Riders of Fire Complete Series Box Set books 1-6: YA Epic Fantasy Dragon Rider Adventures

by Eileen Mueller

  “Who was your mother?”

  “Marlies.”

  Gasps rippled around the room. Those a generation older than Roberto looked shocked. Who was Marlies?

  Tonio could barely conceal his triumph. “You mean the infamous healer who killed a royal dragonet, then fled before she could be convicted?” His face hardened. “Perhaps her blood flows too strongly in your veins. Perhaps you, too, had the desire to kill.”

  Lars rapped his gavel. “Order, Tonio. Keep your questions relevant.”

  But it was too late. The atmosphere was poisoned, as if Tonio had leaked dragon’s bane into the air. Council masters’ faces were tight, their posture rigid. Onlookers were pointing and whispering, hostile gazes on Ezaara.

  “Don’t answer any more of Tonio’s questions,” Roberto melded.

  Ezaara’s face was paler than before. “I’ve messed up, haven’t I?” She was biting her lip, the picture of guilt. “If only I hadn’t struck Master Jaevin.”

  “It was a duel. You were supposed to strike him. Someone has set you up. I know you’re innocent. We need to convince the council. Try to relax.” Shards! If she didn’t change her expression, she’d be convicted on that alone.

  Zaarusha roared.

  Lars approached her and laid his hand on her snout. “The queen would like to give evidence.” He nodded at Tonio. Both men placed their hands on Zaarusha’s forehead. It was customary for two people to listen to a dragon’s evidence, so no one could falsify it.

  Lars spoke. “Zaarusha says to judge her rider upon her merits, not the mistakes of her mother. It’s been years since she’s had a rider, and she doesn’t want to lose Ezaara.”

  Good, the queen was vouching for Ezaara.

  As Lars and Tonio sat down, murmurs broke out. Lars rapped his gavel, then had to rap it again to get the crowd to settle.

  “Tonio,” Roberto said quietly. All heads swiveled to him. “This has all been coincidental. Do you actually have any real evidence?”

  With a scathing glance, Tonio snapped his fingers.

  A blue guard approached, passing Tonio a package.

  “We searched her quarters.” Tonio unwrapped the package and uncorked a terracotta pot. “My spy found this in the top drawer of Ezaara’s nightstand. Fleur, would you please identify it?”

  Fleur dipped a fingertip in the pot and sniffed it. “The same poison that’s been used on Jaevin.” She pointed at Ezaara. “Dragon’s bane, she called it.”

  Dragon’s bane in Ezaara’s room. Roberto hadn’t expected that.

  “It’s not mine,” Ezaara blurted, panic etched on her face. “I’ve never seen it.” “Roberto, it isn’t mine, honest.”

  “Sit tight. Don’t say another thing.”

  “But I have the antidote in my healer’s pouch, hidden under my mattress. I could help Jaevin.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  “But—”

  “Not a word. It’s vital.” Someone was plotting something far larger than ousting Ezaara. Her antidote could be their only chance of saving Jaevin. If Fleur got her talons on it, she’d destroy it and Jaevin wouldn’t stand a chance.

  Tonio slammed the pot of poison on the table, his voice as hard as granite. “What other lies are you going to tell us, Ezaara?”

  Now—when Tonio had the whole crowd against her—he used her name. Intimately, as if he knew her. But if he knew her, he’d never accuse Ezaara of treason. She didn’t have a treasonous bone in her body.

  A guard burst into the council chamber and pushed through the crowd, rushing up to Lars.

  The weary lines in Lars’ face deepened. “Master Fleur,” he said, “Jaevin is rapidly declining.”

  “I don’t think I can save him.” Fleur shot Ezaara venomous daggers, snapping, “I hope you’re happy.”

  “Roberto, the antidote. I have to tell them.”

  “No!”

  Fleur drew herself up. “Before I leave this chamber to attend to Jaevin, I would like to say one more thing.”

  Lars nodded. “Permission granted.”

  “The Queen’s Rider is talented, that’s undisputed,” Fleur said. “My own son is quite enamored of her, and I’d considered her an asset to the realm.”

  Simeon’s eyes roamed over Ezaara as if he’d devour her.

  Clenching his fists, Roberto stuffed them in his pockets.

  “After Jaevin was wounded, other incidents came to mind,” Fleur continued. “When Ezaara was in the infirmary helping me, she questioned my judgment, often suggesting alternative remedies. Was she trying to poison my patients? And why did Ezaara knife Sofia? That incident has never been explained.”

  Roberto stood. “Master Lars, this is nothing but personal opinion and has no bearing on this morning’s case.”

  Alban jumped to his feet. “If I may, Master Lars?” At Lars’ nod, he continued, “Ezaara did not only knife Sofia. She also attacked me during the race, threatening me if I spoke up. You saw me yourself, sir, limping over the finish line.”

  “He attacked me and I defended myself!” Ezaara melded.

  Alban had had it in for Ezaara since the knife accident. This had to stop. “Do you have any witnesses, not just people bearing grudges?” Roberto snapped.

  Alban glowered, not answering.

  Roberto nodded. “I thought so. No proof. This is another attempt to malign the Queen’s Rider. I—”

  “Sit down, Master Roberto.”

  Roberto sat, fuming. This was nothing but slander. Ezaara would never betray Zaarusha.

  Or could she? Perhaps he was letting his heart get the better of him. He’d been betrayed before by someone he loved.

  Fleur tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I must attend Master Jaevin and make his last hours more comfortable. Thank you for the opportunity to express my concerns.” She exited the chamber, escorted by the guard who’d brought the news.

  Tonio swept his hand toward Ezaara. “I present to the Council of the Twelve Dragon Masters, Ezaara of Lush Valley—daughter of Marlies, the dragonet slayer—who wheedled her way into our dragon queen’s trust, only to smuggle poison into the hold and strike down Master Jaevin in an attempt to weaken our council. She planned to make this look like an accident, using a public event to disguise her murder attempt. No one suspected she’d poisoned the blade, except our intuitive healer, Fleur. I warn you, we have a traitor in our midst and would do well to be rid of her.”

  “They don’t believe it was an accident!” Ezaara’s anguish sliced through Roberto’s mind, making him wince.

  These coincidences were stacked against her. He had to find a sliver of proof that showed Ezaara’s innocence.

  “Master Roberto, please present your defense.”

  “Master Lars, council members, and esteemed folk of Dragons’ Hold, with all due respect, we have no concrete proof and no witnesses against our Queen’s Rider. It’s all supposition. No one saw Ezaara poison the sword, because she didn’t. The dragon’s bane found in her cavern could have been put there by someone else. That she recognizes a poison from her home is unremarkable, especially when she’s been trained to ease afflictions and promote health. She’s an ignorant Lush Valley girl, who has imprinted with Zaarusha—not an assassin.” He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. “I tested her imprinting bond. It’s strong. I admit, she’s been clumsy—dropping her dinner, twisting her ankle and then harming Sofia in an accident—but she’s been training hard to be the best Queen’s Rider she can be. And she adores our queen. Why would she throw all that away? It makes no sense. Master Lars, with your permission, may I perform a mental test on Ezaara to see whether she poisoned the ceremonial blade?”

  Lars nodded. “It’s within your role as Master of Imprinting and Mental Faculties. I trust you to be impartial.”

  It was ironic. Life had taught Roberto to be careful, to mistrust, to always question—and that was why Lars trusted him. “Ezaara, may I?”

  “Of course, I have nothing to hide.”
/>   Roberto locked down his own thoughts, so Ezaara couldn’t read them, and placed his hands upon her temples. There it was again, a bouquet of vibrant color swirling through him, as if he’d stepped into a summer garden. He flitted through her memories, accidentally stumbling upon their first mind-meld at the river. He tried to control the warmth spreading up his face. How did she do that? Make him feel so much, when he hadn’t for years? He dug further. Despite how he felt about her, he had to prove the Queen’s Rider hadn’t fooled him.

  Wait, what was that? Ezaara and Adelina, smuggling pots out of the infirmary. His gut hollowed. Was she guilty? Had she tricked Adelina into helping her? He chased the memory to its end. No, those were the medicinal herbs smuggled out to heal him after his chest was gashed. A breath of relief slipped out of him. He tracked further through her memories—her loyalty blazed like a beacon fire in the dark.

  What a fool for doubting her.

  Roberto released his hands and stepped away from Ezaara. “I’m satisfied, Lars. Ezaara did not poison the Master of the Sword. Someone is trying to blame her. They hid the dragon’s bane in her room. We have a traitor among us.”

  Gasps rippled around the chamber.

  “Excuse me, Master Lars,” Simeon interrupted. “If I may ... I mean, I don’t want to interrupt, but I fear there may be more to Roberto and Ezaara’s relationship than trainee and master.”

  What was Simeon inferring? “He’s bluffing,” Roberto warned. “Look surprised.”

  The crowd tensed.

  “I once stumbled upon Master Roberto half naked on Ezaara’s bed. She was with him.”

  “What? When?” Then he remembered. “I was injured, and Ezaara was healing me.” The words burst out of him before he could think.

  Simeon screwed up his face. “I work in the infirmary. I don’t recall you being injured.”

  “I took a tharuk gash to the chest when we fought at River’s Edge. Ezaara treated it.”

  “That must’ve left a nasty scar.”

  “Of course it did,” he barked.

  “No, it didn’t, Roberto,” Ezaara melded. “It’s faded—I used piaua.”

  Simeon had them backed into a corner.

  “I don’t suppose you’d be happy to show this scar to us, would you?” Simeon asked, all reasonableness. That leech.

  “I’m not disrobing in front of half the hold, just to please you,” Roberto snapped. “Master Lars, please call this man to order.”

  “To the contrary,” Lars said. “A romantic relationship with Ezaara would prevent you from being impartial, invalidating your mental testing as well as being cause for banishment. Please show us the scar as proof of your injury. Or otherwise explain what you were doing half-naked in the Queen’s Rider’s quarters.”

  Roberto was silent. There was nothing he could do. “Sorry, Ezaara.”

  Guards stepped up to hold Roberto’s arms and Tonio pulled his jerkin and shirt open.

  There was an audible hiss as Tonio sucked in his breath. “No new scar,” Tonio announced. “Only old ones.”

  At the front of the crowd, Adelina’s face was stark, eyes wide with shock.

  Tonio’s voice sliced through the silence. “Son of a traitor! The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. You’re the lowest of the low, consorting with your trainee, who’s the daughter of a dragonet slayer and plotting to poison the council—of which you’re an honored member.” Tonio spat at Roberto’s boots. “Honored no more.”

  “Steady, Tonio,” Lars cautioned. “The council haven’t cast their votes yet.” He motioned to the guards, who circled Roberto, Ezaara and Tonio.

  Ballot papers were handed to the council masters. The scratch of their quills made Roberto’s scalp crawl. Masters passed their papers to Lars.

  He opened and read the votes, his brow furrowing. His mouth grew tighter as he separated them into two piles. Only two papers were on Lars’ right. The rest were piled up on his left.

  “Ezaara, please stand,” Lars called.

  Chairs creaked as people craned past others to look at her. Roberto wished he could send them all away. Her legs were trembling. Hands shaking. But her shocked green eyes were the worst.

  He’d failed her.

  “Honored Rider of Queen Zaarusha,” Lars said. “We find you guilty of attempted murder and treason. If Master Jaevin dies as the result of this incident, you will be guilty of murder.”

  Zaarusha bellowed, talons raking stone, shards of rock skittering across the floor.

  They were convicting Ezaara. They’d throw her in the dungeons. Then banish her. There was no way she’d survive the Wastelands—the harsh red desert full of scorpions, rust vipers and Robandi, the tent-dwelling assassins who scoured the hot sands. If she didn’t get caught in one of their cut-throat feuds, then the heat or a sandstorm would finish her.

  Banishment was a death sentence.

  He had to save Ezaara. He’d do anything to help her. Anything to secure the queen’s rightful rider. Thoughts spiraled through Roberto’s head with dizzying speed. Flee. Make a stand. Fight. Burn their way out and escape on Erob.

  But all of those options led to Zaarusha losing her rider.

  “Steady, Roberto. You’re only one man. You can’t change the world.” For once, Erob wasn’t teasing.

  His mind cleared, settling on one irrevocable course of action. Straightening his shoulders, he faced Lars. Roberto’s thoughts slid over Dragons’ Hold: the snow-capped peaks of Dragon’s Teeth soaring high against the blue sky, fertile fields and forest sprawling at their feet. All he’d ever wanted was here. Especially now that he’d met Ezaara.

  Roberto held his hand up. “Stop. I have more evidence, upon my word as a dragon master.” Guards gripping his arms, he moved to the council table and met each master’s gaze. “I poisoned Jaevin. I planted the poison in Ezaara’s cavern. I’m part of Zens’ plot to overthrow Dragons’ Realm.”

  Lars gaped at him.

  “No!” Shari gasped. “That can’t be true. I know you, Roberto. You’d never do that.”

  Erob roared.

  Tonio nodded, eyes narrowed. “I saw you with that pot after the feast. Is that when you did it?”

  Adelina paled, mouthing, “No.”

  Shari’s hand flew to her mouth.

  What? Ezaara’s shock seared him, burning through his bones. He’d saved her, but he’d lost her. She’d never trust him again. He tightened his resolve, slamming his mind shut. He pulled his mask down and turned to face her, sneering. “You were fools for trusting me,” he said. “All of you.”

  Ezaara’s face paled further, her freckles standing out like blood stains on snow.

  Betrayal

  Ezaara gasped. What about them mind-melding? What about their feelings for one another? “So, it all meant nothing to you?” Ezaara reached out to mind-meld with Roberto, but she came up against a wall of granite. She tried again. And again.

  And again.

  Nothing. Not a sniff of Roberto’s thoughts. He’d blocked her out. Withdrawn.

  Tonio’s eyes were sharp, tone cutting. “Did you administer the poison? Or did your accomplice, Ezaara?”

  “Ezaara!” Roberto snorted. “Hardly. That silly fool had no idea I’d poisoned the weapon. You heard her, she didn’t even know what the blades were for.”

  Ezaara’s stomach jolted, her breath knocked from her. She’d been a fool, all right. He’d deceived her and gained her trust—and she’d believed he loved her.

  “When did you poison the blade?” Tonio asked.

  “Yesterday, during the after-race celebrations.”

  The race had only been yesterday. A lifetime ago, when the world had been full of possibility. And love.

  “Where did you source the poison?” Tonio asked. “If dragon’s bane only grows in Lush Valley, did Ezaara give it to you?”

  He rolled his eyes. “It’s common in many places, including Naobia. Any proper healer would know that.”

  Master Bruno yelled, “I’ll no
t have you speak about my wife like that!”

  Roberto laughed, a hard, arrogant bark that made Ezaara’s skin break out in cold prickles.

  How could she have believed him? Their love had felt so real. So beautiful. Just what she’d dreamed of. His icy arrogance fit him like a natural skin. This was reality. The man she loved was a traitor, a liar, plotting against her queen.

  Lars sighed. “Roberto.” His voice was tender, as if he was speaking to a son, but grim lines furrowed his brow. “You saw the damage your father did. You vowed never to be like him. Your talents are valued here. Why would you do this?”

  What had Roberto’s father done?

  Roberto stared at Lars, eyes cold, refusing to speak.

  Lars tried again. “And your relationship with the Queen’s Rider?”

  Roberto’s upper lip curled. “Relationship? What relationship?” He regarded her the way a buyer at a market would gaze upon rotten fish entrails.

  Her cheeks burned with shame. She met his eyes. There was nothing warm there now. “Roberto, this can’t be true. Tell me it isn’t. Please.” It was a desperate plea sent into a cold hard void.

  “She’s not the real Queen’s Rider, is she?” Tonio’s words struck Ezaara like a whip. “You only pretended to test her.”

  “Yes, I am,” Ezaara cried.

  Zaarusha roared.

  “She is the Queen’s Rider,” Roberto said. “Their bond is strong. But banish me, and you won’t have anyone to test your imprinting bonds again.”

  “Or feed that information to Zens,” Tonio snapped.

  Lars looked sick, his face tinged gray, sweat on his forehead. “Master of Mental Faculties and Imprinting, Roberto, son of Amato, is now stripped of his title and is no longer a part of this council,” he announced. “He’ll be banished to the Wastelands within the hour. Take him to the dungeons. His sister may farewell him before he goes. Ezaara, our Honored Queen’s Rider, has been cleared of all charges. This trial is adjourned.” The crack of Lars’ gavel nearly split Ezaara’s heart in two.

  At the rear of the chamber, Erob bellowed, lashing out with his talons. Blue Guards restrained him with javelins and ropes as more guards marched Roberto out of the chamber through a side tunnel.