24. The bells of Dragonest.
The bells of Dragonest.
JAYCE
K uroki’s hand could not be saved. Dr. Prince assured us his life wasn’t at risk, not with the proper care, but his fingers were burned to the bone, and they would only cause him pain for years. With our agreement, he amputated the hand.
I have known regret and loss from my time as a pirate, but none quite as nauseating as seeing my baby cousin lose a hand under my watch.
During the operation, Wilbur paced the room like a tiger in a cage, tears in his eyes.
Then, as soon as it was clear Kuroki was safe and back to his dreamless sleep, with the stump where his hand used to be bandaged, he kissed him on the forehead and went back to the Blunder for more repairs.
From the stricken look on his face, we all understood he needed a moment alone.
We promised Dr. Prince we would get his son back, and that’s what we’re going to do. And so I find myself checking out our weaponry before takeoff—we have no direction, but we’ll find the aristocrat and his black airship—when the bells of Dragonest ring.
The bells’ only purpose is to warn the inhabitants of a city-wide emergency, such as a fire or an attack from outside.
I look up at the closest bell tower, annoyed and confused.
It’s early morning, and the panicked birds take flight in the gray dawn.
We allowed ourselves a few fitful hours of sleep, our bodies unable to keep going without rest.
Alara shouts my name, and I take off running back to the upper deck. She’s at the bow, pointing toward the horizon. What I see is enough to turn my blood into ice.
The biggest dragon I have ever seen breathes fire in the sky above the east quarters of Dragonest. A few buildings are already going up in flames, screams disrupting the peaceful sunrise.
Harlow , I think. It’s certainly not a coincidence that a dragon is attacking Dragonest today.
Gia gasps and points to the sky, just as Alara did moments ago. There is an airship with black sails cleaving the smoke like a javelin. My gaze focuses on it like a predator on its prey.
“Ready for takeoff!” I roar, turning on my heels to reach the control room.
Freddy and Alara are already freeing the Blunder from the airdock, while Wilbur disappears below decks.
I fire up the liquid-fire burner, and the balloon swells. The Blunder rises over Dragonest, and I activate the propellers to give chase.
What if we can’t reach Harlow in time?
What if he’s already dead? A terrible voice whispers in my head.
If he is… if they have killed him… there won’t be any place in the world where they’ll be able to escape my fury. I’ll end them, even if it’s the very last thing I do.
As we take to the sky, the dragon is even more impressive.
Her wingspan is as big as a castle, the leathery membranes torn in places—with this size, it can only be a female.
How old is the creature, and where has she been hiding all this time?
I’ve never heard of a gray dragon. She rains fire indiscriminately over Dragonest.
But then she swerves aggressively and reaches for the enemy airship with her giant claws. The first foot misses its target, but the second closes on the stern, ripping away the mast, sail, and the propellers.
Gia screams from the bow as we witness the airship tilt forward under the impact. The dragon roars and breathes fire into the air just above it, damaging the hot-air balloon.
We watch in horror as the airship loses altitude before crashing below in the park of the prestigious University of Dragonest. My heart gives a painful squeeze, terrified for Harlow, as the vessel drags along the ground, upturning trees and gardens.
The dragon, surprisingly, doesn’t follow to finish them. She keeps on raining fire over the city.
I release hot air from the balloon and we begin our descent. As I fly us closer to the wreck of the slick airship, I notice crew members running on the upper deck like ants, trying to stop the fire from spreading from the sails. Hope flares in my chest; Harlow might have survived the crash.
“To arms!” I shout from the control room, warning my crew as we ready to board the wreck.
The impact is jarring as I ram the hull of the Blunder into the side of the enemy airship.
Wood splinters with deafening noise, and the deck lurches under my feet.
As I emerge from the control room, Freddy, Alara, and Wilbur are waiting for me, armed to the teeth.
Wilbur is holding one of his prototypes, the liquid-fire version of a shotgun.
Today, he’s not a mechanic or an inventor but a vengeful spirit hungering for blood.
Gia stays at the bow, gun in hand, ready to shoot whoever tries to come on board. She’s not a warrior, but we taught her how to shoot when she first started working with us, and it came in handy more than once.
We throw a few grappling hooks to secure the Blunder to the enemy airship.
“Let’s get our dragoner back,” I say before launching myself overboard and onto the other ship, sword in hand and my gun in the other.
The enemies aren’t expecting to get boarded while being chased by a dragon, and we take them by surprise.
None have their weapons ready, and we plough through them like wheat in a field.
This moment is reminiscent of the Crimson War, when blood flowed on the decks and the screams echoed over the sea, and I slip back into a murderous trance.
But we’re not at sea, and the fire in the sky isn’t from the King’s airships and their liquid-fire cannons, but from an actual dragon.
I screw a man who was coming at me with my cutlass, take a deep breath, and shout, “Harlow!”
And I swear I hear my name coming from somewhere below decks in the smoldering wreck.