Chapter 13
Thessa waited for her in the field with eight other dragons. Now that hers stood beside so many others, Soren truly understood the reason Vemon dragons were whispered about in folktales. Thessa was enormous, far larger than even the next largest, the dragon Yella bounded over to.
“Mount your dragons!” she called over a cold wind that swept through the field.
Ilav glanced at Cion, who merely shrugged.
“Just like that?” he called to Yella.
One of the other riders, a stocky man with a shaved head, rolled his eyes and muttered something to his companion, who laughed. “My bet is still on the Misean girl. She’ll be the first to drop, and you’ll owe me ten gala.”
Soren tamped down the anger that kept trying to rise, instead walking with her chin up towards Thessa.
It felt odd not to curl her shoulders in and keep her eyes down, but she was determined to survive.
Kelshie might be out there somewhere in Aren’s endless ranks.
If she could just find her, maybe together, they could somehow escape.
A fool’s dream.
Soren stiffened, finding Thessa’s silvery gaze inches from her own. She had been so lost in her own head, she had not thought of the dragon’s ability to see into her mind, nor had she noticed the dragon, large as she was, creeping closer.
Do not fret. My loyalty is to you alone, which is why I am counseling you.
Soren set her jaw. She could be alive.
Perhaps. But you have more dire issues to attend to at the moment.
“What in the gods’ names is she doing?” Soren heard Ilav say.
She turned to find him and Cion looking at her, their expressions puzzled. Behind them, Yella was already atop her dragon.
“What’s the issue, you three?” she called.
Cion took a step closer. “Soren, what were you doing?”
Soren stiffened. Had she done something wrong without realizing it? She cleared her throat softly. “Thessa was scolding me about something. It doesn’t matter. I was just being silly, and she—”
“You can speak with her?” Ilav cut in, his eyes widening.
“I… Can’t you?”
Ilav’s face twisted. “Are you lying, Mise?”
Cion shook her head. “Soren has never studied dragonlore. How could she know about the mind connection?”
Soren’s mind was whirring. Was this not something the others could do? She wasn’t exactly keen on the thought of being singled out over something yet again. Some visibility and importance protected her, but too much could be a threat.
From atop her dragon, Yella let out a laugh. “She’s not lying. Keenie conferred with Thessilnn,” she said, running a hand over her dragon’s tan scales.
The stocky man stared at Soren, slack-jawed, while his companion looked enraged. Yella rolled her eyes and slid off Keenie, muttering, “Pick up your mouths, you idiots,” as she passed the two men. When she reached Soren, she said, “You were never taught anything about dragons, were you?”
“No,” Cion replied.
But Yella didn’t even spare her a glance, eyes still on Soren.
“No,” Soren affirmed. “I was never allowed to read. I know how, but I have not touched a book in years.”
Yella’s expression tightened momentarily, but it quickly brightened again.
“Right, well, there are a few things you should know. A rider and a dragon share a bond, established the day the dragon chooses their rider, but the bond takes time to strengthen. Telecommunication is something that often takes several moon cycles, or even several seasons, to become easily accessed. The dragons don’t like opening themselves up to a rider who may not live. ”
“But we could all hear them at the ceremony,” Soren said, brow furrowing.
Yella shrugged. “A necessity they allow. But I didn’t hear Keenie again until the last moon cycle. Jona and Adem aren’t there yet.”
Their dragons sense a weakness and fear their time together will not last.
Soren flicked her gaze over to Jona and Adem, who had now taken to glaring at her. Yella patted Soren’s shoulder, and she jolted at the contact. She was not used to human touch.
“But you,” Yella said, a grin gracing her lips. “You can hear your Vemon dragon already.”
A heavy silence fell over the training yard, interrupted only by the wind and the sound of dragons chuffing restlessly. Eyes landed on Soren and on Thessa behind her.
Eventually, Jona said, “We should begin. We’ve already wasted enough time.”
Soren was grateful for his interruption and took the opportunity to turn, climbing up onto Thessa’s back. By the time she had managed to perch atop the saddle, everyone else had already mounted their dragons.
“Follow!” Yella shouted from ahead, just before her dragon’s wings spread out and pumped the air.
Soren felt her stomach dip as Thessa reared back, her wings splayed wide before taking off, trailing Yella and Keenie. The others fell in line, and they soared up into the cloud line.
“Dive!” Yella screamed over the wind.
Ilav shouted, and Soren sucked in a sharp breath as Thessa began to dip, tucking her wings in.
Hold on tight.
Wind seared Soren’s eyes, tears blinding her as the air rushed past. On instinct, she leaned low on the saddle, keeping her legs tight to Thessa’s body.
Her muscles screamed from the effort of holding on, and as Yella shouted to bank, she nearly flew off Thessa’s back from the force.
Her ears popped, and as the tears cleared from her eyes, she realized they were in the middle of the Ellys mountain range, peaks on either side of them.
You did well.
Even in her own mind, Soren’s voice was breathless. Thanks for the warning.
Thessa huffed out a chortle, gliding behind Yella and Keenie.
Yella glanced back, and Soren could see her taking inventory, making sure they were all still there.
Soren craned her neck to see Ilav vomiting off the side of his dragon.
Princess Cion took up the back of the group, and the rest of the more seasoned riders looked merely windblown.
“Camp!” Yella called, waving them forward.
The wind tousled Soren’s hair, pulled free from the braids during their dive. She pressed a hand to Thessa’s scaled back and took a deep breath. For the first time in many seasons, she felt oddly at peace.
Atop a dragon, hundreds of feet in the air, she was free of the heavy shackles she had worn nearly all her life.
The dream ended as soon as they landed in the field behind the camp.
She slid off Thessa, foregoing the ladder this time.
Sensation jolted up her spine as she dropped to the ground, but she held back her yelp.
A few paces away, Ilav was vomiting again.
Even the princess looked pale as she dismounted and slid to the ground.
Yella smiled. “Fun, right? Diving like that is one of the more difficult maneuvers, so I figured we would just get it over with.”
“Bitch,” Ilav choked out. “You’re trying to weed us out.”
Yella’s brow rose. “This is war, is it not? I have orders to ensure a strong group of riders can lead our armies. I’d advise that next time, you just choke it down.”
Ilav snapped, rushing at Yella, his face pinched in fury. She caught his arm before his fist could hit her face, twisting roughly. He yelped in pain as she held the position. “You think this is a game? I would have thought being a general’s kid would give you a more realistic view.”
“We are the reigning power,” he gritted out. “Mise has no chance.”
“True as that may be, would you like to know how many dead riders and dead dragons that has taken to remain true? Meesling has its wyverns, and Mise has better fed soldiers. Those things won’t win them a war, but it will make it more difficult for us to end it.”
Ilav grunted, pulling free of Yella’s hold and stumbling back. She looked around. “Anyone else?”
No one spoke. Yella smiled again, dusting her hands off on her leather riding pants. “Good. Follow me. We’re going to study flight formations.”
The rest of Soren’s afternoon was spent on her knees, huddled around a circular wooden table filled with unrolled parchment weighed down by stones.
Yella pointed to different formations, informing them again and again that they would practice most of them together before training was up.
She also drilled into their minds that memorizing the formations now was important.
“When you’re out there, in the thick of battle, you’ll forget it if it isn’t already second nature,” she told them sternly.
Soren was bleary eyed by the time dinner came around, but the knowledge that her day was far from over weighed heavy on her. She ate quickly before slipping from the group, huddled around the fire.
Unsure exactly where to do her exercises, she headed back to the field where they had met the dragons earlier in the day.
It was empty and dark, clouds obscuring any moonlight trying to fight its way through.
She sighed heavily, her breath clouding as she dropped down and began the circuit of core exercises Vane had shown her.
Once she was done, she ran laps around the field before letting herself collapse near the edge of camp in a sweaty, shaking mess.
There’s a stream just beyond the field. It’s cold, but at least you won’t stink.
Soren’s mouth quirked up. Thank you.
Thessa was quiet after that, and Soren trudged across the field, finding the stream just hidden behind a small grove of trees.
Glancing around several times, she made sure no one was there before she stripped down to her underclothes and slipped into the water, gasping at the icy chill.
After dipping her head in once, she crept out, teeth chattering as she slipped her clothes back on over her wet skin.
By the time she made it back to the tent, Cion was already fast asleep. Soren settled down on her mat and shut her eyes, praying to gods she knew would never answer that her dreams would be kind.
As usual, the gods did not listen.