Kerrigan swore under her breath. He wasn’t going to change his mind today. She’d go and do her cleanup with the dragons. Maybe tomorrow he’d want her help.
He didn’t want her help.
Not the next day or the one after that. Or any of the days up to the ceremony.
She was so frustrated with his behavior that on the last day, she decided not to go see him at all. Helly was forcing them together to see if something from her vision came of it. But she didn’t particularly enjoy being treated like an idiot or received taunts about being a stupid half-Fae. He was doing just fine on his own as far as she was concerned.
So what if the servants avoided him? Maybe he’d earned it for being such an ass.
Mistress Moran had given her the last day off her punishment. No more cleaning out muck for her. Not when most of the Dragon Blessed were spending the day getting pampered for the ceremony tonight.
Kerrigan’s stomach twisted. Tonight was the night. The night she’d join a tribe, and her real life would begin. No more helping to raise the dragons or prodding tutors or etiquette lessons. No more flying.
Her heart constricted at that thought. It was the worst of them all when she thought of leaving the relative safety of Draco Mountain for the relative safety of a tribe. No flying.
Truthfully, she wasn’t supposed to have flown as much as she had. But it was exhilarating… and if it was off-limits, which made it all the more exciting.
So, while Darby spent the morning soaking in the underground baths, Kerrigan headed up, up, up to the dragon aerie. The wind whipped through the open mouth of the cave entrance. She’d braided her hair back, but it still snagged on her curls, twirling it around her face. She tried to tuck it behind her short pointed ears. Not that it did much good.
Deciding to ignore it, she stepped inside. Her heart pitter-pattered as she stared at all the gorgeous dragons who were in the aerie that morning. She recognized the five tournament dragons. They stood before Mistress Helly’s dragon, Tavry, and seemed to be receiving their own instruction.
Dragons spoke mind to mind, so Kerrigan didn’t know what he was saying, but all five dragons were rapt with attention. Even Netta, who was always the most prone to trouble.
Kerrigan skated around the training and walked through the maze of dragons.
A few whispered, Hello, in her mind as she passed them.
Another dragon she knew offered her a ride. She grinned and kept walking. It felt nice to be up here. She was more at peace here. More like how she felt in the Wastes. The dragons didn’t care that she was only half-Fae. Everything not dragon was the same to them.
She came back around to the front and saw that the five tournament dragons were now gone. Tavry stood regally at the entrance, his keen gaze staring out across the valley below.
Dragon Blessed Kerrigan of the House of Dragons, it is always a pleasure to have you in the aerie.
Kerrigan bowed her head to Tavry. “Thank you, Tavry. What are you doing with the tournament dragons?”
He inclined his head. More training before our own celebration. Do not concern yourself with it. Why are you among us? Is today not the Dragon Blessed ceremony?
“It is,” she conceded. “And I know that I should be preparing myself for it. As you are clearly preparing your kind. But I wanted one last look over the aerie before I have to leave this place.”
Tavry softened at her words. You will be greatly missed among the dragons, Kerrigan. You have a true heart. If a mischievous one.
She laughed. “That seems fair. And thank you, Tavry. I will never forget the time we flew together into a new world. It will be my most cherished memory.”
Would you care to fly through our world?
She brightened. “I thought you were training?”
I can spare some time for someone who loves flying as much as I do. A rare gift indeed.
Kerrigan straightened and nodded. “I would love that.”
Tavry waited as Kerrigan climbed up his haunches and onto his back. Tavry was a medium-sized dragon, made for swift flying with long, lean limbs. His scales were plum-purple, and as she shifted near the light, they gleamed almost metallic. Kerrigan seated herself between Tavry’s wings and held on tight. For battle, dragons were fitted with saddles for the comfort and ease of their riders. But on leisure flights, most riders knew how to ride without them.
Tavry didn’t wait to ask if Kerrigan was ready. One minute, he was standing on the edge of the opening to the aerie, and the next… he dropped like a stone in the sea.
Kerrigan screamed as they plummeted toward the earth and the great city below. Down, down, down they went. So fast and so far that Kerrigan’s eyes watered, tears streaming out behind her.
Then, Tavry’s wings shot out, and they hovered low over the city. Kerrigan could see the shop workers going about their day. None even seemed concerned that a dragon was flying so close to them. They were used to the movements, especially this close to the mountain.
Tavry climbed back up almost to the clouds, and they soared across the valley. It was much colder than on the ground, but Kerrigan didn’t even care. She lay back across Tavry’s back and soaked up the sun and the clouds and this incredible life that she had been allowed to live. She hated her father, but if he hadn’t given her up, would she have ever had this?
“It’s amazing,” Kerrigan said to Tavry over the wind.
Truly. You have the heart of a dragon.
It was quite a compliment.
“Thank you,” she choked out.
Tavry circled the valley three times before heading back to the aerie. Kerrigan could have stayed out there all day. Forgotten the entire world below and lived among the clouds. But her responsibilities awaited her. As much as she wanted to shirk them, she couldn’t.
The House of Dragons had given her a new life.
She couldn’t turn away from that even if she wanted to.
“Thank you,” Kerrigan said when Tavry finally landed back in the aerie. “I’ll always remember this last flight too.”
You are always welcome with me, Kerrigan Argon.
Kerrigan shuddered at the sound of her full name in her mind. Of course the dragons knew.
Still, she dipped into a low curtsy and then retreated from the rooms. A tear trickled down her eye as she left the aerie and flying behind.
10
The Ceremony
“I know. I know,” Kerrigan gasped.
Hadrian and Darby were looking at her as if she’d just sprouted wings. She waved her hand at them as she hustled into the back of the line.
She was obviously the last of the twenty-three Dragon Blessed who were attending the ceremony today. Mistress Moran shot her a disparaging look before turning back to face the front of the line.
Kerrigan took that opportunity to rest her hands on her knees and take a deep breath.
“Where have you been?” Darby asked, flustered. “You’re late. We’ve been waiting for you.”
“I’m here now,” she got out.
Truly, she was ready to collapse. Running in these new heeled shoes that Parris had selected for her was not for the faint of heart. But they sure showed off the elegant line of her leg through the slit in her blush silk gown.
Mistress Moran marched forward, directing the lot of Dragon Blessed out of Draco Mountain and through the winding streets of Kinkadia.