Dragon Games Page 11

  Hector trotted back to the rear of the castle, safely out of the way of falling riders. Someone handed him his bullhorn, and he lifted it to his lips.

  “Riders, joust!”

  Thula leapt from the wall, her purple wings catching the wind and the noonday sun, sparkling iridescently, especially in the path where the skin had just healed.

  Traka sailed straight at us, and I noticed Kaelina was not using her whip. Either she didn’t have enough hands for it, or her father had warned her against being quite so obvious about beating the poor thing. I hadn’t seen any of the other Noble children whipping their dragons that day.

  My purple and white lance waved wildly in the air. I tried to balance its weight by clasping my end to my side, but there was no way to control the thing. It had a mind of its own. Luckily, Thula did too because if it were up to me, we would have crashed headlong into Traka and Kaelina.

  But at the last minute, Thula dipped her wing under Traka’s. Kaelina’s lance thrust straight at my head, something glinting within the cracked tip. I threw my body to the side, and it whizzed past. Kaelina cursed.

  We landed on the opposite walls and turned. Hector lifted the bullhorn, but Kaelina didn’t wait. Traka was already in the air when he shouted, “Riders, joust!”

  Thula flew, her head held low to avoid getting jousted herself. This time, she and Traka both tried to go under and their wings collided, spinning us both off course. A moan went up from the crowd. Thula landed on the wall we’d started on and shook her mighty head, flinging a bit of foam everywhere.

  “Apologies, Dima.”

  Twice more, Kaelina and I crossed paths without taking a hit. Each time, I saw the glimmer of metal within her cracked lance. I wondered if I should bring Hector’s attention to it, but what if that’s what all lances looked like inside? Something had to be holding the impossibly long cone-shaped lance together. I would look like an idiot for not knowing.

  On the fifth try, Kaelina’s lance found my upper arm, leaving a bright red gash as Traka whooshed on by. A cry of foul rose up from the line of students, but no one moved to intervene. When we landed on the wall, Thula’s head whipped around to study me.

  “You’re bleeding.”

  “There’s something in her lance,” I said, trying not to move my mouth very much.

  Thula’s scales flared angrily. “I thought as much. This time, I want you to hold the lance lower. I am going to go over Traka’s wing.”

  “Riders, joust!” Hector bellowed, starting to sound a little frustrated.

  I followed Thula’s instructions, curling my whole arm around my end of the lance to support its weight as the tip bobbed lower. We sailed across the courtyard with fresh speed, reaching Kaelina and Traka before they even got halfway.

  Kaelina’s lanced jumped upward, but Thula lifted her wing and the spike blade swept under it harmlessly as my lance crashed square into Kaelina Lanthe’s face. Blood sprayed from her mouth, and her eyes rolled back in her head. Thula flew on to the wall, and we turned just in time to see Kaelina sliding backward, head first off Traka’s heavily scarred hindquarters.

  “No!” Lord Lanthe screamed from the balcony just before his daughter’s floppy body crashed onto the cobblestones.

  Hector and Kaelina’s servants raced toward her, but the student line held steady. My breakfast swirled upward, and I had to clamp my hand over my mouth. My father’s last words clanged like cymbals in my head as Lord Lanthe emerged from the castle doors, his face white as… well, my father’s ghost.

  This should feel good.

  This should feel like justice.

  Kaelina wasn’t moving, but the puddle of blood sure was.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dearest Dima,

  Mother and I received your letter and the gemlinks so you can stop staying up all night worrying me. I have enough medicine for the next four weeks. Plus, Cal is giving me a discount in exchange for carrying his trash to the waste pit. IT’S FINE. I promise. I like feeling useful. With you and Raff both gone, and Mother working all day, it’s pretty dull around here.

  Everybody in Pithe thinks you and Raff ran away together, no matter what we tell them. Isn’t that funny? You and Raff? Gross. I’m sorry I never told you that I liked him, Dima. You’re just so… Dima.

  I miss him a lot, but maybe it’s better that he’s there. I couldn’t stop thinking about kissing him, but that might kill him, so you know…

  Please take care of him. I know you will. That’s what you do.

  Please don’t forget to take care of yourself. That’s also what you do.

  The post wagon is leaving soon so I’ll say goodbye for now. Mother sends her love.

  Your favorite sister,

  Pali

  P.S. That ass bat Nav’s soup stall got shut down after a dozen workers got sick from eating tuberine skins. Hmmm. Wonder how that happened.

  I folded the scrap of parchment and held it to my heart, even as fear prickled my neck. I had told her that ‘our brother’ was working in the stables, but she must not have understood. What if someone had read the letter? What would happen to Raff if the truth came out? Would anyone even care at this point?

  I saw him every day when he brought Thula to my classes, but we couldn’t say much. He seemed happy though, and Hector had even grunted once that he wished the other handlers took as much care as Raffael in cleaning their dragons after lessons.

  “Amelie?” I asked, tucking the letter under my pillow. “I need to tell my brother that I’ve heard from our sister.”

  Amelie’s face lit up. “I could take a message to the stables.”

  “I’d like to see him in person. Can you take me there?”

  The girl bit her lip. “Students aren’t really allowed in the stables.”

  “Why on earth not?” I demanded as I pulled on my boots. “Is there something they don’t want us to know about the way our dragons are kept?”

  For a moment, I imagined them all being kept in shackles, but Raff would have told me about that, and we would have long since busted Thula out of there.

  “I assure you the dragons receive the best care here!” Amelie huffed. “It’s just a matter of propriety. Students and servants…”

  I stood and turned so Amelie could weave my hair into a braid. I hated the uncomfortable lump it made beneath my helmet, but it was much safer than wearing it loose. “He is my brother. I know this is unusual, but I must tell him about our sister in person.”

  Amelie stepped up behind me and began separating my hair into strands. “I understand, Miss. I do. But it’s just—”

  I lifted my chin, shooting a commanding gaze into my mirror so she could see. “Amelie, I am the winner of the First Trial and the current favorite to win the Dragon Games. I don’t imagine the Lords and Ladies betting on me would be happy if I were distracted from my studies by something as silly as not being able to see my brother.”

  Amelie lowered her gaze to her task. “Yes, Miss. I will try.”

  ***

  The tunnel running from the cellar to the stables stank of charred flesh. Small torches flickered on the gray stone walls, revealing shiny black roaches skittering between the cracks. Moisture dripped from the ceiling, making mud puddles on the packed dirt floor that I saw more than a few small furry creatures lapping from.

  Amelie led the way, and I wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the light, or if her whole body was rattling like a leaf. She had arranged for Raff to meet me here in the escape tunnel after dinner when all the exhausted students retired to their private rooms. The anger over the First Trial had subsided some, but still, we were all wary of forming attachments to anyone we might need to injure, maim, or one day kill.

  “Who goes there?” Raff’s voice whispered from the shadows up ahead.

  “It’s me,” I whispered back, picking up the pace.

  He emerged from the shadows in his servant grays. His hair had grown out over the last few weeks and curled cutely around his ears. I
couldn’t wait to make him blush when he read the part where Pali wanted to kiss him.

  Pushing past Amelie, I threw my arms around his shoulders, which no longer quite so bony. Servants were fed well, and his hard work was transforming his noodle arms into at least sturdy ropes. He clung to my waist, lifting me off the ground a little.

  “You’ve heard from Pali?” he blurted.

  “Yes,” I said too sharply. “I’ve heard from our sister Pali.”

  He stepped back, looking sheepish.

  Turning to Amelie, I said, “You may leave us now.”

  She stiffened. “No, Miss, I must see you back—”

  “You may leave us,” I said firmly.

  She huffed and pursed her lips, but I was getting pretty good at the commanding stare.

  “I will wait in the cellar. Don’t stay too long.” She lifted her gray skirt and hurried back the way we came.

  Raff grasped my hand and tugged me in the opposite direction. “Come on. You’ve got to see the stables.”

  I hung back. “Won’t someone see me?”

  He shook his head, grinning. “No. They’re all at dinner. But I pretended Thula’s claws needed sharpening.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Is that something you actually have to do?”

  “Oh, yeah. Her tail spikes too!”

  He pulled on my hand and this time I followed, our footsteps going and back and forth between thumping and splashing in the dank tunnel. After a few turns and dips, we came to a small iron gate, which he eased opened with a careful creak. He pushed his head out and peeked around.

  “Okay, all clear.”

  I stepped out into an enormous circular cavern, even bigger than the one atop Drakken Peak, ringed with dozens upon dozens of rocky nests like he’d been trapped in. Dragons dozed with folded wings or snuffled their snouts into unseen meals. A large fire pit sat in the center of the cavern, and various creatures hung from a spit, slow roasting to perfection. Dragons would only eat things raw if they were starving or felt threatened.

  Raff led me around the cavern, keeping close to the wall and sneaking behind nests. Yarben’s green dragon Lethra lifted his head and flared his scales, but then quickly sank back down. We crept behind a nest with a dragon that wheezed in its sleep, and I could resist seeing if my guess was correct. I pressed my eye to a crack between the rocks and found Traka sprawled on her side, legs stretched out in front of her. If it weren’t for the wheezing and the jumpy movements of her ribs, I would have thought she was dead.

  “Almost there,” Raff whispered.

  A few moments later, he pulled me between two nests around to the front where a small iron gate let the handlers in and out without having to climb over the rocks. We slipped inside, and Thula immediately pushed her big head against me. I stroked her cheeks, just below her sleepy yellow eyes. She was already curled up for the night, wings folded to her back and tail wrapped around her body.

  I tried to ignore the pile of bones swept to one side, but Raff gestured to them and said, “Sorry. I haven’t had a chance to take them out yet. It’s cleaner over here.”

  He took me the other side of the nest where he had clearly just thrown out some fresh straw. We settled down with our backs against the rocks, legs stretched out in front of us, and I handed him Pali’s letter.

  When he got to the part about kissing, he pulled his lips into his mouth to hide his smile. I nudged him in the ribs. “Amelie says Pali won’t even be contagious anymore if she gets the Purity Drought.”

  Raff handed the letter back, and I tucked it into my tunic. He leaned his head against the rocks and sighed. “That would be amazing.”

  “So should I write back that you want to kiss her too?”

  He buried his face in his hands, grinning full out now. “Don’t you dare!”

  “Why not?” I teased. “It’s only fair.”

  He shook his head, pulling his knees up to his chest like a little boy. I dug my fingers into his side, tickling him like we’d done since were kids, and he rolled onto his side like a giant rookster egg, gasping for air.

  An iron gate squealed.

  Raff’s face tightened, and he pushed me off. “Shhh! Don’t move.”

  Footsteps crossed the cavern with confidence. Thula’s scales flared, and she changed position, blocking Raff and me with one half-raised wing. The footsteps stopped near her nest, but an angry hiss kept whoever it was back.

  “She really is magnificent,” an unfamiliar male voice said.

  “Indeed. She is exactly what my daughter deserved.” Lord Lanthe snorted. “Not that bag of bones back there.”

  The other man tsked. “She could have had Huskell. That was your own poor choice.”

  “And leave Traka to guard the Peak? Really?”

  “It doesn’t take much work to knock a few peasants to their deaths.”

  Lanthe laughed. “It didn’t use to, you mean.”

  “That was a fluke. It would never have happened if this one hadn’t gone rogue.”

  My breath caught in my throat, creating a soft whimper. I clamped my trembling hand over my mouth. If they found us now…

  “I know it was a fluke,” Lanthe snapped. “But how are we going to fix it?”

  The other man yawned. “We can’t. Unless the gem turns up.”

  Lanthe sighed loudly. “You’re only saying this because you’ve already placed money on the peasant.”

  “No.” The other man said. “I placed my money on Thula. So is everyone else. You know she’s never lost a Game.”

  Lanthe let out a growl. “Kaelina must have her! How can you be so calm? Is this what you want? A peasant to win? The Empire will crumble.”

  I liked the sound of that. I liked the sound of that a lot.

  But I didn’t like the sound of Lord Lanthe’s determination to steal my dragon.

  “Relax, old boy,” the other man said and by the sound of it, slapped Lanthe on the back. “The peasant won’t survive the next trial. Thula will have to choose again.”

  “Yes, but now my daughter is bonded with Traka.”

  Raff and I shared a skeptical glance. No one could describe the relationship between Kaelina and Traka as a bond.

  “Then Traka must not survive the next trial either.” There was the sound of a match striking a rock, and when the man spoke again, it was clearly with a pipe stuck in his teeth. “It will only make sense for Thula to choose Kaelina then.”

  “But will she? Without the gem?”

  The other man sighed. “I don’t see why not.”

  “And I don’t see why we can’t mount a search for the gem. Just in case.”

  “In case you’ve forgotten, we have a few wars going on, Lanthe. I can’t spare men to scour the entire Drakken Range for one dragon’s missing gem. There’s no telling where Lyonette stashed it.”

  Lyonette? Who is Lyonette? And why the hell did she have Thula’s gem?

  Thula rustled her wings, and I caught the glimmer of sparks after her heavy sigh.

  “She hasn’t forgotten,” the other man said, almost fondly. “Such an amazing creature.”

  Lord Lanthe laughed. “You know, you might have managed another real heir if you’d spent as much time with your wife as you did on dragons after—”

  A heavy thud followed, and then a frantic gasping sound.

  “You mind your tongue, or I’ll feed it to this dragon this very evening.”

  Lord Lanthe wheezed. “Forgive me, Lord Centrival. I have spoken out of turn.”

  I bit down on my cheeks to keep from laughing at Lord Lanthe having to grovel, but then something clicked in my brain. Lord Centrival. This other man was Arlen’s father. But if Lord Lanthe believed the man lacked a real heir… then what exactly did that make Arlen?

  Who did that make Arlen?

  Lord Centrival coughed, and there was the sound of hands brushing dust from the fancy tunics and cloaks they must be wearing. “I know what you meant to accomplish by mentioning it, and it won’t work. I
won’t be blackmailed into helping you with some foolish treasure hunt. You asked me here for my advice, and I’ve given it to you straight. Do with it what you will.”

  A single set of footsteps faded away.

  The other set moved closer. Thula’s scales flared, and she snapped her teeth.

  Lord Lanthe clucked his tongue and muttered just loud enough for us to hear, “Lyonette, what have you done?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  All night long, questions swirled in my brain, chasing any trace of unconsciousness away. Who was Lyonette? Why did she have Thula’s gem, and more importantly, why did she hide it? There hadn’t been time to question Thula. As soon as Lord Lanthe left, the other handlers began trickling back in, and Raff had to scramble to get me out without anyone seeing.

  And what about the two Nobles implying there was only one dragon left on Drakken Peak? And that Lanthe had chosen the elderly Traka over the monstrous Huskell for his daughter? How could that be? Dragons choose the rider. Hector only let me stay because I knew Thula’s name. But Arlen didn’t even know dragons could talk. There were a lot of things that weren’t adding up and the small possibility that Arlen’s lineage was one of them.

  I guess that was why my exhausted, blood-shot eyes and I decided he would be the best place to start looking for answers.

  “Did you mean it?” I asked, leaning in the armory door, clutching either side of the rough wooden frame.

  Arlen glanced up from the sword he was polishing, flicking a lock of hair from his eyes. My heart skittered around my chest like a jackrat, kicking the air out of my lungs in short bursts. Not because of Arlen, of course, but because today was our free day and ever since breakfast—which he’d missed—I’d been searching all over the castle for him. This was the third time I’d checked the armory, and luckily for my tired feet, it turned out to be the charm. Now if only I can muster up some of my own…