulled back again, and smiled at the queen dragon with a welling of emotion in my breast too great to express.
“We wish to have all our friends with us,” Shardas announced loudly. “Human and dragon. One of these eggs will produce the future queen of the dragons, and there must be witnesses. For the first time in history, some of those witnesses will be human, to build stronger bonds between all our people—dragon and human. ”
We were all solemn, but then one of the eggs rocked itself up on end and we gasped. I fell to my knees beside the egg, fists clenched, and began willing it to hatch a female. Leontes had told us that if the first egg to hatch was a female—the future queen—it was a very good omen.
Suddenly cracks appeared in the shell. They grew longer and wider, and with a final snapping sound, a baby dragon the size of a large dog tumbled out.
Its wings were wet, its scales looked like crumpled paper, its eyes weren’t open, and it was covered in goo. It was hideous and sweet all at the same time. It opened its mouth and mewed, and the dragons roared with joy.
“The future queen, the future queen,” one of them bellowed in my ear.
Another egg was hatching now, but I was busy kissing Luka in celebration.
And then the sound of the roaring changed.
Alle screamed, and I whirled around just in time to see a gray dragon—Rannym, the very dragon I had once served as a klgaosh—scoop up the tiny queenlet and leap into the sky with her.
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