Chapter 23
VAELA
The following morning, there were two crowds gathered in the square. One lined the path to the Wretch’s cage, onlookers gathered for another glimpse of the slumbering beast. The other snaked away from the bakery, hooked across shopfronts, and continued down an entire alleyway.
The bakery was always rammed first thing in the morning, the scent of cardamon buns and fresh sourdough drawing in townsfolk looking to break their fast. But it was even busier during the migration.
Everyone wanted to sample the famous dragonfruit-filled Danishes and children clamored for the last dragon egg-shaped cookie, each one decorated with icing scales.
As with most mornings, I slipped past the bulk of the line, snuck into the shop, and found my order waiting at the end of the counter.
I grabbed the still-warm rolls, turning to find Eden crossing the shop with an armful of baked goods. “No line for you?” she asked.
I shrugged, giving her a sheepish grin. “Perks of the job,” I said. “Are you making the breakfast run for the infirmary?”
She nodded, blowing a few stray hairs from her eyes. “Ever since Gunther’s gotten back, he’s been craving their pork-crackling buns.”
My hand itched to tuck her hair away from her face, to stare into those brown eyes, but I curled my fingers against my thigh, my nails biting into the skin of my palm to keep from reaching for her.
“Good choice,” I said, clearing my throat.
“But the real treat is the honey ham and cheese roll. It’s that sweet and savory combination that makes it perfect for the first meal of the day. ”
“I haven’t tried that one yet.” She laughed softly. “There’s always too much to choose from when I get to the front of the line, and I panic.”
I quickly unwrapped my roll from the brown paper it had been tucked into and held it out to her. “Go on.”
“Oh, no. That’s okay.”
“I insist.” I urged her to take a bite. “Trust me, it’ll change your life.”
Eden shot me a tiny grin, giving in to my insistence. “All right, then.” She opened her mouth and took a generous bite, chewing thoughtfully. After a beat, her eyes widened. “Stars!”
“I know.” I took my own bite, humming in appreciation. “It’s the cheese they get from Briar Hollow. It takes one year to age. Keep it between us, though. I’ll be devastated if they start to sell out.”
She shook her head. “I’m about to get the entire infirmary hooked on these.”
“Traitor,” I whispered.
She grinned, then caught herself, her face growing serious. “Did you, um”—she wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand—“have a chance to talk to your brother?”
“Not yet, but I was headed over there next.”
“Hopefully they’ve already decided to move on,” she said. “Lingering this close to any sizable population feels like a dangerous idea.”
“I’m sure they’re taking precautions,” I said.
She didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know what kind of precautions are enough for that dragon.” She glanced down at the goods in her arms. “I’d better finish sorting breakfast. I’ll let you go.”
“Right.” I didn’t want to go. I wanted to stand there and share my breakfast and watch her face brighten with delight.
But that was a dream, so I nodded and forced myself in the direction of the door.
I took one more fleeting glance as I exited, then pushed Eden and my complicated feelings into a box in the back of my mind.
Lock them away.
I needed to tie everything up with unbreakable chains and cage them behind bars that even I didn’t know how to open. I stuffed half a roll in my mouth as I stalked miserably across the square, making my way further along the path to where the kingsguard had stationed themselves.
The Wretch’s cage was being held further away, but the soldiers had erected a tent overnight to serve as their temporary quarters. Eden had hoped they’d be moving on, but this didn’t feel like they were getting ready to leave anytime soon. If anything, it felt like they were putting down roots.
The sigil of the king flew from the roof on two triangular-shaped flags, that yawning dragon’s head spitting blue fire. And that was perhaps most telling of all.
A chorus of giggles drifted past me as a small group of children raced up the path to get a better look at the Wretch.
“Hey! Keep away from there,” I called loudly. They jumped, giggling and urging each other on, torn between disobeying an order from an adult and satisfying that childlike curiosity.
I imagined the stories they would tell in the future of the day they’d stood close enough to touch the Wretch. It would have been something I’d done as a child, probably dragging Trystan along with me.
One of the boys in the group turned to me, his dark eyebrows arched with mischief. “Is it true the king will make swords out of the beast’s teeth when it’s dead?”
“The king has no intention of killing this dragon,” I told him.
“That’s not what the elders are saying in town.”
“Even if he wanted to, no one can kill this dragon. Does it look like an arrow could pierce its hide?”
The boy pursed his lips, then shook his head.
“You’d better watch your step then. Never think you have the upper hand where a wild dragon is concerned, got it? That’s rule number one when it comes to wrangling.”
“I fancy I could be a wrangler one day.”
“Not if you keep inching in the direction of that cage.”
He nodded, giving me a cheeky grin.
I flicked my hand toward the square. “Scatter. Before I make a visit to your parents.”
He gave an exaggerated sigh, then nudged his friends, the group of them slumping their way back to town, complaining about me ruining their good fun.
And they could complain all they wanted. Children didn’t know better. I certainly hadn’t when I’d jumped on that horse all those years ago, only to break my leg beyond repair.
This was too close for their own good. The last thing I needed was to be carting them off to the infirmary. Eden would have my head.
I pressed on, walking up to the mouth of the tent where a thin sheet of burgundy fabric flapped in the breeze.
“Halt!” a soldier called. He surged through the doorway, his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist. “Announce yourself.”
I staggered to a stop, feet kicking up dust. “I’m here to speak with Trystan Frixsar,” I told him. “Can you please let him know?”
Instead of retrieving my brother, he narrowed his eyes behind his helmet.
I could just make out that beady stare sizing me up.
I had half a mind to knock him upside the head with my fist and rattle a bit of sense into him.
The rest of the company probably wouldn’t take too kindly to that, however.
“What business do you have with him?” he demanded, spit flying from between his mouth guard.
I jerked back from the saliva, resisting the urge to shove this kid right out of my way and march into the tent myself. I wasn’t afraid of him or his sword. He probably didn’t even know what to do with it.
“Easy, Grady,” a voice boomed. Trystan appeared behind him, clapping the soldier on the chestplate, the sound rattling like dropped pots. “I’ve got this. Why don’t you go do a perimeter check? Report back to the captain when you’re done.”
The soldier saluted Trystan, who clearly outranked him, and then stalked off around the tent. “The kid looks like he should still be in school,” I muttered.
Trystan pulled off his helmet, and I saw the concern in his eyes. “We had to call for reinforcements while in the mountains,” he admitted. “Some of them came directly from the academy.”
“Did he even finish his training? I’d hate to see him wield a blade.”
“Barely,” Trystan muttered. He set off walking away from the tent, putting some distance between us and anyone that might overhear. I hurried after him. His eyes landed on the second roll in my hand. “That for me?”
“Only the best Ember Ridge has to offer,” I said, handing it over.
I smiled as he bit into it and groaned. I didn’t know what exactly he’d faced in those mountains.
But judging by the injured that had returned with the company, and the fact they’d had to call for reinforcements, I could guess.
There was no comfort I could give him that would take away those now haunted weeks, but at least I could feed him.
“You look like you’ve settled in. Almost overnight. ”
He glanced around, lowering his voice. “We’ve called for more reinforcements.”
“Again?” I said.
“The captain won’t admit it out loud, but we had more injuries than he expected in those mountains.”
“I can’t say I’m surprised, but it still sounds awful,” I said, trying not to pry into the details. He would tell me when he was ready. If he even wanted to talk about it. “I’m sorry.”
Trystan stared at his roll, and I knew for a split second it probably tasted like ash. “He doesn’t want to continue until there’s an adequate number to get us back to the capital.”
I rubbed my face. Perfect. So the Wretch was officially our new neighbor. “How long does he expect that to take?”
Trystan shrugged. “Could be a few days, could be a few weeks. Depends on how fast the messenger rides.”
I released a breath that rattled my lips.
“What has you worried?” he asked.
“Besides the monstrous beast you have caged in a field right next to my town?” I quipped.
A puff of air escaped his lips. It wasn’t a laugh, simply an acknowledgment.
“It’s already turning into the wrong kind of tourist attraction,” I said.
“We can’t have people this close. The children are poking around like it’s something to be explored.
And I’m worried word will spread to neighboring towns.
Pretty soon, we’ll have even more tourists flooding Ember Ridge, looking to see the Wretch for themselves. ”
He released a heavy sigh. “I know it’s not ideal.”
“Ideal?” I snorted. “You need to set up some kind of perimeter. Now. Keep people from riling up the dragon. I think the last thing any of us wants is the Wretch actually testing its bindings.”
He nodded, stuffing the rest of the roll in his mouth. “I’ll talk to the captain about tightening security,” he said. “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
“Me neither.”
“Heard you had your own close call not long ago.”
I frowned at him. “How’d you already hear about that?”
“The town likes to talk about their favorite wrangler.”
“I’m their only wrangler.”
He shot me a grin. “Good thing you’re still their favorite then.”
I shoved at him, rolling my eyes. My hand slid against the metal of his armor, and he snickered. For a beat, it felt like we were kids again. Right down to the laughter.
Laughter?
I whipped around. The children from earlier had returned, now heckling the soldier Trystan had sent off on a perimeter check. He gestured in the direction of the Wretch, and the kids cheered, making their way toward the dragon.
“Stars above!” I swore, already moving in their direction. “What does he think he’s doing?”
“Grady!” Trystan bellowed across the field. “Get them back!”
But the soldier couldn’t hear us clearly as he led the boys toward the beast. Instead, he unsheathed his sword, giving one massive, scaly limb a poke through the bars of the cage.
The boys jumped up and down with excitement.
I started running. Trystan was faster.
Grady prodded the Wretch again to the encouragement of the boys, and suddenly a flash of blinding fire spiraled out the side of the dragon’s muzzle. It was red hot, like looking directly into the sun, and I threw my hands up to shield my eyes.
“Gah!” Trystan cried, doing the same.
The Wretch wheezed, a strangled screech dying in its throat. The muzzle choked it, keeping it at bay, but not fully. It had still managed to summon a scalding fireball.
I dropped my hands, and a gut-roiling smell filled the air. Grady. He’d been too close to the blast.
“Get back!” I yelled at the boys who’d fallen to the ground in shock. They scrambled away on their hands and knees, fat tears welling in their eyes. I reached them, checking them over for burns. They were miraculously unscathed. “Go,” I said, shoving at them. “Get out of here.”
They didn’t wait to be told again, jumping to their feet and dashing away.
“Grady, stop!” Trystan cried as the soldier stumbled around.
The leather straps that fastened his metal armor together were on fire. He screamed again.
“Water!” Trystan barked. Other soldiers came running. He tried to grab Grady, tried to stop his frenzied panic, but Grady spun in desperate circles, feeding the flames.
I quickly braced my leg, making sure the prosthesis was secure. Then, with one bounding step, I launched myself in Grady’s direction. I crashed into him, taking him to the ground with me, feeling the flame lick at my skin.
We hit the ground hard, the air rushing from my lungs.
Grady’s voice echoed like a tinny wail in my head. I rolled over, slapping at the flames I saw, fighting the burn even as it smarted. We had to put him out before the padded undergarments beneath the metal caught.
“Over here!” Trystan called, and the next thing I knew, buckets of water were being tossed over us. The flames were doused immediately, and Grady’s wails became painful little moans.
I sat up, dripping as I stared across the field. There was a scorch mark in the earth, left in the wake of the fireball. It blazed still, burning up the dried grass and roots.
Through the flames, I saw Eden. Her face was a pale mask of shock. Breakfast tumbled out of her arms.
And the next thing I knew, she was running right toward me. She didn’t stop to assess Grady. She threw herself against my chest and curled her arms around my neck, her grip tight enough to choke.
Eden pulled back suddenly, staring at me like she’d seen a ghost. “The fire,” she said. “All I could see was red and you… right in the middle of it all.”
“I’m okay,” I promised as she sank back into my arms, trembling. “I’m right here.”
“Healer,” one of the soldiers snapped at Eden as Grady moaned.
She shoved her hair back, looking distraught as she took in the scene, and I knew all she could see was flames.
“Take him to the infirmary,” I said, getting their attention. “Hurry. Gunther will know how to help him.”
The soldiers scrambled to get Grady on a horse, then took off with him at a run.
“Come on,” I said to Eden, catching her chin between my fingers. I looked into those terrified brown eyes.
Those eyes that only held concern for me.
She could tell me she didn’t want this until she was blue in the face, but I knew how she really felt. And right now, I knew what she needed.
I helped Eden to her feet and threaded my fingers through hers, slowly coaxing her back from a distant memory. “I’ll take you home.”