Chapter 1 #2
“Aww,” Matty complained, his face falling. He looked especially young at that moment, and I imagined he’d only recently graduated to being a full burntender. “I missed it again? Was it a big one?”
Nisse must have caught my arched eyebrow because she said, “Some days Matty fancies himself a dragon wrangler.”
“Hey, I could do it!” he insisted. “If I liked flying.”
“Or heights,” Nisse teased. “Or adverse weather conditions. Or wearing all those protective leathers.”
This was clearly a running gag, but dragon wrangling was no joke. It was probably the most dangerous job in the kingdom—keeping the wild dragons from getting too close to the human population and limiting incidents.
Nisse squeezed my arm. “Anyway, I’ll introduce you to Reo and Talani, our other burntenders, later.
They’ll be in this afternoon. And my apothecary assistant, Poppy.
Aside from Gunther, that’s basically the whole team.
” She steered me across the room. “Let me show you around. I’m sure you’re used to those big academy clinics.
We’re small here, but we’re well stocked.
The wound management supplies are in this closet here. ”
She opened a narrow wooden door, showing off an extensive collection of bandages, bottles of antiseptics in regular use, and fresh linens. “You are well stocked,” I said, impressed. At the academy, there were so many injuries, we always seemed to be running low on supplies.
Nisse turned us around. “Over here, you’ve got Gunther’s office.
” She popped the door open and I spotted a pile of my old letters on the corner of his desk.
She closed the door again, drawing my attention elsewhere.
“Down that hallway is the apothecary. Anything you need for treatment or pain management—salves, poultices—just give a shout and Poppy or I will come running.”
I peered down the hall, spotting rows of dried herbs dangling from the ceiling.
“Now this I’m sure you’re familiar with,” Nisse said, pausing in front of a series of rooms.
“The burn bays,” I said, eyes flicking between the doors. They allowed healers to sort the wounded by severity.
Nisse nodded. “Room one here is for first-degree burns. Room two, second-degree. Room three, third-degree. And room four—”
“Full thickness,” I said, swallowing hard. The burns that went right down to the bone.
Nisse tilted her head in my direction. “Thankfully, we rarely see those. In fact”—she tapped her lips—“I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in my time here.”
“It’s mostly nosy kids getting too close to a herd and getting their fingers singed,” Matty said, carrying a tray of instruments across the infirmary.
“Or a curious dragon taking the odd little nibble,” Nisse added. She lowered her voice. “I’ve seen a dragon take a finger once. But only down to the first knuckle.” She jumped with a small yelp as the front door banged open.
Seraphine strode through, looking windswept. Her curly hair was almost as red as her cheeks. “Menaces, I tell you! Why they like this blasted roof, I’ll never know.” She stopped at a small writing desk in the corner of the waiting area, dusting her hands on her skirts.
“I think they do it just to rile you up,” Matty said.
Seraphine turned to us with a flat look.
Her eyes widened slightly before a warm smile pulled at her lips.
She strode toward me, putting her hands on my shoulders.
“Eden! Welcome, sweet girl,” she exclaimed, reminding me suddenly of my mother.
Or, well, what I imagined she’d be like at this age.
“I hope we didn’t scare you off with all the fuss? ”
“I’m sure she’s seen worse,” Matty murmured.
“It’s just if we don’t catch the dragons early,” Seraphine continued, raising a finger to make her point, “they gather up there, growling away. And then I have to call in a wrangler to chase them off.”
Nisse nudged me. “I think you’re in excellent hands here.” She collected her herbs from the exam table. “Seraphine, did you have those keys for Eden?”
“Oh, yes! Let me just…” She spun around, grabbing a small brown envelope from her desk. She turned and handed it to me. “Gunther left this for you.”
I tipped a small keyring into my palm.
“You’ve got your keys to the infirmary,” Seraphine explained. “The other is the key to your cottage. It’s just down the path out back. Lovely little place. Will you need a horse while you’re in town?”
“Uh, well…” I honestly hadn’t really thought about it. “I have no immediate plans to venture past Ember Ridge.”
“No worries, I can always arrange one from the stables,” Seraphine insisted. “If there’s anything else I can help with as you get settled,” she continued, looping her arm around my shoulders, “you let me know.”
I basked in her warmth for a moment, letting my heart ache. Then, I set that feeling aside with practiced ease. It had been many years since I’d lost my mother, and I was used to the odd pang of longing now and then. “I’m sure everything will be perfect.”
“But if it isn’t, you simply—” Seraphine’s words cut short, her eyes narrowing toward the door. “Stars, that’s not good.”
“What’s not—”
“Incoming!” Matty shouted abruptly, launching across the room and clearing off the rest of the exam table with one great sweep of his arm. Books and parchment and crockery clattered to the floor.
And then I heard it.
Like distant thunder drawing upon the infirmary. Sudden darkness swept past the windows, a clawed shadow blocking out the sun. The walls trembled, the floorboards creaked, and outside, clay tiles dropped like hail.
Seraphine swore. “Why is it always the roof?”
A deafening roar answered her question.