The Dragoneer Trilogy

by Vickie Knestaut

  Doing without riders was not a luxury Trysten could afford though. With the dawn bell, she summoned the horde and the recruits together. She wanted them up in the air for more practice and training.

  She drilled the recruits and the hordesmen on basic maneuvers, until Borsal opened the dove cages and rattled the bars with a stick. Doves streamed out, racing for the sky.

  Trysten ordered the horde to round them up and hold them in a tight ball of birds just to the south of the village. There, she had the recruits fly through the tight dole one at a time and scatter the birds. The rest of the horde then corralled the doves back into their original shape and position. One or two doves always got away from the horde and would fly off in any direction possible before eventually returning to their cages. It became a game, each recruit scoring points equal to the number of doves that escaped from the horde.

  As Trysten expected, the remaining royal hordesmen took to their dragons and soon began to perform maneuvers of their own, always near the Aerona horde. Trysten considered inviting them to train as a joint group, but she needed her recruits to work well with their own horde, not with the Prince’s men. So she did her best to ignore the Prince’s dragons while keeping an eye to the west in search of trouble.

  Eventually, it was Trysten’s turn to charge the dole. Elevera swept out and around until she was a small distance from the horde. After a final glance to the west, Trysten sent Elevera charging forward. It seemed a bit unfair for her to play the game since Elevera’s size and wingspan would ensure the escape of more than a few doves. But it was all in good fun, and it would test the abilities of the horde as the birds scattered to avoid the golden dragon.

  As she neared the ring of hordesmen, Trysten noticed Muzad and his men on the move. The royal hordesmen were hunkered down, pressing their dragons to fly hard and fast to cover the distance between themselves and the dole. Muzad had every intention of beating her to the doves.

  Her first instinct was to send Elevera barreling forward at an even faster pace, but that was too dangerous. Too many dragons zipping through the same space at high speeds could cause an injury, especially with inexperienced dragon riders in the mix. Injuries were something that neither horde could afford.

  Trysten ordered her horde to release the dole. The Aerona horde split formation to regroup higher up. The doves exploded from the first few holes to open in the ring. They spread out downward and to the southwest, fanning out in an escape.

  Muzad and his dragon dipped down. Avice, the silver-colored alpha, snatched one of the doves. Feathers exploded from her maw. The other royal hordesmen sped through the dissipating cloud of doves, and most of their dragons took birds as well. Feathers spun and drifted like ashes to the dark green and gray of the landscape below.

  Before she could order Elevera to join the rest of the horde, Muzad and his men cut her off, forming a ring around Trysten as if she and her dragon were a dole of doves themselves. The royal hordesmen darted around, passing close enough to Elevera’s muzzle that she had to jerk her head back several times to keep from hitting one of the royal dragons.

  Trysten gritted her teeth and signaled for them to break off. Though Muzad met her eyes each time he passed her, his face was hard and impassive. He saw her commands but made a show of not heeding them.

  Above, the Aerona horde held formation. The dragons swayed from side to side as the riders peered down, watching, waiting for orders from either Trysten or Paege.

  If she flicked her heels against Elevera’s sides even lightly, the dragon would speed up and make it extremely difficult for the other dragons to overtake and dodge before her. But Elevera would likely collide with one of the other dragons as they tried to slide in front of her and slow her down.

  A rumble came from deep within Elevera’s chest. Her wings stiffened, arched a slight bit, and Trysten knew what the dragon wanted. At first, she wouldn’t permit it. A display would only antagonize the other dragons, but then she changed her mind. Muzad and his men were in her territory. They were the ones out of line.

  “All right, then,” Trysten said with a nod and a pat on the side of Elevera’s neck. “Do it.”

  Elevera tossed her head and roared. Trysten’s bones rattled and shook. Then the dragon flashed out her wings and brought herself upright. Trysten clung to the lip of her saddle. The other dragons immediately banked away as Elevera whipped her tail and snapped at Muzad’s dragon.

  Above, the Aerona horde swooped down as the dragons responded to Elevera’s call.

  Muzad’s dragon twisted in the air, swerved around and flew straight at Trysten. Elevera began to drop as her momentum bled off. She swept down and gained some speed beneath her wings. Muzad’s dragon flew overhead, swept around to complete a figure eight, then pursued Elevera.

  The dragons of the Aerona horde began to follow. Trysten waved them off, ordering them into a holding pattern. With recruits in the mix, as well as high emotions from the dragons and their riders, she couldn’t risk an accident.

  Elevera angled her wings to pull out of her dive as Muzad’s dragon swept in low, ready to buzz Trysten. At the last second, Trysten saw in the gray eyes of the royal alpha what Muzad intended to do. She threw her weight to her right and wrapped her left arm around Elevera’s neck as she folded herself nearly in half against the dragon.

  To Trysten’s relief, Elevera knew what was going on as well, and maintained a steady course. Muzad’s dragon sailed overhead, too high for her claws to snare anything but air as she sailed past.

  Trysten pushed herself upright and glanced at the tassel on her left shoulder to make sure it was still there. It hadn’t been knocked off in Muzad’s attempt to grab it.

  “You wild jerk,” Trysten spat as the other Dragoneer glanced back to see if he’d been successful.

  She glanced up at the Aerona hordesmen flying in a loose circle. Their dragons swayed back and forth as they watched safely from above. A short distance away, the remainder of the royal horde mirrored them, watching the drama unfold.

  “We can’t allow that to go unanswered, can we?” Trysten asked. Elevera had displayed her authority. She had shown the other dragons that this was her territory, and she demanded to be treated like the queen she was. Muzad had ordered his dragon to challenge her, to actively disagree with the proclamation of the rightful alpha because it made him feel more powerful. He was a disgrace to his title.

  Elevera surged up and onward, her wide, golden wings lifting them higher as she shoved the sky and air beneath them. Muzad’s dragon leveled off, then circled around. Elevera went straight for her, unwavering. Trysten felt the rumble in Elevera’s chest that indicated flammable gas was collecting.

  “Easy,” Trysten said. She patted the dragon’s neck.

  Avice dipped slightly as she came back around, and then flared her wings, lifted her head, roared and lashed her tail in an echo of Elevera.

  Elevera answered the roar with a gout of fire that evaporated in the space between them. Heat buffeted Trysten’s face as they surged forward. With the momentum of Muzad’s dragon spent in her display, she dropped and allowed gravity to fill her wings with wind again.

  Without input from Trysten, Elevera tipped her wings severely and went into an all-out dive. Muzad glanced up at the golden alpha barreling down on him. His hand flinched. Trysten guessed that it was an automatic response to grab for his bow, but that would be crossing a line that even Muzad dared not cross.

  Avice tried to get out of the way, but Elevera had the advantage of a higher position. As she soared past the other alpha, barely clearing the dragon’s hindquarters, Elevera lunged and snapped her jaw around the other dragon’s tail, then let go as quickly as she had bitten.

  The royal alpha roared with surprise. Trysten gritted her teeth as the dragon’s pain hit her. It was a severe bite, more than she would have liked for Elevera to give.

  She glanced over her shoulder. Muzad was turned around, his head tracking the lashing tail of his dragon. Drops of b
lood and loose scales fell to the ground, but at least the tail was intact.

  Elevera arched her back and raced up into the air again, her wings pumping furiously beneath her. The saddle bucked with the dragon’s efforts. Almost horizontal, Trysten clung to the saddle and craned her head back to keep an eye on Muzad. Avice spiraled upwards, trying to gain altitude on Elevera, but the silver dragon was quickly falling behind. Enraged as she was, Elevera was not about to let the royal alpha’s challenge go without the matter being firmly settled.

  “I think you’ve made your point,” Trysten cried into the wind. Elevera let out another roar, then leveled off and circled, waiting for Avice to come around.

  As Avice reached their altitude, Elevera flashed her wings again and lashed her tail in a signal for the other dragon to go to ground, to surrender the sky to the mightier dragon. A moment of hesitation hung in the air. Trysten sensed that the other alpha was done, that she needed no more convincing in regards to Elevera’s status.

  But then Muzad spurred her on, yanked on the lip of his saddle and dug his heels into her shoulder to keep her level, and then ordered her up into the air, higher. Muzad was willing to sacrifice his dragon to make his point. He was taking this personally.

  Elevera had chosen the altitude she had because they were now slightly higher than the other dragons. Both the Aerona and the royal horde had taken up circling positions around them, flying in segmented circles just beneath eye level, forming an arena in the air for the two challengers.

  Trysten couldn’t quite make out all of the spectators below. She hoped that Prince Aymon was among the scattered crowds in the weyr yard so that he could witness the irresponsible behavior of his royal dragoneer.

  Elevera let out another bone-shaking roar. In response, Muzad and his alpha sailed straight for them, the royal dragon’s wings pumping furiously. Trysten knew Avice had already decided Elevera was the victor of this contest. It was Muzad who was driving her on.

  Trysten ordered Elevera to answer the charge. They raced toward the challenger. As Muzad drew close, Trysten leaned forward. She searched Avice’s eyes and saw that Muzad had ordered her to slide beneath Elevera upside-down and rake across Elevera’s belly with her claws. The royal alpha dropped her left wing and began to roll over in the air.

  Trysten gasped at the thought. This had gotten far beyond a friendly game, and well past an anger-fueled rivalry. Both dragons and their riders could be killed or severely wounded.

  Without a thought from Trysten, Elevera folded her wings to her side as Muzad’s dragon twisted herself around, putting herself into position. The great mass of Elevera sank faster than Avice had anticipated. Trysten nearly growled herself as she saw surprise blossom on Muzad’s face. Confusion radiated from his dragon as she attempted to right herself while halfway through her roll.

  But it was too late to get out of the way. There was nothing Avice could do. Elevera spread her wings wide and held them fixed. The two dragons were on a collision course. Their wings would crash together and send both dragons and their riders hurtling to the ground.

  At the last moment, Muzad’s dragon tucked her left wing in, out of Elevera’s way, acknowledging the true alpha. Rage spread across Muzad’s face. He reached out, extended his arms and hands, ready to grasp whatever he could on their way down. His momentum would carry him close to Trysten.

  As Trysten flattened herself against Elevera’s neck, out of Muzad’s reach, Elevera reared her head up. Her muzzle collided with Muzad’s arm, snapping it back at an impossible angle as the two dragons sailed within inches of each other. Trysten’s ears rang with the sound of Muzad’s scream as he and his dragon dropped past. She held her breath as she dug her heel into Elevera’s shoulder and ordered the dragon to turn around. Elevera obeyed, sailing in a tight arc as Trysten craned her head back.

  The royal alpha dropped at a sharp angle, wings spread, nose aimed squarely for the weyr yard. Muzad remained upright on his dragon, but his right hand clutched his left arm. Though the riding armor softened his silhouette some, Trysten drew in a tight breath through her teeth as she saw the unnatural slump in his shoulder.

  Trysten glanced up at the other riders, who were now higher than Elevera after she had lost some altitude in that display. There appeared to be no further aggression on the part of the royal horde, but still, Trysten allowed Elevera her rite. The victorious alpha circled up into the air, higher than the others and roared. With a stream of fire she announced that these were her skies and no insubordination would be tolerated. She alone was the alpha of Aerona weyr.

  Trysten ordered the Aerona horde to ground and then sent Elevera down, tracing Muzad’s flight. Her horde fell in line behind her and descended as well.

  A moment later, the royal commander signaled his hordesmen to the yard. The royal dragoneer was already down.

  Chapter 32

  As soon as Elevera touched down, Prince Aymon ran toward Trysten from Muzad’s dragon.

  “What by the dragon’s breath have you done?” he demanded.

  Trysten reached for the straps at her waist, but then allowed her hands to hover over the knots and buckles. She wouldn’t mind having this conversation from Elevera’s back.

  “I was challenged,” Trysten said. “Or rather, Elevera was.” She placed her hand on the back of Elevera’s neck. The dragon stiffened slightly as she watched the other dragons land around her.

  “Muzad’s arm could well be broken! How could you be so irresponsible? We need him more than ever at this time,” the Prince scolded. Trysten would not have been surprised if he had stomped his foot while pitching his fit.

  Trysten bit back her angry retorts, choosing to be the calm one in the exchange. “It was Muzad who instigated this. And it was Muzad who forced his dragon on even after she and Elevera had settled matters. Your complaint should be with your dragoneer.”

  “Settled matters? You call the chunk missing from my alpha dragon’s tail to be settled matters?” the Prince fumed.

  Trysten’s hands flashed to the knots and buckles of the safety straps. She undid them deftly, slid from Elevera’s shoulder, and landed in a crouch at the Prince’s feet. She stood and found her nose mere inches from Aymon’s.

  “You want to talk about irresponsibility?” she asked, her voice as cold as winter stone. “I am in the air, with my horde, my recruits, training to make sure we are ready when we next defend your father’s kingdom. I am doing my best to get this horde in top-notch fighting condition when your dragoneer decides that harassing us is the best way to serve his king. Is that how it’s done in the mother city? Because out here at the edge of the Wilds, we think it is important to be prepared. We don’t have time for self-indulgences like men with bruised egos. We have a season to fight.”

  Prince Aymon, long since red in the face, opened his mouth to respond but Trysten gave him no chance.

  “I’ve had it with your intrusions!” she shouted at him. “I’ve had it with your intimidation. I’ve had it with your meddling, and frankly with you and your men being in the way. If you cannot keep your horde under control, then I want all of you out of Aerona. Return to the mother city without me. You are a danger to my horde and this village, and I won’t allow it. Is that clear?”

  Prince Aymon reached for her arm. “I want a—”

  Trysten pulled her arm out of his grip. “I don’t care what you want!” Elevera stirred and grumbled behind her. “This is my weyr. I am telling you what I want. And I want you and your men to conduct themselves like we are on the same side. Muzad’s tantrum could have cost us a lot more. It could have cost us dragons and riders that we desperately need right now. For all the sky, Aymon! Don’t you understand what’s going on here? Don’t you know what we’re up against?”

  “I, more than anyone, know what we’re up against, and so I would remind you to keep your voice down,” he said, his eyes shifting from side to side.

  “Do you?” Tyrsten asked. She took half a step back. “Do you really know
what we’re up against? Because if it’s as bad as you want me to believe, then why are you allowing your hordesmen to behave like that?” She gestured at Muzad as he was led back to the tents by Galelin and a group of royal hordesmen.

  “That is enough!” Prince Aymon snapped.

  “Oh, I couldn’t agree more! That’s what I’m telling you. You’re done here. You’ve had time to do your investigation. You’ve obviously made your report via courier. Now it’s time to leave. We don’t need you here. You’re in the way! You are a threat to the security of this weyr and this village! Leave!”

  Prince Aymon leaned forward a few inches. His eyes looked as strong and sharp as the clutching claws of a dragon. “Trysten of Aerona, I will not be spoken to like this. You would not speak to the King as you speak to me, yet I am—”

  “I would say the same, word for word, to the King, should he come here and act like you. But it is my sincere hope that he is a far wiser man than his fifth son.”

  “You are finished. You are officially banished from Aerona weyr. Your days of service to this kingdom are over. You are under arrest, whether you know it or not. I will remain here until sufficient reinforcements arrive to have you removed. And if you will not comply, I will be forced to have every man, woman, and child in this village arrested as well, carted back to the mother city in cages if need be, and imprisoned for aiding and abetting a criminal.” The Prince looked around at the crowd that had gathered.

  Trysten’s eyes snapped open and she barely stopped herself from taking a step backward. Elevera lowered her head and let out a growl in Prince Aymon’s direction. “You threaten the peaceful people of this village I am sworn to protect? If you even dare try to follow through with your plan, you will get no cooperation from me.”

  Prince Aymon scoffed. “You cannot threaten to take from me what I don’t have. It is obvious to me that you cannot be trusted, and that your head is too hot to handle the unique responsibilities of your position —”