Dragons of Wild (Upon Dragon's Breath Trilogy Book 1)

by Ava Richardson

  “No, the king is great and terrible,” She screwed her eyes shut and pinched herself on the arm.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “No one disobeys the king, ma’am. If he said this food was for you, it is for you alone.”

  I scowled. This king sounded like very unlike any den-mother. “If this is my food, I can do with it as I wish. And I want you to eat some of it. Fair enough?”

  “I don’t know.” The girl stared at the floor.

  “It’s my food, so I can give some away. Besides, doesn’t the king have someone else taste his food? I’ve heard stories that kings need to do that to avoid poison. So you’ve got to help me out.” I took two of the rolls, started to eat one and gave her the other. Gingerly, the girl took a bite. I nodded and smiled. She smiled back and we finished the rolls together and started into a plate of ham.

  When we finished, the girl smoothing her gown. “After you are ready, I am to take you to King Enric.” She frowned at my breeches and boots. “I was to offer you a selection of dresses.”

  “You did, but remember what I said about the food? Same goes for the dresses. If they are mine, it is my choice for what I do with them.”

  The girl nodded. “Yes, ma’am. As you wish. Please follow me.” She led me to a stone stairwell that seemed to spiral down almost forever.

  At every landing, tall, barred windows looked out onto the city and onto green gardens just below us. The view seemed to show every part of the city, every street and house. I could see the patchwork of stone, slate and thatch roofs, and colorful banners for the fair going up and what seemed like crowds of people in the streets. It almost looked like the view from the back of a dragon.

  The palace itself seemed to have rich orchards and gardens close by, surrounded by tall walls. Beyond that stretched the wilds of the mountain and a rocky ridge. It would be easier to escape up onto the mountain—once we had found Bower. Jaydra would be able to swoop down, pick us up and we would be far away from here before the Iron Guard could even react. Walking down the stairs I thought back to having seeing that one metal guard, still twitching and moving as if it was alive, even though I could see nothing inside of it. Magic had split it in half—but was that the only way to destroy such a metal soldier?

  We came to the bottom landing and the girl stepped back. A long corridor with a stone floor and paintings and statues on each side stretched out in front of me.

  The girl waved me forward so I stepped into the long room and found myself looking down on yet another and even bigger room.

  I stood in what seemed to be just part of an incredibly large space. A wooden railing stood between me and the lower floor, and steps led down on either side. Below me, I could see more doors and staircases. The room below was lit by a window in the ceiling made of colored glass and lights—dozens of candles—hung from the ceiling along with crystals. I’d never seen anything like it.

  Looking around, I saw the paintings were all of my family—or of House Maddox. Every one of them had hair like mine. A few had the black-cloud birthmark in a spot where it showed. And every one of them seemed to be fighting something or someone—they were either riding horses into battle, or leaping across the decks of a ship, and even the women seemed to have swords in their hands or at their sides. They all stared out of the paintings with what looked like grim determination.

  “Lady Saffron,”

  I looked around for where the voice had come from and saw the king dismiss a man in purple robes. The king strolled up the stairs to my side.

  “King,” I said with a nod.

  “Please call me Enric. We are just about cousins, are we not? Or perhaps something even closer. I trust you slept well, Lady Saffron?” He lips curved up, but it did not seem much of a smile to me.

  Why are you trying to be nice to me now?

  None of this felt right to me. I stared at him. “I was unconscious very deeply, thank you.”

  The king’s lips curved even more. “That is why I sent up a substantial breakfast. Using our magic always makes one hungry. You will need your strength if you are to ever gain control of it.”

  My mouth fell open. My magic? I stared at him, all thoughts driven out of my head. But of course he knew. I had tried to blast him into a wall and had only succeeded in doing that exact thing to myself.

  “What do you know of magic?” I demanded.

  He waged a finger at me. “There is so much for you to learn!”

  I started to demand that he teach me, but stopped myself and bit my lower lip. How dare he talk to me as if I had just hatched from an egg? I was den-sister to dragons! I crossed my arms. “I don’t think I need you to teach me anything,” I muttered.

  The king waved at the paintings in the long room. “Look around you, Saffron! Look at all of that House Maddox has achieved. You have no idea yet what a noble and ancient bloodline you carry.”

  I found myself looking at the paintings—I had to know my family. Even if I did not like them.

  Enric strolled over to a portrait. “Hacan Maddox—my father who was king before me—who defeated the Red Pirate Army. This was Yulic Maddox, my aunt, who routed out the Witch of Haselbad from her rocky fortress. And my cousin, Mado Maddox, pacifier of the southern hot lands. And here is Hacon Maddox, liberator of Torvald. Great generals, heroes, explorers, and wise scholars. But the truth of our success lies in the fact that throughout our line the magic has coursed strong. We could never have achieved half of what we did, were it not for the power within our veins, given to us by the might of the storms.”

  “Storms can give such things?” I said, frowning deeply.

  He shook his head. “Do you think the House Maddox begins with Torvald? It was only in the last century that we came to this fertile land. Ah, yes, child there is so much you have yet to learn. So much of who you are and where we come from, and what gifts have been given to you.”

  Follow the truth in the blood. Wasn’t that what Zenema had advised me?

  To control my magic, I had to understand my family—I had to discover myself.

  Did Enric know this?

  “What if I don’t want to know about my magic?” I said. I shifted on my feet, feeling oddly treacherous to myself.

  Enric laughed. He raised his arms out to his sides, his green robes spreading out like elegant wings. His body lifted into the air and he floated into the middle of the vast room below us.

  Even though I had grown up around dragons and magic, it was still unnerving to see another person use such power. And control it utterly.

  “I can fly, as can you, Saffron. The power is strong in me, as it is strong in you.” He hovered back to where I stood and landed lightly on his feet. “We are the last of our line, and the Maddox blood runs true in us. With that blood runs power, coursing through our veins.” He put out his hand.

  I shook my head.

  Enric frowned and then sighed. He murmured words I couldn’t quite hear, but the air swelled with his magic. It smelled of pines and spice. I was suddenly lifted into the air. My heart pounded and my breath caught in my chest.

  I had never known anyone who could not just use magic for themselves but use it on others.

  Part of me knew that I, too, would be able to fly like this if I could just control the power.

  “Saffron, Saffron.” The king whirled me around him. “You have no idea what you are capable of. You have no idea what our family has achieved. What greatness we can go onto claim.”

  With a wave of his hand, the floor changed into a perfect, miniature of the city of Torvald. I watched in awe as Enric manipulated the image to become a map of the Middle Kingdom and then the world. I could see the coasts, the wilds, the mountains, and even the glittering blue of the Great Western Ocean and the Western Isles.

  He changed the view so I could see the lands to the east, dry and dusty, a land that seemed plagued by storms.

  “The House Maddox has traveled far to find our fate—and has ridden even father,�
�� the king murmured, showing the vast lands of the east, with an inland sea I had never seen anything like this.

  “We have explored places of legend to these people. We have been where their very myths were created. And we have brought power with us, living inside of our blood.”

  With a clap of his hands, the images below changed into snow-clad mountains that seemed to exist at the edge of the world. It was as if we were dragons, flying to the very ends of the earth, scorched by the sun’s rays and chilled by the moon’s rising.

  The view changed to a deep gorge and then to a grove where one tree, impossibly tall, stood at the very center, it’s leaves blue and silver on one side and golden on the other. Fruits like stars hung in its branches.

  This cannot be real.

  I gasped. We flew closer and Enric reached out a hand, plucked one of the shining star-fruit. He held it out to me.

  Stunned, I took it. In my hand, the star-fruit turned into a strange, luminous yellow-green fruit. When I bit into it, it tasted like coconut and mango, fresh, succulent and sweet.

  “I can teach you how to use that magic within you, Saffron,” Enric said, his voice low and soft.

  He clapped his hands again. The taste of the fruit faded and the star-fruit disappeared from my hand. We stood again on the floor, but the huge room seemed dull now compared with what I had seen.

  I shook myself and tried to remember this man had thrown Bower into the dungeon. He was not my friend—but he was my blood.

  And didn’t I need to learn to control my magic?

  Zenema said I must follow my blood.

  In my own way, I was actually more dangerous right now than Enric. He could target his magic—I could not. And someday my magic might just explode from within. I would become too angry, too furious over something, and then I might harm whoever was with me.

  I wouldn’t have to stay here forever. I wouldn’t have to even agree to like him. And it would give me time enough to find Bower.

  The king stepped closer to me. “Saffron, there is a prophecy that has been written about us. It babbles on about old and young uniting, and rebuilding the glory of Torvald. The rebels thought they could keep these words from me—they knew if I discovered their prophecy I might use it to build even more power. Now I can see it the whole truth and not just part of it—this prophecy talks about us, Saffron. You and me. Old and young—for I am older than you by a little bit, aren’t I?” He smiled and took my hand.

  I tugged my hand away. “What else does it say?”

  “Oh, something about dragon’s breath, which must mean smoke and fire…and from that comes the return of the true king. Don’t you see what that part means? Torvald must burn. I’ve worked hard to bring in every bit of scum and every rebel to the city. I’ve planned this for months now. I’ve held out the promise of a fair—that’s all it took. Food and frivolity and they flock to this…this wretched place. But the Iron Guard will seal it up. We’ll watch it burn. We’ll build fresh. When we stretch out our hands—our united powers—we shall rule the entire world!”

  “No…wait…you want to destroy your city? Your palace?”

  Enric shrugged. “My what? This is my prison. I cannot walk the streets without death threats thrown at me. These Salamanders as they call themselves wish to steal my throne. But I’ve outsmarted them. They’ll be the ones trapped within Torvald’s walls. My Iron Guards will shut the gates and keep everyone trapped like rats. They’ll have their fair and their drink and food and then the dragon’s breath will consume them and I shall arise the True King.”

  “Breath? You mean fire? You cannot intend to burn everyone—to kill everyone. And we cannot…are we not cousins, or are you not my uncle?” She shook her head. “This is no plan at all.”

  “It is. It will be the prophecy come true!” Enric’s eyes flashed. “It must come true, and it will just as I envision it”

  Throat closed tight with loathing, I wondered at what this man wouldn’t do for power.

  “We are the products of destiny, you and I, Saffron! We are not bound by any laws but those we make. We are the last two of our line, and we must preserve the power of the Maddox’s for all time!”

  The man was mad. But how else—and who else, would ever teach me how to use this gift inside of me? If he was telling me the truth, then he was the only one left alive who could!

  Bower. The name blossomed in my mind.

  “What about my friend! Bower of House Daris?”

  The king blinked, as if for a moment he could not even remember the name. “Ah, yes. The young pup who kidnapped you? He is a traitor to the crown and a traitor to Torvald.” The king shrugged. “However, if you like him, he will come to no harm. But I cannot have him endangering your life again!”

  I pressed my lips tight. If I could have a promise that Bower would be safe, it would buy a little time. But I could not leave until we also found a way to stop the king from destroying Bower’s city. I could not leave all these people to die.

  I looked at the king, who was watching my face intensely. “I want to learn how to control my magic.” I kept my tone flat and my voice even. I didn’t want to betray that I had no intention of helping him with any part of the rest of his plan.

  This time his smile warmed his eyes. “Excellent, my dear. You have come home at last, to your real family.”

  16

  In a Dark Place

  I was thankful I was not dead, but that was about the best I could do. I had been tossed into a small cell with only straw on the floor and a slop bucket. Rats squealed in the darkness, and water dripped constantly. Shivering, I curled up in a corner. The chains had been taken off my feet and wrists, but I couldn’t remember how long ago I’d been tossed in here. I slept and woke, and sometimes a pan of gruel would be pushed into my sell through a slot near the floor of the iron door. Had days passed or just mere hours?

  Given how my body still ached, I was going to judge not that long in this dark, cold cell It was hard to tell what bit hurt the most—my sides where the guards had punched me, my back, my wrists, or my hands where I’d tried punching a guard.

  Well, this is certainly an adventure, but not one I’d wanted. At least now I expected no better treatment than this at the hands of my king.

  What happened to justice? What happened to a fair trial?

  My head spun slightly from thirst and hunger—they never fed me much and only had pushed in a cup of water once. The only light to enter the room was a grayish tinge that could be from dawn or late afternoon. It lit the cell high up, near the ceiling. A single vent, about the width of a hand and only a finger’s width high was all I had. Even if I could climb, I would not have been able to look outside.

  Every now and then I heard the stamp of metal boots—the Iron Guard. It seemed to me they were unusually active. Or maybe it was just that I was used to them standing about.

  I wasn’t even sure if where I was—were the palace dungeons inside the palace? Were they underneath it? Up on the abandoned Mount Hammal? I strained to hear something that might help me know where I was, but could only hear a vague rushing of wind or water. Was I near a cliff? A river?

  What made everything worse was also the not-knowing.

  After the guards started to drag me away, I had heard an almighty crash from inside the courthouse. A bag had been thrown over my head and I had been thrown back into that prison wagon. When I woke in the dungeon, being dragged to my cell, I had no idea where Saffron might be or what had happened to her.

  I had tried shouting her name, but no one answered. Not even a guard or a fellow prisoner, telling me to shut up. I wrapped my arms around my knees. I had been left with my fears.

  Had the king taken pity on Saffron? Had he decided he wanted to keep one of his relatives close?

  I kept thinking about what the king might have done to Saffron. The best I could hope for is that he had exiled her. Or perhaps she had been able to escape using her dragon tricks, and she and Jaydra would never have
to come back.

  That thought brought me a smile and a sliver of hope. It also left me thinking about what would happened to me.

  I doubted I would like whatever the king had planned for me, but I wanted to meet my fate with my head held high. And certain that Saffron was safe.

  I had time enough to think about my father, and remember kinder years when he would read to me the prohibited stories after all of the servants had gone to bed.

  He must have wanted me to know all the stories had to be kept alive. He read to me the stories of House Flamma—of the great Dragon Riders Althea and Sebastian. I wasn’t sure why those had always been his favorite legends, but I was at least glad now that we had shared some time.

  I began to remember the long weeks where he would disappear on what he always said were trips to trade for goods. Odd merchants would come to our door, often late at night.

  Was that the reason why that old man had helped me escape the city—had he known me for Nev’s son? Was that the reason why Jakson had spoken the dissident’s slogan to me, telling me to remember, ‘The flame exists within’?

  “What a fool I’ve been,” I said, saying the words just to hear a voice—any voice.

  It made sense now. My father had to have at least been in touch with the Salamanders. He, in his day, had been waiting for a prophecy to be realized that had never come true. He faced his own death, but he had made certain I would know the prophecy and know that House Maddox must fall one day.

  A mixture of shame, pride and gratitude welled within me. I forgot my anger at him for leaving me when I had been so very young and in need of him. Even though I had been terrible at riding horses, and fencing and strategy, he had taught me the truth of the past. He had allowed me to read and to learn.