Page 39 of Lady Dragon

“Meanwhile, human though I am, I could do with a banquet,” the princess said lightly. “So I can only imagine how you must feel.” She bit into an apple with a groan, savoring the sweet juice on her tongue, and gave a choked little laugh. “Have I ever told you I don’t eat much meat? Only fish.”

Ironic, if she was becoming a dragon.

I’m afraid we’re short on fish here , Kirek said. But you might be in luck. I see sand heads.

“Sand heads?” Samansa repeated. Which didn’t sound appealing and, in fact, looked even less impressive, as Kirek headed toward the only visible feature around other than rock—a few blades of dead grass sticking above the sand.

But the dragon’s claws quickly unearthed far more, buried under the surface. A pair of fat, pale bulbs hid beneath those wispy stalks, indeed about the size of heads, if shaped more like turnips. With a careful claw, Kirek poked a hole in one, and instructed Samansa to drink.

Samansa frowned at it dubiously, but she dusted off the sand, lifted it to her lips, and drank. The liquid inside was surprisingly light and refreshing, if tepid and a little sour.

Now for the rest , Kirek said, nodding for her to set it down, after which the dragon used her claw more like a scythe to split it open.

Samansa leaned forward with interest—and then shrieked. The bulb’s flesh was a pale orange, but lining the hollow center of it was some kind of white larvae, writhing in the exposed air and sun.

“I just drank bug juice ?” she cried, wiping at her mouth in horror.

It’s water , Kirek said patiently. And food.

The flesh of the bulb is edible, but the larvae are the most filling.

Admittedly, a dragon would only eat this if dying, because it’s little more than half a bite and flavorless compared to meat.

Kirek glanced at the sky, in the direction the decrepit dragon had vanished.

The old mother probably would have done so, if you hadn’t looked more delectable.

“You’re not serious—you don’t expect me to eat that?” Samansa said, pointing in disgust at the ground.

Kirek bent over and scooped up the whole second bulb in her jaws, chewing and swallowing with little more than a brief chomp. See? Food.

Samansa nearly gagged.

Kirek huffed—and then blew out more than air, sending a gout of fire to envelop the split halves on the sand. When the flame dissipated, the bulb’s flesh was lightly charred, steaming, and smelling much better than it looked.

At least the surface wasn’t writhing anymore.

“A dragon, cooking for a human.” Samansa giggled.

“Who would have ever guessed?” Despite how unappealing this so-called food still was, the thought was actually unbearably kind, and so Samansa scooped a warm glob out with her hand.

Tentatively, she held it to her mouth, closed her eyes, and took a bite.

It’s just like squash , she told herself. And, amazingly, it was similar enough. A very nutty, slightly burnt, and unfortunately crunchy squash. Still, she shoveled more into her mouth once she realized how much her body wanted it, eating until she’d cleaned out one of the rinds.

Pack the other half. Now we need to saddle up and go. We might be spotted again.

Samansa thought the dragons weren’t supposed to hurt them—aside from the occasional mad, exiled dragon, whom she hoped they wouldn’t be meeting ever again. Which made her ask, “ Where are we going?”

Somewhere we maybe shouldn’t , Kirek said, and then turned to regard her fully. We’re going to fix the Heartstone. And you know the way to the cave.

Samansa gaped. “And so does Pavak!”

She’s injured, preoccupied, and doesn’t know what we plan.

The princess shook her head, looking away from the dragon’s piercing stare. “Kirek, I think Raka wants me to go there. Which means we probably shouldn’t. Pavak herself said it’s not a forge anymore, which means we probably won’t be able to fix the Heartstone anyway!”

We have to try. For a moment, the dragon’s rigidly powerful shoulders seemed to slump. What else would you have me do?

Samansa found her jaw clenching again. “We should go to Andrath. Kill my brother.”

Kirek nudged her with her snout, sending her stumbling toward the saddle. If we make it through this, I will go to Andrath and tear out your brother’s throat. I promise.

The princess gave her a rueful grimace and bent to work. “Okay, fine. But only if you let me watch.”

So vicious, little one , the dragon said, but coming from her, it sounded wryly endearing .

If only Samansa hadn’t felt so vicious inside, it might have made her smile.

Later, once they were safely in the air, flying low—though Samansa didn’t know how safe it was with the risk of transforming or even with the saddle, after everything it had been through—the princess couldn’t help asking Kirek, “How—how are you doing? Sorry, that probably sounds foolish.”

Kirek had just watched her mother die, after all, and then been disinherited, however the dragons worded it. She’d said she didn’t want to talk about it, but Samansa couldn’t just leave it at that.

I’m fine , the dragon said succinctly.

The princess shook her head, even though the dragon couldn’t see her while Samansa was on her back. “No, Kirek, you’re not. Or at least you shouldn’t be.”

How should I be? Kirek’s silent voice grew sharper. Do you wish me to wallow in pain? In weakness? To lose more honor than I already have?

“No!” Samansa said hurriedly. “I want you to be able to mourn your mother. To know that you can mourn her with me.” She sighed into the hot wind.

“I’m sorry, maybe it’s not my place. And maybe you don’t even want to, if you don’t have any fond memories?

Maybe you didn’t feel her passing as painful?

And that’s fine, too! Trust me, I know queens are exacting.

And your mother… Well, she killed your sisters before they hatched, and you were supposed to be the one to kill her , after all, so maybe I’ve got this all wrong, as usual. ”

And Kirek proved it. They weren’t my sisters yet, and their absence meant I got all of her.

She’d never even pair-bonded—she didn’t need to, by then, as Queen Mother.

Everyone owed her their loyalty and protection while she was brooding.

And in return, she gave me everything. Kirek’s head twisted to eye her coldly, and there was the smallest hiss through her teeth.

You don’t think I have powerful memories?

Fond may not be the way to describe them, but she taught me how to hunt.

How to fly. I remember the sound of her heartbeat as I curled against her for warmth as a hatchling, how it spoke to mine without words.

You don’t know what a gift, an honor it is, when someone gives you their life in every way.

Even to the extent that they trust you to end their life, and to do it well.

Samansa had gotten it very, very wrong, indeed—and she’d managed to insult Kirek’s dead mother, on top of everything. She felt tears stinging her dry eyes. Stop wasting water, you fool , she chided herself.

My mother was strong , Kirek continued, fierce, and yes, perhaps too proud. She was certainly too proud of me , since I failed her—since I wasn’t the one to kill her, in the end. That is the only thing I mourn.

Samansa was a fool-headed girl, trying to have a heart-to-heart conversation with a dragon. Their hearts didn’t exactly align—not in any sense, apparently.

But suddenly she could no longer worry about that, because Kirek’s wings were no longer aligned with the horizon as something collided with them in midair.

The world—and Samansa—went spinning around the axis of the dragon’s body.

The princess clung to the saddle as she felt herself slipping off.

Not enough straps held her in place anymore, and those that were left were strained to breaking .

“Kirek, I’m going to fall!” she screamed.

Kirek abruptly righted herself, landing atop another dragon, even though they were still plummeting.

They didn’t fall for long. Kirek plowed the other dragon into the ground, sand bursting up around them.

The loose earth cushioned their landing, but they still hit hard enough for Samansa’s chin to crack on Kirek’s scales, making her bite her tongue and see stars.

Blinking and spitting blood, Samansa tried to clear her eyes.

When she did, she found the decrepit, old dragon splayed out on the ground beneath Kirek.

Rage overtook the princess until she could only see red. “ Now will you kill her?”

But Kirek was frozen. Afraid, somehow? Samansa vaguely recalled that this was the exact position the Queen Mother had been in, just before Pavak gutted her.

And then Kirek stepped back from the old dragon, leaving her battered and shuddering, trying to right herself. Giving her space to stand and attack them once more.

“Fine,” Samansa snarled. “If you won’t kill her, I will.”

And then the redness of her vision consumed the rest of her.