Try? If I wanted you off you’d be off in a heartbeat.
I was at his alcove without realizing it and as I pulled back the curtain I saw that he wasn’t penned in on the side of the alcove like he was when we came to clean the stalls.
I’m as free as they let me be between those cleanings. Free to sit here and be miserable and bored. Why have you come?
“I have until tonight to decide if I will be a Dragon Rider or a servant.” Speaking out loud seemed more respectful than in my head when we were side by side.
And is there any question in your mind?
“The others think I will die dropping over the side of the cliff to mount you.”
Always a possibility.
I swallowed down a surge of fear. Thinking it was one thing. Saying it out loud and having someone agree was something else entirely. I blinked back hot tears forming in my eyes.
“They also think you’ll just buck me right off.”
Dragons are not kind. Especially those facing a lifetime of slavery.
So, I wasn’t wrong to envision that. “What worries me most is that slavery thing. If I agree to be your rider, won’t I be adding to your slavery?”
If it isn’t you, then it will be someone else.
“What if it is me and then I die? What happens to you then?”
He didn’t answer for a long time, so I sat down beside him and put a hand on his smooth cheek. His scales were hot, but not burning. Apparently magic kept him penned here, though there was no visible sign of it.
I can see the magical bonds. If you are bound to me, you will see them, too. You’ll see a lot of new things that you can’t see now.
“Why?”
Because the bond will tap you into my magic and with that, give you eyes to see the magic all around you.
That sounded exciting. I hated the thought that there were things to see that I was blind to.
You are blind to many things.
“What will it mean for you to be bound to me?” He still didn’t answer, so I tried a different question. “What do you want.”
I want to be free. The answer was lightning-fast.
“What can I do to give you that?” I couldn’t even see his magical bonds. I certainly couldn’t loosen them for him.
Nothing. I am a slave now, forever. Choose to bond with me and I will be your slave.
That sounded horrible. I’d never wanted anyone or anything to be enslaved to me. Perhaps, I should say no. Perhaps, it was better to work in the kitchens here than to force this magnificent creature to serve me.
You should choose to bond with me.
I was more confused than ever. He wanted me to choose him and yet that would mean slavery for him? That made no sense. I was more confused than ever.
Raolcan closed his eyes and set his head down on the ground. Was he asleep? I sat for a long time in silence, weighing my options. I really didn’t want to be a servant. I really did want to be a Dragon Rider. The more I thought about it, the more I was willing to try that terrifying First Flight – or at least, I thought I was – but what about Raolcan? What about his freedom? It wasn’t right for him to be a slave and if I chose to ride him that’s what he would be. He was being very closemouthed about the whole thing. Did he know something that I didn’t know? Was he keeping it from me? It seemed this decision was mine alone to make and he would not be helping me.
Whatever I chose, his life would change. It felt like too much responsibility for one crippled peasant girl. I’d have to be very wise in my choice. My heart squeezed in my chest at the look of his sleeping form. If only I knew for sure what was best for him. The responsibility made me feel sleepy. I leaned against Raolcan, closing my eyes. I’d just rest here for a moment. Only for a moment...
Chapter Twelve
I awoke to a rough hand on my shoulder and looked up into a shocked expression. Leng Shardson’s unshaven face was pale in the afternoon sun. His gaze flicked back and forth between Raolcan and I. Had I noticed before that he was an attractive man? His narrow lips were parted and his sharp, bird-of-prey gaze was a lot like Raolcan’s. Maybe proximity to dragons made you become more like them.
“What are you doing?” His words were breathless, his eyes full of awe.
I rubbed my eyes. “I think I fell asleep.”
“Against an ungentled dragon?” There was a burr in his voice. Was he worried for me? He needed to trust Raolcan like I did. It wasn’t fair that everyone mistrusted him just because of who he was. I understood what it was like to have everyone misjudge you.
“He’s not going to hurt me.”
Raolcan’s sides swelled as he drew in a breath. The same breath snorted out with a slight sulfur smell as he slept.
“I heard they were bonding your wave tonight,” he said.
“Where do you go on your dragon every day?” Maybe if I changed the subject I wouldn’t have to talk about my impending choice.
He smiled slightly. “Purples are messengers. We fly from one place to another bearing messages. I’ve been stationed with Dragon School for now, and that means daily missives to the twelve towers. It’s boring work, but someone has to do it.”
“You don’t like delivering messages?”
“I love my Color and I’m dedicated to our work but this is a tame posting. I’d rather be almost anywhere else – or at least that’s how I felt before.”
Before what? Had he met someone? A lover, a friend, a wife? That would change a person’s mind. Or maybe he’d been promoted. Perhaps someday, if I succeeded, I’d be complaining about the boredom of my post. It seemed almost too good to be true – as far away as a distant land or a desperate hope.
“You should eat. Bonding will take a lot out of you.” He’d been crouching beside me but now he stood, offering me a hand.
I took his hand and let him help me up, but there was no way I was going to the dining hall. “I don’t want to eat with everyone right now. I’m happier here.”
“You’re happier in the stables?” He seemed pleased by that. “There’s food in Alhskibi’s alcove. Come on.”
I followed his lead, but he walked companionably beside me until we got to the Purple alcoves. The carving around the doors was in whorls and swooping designs, like wind. I ran my fingers over the swirls closest to me. They were gorgeous.
“The marks of the Purple,” Leng said with a smile. “We are the swiftest of all the riders, so our symbol is the wind. Swift, lean and truthful. Our Color hosts races often. Let’s hope you can ride fast.”
I hoped I could ride at all. It was marvelous to think of being part of a Color – of having others like me in a common goal – but it wasn’t making my decision any easier. It would probably be kinder to Raolcan if I didn’t bond with him – if I let him be free. He claimed that he would never be free, that they’d just give him to someone else. So perhaps he would only be free if I was bonded to him and then walked away.”
“What happens to a bonded dragon if his rider leaves?” I asked, as Leng stopped in front of a silk-curtained alcove.
“Dies, you mean? The dragon will die, too. Your lives are intertwined after the bonding.”
My eyes widened and my throat felt tight. If I died on that first flight, Raolcan would die, too? “What if the rider simply walked away.”
Leng’s eyes narrowed and his hand hovered over the name chalked beside the alcove – Ahlskibi.
“I hope you aren’t thinking of doing that.”
Was I? “I’m only curious.”
“It’s not so simple. People don’t walk away. If you tried, your dragon would die from that, too.”
“So, once they arrive here they’re slaves forever?” I sighed.
He frowned and took my hand. “There’s something different about you and Raolcan. I can see that already. Believe me when I tell you, the best thing for him is you. You can’t free him by walking away. Do you understand?”
I nodded, but I didn’t understand. Wouldn’t it be better for him
if there was no me? An able-bodied rider could offer him so much more.
“Let me tell you a secret.” He leaned in so close that I could feel his breath on my neck as he whispered to me. It gave me little chills and made it hard to concentrate. “Riding dragons might be physical work but a big spirit matters more than what you can do with your body.”
He drew back, and then gracefully opened the curtain to the alcove. Behind it, a magnificent purple dragon with a frill around its head stood, rearing back slightly at our presence. Leng smiled and something wordless passed between them. Could they speak to one another as Raolcan and I could?
Of course.
I gasped and stepped back. That was Ahlskibi in my head! He spoke to me! And now he seemed to be laughing at me.
“Let me introduce you to Ahlskibi – my dragon partner,” Leng said, crossing to a leather bag and pulling out flatbread and dried meat. “Let’s eat. You must be hungry.”
We took a seat on the edge of the ledge so that our feet dangled over the side of the cliff and he broke off bread and meat and handed them to me. I was hungrier than I’d realized and a little giddy from the heights, the possibilities and eating lunch with a Real Dragon Rider. Too shy to speak, I concentrated on the food. All the Purple dragons spoke into their rider’s minds! That was amazing. Eventually, I took the last bite and found Leng’s warm gaze hovering on me.
“Good luck tonight and tomorrow, Amel Leafbrought. Some of us were born to this life and I think you are one of us.”
Me? Born to this? The peasant girl with the useless leg? I bit my tongue in surprise and tasted blood. He couldn’t be serious.
“I have more messages to deliver. I hope that when I return I find you wearing gray.” He stood and offered me a hand again and I accepted. “If you stand by the chalkboard you can watch. Maybe you’ll pick up a tip or two.”
I hobbled over to the sign, eyes wide as he deftly pulled a saddle from the wall, cocked his head at Ahlskibi and then threw the saddle over his back. Ahlskibi stood, and Leng darted under him, cinching girth bands and closing buckles with practiced hands. It was less than a minute before he retreated out from under him. I moved to look closer, but Ahlskibi’s head darted out, teeth bared at me. I stepped back quickly. Apparently, even being on speaking terms wasn’t enough to mean you could go near a dragon.
“Stay well back,” Leng warned, his expression hard. I took another step back and then something I couldn’t discern changed and Ahlskibi leapt forward, launching himself off the cliffs and out towards the horizon. He wheeled in a slow arc.
“Once they’re gentled you can jump on after you put the saddle on, but I thought you should watch me mount the way you’ll have to,” Leng said. His expression was serious, but there was a look of hope – or something similar – in his eyes. “Watch closely. I’ll work slowly for you.”
Ahlskibi circled back towards us and Leng shot me a final grin before running towards the cliff and leaping off. I scrambled to the edge and watched him fly through the air, his limbs splayed in an exaggerated manner. He was going to miss Ahlskibi! And then the dragon was suddenly under him, dipping as Leng’s weight dropped on him.
Leng pulled the belt from where it was tucked behind the saddle up to his waist and fastened it with two quick motions. He slid his arms in the harness and clipped the buckle over his chest in a single graceful motion. Ahlskibi’s wings rose, caught the wind and then with a powerful motion he launched forward, gripping the air and propelling up into the sky. I gasped at the glorious power of his movements. It was hard not to long to be a part of that beauty.
When they were nothing but a dot on the horizon I finally turned away. I hoped Leng was right and that I’d see them again. There was something special about those two. They were kind to someone like me that everyone else only tolerated – or worse, despised. I wanted to eat dried meat and flatbread with Leng every day and talk about dragons. Maybe that was what being Inducted was like. Maybe that wasn’t as far off as I feared.
Chapter Thirteen
I went back to the dorms, grateful to find most of the other female trainees resting or meditating. It only took a moment to slip a fresh set of clothes out of my bag and slip into the back. Come what may, I planned to be clean and in fresh clothes. The shower was heavenly, and I felt so fresh and new that I braved the dining hall next. A wave of nerves passed over me as I sat and I barely managed to swallow down two bites of roast chicken and some water. At least the rest of my wave was just as consumed with what came next. They barely noticed that I was there at all.
Around us, Dragon School carried on. Chuckles and smiles from the other tables and loud conversation, occasionally broken up by the sober expression of one of the Grandis made everyone else seem indifferent to our plight. But no wonder. Hadn’t they all done the very same thing we were about to do and lived to tell about it?
I slipped out of the dining hall early, grateful for the cool breeze against my sweaty brow. I hadn’t expected to be so nervous, but it was eating at me. The bell rang and a new kind of fear stabbed through me. I needed to be up top as quickly as the others but I didn’t have the time to get there and now the bell was ringing!
I sped towards the stairs, painfully aware that trainees beside me were easily passing me at only an average walking speed. I bit my lip. If I was late, all was lost – for Raolcan and me, at least.
What was that down the path? Was that what I thought it was? A lift on cables and pulleys sat beside the kitchen, loaded with a pair of crates still to be unloaded. Over the edge of the crate, I saw eggs packed in straw. It would be a simple enough thing to move the light crates off and stand on the lift myself, but to sway on an unstable lift hundreds of yards above the ground and with no way to get down if things went wrong – could I even do it?
There was no time to lose. I hurried over, dragged the crates off, thankful that they were light enough for me to move and then crawled onto the wooden bench suspended between two cables. My stomach fluttered as the plank swayed under my weight, but I gripped the cable attached to the pulley, jammed my crutch between my good thigh and the bench and wrapped that leg tightly around the board while the other hung dead on the other side. It was now or never. I hauled hard on the cable, my shoulders screaming with the effort, but the board shot upwards, the pulleys easily magnifying my efforts. It was easy to draw the rope through so I was able to pull hand over hand all the way up from the dining hall level to topside.
A silver whistle greeted me as, huffing and exhausted, I pulled myself off the swaying board and onto the firm rock. It felt good to grip the rock and know it was firm under my hands and knees. I needed a cold drink of water and a chance to lie down, but then I would miss my opportunity. Gritting my teeth against nausea and nerves, I hauled up on my crutch and fell in behind Tamas who was last in line.
“Best wishes on your bonding,” I said to him. There was no need to hold a grudge for his distant behavior. We could still be friends. He didn’t reply, but maybe it was just nerves. We were all nervous, weren’t we?
“Welcome,” Grandis Dantriet’s words rang out over the cliffside. The sun hung low in the sky, painting his white braids and loose hair an orangey hue that suited him. “We gather for bonding between dragon and rider trainee. This is your last chance to bow out of your commitment to the dragon you chose. Do any of you chose to take that option now?”
My hands shook as everyone looked back at me. They just assumed that I would crack now that the pressure was on. Why did they think that I wasn’t up to the task? Was a ruined leg really enough to destroy your entire future? I didn’t think it should be. I stiffened my shoulders and held my head high. No flinching from Amel Leafbrought. If they thought I wasn’t worthy then I would just have to show them all that they were wrong about me.
Like a bag of grain falling open and spilling on the ground, Tamas fell to his knees in front of me, head in his hands.
“I can’t do it. I thought I could but I can’t.” His tone soun
ded strange – like it didn’t even belong to him.
“Don’t give up now,” I whispered. If he could just make it through these two tests he’d have gotten past the hardest part. He just needed a bit more encouragement.
He craned his head back to glare at me, his fingers gripping into the dust on the ground like claws. I gasped at his dark expression. “Shut up, cripple. We all know you aren’t going to make it out of this alive. Stop fooling yourself. I won’t be an idiot like you.” He turned his gaze back to the rest of them. “I know my place. I should never have tried to rise above it.”
Grandis Dantriet raised a hand, cutting off comments muttered throughout the group. “The purpose of this ritual warning is for those like Tamas who learn this is not the life for them. Go with our blessing, Tamas. Return to the servants’ quarters. Are there any others?”
All eyes were fixed on me as Tamas strode away to the ladders. I felt my face grow hot but as the seconds stretched to minutes, I refused to crumble under their gazes. I wasn’t going to give in. They’d all have to watch me fail or succeed on my own effort. I bit my lip and willed myself to be steadfast.
“Very well.” Grandis Dantriet scanned our ranks, as if counting us and then gestured to the stands behind him. “Behind these stands, your dragons are arrayed. Our Binder, Grandis Echomeyer, is with them. You will each be bound by magic to your dragon. This gentles them to your touch. They may not listen to your commands, but your own dragon can no longer maim or kill you. Be careful of all other dragons in these stables. Only your bonded dragon is bound to keep from harming you. You will also be bound against harming him. It is the way of the Dragon Riders. Our bonds are sacred and revered. So let it be for the ages.”
“So let it be for the ages,” the trainees around me replied. Another thing borrowed from the nobles that I knew nothing about, I supposed.
We followed him around the seating area in the ragged line we were in. With every step, my heart hammered louder. Was I making the right choice? I desperately wanted to be a Dragon Rider – it was all I could do to keep images of delivering messages on the back of a grand purple dragon from flooding my mind – but what if it was bad for Raolcan? It was bad enough that he was a slave here. Was I making things worse by choosing him? He’d been cagey when I asked him, unwilling to say one way or the other. Should I have pushed him harder, or was it best simply to take him at his word that this bond was best for him?
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