Chapter 16
EDEN
When the knock came the next night, I was vibrating with excitement. I latched onto Vaela’s arm the moment I opened the door, practically dragging her into the cottage. Min poked her nose through the door after her, expecting a hello.
I gave her a soft pat on the snout, brushing my fingers over her warm scales. Her forked tongue flicked out, tasting the air and prodding the furniture.
“Look at it!” I said, shoving my new armor prototype into Vaela’s arms. The silver scales glittered between the rows of wire, making a clattering sound. “Isn’t it perfect?”
“Feels sturdy,” Vaela said, holding it aloft. She inhaled. “And smells like—”
“It’s a honey, lemon leaf and beeswax mixture.
It was the strongest concoction I could come up with from what Nisse had in her store cupboards.
At least, without drawing suspicion and having Nisse ask too many questions about what I needed all the ingredients for.
” I sucked in a breath, realizing I was rambling.
“Anyway, I coated every one of the scales individually with a tiny paintbrush to create a barrier between the armor and the flame.”
“You sound hopeful,” Vaela noted.
“I could tell just from the feel of them that these scales were so much better than the last batch I collected. I used the bigger scales as the primary layer, tucking the smaller ones behind for added protection.” Min preened at my words, making a sound of agreement that had me grinning.
I was feeling really good about my upgrades.
“How did you manage to get your scales before?” Vaela wondered.
I shrugged. “There wasn’t exactly a shortage of dragon scales at the academy.
Collecting them was much riskier, though, so I could only manage to take a couple at a time.
If I’d been caught there, I would have been punished severely before ever involving the kingsguard.
” I blew out a breath that ruffled the hairs along my forehead.
“I likely would have lost my job and been stripped of my certifications.”
Vaela shook her head slowly. “All for trying to save lives.”
I regarded her as a newly familiar warmth filled me.
It felt good for someone else to know about the armor.
Vaela was the first person I’d trusted with my project, and perhaps she’d be the only one I ever told.
A secret shared was a secret exposed. But for some reason—perhaps a foolish reason—I trusted that she would protect it as fiercely as she protected this town.
As fiercely as she protected Min.
“Shall we test it?” Vaela asked. “I think it’s dark enough now.”
I nodded. I didn’t expect anyone to be venturing out to Bramble Cottage at this time of night unless there was some kind of emergency, but after the way the last prototype had smoked, I knew using the cover of darkness was for the best.
I darted onto the porch, taking Vaela with me. The moon was only a sliver, the air crisp, as the shadows closed in around us.
Min rumbled with excitement.
“She’s looking well,” I noted as we walked across the meadow next to the cottage. I remembered how worried she’d been yesterday.
“We’ve taken it easy today,” Vaela said in a low voice. “Minimal flying. Good meals. I even considered sneaking her out to the lake, but I didn’t want to risk Cyrus’s wrath.”
“He can’t be that bad,” I said.
“No, I think he’s mostly a blustery old man. But I don’t want to press him, especially with the kingsguard so close. If I ever have a star-hope in convincing him to sell me that lake, the last thing I need is an altercation.”
“Do you really think he might sell?”
“It’s not looking promising.” She laughed as we reached the far side of the meadow. “Aside from convincing him that dragons aren’t the blights he believes them to be, I need to come up with the funds. Wrangling pays decently, but raising a dragon is also costly.”
I’d never considered that.
She set the chestplate down against the edge of a large boulder. “How about here?”
“That’ll work.”
“All right, Min,” Vaela called, waving her over. “You’re up.”
I moved a safe distance away as Min took up position in front of the chestplate.
“Don’t go crazy,” Vaela told her. “A small stream is fine. We don’t need to set the woods ablaze.”
Min’s eyes reflected in the dull light. They seemed to be full of mischief.
“I mean it,” Vaela said. “This is serious.”
Min made a disgruntled sound and flicked her tail.
I raised my hands to my eyes, taking a steadying breath. Nerves rattled in my chest. It was only a little dragon fire. A small bout of controlled fire. And I wanted this.
I’d asked for this.
I lowered my hands, suddenly feeling ridiculous. I could do this. I could stand here while we tested the chestplate without having a complete meltdown.
“Don’t look at it,” Vaela said, coming to stand next to me. Her arms were suddenly coiling around me, pulling me tight against her chest. I pressed my face to her neck, inhaling pine and leather as a flash of heat and light exploded around us.
The light faded in an instant, and I pulled back, feeling slightly dizzied by the closeness.
Vaela didn’t quite let me go, and for a beat I lingered in her embrace, feeling delightfully warm. Then I saw the small flicker of flame from the corner of my eye. The prototype was on fire.
“It’s burning,” I said.
Vaela released me, turning to the boulder where the chestplate was smoldering and smoking. She rushed over and tossed it onto the ground, stamping the flame out with her foot.
Min hovered over her, cooing and questioning as she sniffed at the prototype.
Vaela attempted to pick it up, hissing as she scalded her hand.
“Careful,” I said. “Or you’ll end up with wounds on both palms.”
Min reached down, picking the chestplate up with her teeth, and carried it over to the porch. I pushed the door of the cottage open, letting the light spill out from inside so we could better examine the results.
“It’s—”
“Not horrible,” I said, sitting down next to the chestplate. I was careful to wrap my sleeve over the end of my hand as I inspected the scales, rubbing burn marks away. “Definitely an improvement on my first try.”
“The scales are singed.”
“But they’re in much better shape than last time and that was using actual dragon fire! I think the fresher scales hold up longer, especially when coated with the burn salve.”
“But once that barrier burns off—”
“The effectiveness of the scales starts to wear down,” I said in agreement. “Which means the armor isn’t doing its job.”
“Right.”
“I think I need to come up with a stronger salve,” I mused, voice thrumming with excitement. “All the scales need is a better coating and I think this could actually work!”
I glanced up, and Vaela was right there.
I could feel the heat of her breath against my face, and my eyes dropped to her lips.
I wanted to lean forward, to tip into her and never stop.
Vaela lifted her hand, cradling my jaw. My heart thumped hard.
I shouldn’t want this the way I did. She was a wrangler.
Her thumb brushed my cheek.
Then a series of grating screams cut through the air, the sound zipping up my spine and prickling the hairs at the back of my neck.
No, not screams. Screeching.
Min sprang to attention, her silver scales rippling at the sound, reflecting the candlelight. She growled, dagger-teeth flashing as she looked to the sky.
“The Wretch,” Vaela said, rising to her feet, her mouth dropping open. “It’s here.”
Even with the dim moonlight, the shadow of darkness stretched across the sky, black against navy blue. The trees around the cottage rustled, and the candlelight snuffed out inside as wind whipped around us in a hurricane of a moment. The flap of its wings was a leathery thunderclap.
“It’s enormous,” I said, staggering back from the sight.
“It’s a marked thing now,” Vaela said. She sounded almost sad.
“I don’t think that creature is going to do anything it doesn’t want to do,” I muttered. Even in the dark, the magnitude of the dragon was stunningly terrifying. And it wasn’t alone. Judging by the echoing roars, it traveled with a herd of dragons.
Vaela sighed.
“You’re worried,” I said. Was it her brother she fretted over, or was there more that frightened her?
Her jaw tightened in response. “What the king wants, the king gets.”
And then, not that far from us, a ball of light shot into the sky.
“What was that?”
“A flaming arrowhead,” Vaela said, frowning. Another marked the sky. And then another. “They’re going to try to bring it down.”
“This close to town?” I said.
Vaela started up the path toward the infirmary.
I followed, ducking out of the way as Min surged ahead of us. As we came around the front of the infirmary, chaos exploded. A line of flaming arrows shot into the sky. Campfires blazed and the kingsguard barked orders. Above us, there were answering roars.
I blinked away the balls of light behind my eyelids.
Vaela darted forward, knocking an arrow from the closest kingsguard as he drew back his bow. The arrow fell and she stamped it out. “You’re bringing unnecessary attention to the town!”
“Do not involve yourself in matters of the king!” another soldier barked, getting in Vaela’s face.
My heart thundered. I reached for her, but she held her arm out, holding me back. Putting me between her and Min, who growled menacingly behind me.
“Back off, wrangler!” the soldier hissed. “Take your dragon. You’re not needed here.”
Vaela rose up to her full height. “Is landing the Wretch on an unsuspecting town part of your idiotic plan?”
The soldier pressed forward, hand on the hilt of his blade, but another man appeared suddenly. Trystan. Vaela’s brother stood between them, holding the tension at bay.
“Peace, friends. There’s no time for this now. The beast moves and we must move with it.”
More dragons roared overhead. My eyes lifted to the dark shapes darting around. One dove at the group of us, curved claws coming into view. Min snapped at it, scaring it off at the last second.
Vaela swore, pulling me under a nearby tree for safety. “Stay here.”
“What are you doing?”
“Making sure these fools don’t bring the Wretch down in the middle of the square.”
“We ride!” the kingsguard cried, climbing onto their horses.
Vaela turned to her brother. “Be careful.”
“You too,” Trystan told her, pressing a hand to her face. He tipped his head, their foreheads touching briefly, then he fled onto his black steed.
Another dragon screeched, diving close.
“Get back to the cottage,” Vaela said, turning to me.
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Please,” she said. “The last thing I need is to fret over your safety.”
“Vaela?”
“Go now,” she cried, racing for Min as another dark shape descended from the sky.
She ducked a set of snapping jaws, scrambling up Min before shooting off.
As they rose, higher and higher, I squinted to follow their movements.
A dark shape collided with them, and Min screeched so loudly I had to clap my hands over my ears to drown out the sound.
When she straightened out, I saw something in the shadows that made my heart stop.
“Vaela!” I shouted, focusing my gaze enough to watch her slump to the side as Min soared away, dragons chasing in their wake.
I started running. Stars-above, hang on.