House of Dragons

by Jessica Cluess

  Her hands trembled as she stroked Karina’s snout and the flat of her head. A scream of joy welled, blocking her breath. Karina…Karina was free.

  “Can I hear the other dragons?” Vespir asked.

  “I don’t believe so. Once, perhaps, but…now it seems a dragon bonds with a rider, and a rider with a dragon.” Karina extended her neck, looking over the top of Vespir’s head. “Though I’d be surprised if the others start off with as keen a bond as we share. After all, you and I have connected several times.”

  “I need to stop Aufidius.” Once she’d have simply jumped aboard, but now she needed permission. “Will you help me?”

  “As if you needed to ask.”

  Vespir climbed onto Karina’s back. She did not need to lock in now; the Red flashed before her eyes at once. With a few flaps, Karina brought them out of the aerie and launched into the sky. The wind whipped through Vespir’s hair as they turned for the smoke in the distance, for Aufidius. And Hyperia.

  Hopefully, the others would join them soon.

  Vespir wondered what their dragons sounded like.

  “Master Ajax!” Dog said. “For far too long the full extent of my mind and the complete expression of my feelings have been suppressed. For that, I apologize.

  “But verily, who have we to blame but those putrid individuals that locked away the true spirit of dragonkind? The fiends believed they could chain us like mere chattel, but how we have been vindicated—how we now laugh and scorn their errant ways! Ah, to articulate the grandeur of my own experience, and to share it all with you, is a dream to which I did not even realize I clung. But forsooth, ’tis no longer a dream; now, reality.

  “Master Ajax, though I am blind, my spirit merges with yours, and my heart is as your heart. Your presence steadies me, and if I did not cherish you before, I do so now, and shall devote myself unyieldingly to your safety, your security, your happiness. An oath of fealty cannot be too great—a promise of fidelity unwavering, of love unquestioning, of devotion unparalleled is yours as ever, my dear boy.

  “Ah, so many words to speak! Maladroit! Pineapple! Antidisestablishmentarianism! Fluffy! Oh, and guess what? I love you! I love you! I love you! The best words of all! Huzzah! I love you!”

  Ajax gaped. “What the f—”

  “Fibula? Another excellent word! Tra la!”

  Hyperia would kill the others—or burn down the world trying.

  Her heart synced with the beat of Aufidius’s wings as they targeted the screaming people in the streets. These crowds dancing in celebration, these musicians playing timpani and blowing dove-pipes, these feasts spiced with tamarind and coriander, she would destroy them all. She was no empress. Those who did not rule by right must conquer.

  The world would burn, and she would watch through her tears.

  Julia. My baby. I’m sorry.

  Her sister, dead for nothing. That chaotic bitch, Emilia, would live, and Hyperia…

  She had betrayed her own heart. Beaten by Lucian, she had set the soldiers upon the other competitors to preserve her throne. Dishonorable. Weak. Cowardly.

  She had killed her own beloved one for nothing.

  Her mind splintered. She welcomed the collapse of all her senses.

  “Kill.” Aufidius’s bass thrummed through her body. “Kill. Kill.”

  Her dragon repeated that one heavy word over and over. Hyperia wept, tears drying in the wind as soon as she shed them.

  “Aufidius, help me,” she whimpered. Her mind folded in on itself. Why couldn’t she stroke his snout, let his wings shield her from the world? The Hydra roared, angry at her weakness. Hyperia clutched the horn of her saddle as her mount jerked quickly to the left, going sideways. Any more blubbering on her part, and she knew the dragon would buck her to the winds and let her plummet to her death.

  “Kill! Kill! Kill!”

  There was no escape from this. Hyperia bit back her pain.

  The other four could not stay idle in their golden palace while Hyperia demolished the capital. Soon they would come.

  I will burn this city to the ground. Thousands will die in the streets, and…and our five bodies will lie together among the ashes.

  As dismay got its teeth in her, Hyperia tried to smile grimly. If that heinous image she’d seen in the gateway of Truth had been inevitable, at least it meant they would all soon be dead.

  “Kill.”

  “Yes. Kill them all,” Hyperia growled, eyes watering in the heat as her dragon spewed torrents of flame. The air stank with sulfur. They soared above pinkish-red terra-cotta rooftops that formed a winding labyrinth of shops and homes. The buildings ignited; smoke billowed into the air; the aroma of roasted flesh flooded her nostrils as men and women burned. Her dragon roared in ecstasy, and Hyperia’s heart sang with him. She alternated between relishing the screams and wanting to throw herself into the inferno below. What was she? If she did not have her identity—empress, sister—she was nothing.

  Let her be a butcher, then.

  Through the smoke, Hyperia saw a small, darting shape fly beneath them. The creature, the dragon, spouted flame, rose on the winds, and tried snapping at Aufidius’s tail.

  Karina.

  Vespir rode her minuscule beast, which shot above Aufidius, expanding her little wings to block out the sun. Hyperia squinted, shielded her eyes with her hand.

  “We’re not done yet!” Vespir shouted, her tone cutting as any blade. Vespir’s dragon made an upside-down loop before taking off at impossible speeds for the palace.

  Yes. Hyperia would restore her honor by hunting down the finest dragon rider she had ever seen. Total annihilation could wait.

  Nothing to fear. She had foreseen Vespir’s death as well as her own.

  “Go,” she hissed. Aufidius winged his way over the rooftops of this wretched city. Soon enough, Karina grew from a tiny dot to a dragon. Hyperia would overtake these lesser creatures.

  “Kill,” Aufidius snarled in her mind, blocking out the sound of screams. Yes. Kill.

  Kill.

  Kill.

  “KILL.”

  Hyperia’s roar mingled with her dragon’s as they attacked.

  Vespir wished she had seen more of Dragonspire before it was on fire. Karina tucked her wings and made a spectacular dive into the buildings’ canyons. They soared past marble balustrades, past glimmering shop windows, and down cobblestone avenues lined with trees. The air shook as Aufidius roared behind them. Vespir dared a peek over her shoulder. The larger dragon couldn’t follow Karina into the streets themselves, but his deadly breath more than made up for it.

  “Pull up!” Vespir screamed when Aufidius spewed flame into the boulevard, roasting at least half a dozen people. Tears streaked her face as Karina rocketed into the sky. Hyperia was a murderer, yes, but Vespir hadn’t truly believed her capable of killing like this.

  “She’s gone mad,” Karina murmured. “That dragon is a monster.”

  “We need to draw them back to the palace. Can we make it?” Vespir wrapped her arms around Karina’s neck and laid her cheek against the dragon’s shoulder.

  “In the open air, my speed may not be enough.”

  “I know.” If they dodged through the city streets, they could avoid Aufidius, but it would involve more death. Vespir could not let that happen. “Please try.”

  “For you, anything.”

  They flew, Vespir struggling to stay calm as she heard Aufidius’s roar. She screamed as flame shot overhead, nearly roasting the back of her neck.

  “Vespir!”

  “He didn’t get me.”

  “But if he does…”

  Fire couldn’t hurt Karina, but Vespir was utterly human.

  “Can you hook your heels under my legs?”

  Vespir knew what Karina was suggesting and wished to the depths that she didn�
�t.

  It was the only way—Aufidius would not miss next time—and they were closing in on the palace…

  But if Vespir let go…

  She hooked her heels and flattened herself against Karina’s back.

  “Now!” Vespir screamed. Karina spun around, belly up to Aufidius, Vespir protected behind her back. All good, save for the fact that Vespir now dangled one hundred feet above the ground, the strength in her heels and arms all that prevented her from tumbling into oblivion.

  “I will, I will, I will,” she chanted, gritting her teeth as her legs began to tremble. Her thighs burned—she couldn’t hold like this forever. As pain started shooting through her legs, the sky overhead lit with flame.

  Vespir would burn to ash and join her brother Casca. They’d toss a little wooden box of her onto the family kitchen table.

  One heel slipped, and Vespir screamed as it dangled in the air and began to pull the rest of her body after. Karina trilled in response, quickly soaring upward so that Vespir was seated once more. Wings flaring to fill with wind, the dragon rose above Aufidius. But Vespir felt her friend weakening—Karina was too small for a fight like this.

  “Can we get around to the palace gardens?” Vespir called.

  “We won’t make it,” Karina replied grimly. As the dragon spoke, Vespir realized that her left leg felt wet. Glancing down, she saw her pajama pant soaked in blood from ankle to calf. For one second she thought she’d been gored and hadn’t felt it yet with all the adrenaline, but she noticed the curved gouge running along the top of Karina’s leg, which bled freely. Vespir’s mind seemed to shut down. Her girl had been injured. Badly.

  “When I bit at his tail, he snagged me with his talons,” Karina murmured. The dragon bobbed on the wind, sinking lower with every passing second, and Aufidius was nowhere near tired yet.

  “The spire,” Vespir gasped. The fifty-foot protrusion gleamed directly before them. “Latch on to it. Rest. We can launch off if we need.”

  Karina chirped and soared ahead. Aufidius rose behind them, his gold scales glowing like fire in the morning sun. Karina made it to the palace, and Vespir was tempted to have her swoop low and try to hobble inside, but Aufidius would be on them before they could make it to shelter. The spire was their last chance…

  To do what?

  Karina gripped the spire with her taloned feet. Her wings, each tipped with a claw at the top joint, took hold as well, leaving Vespir to dangle against her dragon’s back. They were safe.

  But not for long.

  “Here they come,” she murmured. Aufidius and his golden rider homed in on Vespir’s location and hovered over them. Karina shifted and groaned, and Vespir touched the soft place between her dragon’s shoulder blades for comfort. “If it gets too bad, I’ll jump off,” Vespir whispered.

  “Where you go, I go.”

  Stubborn dragon. Vespir loved her for it. She fought against the urge to lower her head as Aufidius rose before them, his wings at their full forty-foot span. The Hydra’s jaw unhinged, and fire gathered at his throat.

  Shaking, Vespir stared at her death.

  “Can you see yet?” Ajax had his forehead smashed up against the back of Dog’s skull, his eyes squeezed shut tight as possible.

  “Do not worry, dear master. I know you’re doing your best, as always.” Dog’s tail thumped.

  “It’s not master. You’re my partner, Dog. We’re the same.”

  Mean it. Ajax had to mean it. The world was falling down around them, but the only thing he could do to fix it was to bond with this dragon. Let Dog see again. Depths below, the whole thing sounded so stupid…

  “I believe in you,” Dog said, his voice tender and small.

  Logic had no place with dragons or with love. Ajax grunted and didn’t shut his eyes so tight. He let his mind ease up, felt Dog’s breathing match his own, and tried to reach out with invisible hands to touch the essence of his dragon as he had last night. Their souls linked, their minds merged, their beings formed as one. The Red flash that would unite them hovered just out of reach.

  He could feel it. Ajax could feel it drawing closer and closer and—

  Nothing. Just him sitting with his eyes shut. He cursed and sat up. Ajax’s head jerked at the deafening roar of a Hydra, and he watched as Aufidius swept into view. Gaping in horror, he spotted the tiny figures clinging to the spire. Vespir and Karina.

  Aufidius had them in his sights. Ajax placed a gentle hand on the back of Dog’s head.

  “We’re too late,” he said.

  The fire built. Vespir wondered if she should tell Karina to drop and hope they managed not to splat on the roof below…

  “Wait,” Hyperia boomed. Aufidius growled but slowly shut his jaws. The eye-stinging heat of his flame disappeared as Hyperia unsheathed her sword.

  What was this girl doing?

  “Now. Set down, and fight me,” Hyperia shouted, lifting that sword overhead so that the rising sun fired it. The girl really was incredible. Even now, she wanted her duel.

  She gives orders, and servants obey.

  Vespir thought of her mother and father, of Tavi, of all her brothers and sisters bowing to people like this for generations.

  She thought of Casca’s ashes on the dining room table.

  She’d been born on her knees…but she didn’t have to die there.

  Time. This was all about buying time…

  “No,” she shouted back. She climbed to her feet, balancing on Karina’s shoulders. Though she wobbled, Vespir remained steady. “If you want me, you have to come to me.”

  “You have no honor,” Hyperia roared.

  “No, you don’t!” Vespir gripped the spire, her hand sweating. Vespir stared Hyperia straight in the eye. The blond girl’s expression slackened. She might’ve expected this insolence from Ajax, but not the servant. Never a girl like Vespir. “You’re broken. I’d rather see anyone else on the dragon throne. I’d be a better choice.” The most surreal part was that she meant it. “I am never going to obey you ever, ever again, you bitch.”

  Hyperia reacted as if Vespir had physically slapped her. Aufidius opened his mouth, and fire collected at the back of his throat. Vespir slid down her dragon’s back and hung on as Karina scrambled to get out of the way. This was madness. How were they supposed to survive? But Vespir thought again and again, hold on. Hold on. Was Karina speaking those words, or were they her own thoughts? The two seemed indistinguishable now.

  Flame licked just below them. Vespir’s eyes watered as they climbed higher. “Where are we going?” she shouted.

  “Farther up.”

  Vespir clung as they neared the top, screaming as Aufidius swept up to meet them. He blocked out the sun, Hyperia looking over his shoulder with her face twisted in fury. Smoke poured from out the dragon’s mouth, and embers fell to sizzle against Vespir’s cheeks.

  Vespir saw Hyperia mouth the word fire. Flame built in the dragon’s gullet.

  She could feel Karina’s trembling. If they launched, they’d only be able to spiral to the ground now. The dragon’s injury was too deep, her body too tired. Vespir hugged her friend tight around her neck, laid her cheek against those silken scales, and prepared.

  “Gawp.”

  Dog, flying beautifully, emerged out of the smoke overhead and let out a giant, warlike cry. Ajax, his blond hair undone and flowing in the wind, his face scarlet, screamed in triumph.

  The pair slammed on top of Aufidius and Hyperia. The girl dropped her sword, which cut through the smoke and disappeared below. She fell forward, just managing to keep her seat. Aufidius belched smoke as the surprise attack propelled him down.

  Karina released her claws, dropping fast as Aufidius was speared through the spire’s tip. It tore into the center of the golden beast’s body and out his shoulder. Blood rained onto Vespir’s upturned face
. It smelled awful, like shit and oil. Coughing, she wiped her eyes and listened to the Hydra’s screams. The air moved rapidly next to her, blowing her hair into her face. Someone circled her as Karina struggled for purchase.

  Ajax and Dog. The mad boy and his mad, wonderful dragon.

  Karina and Vespir let go of the spire and spun down through the air, scrambling for a landing while Aufidius bellowed his defeat.

  The Red—whatever this was, this locked-in thing—felt like someone had their thumb pressed in the center of Ajax’s brain, but he loved it. Wherever his eyes scanned, he felt Dog’s scarred, sightless eyes move as well. This union tugged like a line hooked between their souls.

  At some point, he would worry how much Dog could “see” when they weren’t flying together. Specifically, like when Ajax was bathing or whenever he finally found himself taking things to the next level with a girl (someday, somehow, somewhere, something, with someone, please before he died or turned thirty). But that was for when they weren’t in a damn life-or-death battle.

  “You did it!” Vespir crowed, circling on Karina. The two dragons fondly chirped at each other. “What a beautiful boy!”

  “Thank you!” Ajax yelled.

  “I meant Dog!”

  “Oh!”

  They landed, Ajax grinning as he slid off Dog’s back and went to Vespir.

  “You…okay?” Ajax wheezed. Ash and blood smeared her cheeks, and she smelled like a smokehouse. He grunted when the girl threw her arms around him.

  “Thanks.” Vespir smiled. Then, “Though I wish you’d warned me you were going to do that.”

  “How about we start with ‘Thank you, Ajax, oh uniquely handsome dragon master, for saving my damn life.’ ”

  “Technically, Dog saved me.”

  “Then thank Dog.”

  “I will!” Vespir kissed the dragon square between his gouged eyes. Dog nudged Ajax’s shoulder as Vespir returned to Karina.

  “I like her. Her dragon is pleasant, as well. Quite lovely, in fact!”