The Dragoneer Trilogy

by Vickie Knestaut

  “Come on,” Trysten called and tugged. “Get out of her way!”

  Elevera closed the distance between them, then sank her head down toward the edge of the woods they had just cleared. A great stream of fire and a mountain-trembling roar erupted from the dragon. The heat crashed over Trysten like flaming wind. The air around them shimmered as she struggled to keep Prince Aymon upright.

  The wind eased, and Trysten could pull in a breath of air. The sound of crackling wood filled her ears. She risked a glance back and saw a wall of fire growing along the edge of the forest as old wood took flame.

  “I think we made it,” Trysten said.

  An arrow flew out of the woods and disappeared into the forest on the other side of the scree.

  “Keep running,” Prince Aymon said as he hopped forward on his good foot.

  Ahead, Verillium and Kaylar appeared. The magenta dragon flew into the clearing as far as she could, nearly reaching them before she was forced to land upon the stone. With some awkward shifting, she turned herself around. Kaylar motioned them forward.

  Elevera passed overhead again and laid down another stream of fire. Men screamed. Trysten winced as she sensed that Elevera took an arrow in her side. At least it wasn’t one of the spears that had taken down Prince Aymon’s dragon.

  At last, they reached Verillium. Kaylar grasped the Prince’s hand and hauled him up as Trysten formed a step with her hands, then lifted as he placed the toe of his boot in her woven fingers.

  Once Prince Aymon was prostrate over the back of Verillium, Trysten climbed up as well, using the stirrup of Kaylar’s saddle to lift herself and plunk herself down right behind Kaylar.

  Several arrows erupted from the edge of the woods. One went wide, another clattered to the stone, and a third punched Verillium in the flank before bouncing off the dragon’s scaled hide, but not without a jerk of surprise from the dragon.

  “Hang on!” Kaylar called, then dug her heels into the shoulders of Verillium. The dragon lifted up off the ground as Elevera swooped back in from above and laid down a parting blast of fire.

  As they rose out of the woods and started back toward the village, Trysten glanced behind them. Prince Aymon was draped over the back of Verillium like a set of saddlebags. His face was red with the rush of blood, but the man knew enough to lie still and hold on. His wide eyes betrayed the fright he felt, and it nearly shocked Trysten to see this cold man rattled. He was genuinely scared as he clung to the dragon in his precarious position. He would be safe, but Verillium would not be able to do any kind of maneuvers without shaking the Prince off. However, it seemed that they were out of harm’s way.

  Until Trysten sensed the others.

  High up the slope of the mountain, above the treeline, a full horde of twenty dragons and riders descended the side of the mountain. Their wings fixed and straight, they rode the pull of gravity down to the struggling Verillium. The magenta dragon pumped her wings furiously to keep up with the weight of battle gear and three adults.

  Out along the eastern horizon lay their salvation. The Aerona and royal hordes were still approaching, but they were taking their time, flying slowly to give the riders time to scan the ground for the escaped prisoners. They had no idea what had happened.

  The overburdened Verillium would never make it to the safety of the search party.

  Chapter 36

  “Fly as hard and fast as you can!” Trysten shouted to Kaylar.

  “That’s what I’m doing. But Verillium is over-burdened,” Kaylar said.

  “Keep going! Get Prince Aymon back to the village. You have to warn the village that there is an army of Western soldiers in The Wilds. You have to tell them to prepare.”

  “Prepare? How? And why can’t you tell them?”

  As Kaylar asked her questions, Trysten called out to Elevera in her mind. The gold dragon sailed smoothly beneath Verillium, gliding slightly to the smaller dragon’s right.

  “Remember,” Trysten ordered, “no matter what, your priority is to get Prince Aymon back to the village.”

  “Why? What are you—Trysten!” Kaylar shouted, suddenly aware of what Trysten was about to do.

  Trysten pushed herself back, slipped her leg over Verillium, then slid off. For a brief second, she had a sense of what it was like to be a dragon, free in the air, and then she landed upon Elevera’s back and scrabbled for a handhold.

  Elevera tilted to the side hard and quick, enough to buck Trysten safely onto the middle of the dragon’s back. With a sigh of relief, Trysten crawled up and settled herself into the saddle as she glanced overhead. Kaylar peered over the side of Verillium, gape-mouthed and eyes wide in surprise. Trysten urged Elevera forward. Verillium fell in behind and slightly below Elevera to take advantage of the larger dragon’s draft. It would ease her burden a slight bit.

  Trysten looked back at the approaching horde. It continued to sail down the side of the mountains, wings fixed and not at all in a hurry to catch them. They were conserving energy, content to wait for Elevera and Verillium to tire.

  The only tactical advantage Trysten had was that the Western horde saw only three riders atop two tired dragons and nothing more. They didn’t know about the Aerona and Royal hordes that were still out of sight. The prisoners must not have reached the Westerners yet. Surely if they had, the approaching horde would be expecting a full-out search party.

  Trysten thought it was likely that machines had launched the spears that hit Aymon’s dragon based on the range and velocity of the weapons. Further, the Westerners must have built the machines on this side of the mountain with timber from The Wilds. Hauling them through the narrow mountain pass already assembled would be impossible.

  The army was taking its time and building machines of war while hidden in the forest. They had slaughtered the cutting party because they were afraid of being exposed. Their assault on Trysten, Kaylar, and Prince Aymon had been nothing more than an attempt to snuff out a small group that had come looking for the cutting party, found the carnage, and decided to press into the woods.

  The blood in Trysten’s veins chilled. She shivered as it occurred to her that this was why the Western hordes had not attacked yet. They were waiting for their army to get into place. How many soldiers had she seen back in the woods? How many more were there? How many were descending through the pass at this very minute?

  An entire army. All headed for Aerona.

  Her grip tightened on Elevera.

  The Western horde continued on, dropping slowly down the mountainside. They were getting close to Trysten’s altitude. They would start the chase in earnest soon, after giving Elevera and Verillium time to wear out.

  Ahead, the unbroken eastern horizon stretched away. She could not see a dragon from either horde. Moore was convinced of bandits. He had no idea what they had stumbled upon. If someone didn’t make it back to warn the village, there would be no hope for them at all.

  Verillium struggled. She beat her wings steadily and rapidly, trying to balance the Prince’s added weight along with Kaylar’s insistence that she go faster. Trysten felt her exhaustion. The muscles in Verillium’s wings and back, across the chest where the flight muscles anchored in the breastbone, all felt rubbery as pain edged in. Her chest heaved from being pumped like a bellows by the steady pull of her wings.

  There was little else to do for the time being but hope. Hope that Verillium held out. Hope that the hordes weren’t far off. Hope that even if Kaylar made it past the hordes and back to the village that it would be for more than to give Aerona a chance to stand and watch as its destruction marched over the hills.

  By all the wilds, what would they do? It all seemed quite impossible.

  Trysten took a deep breath. Her eyes fluttered closed as the cold wind whipped across her face.

  They could abandon the village. Flee. An army couldn’t move across the hills with any kind of speed or grace. The old and infirm villagers could be taken away on the backs of dragons. The healthy and able could w
alk. They could leave the village.

  And go where? This wasn’t a natural disaster. They couldn’t flee and return later.

  This was an invasion of her home, of her kingdom. It had to be stopped. She was the Dragoneer, sworn to protect her village. It was her duty to stop this army. If she could stand against her own kingdom, surely she could stand against a single army.

  Once the Western dragons soared down the slope of the mountain and began to cross the plains, they picked up speed quickly. Their wings flapped furiously in near unison, pushing themselves across the dwindling gap.

  Each time Trysten peered over her shoulder, the Western dragons were closer. She scanned the horizon ahead of her. It taunted her with how far away and empty it was. Where were they? Had they found the prisoners and turned back?

  Dear gods. That hadn’t occurred to her.

  She glanced over her shoulder. Each Western rider was visible on the back of his dragon. The Dragoneer rode point in a classic V formation. If she could get to him, and both she and Elevera survived the onslaught of twenty arrows launched in their direction, then Elevera could remove him from his saddle like she had with the first horde they had encountered. Trysten could capture their horde. She could call them off, send them to ground, or even take them back to the village, for all the good it would do to have twenty more dragons without riders, and nineteen new prisoners to look after.

  It seemed like their only hope, however. Verillium would soon be done. Elevera might be able to stay ahead of the Western horde long enough to get back to the village, but Kaylar and Prince Aymon would be lost. As much as Trysten hated to admit it, she needed the Prince now. He knew about the army and he had access to resources and troops that she couldn’t dream of. He had to make it back to the village.

  Trysten signaled for Kaylar to proceed to the weyr. Back to the weyr. Go straight to the weyr. Kaylar’s brow furrowed in confusion. Trysten repeated her order.

  Kaylar twisted around and looked behind them. She turned back, shock eclipsing her face. She hadn’t realized how close the enemy was. She nodded and signaled, Back to the weyr.

  Trysten ordered Elevera to drift to the left, then hold her wings out steady. The dragon obeyed, and while she rested a few seconds with her wings held immobile, Verillium and Kaylar pulled up beside them.

  “We’ll make it,” Kaylar called.

  Prince Aymon pushed himself up from the side of the dragon and craned his head back until he could look at Trysten.

  She braced for whatever ridiculous, belittling thing he would utter, but nothing came. He merely nodded once, then fell back against the dragon. He turned his head to the approaching horde, content to watch the action from his peculiar and uncomfortable position.

  Trysten unstrapped her bow and took it up in her left hand. She pulled an arrow from the quiver attached to the saddle and notched it into place. She would only get a shot or two off. Once the other horde realized what was happening, they would start launching arrows at her. If she had any chance of surviving, she had to stay low and seek shelter among the thick scales of Elevera’s neck.

  “Are you ready, lady?” Trysten asked. Her chest was tight. If nothing else, she would at least buy Kaylar and Verillium a few minutes as the others slowed to deal with her.

  “Let’s do it then.” She gave a slight nudge of the heel to tell Elevera to turn around.

  The gold dragon remained on a straight line course.

  To have her dragon disobey her was the last thing Trysten expected. She waited for a few heartbeats, then dug her heel into Elevera’s shoulder. “Turn left. Turn about. Now.”

  The dragon continued on, matching pace with the struggling and faltering Verillium.

  “Elevera!” Trysten cried. There was little else she could think to do. It was unheard of for a dragon to disobey a bonded rider.

  “Trysten!” Kaylar called, pointing ahead.

  Trysten turned to the horizon. There, in the deep blue above the green and gray line of the ground, she saw the dark, undulating shape of a horde in flight. She sensed many dragons. It was the rest of the Aerona horde, racing forward.

  “It’s Paege!” Trysten shouted back at Kaylar. “It’s Paege and the rest of the horde!”

  Kaylar let out a whoop and an obscene gesture aimed at the riders behind her. Though it was a little premature, the young woman’s spirit was contagious.

  With an end to the race in sight, Verillium found a second wind and pressed on harder, picking up speed. Elevera pulled ahead and took point position again, creating a backdraft to help carry the exhausted magenta dragon.

  Trysten glanced over her shoulder. The Western horde had hunkered down against the necks of their dragons. They must have spotted the reinforcements and were pouring on a final push to try to catch their opponents.

  Trysten took a general aim and released the arrow she had been holding. It flew up through the sky and then arced back down. It fell harmlessly behind the alpha dragon and dropped toward the ground below.

  Kaylar took up the suggestion and began to launch arrows at the approaching horde. The odds of them hitting one of the riders at this distance was small, but anything to help buy time was welcomed.

  The Western Dragoneer sat up and made a series of gestures with his left arm. The other hordesmen straightened in their saddles and took up their bows. With a signal from the Dragoneer, an answering volley of arrows raced through the air.

  One arrow skipped off the flank of Verillium, then fell harmlessly away. The rest of the volley missed its mark and dropped to the ground.

  Trysten and Kaylar plucked their bowstrings in return. One of Kaylar’s arrows caught the wing of what might have been the beta dragon. It stuck there for a moment before falling away.

  The Aerona horde approached quickly. She could make out all the dragons, including the ones flown by Alea and Deslan. There were more, however. She leaned forward and peered into the ranks.

  The royal horde flew behind, hidden by the larger Aerona horde.

  Trysten whipped her arm in the air to urge the approaching hordes on. She ordered an attack and guard, then pointed back at Verillium, making it clear that Verillium was to be protected at all costs.

  Paege signaled back that he understood. Trysten wanted to weep in relief as she watched him order a U formation. Both ends of the wing spread out and curved forward overtaking Paege and the others in the middle.

  It was a formation meant to close around Trysten and Kaylar like an embrace as soon as they passed through.

  Chapter 37

  Kaylar let out a yelp.

  Trysten turned back. Kaylar motioned emphatically at Prince Aymon. His hands were clenched tight into fists. One fluttered against Verillium’s side.

  Kaylar held up an arrow, then made a stabbing motion in her thigh.

  Another volley of arrows flew out from the Western horde. One barely missed Kaylar’s head. Another slipped through Verillium’s wing and left a ragged slip of a hole.

  “Now, Lady!” Trysten dug her heels into Elevera’s side with force. She yanked back on the lip of the saddle with all her might. Elevera shot up into the air and arced over backward. She twisted, righting herself, and let out a roar that caught the attention of all of the Western hordesmen.

  Elevera swept the air with fire as she roared and thrashed her head side to side. Heat blew back into Trysten’s face and dried her eyes, singing her brows. She flicked her heels forward and urged the dragon to go faster, faster.

  Arrows flitted past her, so fast that she couldn’t see them.

  The Western dragons darted every which way to get out of the charging dragon’s path. The last few arrows launched went wild. Elevera bore down on the Dragoneer and his alpha.

  The Western alpha folded in her wings and dropped away as Elevera grasped with her claws.

  Trysten tightened her grip on the saddle. Elevera jerked in the air a tiny bit, getting little more than a dig along the flank and part of the tail’s base as her target sl
ipped away.

  Trysten notched an arrow into her bowstring and glanced around for the nearest target.

  Every Western hordesman scattered. They raced back the way they had come.

  Trysten and Elevera swung hard to the left and drifted through the air as the Western horde fled. A weak smile crossed her face. It was hardly a victory. She would likely face them again, and soon, but in the meantime, Kaylar and Prince Aymon were safe.

  She turned her attention to her left and watched as the Aerona horde descended to meet her. Behind them, two riders escorted the exhausted Verillium back to the village.

  Her arm suddenly exhausted, Trysten motioned for the horde to not pursue, to fall in behind her and head back to the weyr. They had no time to chase the retreating horde and no defense against the Western spears.

  The royal horde flew straight past the Aerona horde in pursuit of the Western dragons.

  “Stop!” Trysten yelled as they passed over her. She flailed her arm, signaled for their attention, signaled for them to break pursuit.

  They continued on, racing through the air. One of the hordesmen glanced down at her. He looked directly at her as she motioned for them to stop, then spit over the side of his dragon. He turned and stared straight ahead, defying her order.

  “It’s a trap!” Trysten yelled. “Stop!”

  The royal horde kept going.

  Trysten growled in frustration. She again ordered her own horde back to the weyr, then urged Elevera after the royal horde.

  All of the riders pushed their dragons hard. The Western horde flew as fast as they could, but after sprinting the last mile or so to catch Elevera and Verillium, their dragons were no longer fresh. The royal horde had spent the day in a search pattern, and so had been in the air all day with very little in the way of breaks.

  Elevera was exhausted as well, but she worked to overtake the royal horde. Her wings pushed harder than Trysten thought possible. None of the hordesmen glanced back at her.