Page 14

Chapter 14

Tahlia

L ightning cracked the mist, and Tahlia set a hand against the Seabreak, directing the dragon to swoop past the Spikeback that Marius had ordered them to encircle. Only the Spikeback’s tail was visible in the churning clouds, but the creature and its rider were hovering, so her spot in the circle wouldn’t alter much. The wind rose and howled in her ears and rain lashed through the mist. How was it both misty and pouring? These mountaintop storms were incredible!

“Why are you smiling?” number two, a male competitor on a bright red Heartsworn, called out to her over the wildly beautiful weather.

“Why aren’t you smiling? This is amazing!” Tahlia and the Seabreak took up the far spot in the circle of dragons around number three.

Marius’s voice boomed in an echo of the thunder. “Well done. Now, drop in a spiral. Number order. Use your instincts to avoid lightning and pay attention to your dragon’s natural inclination to avoid being struck as well!”

Fara would die if she knew what I was up to… Tahlia grinned, her heart soaring. The taste of the storm, metallic and green, touched her tongue. Marius looked like one of the Old Ones with his whip curled over his big shoulder and his hair lashing about his chiseled cheekbones and jawline.

His gaze slid to her and his lips parted like he was about to say something.

Looking away quickly, Tahlia focused on her task. Dropping behind number four, she urged the Seabreak to spiral downward. Glimpses of the arena showed between the black and silver clouds—the purple paint of the wooden trim around the walls and the waving arms of the cheering crowd.

Below Tahlia and the Seabreak, competitor two was having trouble. The Heartsworn’s wings struggled against the wind. He was holding her reins too tightly.

The tiny hairs on the back of Tahlia’s neck stood on end.

“Move!” she shouted.

She turned her dragon left as light washed the world and thunder gripped her ears and ripped into them. Blinking, ears ringing, she held to the Seabreak and whispered words the dragon surely couldn’t hear.

“Thank you, love.” Tahlia blinked, still trying to see through the spots in her eyes.

The other competitors had scattered with the close strike. Two, seven, nine, and one were gathering themselves into spiral formation again. Tahlia and her Seabreak flew toward them, gaining speed and aiming for their proper position. Others joined in, faces paled—no doubt as pale as hers considering how they had nearly been fried—and soon they had all but one competitor.

Marius and Ragewing were nowhere to be seen in the sky either. Worry pinched at Tahlia’s stomach as they flew through another bank of clouds. Surely the High Captain wouldn’t have had trouble. She imagined his storm-gray eyes shuttering and his body falling through the clouds. She bit her lip and forced the image out of her mind.

“Where is four?” she called out to the other competitors. Four was the same rider who had nearly fallen earlier. “Anyone seen the High Captain?”

But Tahlia might as well have been mute for all that she was heard over the lashing rain and rolling thunder. She should have learned the hand signals for communication. They were rarely used because those with strong Mistgold in their blood didn’t usually struggle to be heard.

The clouds cleared briefly, and Tahlia looked down to see the arena stretched out below the spiraling dragons.

On the ground, Ragewing stomped impatiently and Marius crouched beside a splayed rider. Next to them, the rider’s Spikeback roared in pain and rolled to his side.

But Marius and Ragewing were alive and well. The relief that rolled over Tahlia had her trembling in her saddle. She slicked some wet and fallen hair from her face and readied to land.

The spiral of competitors landed in order, splashing mud everywhere. Tahlia leapt from the Seabreak’s back and rushed toward the fallen dragon and rider. Her heart thundered as loudly as the continuing storm. The crowd had gone still and their worry was palpable. The rider’s eyes were shut, but his chest moved as Marius spoke over him to Albus, the healer who had helped Tahlia with the poison. Thank the Old Ones, the rider was alive. She turned toward the dragon, who was surrounded by a host of squires and Mist Knights.

“Give him space,” Ophelia demanded as she spread a glossy concoction over the blackened scales on the Spikeback’s side.

The dragon heaved a deep and shaky breath and his wings shuddered, half open and terribly vulnerable on the muddy ground. One Mist Knight guarded the dragon’s head as Ophelia and her squire worked the unguent onto the wounded beast.

“The rider is talking to the High Captain now.” Fara’s voice was suddenly at Tahlia’s shoulder.

“Good.”

“They say he was simply knocked out. He wasn’t hit like his mount,” Fara added.

Tahlia slicked her wet and mussed braids out of her face and looked from rider to dragon and back again. “Poor thing. But dragons handle this sort of thing from time to time.”

“Fire, yes, but lightning? Have you heard many stories of them living after a direct hit?”

“I am sure there are cases.”

“I hope your optimism is truly on target this time, friend.” Fara put a hand on Tahlia’s shoulder and Tahlia gripped Fara’s fingers, appreciating the support.

She was shaken, more so than she’d ever been. Not that she would let anyone know, especially Fara, who would likely drag her away from the tournament for fear of her dying.

“You’re certain you want to continue?” Fara whispered.

“Completely.”

Blowing out a breath, Fara ran her purple hands through her wet hair. “I can’t wait until this is over. I just hope I’m not alone at the end of it.”

The rider groaned and sat up and the crowd cheered as Marius helped him to standing. The Spikeback huffed and got his legs under him. Ophelia leapt back and the other Mist Knights followed her cue, giving the dragon room. The king, queen, commander, and the onlookers in the stands let out a cry of “Huzzah!”

Tahlia bumped Fara with her shoulder. “You won’t be alone. I did well up there.”

They hurried to Tahlia’s Seabreak, who seemed to be happy, nibbling a bit of greenery that decorated the wall of the arena.

“I want you to do poorly up there,” Fara said.

“What?”

Fara held out her hands. “But only so badly that you’re kicked out of the lineup, not kicked out of life.”

A laugh bubbled from Tahlia amidst the continued cheering. The injured Spikeback was led away and Commander Gaius raised his hands to quiet the masses. Fara helped Tahlia get the Seabreak’s reins over her head so Fara could lead her back to the dragon stables.

“We break now for rest and food,” the commander said. “The sky battle will commence one bell before sundown. Time is kept on the water clock in the great hall, where all competitors are welcome.”

Tahlia shivered with excitement. The sky battle. She had waited her whole life for this.

But first—food. And perhaps a little conversation with the handsome High Captain…