No matter what happened, I knew one thing for sure: I could never be the crown princess of Drachenheim. So there was only one thing to do.
I would simply have to get Katrin back, for all our sakes.
‘That’s right,’ I snapped as soldiers and mages backed away from me. ‘I am a princess of Drachenheim. Now bring me whoever is in command here – immediately!’
It was astonishing how easy it was to take charge just by snapping out orders in a confident voice, even with a tear-streaked face and student robes. Everyone else in the square must have been as flustered as I was, to comply so easily. I only had to wait a few minutes before a harried-looking woman with upswept fair hair and a peach silk gown was giving me the carefully judged curtsy of a deputy ruler to a visiting royal.
‘Your Highness, I am Their Majesties’ first minister, Countess Halsen. There is a great deal for me to see to at the moment, but if you would allow our guards to escort you to a safe location –’
‘We’re all perfectly safe,’ I snapped. ‘I’m not worried about myself. I am concerned about my sister!’ I waved at the horizon, where the giants had disappeared into the distance. ‘How are you planning to get them all back?’
Countess Halsen sighed. ‘Your Highness, the question of what, exactly, we should do will be discussed in great detail over the next few days. In the meantime –’
‘Days?’ My own breath was suddenly choking me. ‘We can’t wait days! You can’t just leave them –’
‘No?’ She drew herself up to her full height. ‘Then what exactly do you think we should do?’ The countess was a great deal taller than I was, and her pale blue eyes were cold. ‘Shall we send in our armies and our best war machines to provoke the immediate deaths of all our rulers, as the ice giants will kill them on first sight of an invasion? Is that your preference, Princess Sofia?’
‘Of course not!’ I muttered. ‘But there must be something. We can’t just –’
‘Those were ice giants.’ She shook her head as she turned away from me, not bothering with a farewell curtsy. ‘You may not know much about them down south, but here in the north, I can assure you: they do not make empty threats. If you genuinely care for your sister, you will pray that our council does not decide to mount any doomed attacks for the sake of Valmarna’s honour. If we do, Princess Katrin won’t survive.’
She walked away without another word.
I gaped after her, heart thudding against my chest.
Won’t survive …
‘Your Highness?’ Jurgen’s voice was subdued. ‘Shall we?’ He gestured discreetly towards the high walls of the palace.
Of course. Everyone expected me to wait there while the adults made their decisions. They would all keep me so wonderfully safe.
Then I’d be sent back to Drachenburg, far from danger … just like that night all those months ago when I’d been forcibly swept away to safety on a dragon’s back, leaving my sister and father to the mercy of our magical invaders. That time, I hadn’t been able to stop myself from being scooped away from them against my will.
Never again.
‘Not yet.’ I yanked my arms firmly from both of my guards’ grips. Reluctance shone from their faces as they released me; I lifted my chin higher.
What would Katrin do now?
My sister never asked anyone for their permission. Katrin simply managed things. Whenever she wanted something that would horrify her audience, she never said it outright – no, she approached it carefully from the side, drawing her listeners into her web of persuasion before they could realise what they’d really agreed to.
‘I need to talk to Jasper before I go anywhere,’ I told them. ‘He just lost his mother, you know.’
‘Of course.’ Jurgen’s broad, dark face wrinkled in concern. ‘Konrad can find him for you while you and I wait in the palace –’
‘No,’ I said. ‘Our alliance with the dragons is too important to risk any disrespect, especially now.’
When the dragons down south discovered what had happened to Jasper’s mother, their fury would be overwhelming. They wouldn’t wait on political deliberations or be intimidated by threats. They wouldn’t believe that anyone could ever defeat them. They’d come roaring up north with flame and claws outstretched – and there was no chance that they would be subtle about it.
‘I have to be the one who finds Jasper first.’
My guards trailed unhappily behind me as I stalked through the crowd to the far end of the square, where Jasper knelt, his fists clenched tight and his fierce golden gaze fixed on the horizon. Jurgen and Konrad shook their heads when I first waved them away, but at my glare, they reluctantly edged a foot or two further back, giving us more space.
I only hoped it would be enough.
Jasper didn’t even move as I knelt down beside him on the cold, wet tiles. The sea spread wide and blue before us, lapping quietly at the edges of the square. Trails of melting ice dribbled through my robe and gown.
‘They took her,’ he said flatly, staring out at the horizon. ‘They just took her. Right in front of me! I couldn’t stop them. I couldn’t even get near them. I didn’t even think to change shape in time.’ His voice dropped to a pained whisper. ‘Maybe Aventurine was right. I wasn’t ready to leave the cave. What kind of dragon lets his mother be captured without a fight?’
‘They took Katrin too,’ I said, ‘and no one here is planning to get our families back – ever. They don’t think there’s any safe way to do it.’
‘So they’re not even going to try?’ Jasper’s head swung around, his golden eyes burning with an inhuman flame as they latched on to mine. ‘They’re planning to leave them trapped in ice? Forever?’
It must have been the worst fate imaginable for a fire-breathing dragon.
‘It might be worse,’ I told him. ‘If they decide to go after them with war machines blazing, just to prove a point –’
‘Then the giants will kill our families.’ Jasper’s teeth gnashed together. ‘They’ll never miss a whole army coming to attack!’
‘Or a pack of dragons.’ I dropped my voice to a whisper. ‘But – if we hurry – I think I can find a way for us to travel there ourselves, in secret.’
‘Oh?’ Jasper’s eyes narrowed. He leaned close. ‘How?’
My guards shifted nearer. I scowled and shooed them back.
Then I whispered the words directly into Jasper’s ear. ‘How much space do you need to change shapes?’
His eyes flashed with deep golden sparks. ‘I can change in mid-air if no one’s in my way.’
I almost laughed as I gestured towards the deep water just in front of us. ‘I don’t see anyone blocking us. Do you?’
His lips curved into a dangerous smile. ‘My scales haven’t hardened yet,’ he warned me. ‘If any of those battle mages or soldiers attack –’
‘If they do, it’ll be a declaration of war on Drachenheim.’
I worried at my lower lip as I glanced across the square full of milling, frightened people. Would they remember those political implications right now? Or would they panic and forget?
My gaze fell on my sister’s carriage, still waiting nearby. ‘I know exactly how to remind them.’
I rose to my feet, shaking out my sodden skirts, and nodded to my younger guard. ‘Could you bring me our flag, please, Konrad?’
Looking relieved, he gave a martial nod and marched briskly across the square.
Jurgen’s frown only deepened, though. As Konrad returned and passed me the big, brightly coloured cloth, Jurgen said, ‘Your Highness, may I ask –?’
‘Step back,’ I ordered both of them. ‘I need to make an announcement on behalf of our kingdom.’
Wincing, Jurgen eased slowly backwards. Konrad followed, looking confused.
Ulrike bustled up behind them, her eyes wide. ‘Your Highness, take care! You’re standing so close to the water. It can’t be safe! Why don’t you come inside the palace, where I can find you a hot drink and –’
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‘Shh,’ I told her gently. ‘Jasper?’
He was standing beside me now. ‘I’m ready.’
Jaw clenched, he turned his back on me.
Still clutching the flag against my chest, I grabbed his closest shoulder, yanked myself up on to his narrow back –
And he leaped high into the air, shifting forms.
Screams and shouts ripped across the square.
I flung out the flag of Drachenheim as Jasper’s wide, scaly body settled into place beneath me. His great purple-and-blue wings beat strongly around us, sending gusts of wind billowing against my long blue robe and stretching my nation’s flag high in the air for all to see.
My guards’ faces turned into masks of horror far below.
‘Don’t you dare follow us,’ I shouted down at the top of my lungs. ‘That’s a royal order! And while we’re gone …’
I struggled for the right words – the clever, careful words that I needed to direct them all in just the right way. But all the diplomatic skills in our family belonged to my sister, and I was the only princess of Drachenheim left. So …
‘Don’t do anything stupid!’ I bellowed down to the square-ful of mages and soldiers and high ministers.
Jasper tucked his legs beneath his body and shot forward over the wide, glittering blue water …
And for the second time in my life, I soared away from chaos on dragon-back. This time, though, I wasn’t being swept away from danger.
I was heading straight towards it.
CHAPTER 16
‘Which way?’ Jasper’s voice sounded deeper and harsher in dragon form, filled with the rumbling echoes of a growl. As he tilted his long neck to peer back at me, though, his bright golden eyes shone, warm and familiar, in the midst of his ferocious, scaly face.
Terror was a cold clamp around my spine, but for once, it had nothing to do with flying a dragon. I’d read every one of Jasper’s letters again and again. I knew he wouldn’t let me fall.
‘We have to find my friends,’ I told him, locking my legs firmly into place around his back. ‘They were on their way out of the city. Do you think you can pick them out from the air? Or would that be too difficult?’
‘Pfft.’ Twin balls of smoke shot out of Jasper’s long snout as he snorted. ‘I could spy a mouse from two miles away! I can certainly hunt down a whole pack of goblins.’
It took less than ten minutes of circling the islands of Villenne before he snarled, ‘Got them!’
Tucking his wings around my legs, he veered downwards in a tightly aimed dive towards one of the furthest islands … where a group of tiny dots revealed themselves to be a group of green goblins hurrying along a wide, barely paved road towards the final bridge to the mainland.
‘Talvikki! Berrit! Hannalena! Fedolia!’ I shouted as we shot towards the ground, goblins shrieking and scattering out of our way. ‘It’s me! Sofia! I’m –’
‘Sofi?’ Berrit popped into view below, staring up in amazement. ‘What in the world –?’
‘Well, that explains why he didn’t smell like a human!’ Talvikki appeared on the street beside her, shaking her head as we landed with a thud that sent abandoned shop carts flying in every direction. ‘Sofi,’ she said, ‘you are full of surprises.’
Berrit edged backwards, her eyes fixed on Jasper’s open mouth. ‘He’s not going to eat us, is he?’
‘Of course not!’ I gave Jasper a reassuring pat as he huffed in disgust. ‘He’s a philosopher. Just like us.’
‘“Us?”’ Hannalena repeated as she and Fedolia appeared behind the others. Her thoughtful gaze fixed on the flag that pooled on the ground beside me, where I’d dropped it as we landed. ‘I think our Sofi may have been keeping secrets from us, girls.’
Something dangerous glittered in Fedolia’s blue eyes. ‘Ooh, now that is interesting. And here we all thought we’d finally found a human who might be trustworthy!’
A low growl rumbled up Jasper’s long throat.
Berrit stepped away hastily, her eyes widening.
‘It’s all right,’ I told them both. ‘Just let me explain.’
Luckily, every one of my friends loved gossip. All the goblin girls gathered close around me as I lowered my voice, while Fedolia listened from one pointed step away, the other goblins disappeared into the distance and the local humans peered suspiciously at us all through their closed windows.
Street guards would have come to investigate us on any of Villenne’s wealthier islands – but here, with ancient paint peeling off the tall, rickety houses, and every human hiding inside them, we were left to ourselves as I told the whole story.
‘So you’re a princess,’ Berrit said at last, putting the pieces together as meticulously as always. ‘A future queen. That’s … not what I’d expected.’
Talvikki let out a crack of laughter and leaned her head affectionately against my shoulder. Despite all of my fears over the last few days, she had forgiven my deception immediately. I knew I should have told her days ago.
‘She’ll be the first human queen to have shared cinnamon rolls with any goblins, that’s for sure!’ Talvikki said.
‘I will never be the queen of Drachenheim,’ I said firmly. ‘We’re going to get my sister back.’
Fedolia’s eyes narrowed into blue slits.
Even Hannalena looked pained. ‘Sofi, if you knew more about ice giants –’
‘You do, don’t you?’ I looked around at their familiar faces, my whole body tight with desperation. ‘You’ve dealt with them before. That’s why we came to you for help!’
‘But we ran from them,’ Talvikki said. ‘Why do you think we didn’t leave Villenne by the tunnels? Every goblin tunnel ever built up north was smashed into pieces. That’s what they do whenever we try to get anywhere near them.’
‘But –’
‘Do you have any idea what a cave-in is like?’ Hannalena demanded. ‘Or the other kinds of destruction they can wreak? We warned you to run. If you’d taken our advice –’
‘But they’re gone now!’ said Berrit brightly. ‘And because of Sofi, we know they won’t be coming back. They only stomped over here for those humans! So we’ll be perfectly safe going back to Scholars’ Island and –’
‘My mother isn’t safe!’ Jasper snarled, his long tail lashing against the street. ‘Neither is Sofia’s sister! Or any of the others! Sofia was the only royal who escaped.’
‘Well … royals …’ Hannalena’s wide shoulders lifted in a shrug. ‘They’re always used as hostages or symbols, aren’t they? Being trapped in ice at least means they won’t be hurt, so –’
‘I am not leaving my mother frozen in ice!’ Windows shivered and broke all down the street at Jasper’s roar.
Humans screamed inside the shaking wooden houses.
He reared up, wings mantling, and bellowed down at all of us, ‘Dragons protect their families!’
‘So do goblins,’ Hannalena said flatly, glowering back at him. ‘That’s why we swore never to go near any ice giants again. You need to understand: they cannot be defeated. They don’t even keep their hearts in their own bodies! They keep them safely hidden, so nothing you do can ever hurt them. It is pointless to even try to fight!’
Hands fisted by her sides, she turned back to me. ‘I am sorry for your loss, Sofi. I expect you’ll need to go back to your own kingdom, but if you want to stay with us a while first –’
‘I’m not going without my sister,’ I told her. ‘My kingdom doesn’t need me – it needs her.’
Talvikki frowned. ‘What’s wrong with you?’
If she’d ever met me in my true habitat, she wouldn’t need to ask. ‘Never mind that,’ I said. ‘We need to head north before the Valmarene army can do anything catastrophically stupid. If you really won’t come with us, will you at least give us directions?’
‘They can sense every rumble of stone underground,’ Berrit said with soft intensity. ‘That’s how they found all our tunnels – and they left none intact. They
cared nothing for our families’ screams. And they’ll see you if you fly through the air. There is no way to sneak around them.’
‘We-e-ell …’ Fedolia flicked a speck of dust off her robe with one long, pointed blue fingernail. ‘There might be one way … but only if you were willing to enter into a little bargain with me.’
She lowered one ghost-white eyelid in a wink as she met my gaze for the first time I could remember. ‘No one ever sees me if I don’t want them to. I can lead you to the ice giants and keep you invisible along the way. And since you aren’t an ordinary human, as you claimed –’ her blue lips twisted bitterly – ‘I do quite like the idea of a real human queen owing me a favour as my half of the deal. So –’ she cocked her head and stroked her fingers across the silver chain that hung around her neck – ‘what do you say, Princess Sofia of Drachenheim? Will you agree to that bargain?’
I took a deep breath as I looked down into her enigmatic blue eyes.
Fedolia didn’t like me. I couldn’t even guess what she was really thinking right now.
But she had rescued two of the ice giants’ prisoners already. She’d risked everything to help those earlier goblins escape – and she’d lost everything for it too. That had to prove something.
All of the goblin girls were frowning now, though, as they looked between us. Talvikki shook her head at me, her green face scrunched up in concern, and I knew exactly what was bothering her.
One thing was true for every magical creature: their bargains, once set, were unbreakable. If I agreed to this now and Fedolia kept her side of the bargain, I would have to grant whatever favour she asked me afterwards, no matter how awful it might be … and with Fedolia, I couldn’t even begin to guess.
‘She’s fond of tricks and pranks.’ That’s what Talvikki had told me, wasn’t it?
But if I didn’t agree, I’d end up responsible for all of Drachenheim’s risky decisions in the future.
‘I will never be queen,’ I told her firmly, ‘but Drachenheim will owe you a favour, I promise. Jasper can tell you: we don’t break our alliances.’
The Princess Who Flew with Dragons Page 9