It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Not just the dragons, but the lake and the town and the trees and the sky. All of it. “It’s amazing.”
Amelrik grins. “I always liked it up here.”
I watch another dragon take off, catching the wind with its wings. A fish leaps out of the water far below—just a quick flash of silver—and then disappears again.
Amelrik sits down on the ground, a little ways back from the ledge. I join him, really wishing we’d brought lunch with us. We’re quiet for a while, just enjoying the view. Then Amelrik says, “What would you be doing for your birthday if you were back home? What do you usually do, I mean?”
Nothing like this. “Torrin would go to the bakery in town and get me these chocolate-chip pastries I love. They’re best when they’re warm, so he’d run back home as fast as he could, before they could cool off too much. That was after I stopped leaving the barracks.”
Amelrik rolls his eyes. “Gee, how nice of him.”
“What? It was nice.”
“Oh, right, considering that he didn’t even believe you about not being able to leave. And you only got to have them once a year?”
I look down at my knees. When he puts it like that, it doesn’t sound so great. “It’s not like anybody else was volunteering. And it was a long way to run just so I could have some warm pastries.”
“Well, obviously I can’t get you those. What else?”
“Me and Celeste would stay up late and look at the stars—”
“That, we can do.”
“—and talk about boys.”
“Or not.”
“We don’t have to do anything else. It’s not like me and you are actually . . .” What? Lovers? Friends? But aren’t we? Friends, I mean. Obviously we’re not lovers, even though we slept in the same bed again last night. But that was only because there’s really nowhere else to sleep—it’s not because we want to be that close to each other. It’s not like it’s comforting that he’s only an arm’s length away, that at any time I could reach out and touch someone familiar and know I’m not alone in this strange, foreign place.
“Do you like theater?”
“Dragons have theater? Like, plays and stuff?”
“Your ignorance knows no bounds. Of course we do.”
“Would any of it be in English?”
He opens his mouth to speak, then pauses to think that over. “I’ll come up with something else.”
I’m about to tell him again that he doesn’t need to, even though it’s nice of him to make the effort, when a dragon comes flying at us from somewhere over the lake. It swoops down low, like it’s going to grab us with its claws. Fear floods my chest, and I’m sure that this is it—I’m going to die in the next few seconds.
Amelrik stays calm, like this is no big deal. “It’s okay,” he says. “It’s just Odilia.”
I want to ask how he can tell, but that seems rude.
The dragon keeps its claws to itself and doesn’t gut us, landing behind us instead. It changes into human form, and then I see that it is indeed Odilia. Naked, of course.
“Just Odilia?!” She smacks him playfully on the back of the head before sitting down on his other side. “I saw you over here. We have a lot to catch up on.”
“You saw me over here with Virginia. We’re trying to figure out what to do for her birthday.”
I think he’s trying to tell her she’s interrupting, but she doesn’t take the hint. She leans forward and glances over at me, clearly not liking what she sees. She says something to him in Vairlin, and then he glares at her.
“What did she say?” I whisper.
“Nothing.” But Amelrik’s face gets kind of red, so I know it must have been something embarrassing.
Odilia laughs, pleased with herself. “Tell me what happened with Elder clan, cousin. Six months ago they told us you were dead. I cried for days, and your father shut himself away for a week, hardly speaking to anyone.”
“He did?”
“He blamed himself for sending you there. When Raban died, he was sick with worry over what they would do to you.”
“Who’s Raban?” And why did Odilia have to come over here and start talking about things I don’t understand?
“The hostage from Elder clan,” Amelrik says. “He drowned in the lake. Lothar put on a big show of mourning him. Raban’s death was an accident, but Lothar hated me so much, he riled everyone up about it, until there was nothing his father could do to make it right, except . . .” He swallows. “I thought he really was going to kill me. He was more of a father to me than mine ever was, and—”
“Amelrik!” Odilia snaps. “You don’t mean that.”
“—I could see how much it upset him, knowing what he had to do. He hoped it would blow over, that if he put it off long enough, people would forget. But Lothar saw to it that they didn’t. So when the day came, the king took me out into the woods for my execution. His hands were shaking—he couldn’t do it. He cut my bonds instead and told me to run.”
Odilia considers that for a moment. “Still, I know what he made you do for them. Some father he was to you!”
“He made me feel like I was more than just a guest. Like I was part of his family.”
She snorts. “That’s why he exploited you and sent you off to live with humans? To trick them for his own gain? Who does that, especially to someone like you? You were a tool to him.”
He clenches his fists. “You weren’t there. You don’t know.”
“Anyone could see there’s something wrong with that situation, cousin. Even your little whore here could tell you that.”
Um, hello? Whores don’t pledge their undying devotion. I don’t think, anyway.
“That’s enough, Odilia!”
“It makes me sick to think of anyone taking advantage of you.” She looks at me when she says that.
“I can take care of myself. You don’t have to—”
Two more dragons swoop over us, chasing each other. They circle around and dive into the water, then leap out of it into the air and come back, half landing, half crashing on the ground behind us. They shake the water off themselves, splashing us with freezing-cold droplets.
Odilia’s laughing. When they change into human form, I see that they’re two guys, around her age. Both are lean and well muscled—not that I’m, uh, paying attention to that or anything, and I’m certainly not looking at anything below the belt—and both of them are grinning at her.
“Osric! Godwin!” she scolds, but it’s obvious she’s not really mad. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Showing off,” Amelrik mutters.
The boys don’t seem to hear him. The slightly taller one—who I think is Osric—rakes a hand through his sandy-blond hair. “Trying to get you to come flying with us before anyone from another team tries to steal you away. We’re practicing for the games.”
“Well, I don’t know,” she says.
“Please, Odilia?” Godwin tilts his head and bats his eyes at her.
Osric elbows him in the ribs. “I won the race—I get to ask her.”
“You already had your chance. I’m getting her to say yes.”
Odilia’s eating up all the attention. “Boys, you know I would, but I’m here with my cousin.”
“He can come, too. We’ve got more spots open on our team. He’ll have to leave his human behind, though.”
She clears her throat. “My cousin. The one I told you about?”
“What are you . . . Oh. Ohhhh. Right. That cousin.” Osric nods.
Godwin is still confused. “Which cousin? The dead one?”
Osric smacks his arm. “No, you idiot. Does he look dead to you?” He lowers his voice, but we can all hear anyway. “The crippled one.”
“Oh.”
They’re not grinning anymore, and they both give Amelrik really solemn looks.
“It’s okay, Odilia,” Osric says. “We can hang out here with you. We’ll practice later—w
e’ve got plenty of time before the games.”
“Well . . .” Odilia glances at Amelrik.
“Just go,” he says, waving her off. “You were the one who interrupted us in the first place.”
“Really? You’re the best.” She reaches out and ruffles his hair as she gets up.
Osric and Godwin take running leaps off the edge of the cliff and transform in midair, so they’re dragons by the time they hit the water. They just barely make it.
“You stupid boys!” Odilia shouts after them, but she’s laughing again. She transforms first, then dives in, too.
Amelrik sighs. His excitement from earlier is gone, and now he just seems sad.
“Come closer,” I tell him, even though we’re already sitting right next to each other.
“What?”
“I need to tell you something.”
“So tell me.”
“It’s a secret. I have to whisper it.”
His forehead wrinkles, and at first I think he’s not going to do it. But then curiosity gets the better of him, and he leans toward me.
I make like I’m going to whisper in his ear, and then at the last second I lick the side of his face instead. His skin is salty with sweat.
“Hey!” He wipes my spit off with his sleeve, but he’s also grinning and trying not to laugh. “What was that for?”
“Human saliva is a little-known pick-me-up, but only when applied liberally and directly from the tongue.”
“Is that so?”
“It worked, didn’t it?”
He smiles at me. “That doesn’t prove anything.”
“It doesn’t not prove it. And it’s my birthday. I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to argue with someone on their birthday.”
“Funny, I’ve never heard that before.”
“Well, you didn’t know about the mood-enhancing quality of spit, either, so obviously you still have a few things to learn.”
25
NOT LIKE THE REST OF THEM
It’s the next afternoon, and me and Amelrik are taking a walk through the woods, no hills this time. I made him promise that part before I’d come out here with him. He said he just wanted to take a walk, but he seems really nervous, and there’s obviously something on his mind.
And I know it’s stupid—really stupid—but part of me hopes that the thing on his mind is me, and that he’s going to kiss me again. For reals this time, even though it certainly felt real enough before. It’s stupid for several reasons. One, because I’m a St. George and he’s a dragon and I shouldn’t want that, and two, because of course he doesn’t feel that way about me. Guys never feel that way about me, and I’m sure a dragon prince is no exception.
I mean, he’s made it clear that he only kissed me because he had to. The only reason he’s letting me sleep in his bed is to keep up appearances, and because I refused to leave. He went out of his way to make my birthday fun yesterday, but that’s what you do on someone’s birthday if you’re their friend. And it’s especially what you do when they know absolutely no one else and are far from home.
Amelrik stops at a clearing off the side of the trail. He looks around, pausing to listen—I guess to make sure we’re alone. “Virginia . . . don’t be mad, but this isn’t just a walk.”
“Uh-huh. I kind of figured that.”
“There’s something we need to talk about. No, there’s something we need to do, and . . .” He scratches his ear, not quite looking at me. “You might not like this.”
“I might, though.” Especially if it’s anything like last time.
“I figure it’s not a good idea to do it back home.”
“You mean, because of the bed situation?” Maybe sharing a bed won’t be weird if we only kiss when we’re out here.
“What does the bed have to do with anything?”
“Um.” Crap. “Nothing?”
He raises an eyebrow at me. “I haven’t even told you what I’m talking about.”
“So tell me already. I don’t have all day.”
“You kind of do. But, anyway, what I’m saying is . . .” He lets out a deep breath. “We need to practice your magic.”
“We what?” That is not what I signed up for. “I don’t do magic, okay? And even if I did, I don’t see how you’d figure into it.”
“Because you need someone to practice on.”
“You want me to practice on you?”
“No, I really don’t. But there’s no one else.”
“Just get a dragon ring.”
He scowls at me. “Dragons don’t keep dragon rings around! And even if we did, it’s not enough. There’s no way anyone’s ever putting one of those on me again, and we need to know if the spell’s actually working. And that means you cast the binding spell on me, and I . . . I see if I can still transform.”
“How is that different from having a dragon ring on?”
“It doesn’t hurt the same way.” He puts a hand to his neck, where the ring was, even though it’s completely healed. “And it’s only temporary.”
The spell lasts different amounts of time, depending on how strong the caster is. Celeste’s lasts for twelve hours, while mine would probably only last twelve seconds. “Okay, but you obviously don’t really want to do this, and neither do I, so I don’t see the point. And you said the Elder king is like a father to you. Can’t you just talk to him?”
“Talk to him?”
“About Celeste. Ask him if he’ll let her go.”
“Are you serious? I’m supposed to be dead. He was supposed to have killed me.”
“Yeah, but—”
“You want me, an escaped hostage with a death sentence still hanging over his head, to stroll up to the king and ask him nicely if he’ll let your sister, a dangerous weapon, go free? Forget the fact that he’d be obligated to execute me on the spot, and that there’s no way I’d ever get an audience with him. How would it look if he just handed over their St. George to another clan?”
“Like he was doing you a favor? A really big one?”
Amelrik sighs. “When we go to Elder clan, no one can know I’m there. And if we’re going to rescue your sister, it wouldn’t hurt to have magic. It might even save our lives.”
“So you want me to do this because of Celeste? And it has nothing to do with you telling everyone in your clan that I’m a better paladin than her?”
“Well . . .”
“You said I didn’t have to do magic!”
“You don’t! Probably! At least for a while. But it might come up, and if it does and you can’t do anything, we are dead. And as much as I really, really don’t want to do this, I want to keep living even more. I assume you feel the same way.”
“If you want to keep living, maybe you should stop pissing me off. And did we have to come all the way out here for this?”
“I don’t want my room to stink.”
“Won’t the other dragons smell it on me? If I do manage to make, like, a spark or something?” If he thinks I’m going to actually cast a whole spell, he’s going to be disappointed.
“We’ll rinse off in the lake first before we go home.”
“That’s fine for you, but that lake is cold.” I remember when Osric and Godwin shook water all over us yesterday, and that was bad enough.
“You can’t go back inside the caves stinking of paladin magic. And you certainly aren’t getting into my bed like that. In fact, you should probably take an actual bath first.”
“Yes, Mother.”
He presses his hands to his face. “Let’s just get this over with.”
We move to the far side of the clearing. Amelrik stands right in front of me, his head held high, like he’s putting on a brave front as he faces his executioner. He takes a step back. Then another. Then he changes his mind and steps forward again. He wipes his palms on his pant legs and takes in a slow breath. “Okay. Okay. I’m ready. Do it now. I’m—No, no, wait. Wait!”
You’d think from the way he’s saying that t
hat I was actually doing something, instead of watching him have some kind of breakdown. “We don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, we do.”
“But we don’t have to do it today.”
“If we put it off, I’m going to lose my nerve.”
“Going to?”
He glares at me. “I wore that dragon ring for ten days, I think I can handle this.”
“You know you don’t actually have anything to worry about, right? There’s no way I’m really going to manage the binding spell.”
“Just hurry up before I change my mind.”
“Chicken out, you mean. But . . . okay.” I try to remember what he said before, about magic being a part of me, and how it’s not something I choose to have—it’s just there. I imagine the energy for the spell leaving me and binding him into human form. Which seems pretty unnecessary, all things considered. “This isn’t working.”
“Did you even try?”
“If I say yes, can we go back?”
“You cast a spell before. You can do it again.”
“That one was a lot simpler, and it was an emergency. I don’t really know how I did it.”
“Great. That’s exactly what you should tell my father if he ever asks about it. I’m sure he and everyone else who believed me about you will totally understand and there will be no hard feelings.”
“Hey, I didn’t ask you to lie to them. You told them what they wanted to hear. You said I was better than Celeste.”
“I told them you were the better St. George. That much at least wasn’t a lie.”
I laugh in disbelief. “Yeah, right. As if that could ever be even remotely true.”
Amelrik shakes his head. “Don’t say that, Virginia. You’re so much better than her, and you don’t even know it.”
“I’ve lived in her shadow my whole life. That’s what I know.”
“Your sister wouldn’t have had anything to do with me, even if it was the only way to get you back. She would never have done all this to save you, if the circumstances were reversed.”
“She . . .” Okay, she never would have teamed up with a dragon—not in a million years—and especially not the one she told me was so dangerous. “She wouldn’t have given up on me. Not that easily.”
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