“How did you do that?”
“It takes a little more sathir, so we’ll have to break the surface more often to replenish your air, but we’re much faster underwater. I missed the sea life,” Queen Saritha said.
“So did I,” Ithsar answered.
Her sister assassins’ faces glowed with wonder as they communed with their sea dragons and took in the beauty of the coral and the stunning multi-colored fish darting out of their way as the wing of dragons swam toward Naobia.
To Naobia
Thut and Lethutle plunged down the cliff and dived into the ocean, a flurry of wings and thrashing tails around them.
“And now?” Thut asked as a shimmering bubble enveloped her so she could breathe.
“We wait.” Thut’s courageous sea dragon hung back behind the other sea dragons as the women gazed at the wonders in their new underwater world.
Waiting had never been Thut’s strong point, but there were plenty of coral formations and fish to look at—if you liked that sort of thing. Thut didn’t particularly care.
“Why don’t you like Saritha?” she asked.
“I have my reasons,” Lethutle replied.
“Where are we going?” Thut asked.
“Somewhere where we can grow strong and powerful, over time, and come back to smite Saritha.”
A gleeful shiver raced down Thut’s spine. “I like the sound of that.”
As the other dragons swam toward Naobia, Lethutle slowed, letting the gap between them and the others grow longer, until they looked like a school of tiny fish in the distance.
Lethutle flicked her tail and swam back to the jagged Robandi coast line. They skimmed along sandstone cliffs riddled with dark crevices. Glowing eyes peeked out at them. Occasionally, fanged jaws snapped or a tentacle slithered back into a hole.
“Where did you say we’re going, again?” Thut asked, glad she was on this brave dragon, not swimming here alone. Not that she could swim.
Her dragon’s grim chuckle resonated in her mind. “I’m taking you to meet the Scarlett Hand.”
Thut’s eyebrows shot up. “You know the bloodiest pirate captain on the Naobian Sea?”
“I certainly do. And when we next meet Saritha and her scrawny rider, we’ll have our own pirate crew. We’ll see how they fare then.”
Again, that wild lightning surged through Thut’s veins, bucking to be set free.
Lethutle responded, speeding through the water, slashing out with her talons and spearing fish then tossing them aside as they sped along the coastline.
§
The sea dragons and their riders swept through the ocean, riding the currents. Nila gave a shriek as her sea dragon plunged through the water and leapfrogged over a series of coral clusters. Her wild laughter rippled through the sea, bouncing around Ithsar. With a whoop, Nila wrapped her arms around her dragon’s spinal ridge and let her body and legs float out behind her. She kicked her legs, leaving a trail of wake, her giggles drifting on the current.
“Nilanna enjoys fun, too,” Saritha melded. “They suit each other.”
Some of the other women laughed, encouraging their dragons to join in. Soon, they were cavorting through the water, diving through coral arches and scaring schools of brightly colored fish that rapidly flitted away to hide in the pink, orange, and purple coral.
A pod of curious dolphins swam over. Bounding around the sea dragons, they chittered and squealed.
“They’re always so playful, so excitable, like a wing of newborn sea dragonets,” said Saritha.
Ithsar couldn’t believe her well-trained, highly-disciplined assassins were exhibiting so much joy and wild abandon—then again, Nila had always had a wild streak. It had just been harnessed under Ashewar’s rule.
They passed a huge coral fan with square-shaped bloated yellow fish darting among its lacy fronds. “Are those fish sick?” asked Ithsar.
Saritha’s chuckle skittered through her mind. “Those yellow ones with the black spots? That’s their natural shape. They’re called box fish.”
“They do look like boxes, but with fins, bulging eyes, and fishy lips.” Ithsar laughed. “What about those orange ones with white and black bands?”
“They’re clown fish,” Saritha answered. “They’re practical jokers, always pranking the lobsters and hiding among the coral to jump out and scare other fish.”
Indeed, the fish appeared as if they were playing hide and seek, darting in and out of the weeds and red coral, then stilling before they darted off again.
The farther out they got from the shore, the cooler the current and the bluer the ocean.
Misha’s dragon swam through some undulating weed, and Ithsar and Saritha followed.
“See that over there? That’s a puffer fish. Always so proud and haughty, but not too bad once you get to know them.”
The fish was like a brownish spiky ball. “Do their spines hurt?”
“Very much so, and puffer fish are poisonous, so even we keep our distance.” Saritha’s distaste washed over Ithsar.
There were so many new things, so many unusual creatures here. Mind you, Ithsar was riding a sea dragon—and that wasn’t exactly your standard camel. They swam past a rocky formation rising from the seabed. A long shape with a glowing luminous stripe along its body slithered out from a crack in the rock. The women gesticulated to each other as their sea dragons swam past.
“I didn’t know you had snakes underwater,” Ithsar said.
“That’s not a snake, it’s an electric eel.”
“What does electric mean?”
“It jolts you when you touch it.” Saritha chuckled. “I tried to eat one once, but I tell you, after I bit into it, my fangs ached for days.”
A thrill surged through Ithsar’s veins. This was all so different, so new, so incredible. “This is so exciting, Saritha.” Ithsar gazed around at sea turtles drifting among waving kelp. “It’s an amazing world here. I love it.”
To either side, above and below, sea dragons undulated through the water, their jade, blue, and turquoise scales glimmering silver as they passed through shafts of sunlight. Nila whooped again, obviously excited at the beautiful sight.
“Watch this,” said Saritha. Her command rippled through Ithsar’s mind and the minds of all the sea dragons. “Be still.”
All of the dragons paused in the water. Some of them dived down to rest against the ocean floor among the rocks and coral. Others were motionless, suspended among weed. Some of the blue and turquoise dragons hung in the current. When they closed their eyes, they almost blended in with the water. Almost, but not quite.
“That’s our camouflage trick.”
Moments later, the dragons sped off again.
Ithsar’s stomach rumbled, almost painfully. “It’s been a long time since breakfast. How do we eat?”
Saritha gave a command and the dragons rose from the sea in a massive expanse of dripping, glinting wings, like a moving, living carpet over the ocean. Ithsar’s bubble of sathir popped, and fresh briny air rushed back into her lungs. She turned back to look toward her homeland, but all she could see was a tiny orange strip visible on the distant horizon as if they were suspended above an enormous flowing cloth that stretched on forever.
She swallowed hard. “How far to Naobia?”
“A while yet. Reach into the saddlebags and get your food. You must replenish your strength for the long journey ahead.” Saritha kept flying.
The women around them were obviously getting the same message from their dragons. They were pulling out fruit, dried meat, and flatbread, miraculously not damp at all. “This beats traveling by camelback.”
Saritha snorted.
When the women were finished, and the sea dragons dived underwater again, there was an enormous creature with long waving tentacles and a flowing mantle floating through the water, looking like a piece of debris. The creature was as long as a small sea dragon. One of its tendrils snaked out and snatched an enormous silver fish the length of
Ithsar’s leg. It used those tentacles to stuff the fish inside its mouth, devouring it in two bites.
“That’s a giant squid. Sometimes they throw temper tantrums and spill their ink. Hopefully, today this one will behave, because that stuff tastes quite foul.” As if the creature had heard them, as the dragons approached, the squid shot off leaving an inky-black, stinky trail in the water.
They sped on toward Naobia, rising above the ocean frequently to refresh their air supply and eat. When it was dark, the dragons flew above the water and the women tied themselves to their dragons’ spinal ridges so they didn’t fall off. They slept curled over the dragons’ backs, and the sea dragons flew on, under a dark velvet sky studded with twinkling diamonds, over the beautiful expanse of rippling moonlit ocean below them.
§
The dragons gathered in the deep sea off the Naobian coast along white cliffs that rose from the ocean floor and towered above the surface. The rocky wall was pockmarked with crevasses and lined with undulating fronds of kelp and sea grass, turning the underwater cliff into a moving, living mass of plant life. Fish darted in and out of the sea grass, and colorful shells encrusted the rock.
After a lifetime in the endless arid sands of the Robandi desert, Ithsar had never imagined so much life and color.
Tired after their long journey, the sea dragons settled on pale patches of sand at the base of the cliff, some flattening sea grass with their haunches.
Ithsar scanned the women, looking for Thut. “Have you seen her?” she asked Saritha.
“Not since she imprinted with an old enemy of mine,” Saritha replied. “It’s probably best we’ve lost them.”
Ithsar shrugged, privately relieved.
Saritha’s voice rumbled through their minds, “Ithsar and I will scout the Naobian coast and approach the green guards. The rest of you will wait here.”
Ramisha snarled. “I won’t have my queen go without a guard. It’s been years since we’ve had contact with the green guards. We should be cautious. We don’t know what to expect.”
More dragons rumbled in assent, but Saritha’s voice was firm. “You’re right, we haven’t seen them for years, but if too many of us go, we could provoke an attack.”
Ramisha twitched his tail. “I refuse to let my new queen go alone. I don’t want a third queen within two days.”
Saritha angled her head, observing Misha and her dragon. “Very well, you may come with me, but the rest of you must wait here. We can’t risk inciting fear in the guards. We desperately need them as friends to fight this terrible enemy in the North.” She tensed her haunches and sprang. She and Ithsar ascended through the water, Ramisha and Misha following.
They broke through the surface and flew high up the pale cliffs.
As they crested the hills, Ithsar gasped. “Everything is so green,” she said. “I never imagined anything like this.”
They landed on a grassy meadow on a hilltop speckled with wildflowers and dotted with rocks. Ramisha landed beside Saritha. Ithsar and Misha gazed down across the land.
Northward, a lake glinted, nestled among verdant rolling hills. A sprawling forest lay at the foot of a mountain, but immediately in front of them was a patchwork of green, yellow, and brown fields, and a large rambling town encircled by a city wall. Roads snaked from the town through the fields to smaller villages. And everywhere, everything was green—moss, jade, emerald, lime, olive, sage, mint, and evergreen—all the shades Ithsar could ever imagine.
Orchards of fruit-laden trees sprawled on the edge of the township. People tilled the fields. Strange creatures plodded along roads, pulling wheeled contraptions laden with goods.
“What are those?” Misha asked.
“My father told me about horses and their wagons when I was young,” Ithsar answered. “I think that’s what they must be.”
Saritha rumbled in assent.
“Those creatures look so odd. How in the sun’s name do they stay balanced on their legs without a hump?” Misha asked. Saritha turned an eye to her. Misha hastily added, “Not that I mean any disrespect. I mean, I know dragons don’t have humps, but…”
Ramisha and Saritha snorted, and Misha blushed.
Ithsar turned to Misha. “Queen Saritha wants you and Ramisha to stay here. She’s still concerned that more than one of us approaching may alarm the Naobian green guards. We mustn’t make them think we’re attacking.”
Ramisha clawed at the ground, his talons ripping out chunks of grass and earth, but he and Misha stayed behind on top of the hill. As Saritha flew out over the fields, Ithsar marveled. The sea glinted azure, lapis, and turquoise beneath them. The warm breeze stirred tiny white peaks far out in the deep. The distant hiss of the breakers on the shore was muted by the swish of Saritha’s wings.
Ithsar gasped, clasping her hands. “This is so beautiful. So many different shades of green, so many plants. So much that grows. I’d thought the sea was a wonder with all those creatures and plant life, but this… this is just breathtaking.” The forest was such a deep, dark green, and every field and meadow was a different brilliant green. Some were speckled with flowers. Leafy crops grew in neat rows. Yellow corn stood straight and proud, leaves fluttering in the breeze. “What are those red things bobbing in the wind?”
“Those are poppies,” Saritha said.
Ahead, waves lapped at a broad expanse of pale sand that formed a bay. At the far end, huge wooden jetties jutted out into the sea. Ships were moored to thick poles along the jetties. People unloaded large barrels, wooden boxes, and trunks onto wagons. As they swooped lower, the bustle of activity and voices carried from the city. The clop of horse hooves on the cobbled roads drifted to them.
Just outside the town, a green dragon leaped from a low hillside, propelling itself into the sky.
“Green guard!” Saritha backwinged, slowing.
The green dragon and rider speared toward them, roaring and shooting a jet of flame.
Attacked
Flame lanced through the air, narrowly missing Saritha’s tail. She twisted out of reach. “Sorry, Ithsar, if only I wasn’t so tired.” A wave of blistering heat roiled above Ithsar’s back. She ducked flat against Saritha’s scales as the mighty queen of the sea dragons dived. “We have no choice but to flee. I don’t want to fight,” Saritha said.
The green guard whirled, his rider low in the saddle, and chased Saritha, blasting more flame.
Thika poked his head out of a saddlebag. “No, Thika, back inside.” Ithsar fumbled, shutting the flap.
Saritha ducked and changed course.
Ice skittered through Ithsar’s veins. Gods, if that dragon hit them, they’d be nothing but a ball of flame like Queen Aquaria. “No, Saritha, I can’t let that dragon hurt you.” She drew her saber from its sheath and nearly dropped it as Saritha dodged another plume of flame. The pretty green fields spun and blurred as Saritha maneuvered out of the young dragon’s reach.
“If we’re to secure them as friends, we must be cautious.” Saritha shot through the air like an arrow, landing outside the city walls in a meadow fringed on the city side by an orchard.
Snarling, the green dragon landed.
Although Saritha was larger, she prostrated her body upon the ground with her head low.
Ithsar’s temper flared, and she waved her saber. “How dare this beast snarl at you like that. You’re the new queen.”
“Not too hasty. We need them as our allies,” Saritha said.
“With allies like this, who needs enemies?” Ithsar slid off Saritha, and stomped toward the green dragon.
“No,” Saritha called. “I don’t want you to get hurt.” She lashed out with her tail and flicked the saber from Ithsar’s hand.
The blade skittered across the grass and thunked against the roots of an enormous tree. The impact knocked ripe golden fruit from the branches to the ground. An overpowering sweet scent filled Ithsar’s nostrils.
The green dragon snarled, haunches tensed and mean eyes slitted.
> Ithsar stalked forward, a sea breeze whipping her robes about her waist.
A slim, lanky man slid from the dragon’s back, his olive skin, lighter than hers, marking him as a Naobian. Taller than her, he gestured with his sword, motioning her to raise her hands.
She complied. She’d best him anyway, with the daggers hidden in her sleeves and boots.
He stopped near her, poised on the balls of his feet, gazing at her, but saying nothing. Tension lined his body.
Ithsar inclined her head. What was he waiting for? Well, if he wasn’t going to talk, she would. “Why are you accosting Saritha, queen of the sea dragons?” she asked.
The man waved his sword, motioning her to stand against a tree trunk.
Ithsar backed up until the rough bark was at her back.
Then, his sword at her throat, he patted her down, checking for weapons. A sweet scent overpowered Ithsar as a breeze ruffled her sleeves. “Why do you not talk?” she asked. Had the green guards, too, taken a vow of silence?
His dark eyes glinted as he confiscated the daggers strapped to her arms, two blades from her boots, the knives at her waist and her favorite dagger hidden inside her robes. Still, he hadn’t spoken. Ithsar cocked her head. Now that he was closer, he appeared younger than his height suggested. His facial skin was young and unblemished, without stubble. He stepped back, sword still out.
“You can sheathe that thing. We come in peace,” she said.
“In peace? If you mean us no harm, why are you carrying an arsenal of blades?”
His voice was young and boyish—no wonder he hadn’t wanted to speak. Despite his lanky body, his voice betrayed his age. Ithsar grinned. “You’re not much older than me,” she said. “Maybe not even as old as me.”
He cocked an eyebrow, his sword not wavering. “And how old would that be?”
Ithsar drew herself up to her full height, aware she only came up to his chest. “Old enough to be the new chief prophetess of the Robandi assassins.”
“Chief Prophetess?” His jaw dropped. “I always imagined Ashewar taller, more… um…” His eyes flicked over her as if she were a discarded orange rind.
Riders of Fire Complete Series Box Set books 1-6: YA Epic Fantasy Dragon Rider Adventures Page 168