CHAPTER THIRTY
The cold hard floor of the Sky Pillar slapped under my feet.
Staff from Volitant, Kiestral and all the other teams craned their necks as I breezed by.
They didn’t matter though. Even being in the historic tower had lost the magic it had once held – the intricate carvings of dragons that covered every inch of the walls, both inside and out, no longer held my attention.
Even on my approach to the island itself I hadn’t been awed by the floating land mass. The labyrinth of arcanite caves within it that held it up in the air were in the distant recesses of my mind.
Instead, all I could think about were the big brown eyes and sunny orange scales waiting for me in the aviary. I skidded around the last corner, for once not losing my way, and heaved open one half of the double doorway.
Both of my feet had barely made it inside before they were swept off the floor. My breath was forced out of my lungs as Gottyk’s big snout shoved itself into my stomach, his horns nearly taking out an eye as he rubbed his head against me.
I felt the trickle of warm tears run down my face as I grabbed on to my dragon. My knuckles whitened as I hung on to his scales, trying to crush my heart as close to his as possible.
It had been nearly two months since we’d last seen one another.
Each of those one hundred days had felt like the longest of my life.
It was far longer than we’d ever been apart before.
I could still remember his peach, leathery skin on the day he’d hatched.
The way he’d fallen out of his egg on to his back and screamed.
When I’d picked him up to put him on his feet, he’d cried every time I let go.
‘I’m so sorry, buddy.’ My words were breathless, both from the joy of seeing him again and the lack of air. ‘I’ll never leave you again. I promise. I don’t care what happens next, I’ll make it work.’
A warm and familiar rumble reverberated through Gottyk. By the time it reached his mouth, it had turned into my favourite sound – his cooing.
The full body hug lessened as I started to shake.
Laughter came out as sobs, merging together as I backed away a little, holding his snout with my too-small human hands.
I scrubbed at my cheeks with the shoulder of my shirt – the bright orange Kiestral rider uniform I’d received only two days before.
Gottyk peered down his long face at me. His massive shiny eyes were so at odds with the fangs that dripped out of his mouth.
‘That reminds me …’ – I lifted the edge of his lips, examining his gums. – ‘I’m going to need to find the keeper records for the past few weeks. I need to know if they’ve been looking after you properly.’
Hot air rippled through my hair as he huffed in protest.
‘I don’t care if you’re a big boy now, you still need a proper diet to clean the crap between your teeth.’ I moved on to his eyes, checking for residue build-up between the double lids. Then his horns and scales.
By the time the sun was all the way up Gottyk was asleep on the floor while I sanded away the top layer of his talons, getting rid of any chips that could come loose during the race.
It was comforting for us both. I didn’t even know if a new keeper had been assigned to us, now that I’d become a rider, but it didn’t matter.
Taking care of Gottyk would always be my job.
Gottyk’s head twitched up, his outer lid opening slightly. Then he dropped back down, content to go back to sleep.
A few seconds later, the door to the aviary creaked.
‘Hey.’ Josie entered, holding the door open. ‘I think I found something of yours.’
From behind her a short-haired, black-clad menace prowled in, eyes scanning the room before settling on me.
‘Cam!’ I jumped up, letting the sanding block clatter to the floor. Gottyk snorted in his sleep.
My sister smiled as I went to greet her. She hooked a hand around the back of my neck. I braced myself, ready for some kind of self-defence check – but none came. Instead, Cam pulled me in and wrapped her arms around me, one hand on the back of my head as she held me in a hug.
‘Well done, baby sister,’ she whispered. ‘You did it. By the book too.’
Then we were apart again. Cam clapped me on the shoulder, clearing her throat as she did.
‘That was the most awkward hug I’ve ever seen.’ Josie was squatting by Gottyk, scratching between his eyes. His tail thumped against the floor in happiness. ‘And it explains a lot.’
I scoffed out a laugh at her comment, trying not to sound too panicked. I’d talked about my family to Josie, but hadn’t warned her about Cam’s temper.
‘Josie, this is my sister, Cam. Cam, this is my friend, strategist and partner in crime, Josie.’
Cam was scowling, looking down at Josie as she fussed over Gottyk.
Her hands were on her hips, making her dark jacket fan out like wyvern wings.
Much like a wyvern, it was posturing to make herself bigger and more intimidating.
Our family trait of being short and stocky worked well for racing, but not so much when it came to looking like we could beat someone up.
I mean, we could, but we didn’t look like it.
‘You’re twelve years too late if you want to make comments on how I raise my sister.’
Panic shot through me. I stepped in front of Cam, my hands up. ‘Cam—’
She sidestepped, ignoring me. ‘I’m going to let you off this time because I know you helped Lena, but make a comment like that about my sister again and I won’t be so forgiving.’
A nervous laugh escaped me, hoping Josie would buy it as one big joke. On the floor, Gottyk opened his eyes.
Josie stood, brushing her glossy black hair over her shoulder. She tilted her head slightly, looking Cam in the eye. I usually flinched under that unwavering gaze, but Cam stood her ground.
I hoped Josie could see the difference. I was all brawn and instinct, willing to follow her directions and take her word as final.
Cam wasn’t just a meathead like me though.
Yes, she could fly – although never as well as me – but she could also run a racing crew, keep tabs on several business ventures at once and had got into a standoff with Bach Lotiere across our kitchen table.
Not for the first time, I wished she’d lighten up a little around the people I introduced her to. I bounced on the balls of my feet, unsure whether to dive between them or go for cover.
Finally, Josie broke the silence. ‘Lena may well be the best person I know.’
‘What?’ It was out of my mouth before I had the chance to feel grateful for the compliment.
‘People don’t just turn out that way by themselves. Yes, she may be stubborn, thick-headed and forgets to close her mouth to chew …’
‘Hey!’ Once again I was ignored.
‘But she’s also brave. She had the guts to seize an opportunity to change her life around, consequences be damned.’
My stomach lurched with the sudden wave of affection I felt towards Josie.
‘Not only did she do something that I had been too afraid to do by myself for years, but she took me with her. She could have protected herself, kept everyone else away and chased glory alone, but she didn’t.
So instead of festering in self-pity for yet another year I got the chance to prove myself too.
‘How a person treats others when they themselves are suffering reveals who they really are. I believe kindness is learned, Cam. If you’re the one who raised her, then I guess that means she learned it from you.’
My hand twitched, wanting to thump her on the arm for all the heartfelt words. The only thing holding me back was that it would prove her right. We might not show it the same way as everyone else, but we Paldon sisters still loved hard.
Cam must have been fighting a similar kind of urge, because I could see the tendons in her neck flexing.
‘Fine.’
I choked on air.
She rolled her shoulders and bypassed both me and Josie to crouch next to Gottyk, holding her hand out for him to sniff before going in for a fuss.
My eyes widened. I’d never seen my sister back down from an argument. Whether she was wrong or just wanted to drive a point home, she didn’t just let it go. I gestured at Josie silently, waving my hands wildly in disbelief, but she only rolled her eyes.
She didn’t get it.
‘Don’t you have some meetings to attend?’ Cam had already managed to get Gottyk to roll over, scratching under his chin and making his back leg twitch.
‘Yes! Yes, we do.’ I took Josie by the elbow and led her away, scared for the both of us at this bizarre, relaxed version of my surly big sister.
‘The briefing isn’t for another hour,’ Josie reminded me, as if I knew what time it was to begin with.
‘I know,’ I whispered back, ‘but there’s someone I need to see beforehand and I’m not leaving you and Cam alone together.’
She smirked as we left the aviary. ‘I don’t see why not. That was fun.’
I shuddered. I wasn’t sure how I’d managed to find someone even more intimidating than my sister, and then put her in charge of me too.
Josie and I parted ways at the briefing room with a promise that she would have everything prepared by the time I got back. I doubted she didn’t already have plans A through to Z locked in and ready to go, but if going over them all again made her feel better, so be it.
I continued on, finding my way to the cavernous spiral staircase that formed the core of the pillar. There was no rush this time, since the conversation I was on my way towards wasn’t one I knew how to start – or end.
Luckily the tower was full of distractions.
The Volitant and team crews used eighteen of the ninety-nine floors, starting from the sixth.
One for each dragon and their rider, one for each team headquarters and three for Volitant: one for the cast control centre; one for the arcanists who puppeted the arcans; and one to host the wealthiest VIP guests.