Maiden

Prologue

THE TALE OF PRINCESS TIANNIE

SHE CLIMBED THROUGH the fine mist that hung in the air, veiling the mountainside in a sheet of soft silver.

Breath heaved from her chest, rising like puffs of smoke, while dawn light stretched pale fingers over the surrounding mountains, lacing between the stacks and valleys, its amber warmth slowly spreading.

Her shoes fumbled and slid on the soft, pebbly ground, and her broken body burned with pain.

She did not think that she could go on, but she knew that she must. The lives of her people depended on it.

Behind her, she could hear faint echoes of the battle still raging lower down the mountain: clashing swords, smashing shields and screams of torture.

Though she had fled the front line, the stench of blood, flesh and death lingered, clogging her nose and choking her throat, her ears still ringing with wails of agony.

Her people had been fighting this foreign enemy for almost twenty days.

It was said that another settlement in the south had simply folded at the sight of the sprawling army that had suddenly appeared in these lands, their Leader bending the knee before even one sword had been drawn.

But the Mountain folk had vowed that they would not give in so easily.

They had fought, though it had cost them dearly.

And as each day passed and each battle was lost, they had been driven further up the mountains, retreating high into the stony peaks.

Tiannie snatched at rocks as she climbed, propelling herself onwards.

Above her, golden light poured into the valleys and ridges below.

She had been fighting all night alongside her people, watching their men and women fall, writhing bodies spurting blood and guts into the mud-churned soil.

Fewer than one hundred of the Mountain folk warriors remained and their numbers were quickly dwindling.

This enemy would triumph, despite their efforts, and when it did, the rest of their people would not be safe.

The enemy would find the remaining Mountain folk hiding in the forests – those who were too old, too young or unable to fight – and they would slaughter them.

Five days ago, they had lost their Leader.

She had been just six paces from him when it happened, and she had seen the swinging blow that decapitated her father.

She had screamed and launched herself upon his murderer, driving a spear through the soldier’s chest. But it could not change what had already been done.

Her father’s head had rolled away and, before she could retrieve his corpse, the horns had sounded, calling the Mountain folk to retreat into the trees once more.

With his death, the burden of command had fallen to her, the eldest child.

Now she was their Leader and she had to do something to save her people.

Tiannie’s right foot slipped and she fell, her chin smacking the ground. Tears filled her eyes. She tried to stagger upright again, but her legs buckled. Her body ached with fatigue and sorrow. She had come as far as she could, and this would have to be enough.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The thudding of her heartbeat filled her ears, but she ignored it, sinking deeper inside her thoughts. She stilled and drew upon an instinctive, ancient part of herself.

I am here.

She spoke in a mixture of sounds, thoughts and gestures, the words vibrating through her form into the sharp, thin air. It was her Gift.

I call upon the Great Dragon.

All remained quiet. The Mountain folk did not often ascend into the territory of the dragons, unless they were looking for trouble, and Tiannie had never dared climb as high as this before.

I call upon the Great Dragon, she repeated, opening her eyes. Let him show himself!

A lovetail swooped in the sky above, a rare flash of brightness against the scrubby landscape.

It had been a long time since Tiannie had seen something so beautiful.

She watched it chirp and whirl, paws pedalling the air, webbed wings fluttering.

Lovetails were meant to be a sign of good fortune. And good fortune was what she needed.

The ground beneath her shuddered.

Tiannie gasped and scrambled to her feet.

A blast of fire shot through the air, engulfing the lovetail, and it blackened to ash.

From high above came a deafening roar. A hulking dark shape slithered down the mountainside, scattering trees and boulders like pebbles.

Tiannie felt for her sword, but the scabbard was empty. She had left her blade on the battlefield, thrown down in despair by the lifeless body of her younger brother.

Who dares call upon my name? The dragon’s voice was like the snap of flames and the rumbling hiss of steam.

Tiannie had heard stories of the Great Dragon passed down between Mountain folk, sightings of a vast, soaring shadow in the sky, but she did not know of anyone who had faced the creature as she did now and lived to tell the tale.

She stared at the huge, powerful beast, far larger and mightier than any she had ever seen.

Burnished red scales glinted in the pale light, covering its hide in overlapping hexagonal patterns.

Black hair sprouted from its chin, fine and curved like eyelashes, and a pair of enormous wings jutted from its shoulders, leathery and sinewy, hooked claws coiling from the boned edges, their speared ends flashing in the dawn light.

Tiannie swallowed back a scream of fear. She told herself that if she did not do this, the Mountain folk would perish. She had to try to save what was left of her people. She must be brave.

I am Princess Tiannie, she replied. I have come to ask for your aid.

She collapsed into a bow, throwing her arms out wide, hoping the extravagance of the gesture might flatter the creature.

The Great Dragon’s huge nostrils flared and its vertical, slit-shaped eyes wavered.

A human who can speak the ancient language? it replied, its voice slow and deep, like no creature or beast she had ever heard before. Interesting. But I have no desire to aid the likes of you.

Desperation made Tiannie bold. The Great Creator appointed you as guardian of the mountains, she said, reciting the lore of the Mountain folk. A foreign enemy is threatening this land and my people. You must help.

A growl like the roll of thunder juddered from the creature’s long throat. I must do nothing, it hissed. I would not save those who have the blood of my kin on their hands.

Tiannie could not deny it. She had hunted dragons with her people on occasion – simpler beasts than the ancient creature before her now. Once she had even proudly slain a small dragon with her own sword. She was that rare thing, held in awe: a Dragonslayer.

The dragons were in our territory—

You have no territory! roared the Great Dragon, darting forward so that its jaw hovered inches from her face, its lipless mouth pulled back to reveal rows of fangs as long as her arms. I have guarded these mountains since the beginning. Your kind come and go.

Tiannie stumbled away. Heat spun off the creature in waves, filling the air with a burning stench. It was like standing before a seething fire.

Please, I beg of you, she cried. Save my people. I will do anything.

She thought of her little sister, the only family she had left. The child had just learnt to walk, wobbling on chubby, stumbling feet. It was too horrific to think what might happen to the girl at the hands of the enemy.

The Great Dragon shifted, its haunches flexing. It regarded her with an unblinking, yellow gaze. Finally, it hissed, Perhaps we can reach an agreement.

Hope and unease flared together in Tiannie’s chest. To enter into a bargain with an ancient creature like the Great Dragon was surely perilous.

Mountain folk were afraid of the beasts and Fae who roamed their lands – those they called the Hidden People.

Mountain children were taught never to speak to a nymph, a brownie or a troll: such creatures of chaos and pain.

But above all, they were taught to fear the Great Dragon, a being as powerful and ancient as the very mountains themselves.

Princess?

She pushed aside her misgivings. She did not have a choice. State your terms.

The Great Dragon arched its neck, revealing a glimpse of a burning red throat. I will threaten your enemy with merciless attacks if they do not retreat. They may take the surrounding lands as their own, but they cannot have the mountains – those will belong to your kind and mine.

Tiannie almost choked on hope. She thought of her people hiding in the forest, watching their loved ones lose the recent battle, knowing they would be sought out and slaughtered next. An end to their suffering sounded almost too good to be true, and she knew there would be a price to pay.

What do you want in return?

The Great Dragon made a ticking sound and a curl of smoke oozed from its lips. You and your people, it replied.

Tiannie paused, her unease souring into dread. What do you mean? she asked.

Today and on the first day of each spring, you must send one of your kind to me before sunset. Over the winters, you have slain my kin, and now I will have my revenge. If you do not follow these orders, the treaty will be broken and all of you will face my wrath.

Distantly, they heard the loud blast of a trumpet followed by the beating of a drum. It was a foreign, unfamiliar sound. The enemy were moving forward.

Do we have an agreement? asked the Great Dragon.

I do not fully understand the terms—

The Great Dragon snapped its huge jaw and the edges of its wings quivered, as if it might launch itself away.

Wait! cried Tiannie, holding out her arms. All right, yes. I … I agree.

The air quivered, a pulse rolling outward, gathering force and momentum.

The ground shuddered, the sky rang with power and the very realm itself seemed to vibrate with a deep, resonant hum.

The light wavered and bent, colours bleeding into one another, rippling through the dawn like the aftershock of something vast and unstoppable.

Then all was still.

Our bargain is made, Mountain Princess. The Great Dragon raised its head in the direction of the drumbeats. I will follow you now and you will explain the treaty to your enemy. If they harm you, I will destroy them.

Pure relief settled over Tiannie, cool and soothing. The sight of the Great Dragon would terrify the enemy into agreeing to the terms of the Mountain folk’s surrender. There would be no more bloodshed. Her people would survive. They would still have the mountains.

Then you will return with me, added the Great Dragon.

Tiannie looked at the beast’s thick, muscled limbs and its curved, glinting fangs. She had seen a dragon less than half its size tear a man into strips. She had killed a much smaller dragon and she knew their strength and stealth.

What will you do with me? she asked.

The Great Dragon’s yellow gaze bore down upon her. You will be the first sacrifice, it said. You will be mine.