Dragon Trials (Return of the Darkening Book 1) (4 page)

“It means she says yes,” I said, unthinking.

“I know what it means,” Thea whispered. A chorus of choked laughter broke out behind us. I turned to see three other trainees—the ones who had asked Thea to go with them to a tavern—pulling faces about us getting so cozy with our dragon.

Standing, her face red, Thea ignored them. She gave another bow. “Thank you, Lady Dragon, thank you.” Thea stood, brushed her knees off, and turned away in a quick motion. “I’m off to the pub, come or stay, I don’t care.” She threw the words at me, joining up with her friends and punching them on the shoulders to stop them laughing. They all stared back down the stairs.

Disappointment gathered in my chest in a hard lump. Maybe I had done something wrong and I didn’t even know what it was.

A gentle nudge on my shoulder bumped me from my mood. I turned to see the red dragon blinking at me with beautiful gold-green eyes. She chirruped again and pulled away quickly.

“What?” I said. Had I done something wrong with her as well?

The red chirruped again and her head bobbed up and down on her long neck.

I grinned. “Oh, you want me to play with you, do you?” It was then that I realized just how young she was. She was a little older than me, I saw, maybe about Thea’s age in dragon terms.

She just wants friends.
I did, too. Raising my hands, I pulled an exaggerated snarl and then ran toward her like I was a monster. The red chirruped excitedly, let out a small puff of flame and darted this way and that over the wooden platform in a game of chase. And I knew I had one friend—but a friend I would not see again for two weeks.

“No, it’s like…” I tried to find the words to explain what I meant, but the look on Seb’s face only showed just how much he didn’t get it.

“Across your body and then
up.
” I demonstrated the move with my own practice wooden staff. It was actually a classic defensive, one of the first you learned when you started any training. I had mastered it by the time I was twelve. Sebastian was seventeen, just a year younger than me, but he was a blacksmith’s son. He had muscles and not much brain, or so it seemed. He should be able to perform one simple movement with a quarterstaff, but I was starting to wonder if he could do anything right.

Seb looked up at me from the floor, rubbing his elbow where a red welt was slowly appearing.

I sighed and pushed my hair out of eyes. It was coming out of the leather tie I used to keep it back, and I was starting to think about cutting it to be short the way all the boys wore theirs. “Look, it’s okay. Come on, up you go.” I reached down and helped Seb up before walking back to my starting mark and turning to begin the exercise again.

It had been almost a week now, and I had been training with Sebastian every day. We started with exercises, running over the trails on Mount Hammal in the morning, doing a bit of rock climbing, then swimming in the cold lakes that formed under the snow caps of the mountains. In the afternoons we had weapons training. Today, all the trainees—we were called scrubs, for we weren’t even fit to scrub down a Dragon Rider’s saddle—were working our way back and forth across the sandy practice floor of the open area between the towers of the Academy, trading blows and attacking moves.

The other trainees were having a great time so far as I could tell. I could hear them laughing and talking. It was hard work, but nothing that was too far beyond our skills. Most of the others, like Beris, Shakasta and Syl, were from the noble Houses of Torvald. We’d all had our share of weapons training, paid for by the throne itself. Commoners weren’t allowed to train with sword and staff. Commoners like Sebastian.

I turned to see he was standing near the white chalk starting point, totally oblivious, looking up past the high, stone palisade wall. I could hear distant chirps, whistles and dragon calls coming from the dragon enclosure. In the distance, I could even see a few dark shapes, zooming across the underside of the clouds scattered overhead. Dragons in flight practice, some with riders and some without. I thought I saw a flash of red, but I turned back to Sebastian.

He’s not paying attention!
I stamped my foot, making him startle and jump. He turned back to me, guilty look on his face. “Uh, sorry. I got distracted.”

“I’ll just have to hope you don’t get distracted when we’re out on patrol,” I snapped. He lowered his face, and I instantly felt mean. Sebastian picked up the staff and gestured that I should try again. I nodded. “Okay, now remember you are trying to connect
with
the staff, to
parry
it
away.
” I emphasized the movements as I spoke, showing him how he could twist his wrists to turn his own staff and catch my own blows.

And then I swung.

Sebastian pulled up his hand just in time, flinching as he did so and half-closing his eyes. I stopped my staff just short of wrapping him on the knuckles, knowing from past experience how much that would hurt. If I connected, he would just drop his staff.

I swung from a different angle, a really easy, two-handed swipe. All he had to do was push out with two hands on his own staff to catch mine. He flinched again, raising his arms too late, tangling his staff into mine.

My staff thudded into his shoulder and he slipped, one hand grabbing my own arm and bringing me tumbling down with him in a desperate attempt to steady himself.

I hit the ground and air whooshed out of my lungs. The sand hurt. I spat out a bite of dirt and rolled off him. “By the first dragon!” I stood, my face hot and bruises sore. I heard the laughter from the other trainees. Everyone had seen that.

Everyone knows I’ve got no chance of surviving in the saddle with this stupid peasant.

“Sorry…sorry, Thea. I tripped.” Sebastian got to his feet, wincing and brushing at himself. We all wore the uniforms of trainees now—a leather jerkin over a cotton tunic, and thick cotton trousers and boots. The cotton clothes were as fine as any I had at home, and the leather jerkins were in the colors to match our dragons. Somehow, Sebastian still managed to look dirty and unkempt in his Academy clothes, his hair was still a wild mess, and while he didn’t stink, he just didn’t look like he belonged. But if he went, I did, too. That meant I had to make this work somehow.

I glared at him, but muttered in a tight voice, “it’s fine. Fine!” From the look in his eyes, I could tell he didn’t believe it was.
He’s going to let me down.
All the hard work I was putting in was going to be wasted. I felt miserable. I just want to make Father proud of me. I wanted to prove to them all that I was worthy of being here, as I was from the House of Flamma. And Sebastian could mean I ended up getting kicked out.

He looked at me like a kicked puppy, but before I could try to explain things to him again, one of the dragon horns blew. Weapons practice was over for the afternoon. We only had an hour to clean up before the evening meal. We were on free time.

“Okay. We’ll get it tomorrow,” I said, dismissing him with a shaken nod. I turned to the weapons sheds to take back our staves. I heard Sebastian say something, but I was already walking away. I felt bad for ignoring him, but he needed something to make him start paying attention. I didn’t know if it made him feel any better, but I also ignored Shakasta who tried to start a conversation with me about how hopeless my partner was. I didn’t want to hear that.

With a sigh and a groan, I put the quarterstaffs back in their stacks by the door of the shed. I seized a short bow and a quiver of practice arrows. I had time before the meal and archery had always helped to clear my head. The concentration of it calmed my nerves.

The Academy was really mostly practice yard, when all was considered. The stone walls had six towers that formed a circle around the old keep. The keep was made up of a bunch of buildings all made of stone with a kitchen, a kitchen garden, the great hall where we met, the room where we dined and had lessons with its long tables, the rooms where we slept with two or five to a room, the store rooms, and then a lot of open space between the tower walls and the keep. I’d learned that in times of emergency, a dragon carrying a wounded rider could land right inside the Academy, between the walls and the keep. The open space left a lot of room for weapons drills, and the archery range stood at one end of that space, round targets fixed to straw dummies shaped like enemy warriors.

Taking up a position in front of the targets, I put my arrows into the ground where I could reach them. I breathed deep, centering myself, allowing my mind to become focused on one point. Fitting an arrow to the bow-string, I aimed and took a shot. I like to shoot quickly, a skill my brothers had told me was worth learning for us in a dragon saddle.
Don’t wait to find the target—find the target with your hands and your eyes as you draw.
I moved, my hand tracking up, my eyes finding the painted red center heart of the target, allowing my aim to settle for barely a half a second, then firing.

The arrow shot out, hitting the target just a finger away from the red dot.
Curse it!
I rolled my shoulders to relax my muscles, let breath pool in my chest and let my head empty.

Quick movements. Arrow to bow-string, nock and draw.

Find the target.
There!

Draw a little further. Breathe out—release.

This time the arrow kissed the edge of the large, red dot.

“Good, but I’ve seen a better aim from your brother.” I turned to the voice behind me and saw a tall, young man striding toward me.

I recognized him at once. “Prince Justin.” I gave him a low bow.

Justin was, I had to admit, pretty handsome. He had jaw-length, blond hair cut sharply, high cheekbones and deep blue eyes that seemed always to hold a laugh. I stared at him wondering why he looked better today than he ever had as a boy. Was it because now he wore a Dragon Rider’s armor? In the late afternoon sun, the metal gleamed silver over his broad chest, and the leather on his arms and legs was as supple and fine as any I’d ever seen. As a boy in fine silks and ruffles, he’d never been this good-looking.

“Lady Agathea.” Prince Justin bowed. He gave me a crooked smile, and the heat rushed up my neck and into my face. He leaned close and said, “I still remember when you used to put rock lizards down the back of my shirt.”

I winced. “Ah. You remember that.” House Flamma had always been close allies with the rulers of Torvald. As children, we had all been at the same spring and summer festivities. My mother had always told me to behave as fit the House Flamma, but I had not always listened. The young Prince Justin and I met as only toddlers— he had been a lot pudgier than he was now and I hadn’t liked how he’d stolen my apple tarts. I hadn’t seen him in years, however. When Ryan’s green dragon had decided to match Ryan with Prince Justin, Father had been delighted, but it had taken both Ryan and the prince into the duties of Dragon Riders. Ryan was always telling me about some new tale of adventure and about the bravery of Prince Justin, but the prince was often on patrol, and so we had rarely met since early childhood.

He gave a laugh. “Yes, I do remember, and I remember that it was my fault for being unkind to you.” He pointed at the archery range. “I should have known you’d be a good archer. Even back then you always wanted to run after the boys and copy them.”

“Growing up with two older brothers, my lord, leaves a girl feeling she must be as good as them.”

“Thankfully, you have not grown up to have their rough looks as well.” My face heated even hotter, so did the rest of my body. He took my bow from my hands. “Let’s see how good a match you are for me.”

He seized up an arrow. He drew the bow back, and I could see the strength of his arms and chest flexing. He breathed in—so did I—and released the arrow.

The arrow hit with a hard sound and quivered just a few fingers off center.

“Very good, my lord,” I said, accepting my bow back.

“Oh, just Justin, please. I am not ready to be lord of all the realm yet.” He gave a wide grin.

Mouth set, I was determined to best him. I felt as if he was amused by me, and not thinking I could every pose a serious threat to anyone.
Breathe. Draw. Aim.
My arrow hit and quivered next to his, inside the red circle, but not as close as his to the center.

“Well done!” he said, his eyes narrowing, but with his mouth still curved. I did not think he meant the words. He turned to me. “How’s the training going? I saw you sparring, you know. You’re good with a quarterstaff.”

“Better with a sword.” I walked with him to retrieve our arrows. I wondered if I could tell him the truth about my frustrations. There was no one else I could really talk to. The other trainees, such as Beris, were too cruel, too eager to make a joke of everything. My brothers were busy with the training of the young dragons, and Prince Justin was the only one apart from my brothers who knew me well, or who at least knew me from my early years.

“It’s Sebastian, my partner. I’m…worried for him, quite frankly,” I said in a rush.

“Worried for him?” Prince Justin frowned. He sounded as if he thought perhaps I worried for my own place, and I didn't.

I pulled out an arrow. “He’s not like the others. He’s strong enough…he is a blacksmith’s boy, as you must know. But he doesn’t know how to use that strength. He’s had no training, no horsemanship, no fencing, and no skills.” I let out a sigh. “He is affecting both our chances of doing well in the tests. What if we let everyone down?” This worry kept me up most nights. “What if he fails? Or worse…if he is unable to do all that a rider must to get our dragon back to Mount Hammal safe after every ride.”

The prince pulled out his arrow and handed it to me. “Remember, Thea, it was the dragon that chose both of you. I’m sure that the boy will pick up what he must. He’s probably just a late bloomer.” He smiled reassuringly at me, again with that crooked twist of his mouth that made it seem as if he knew more than he was saying. “I’ll be keeping an eye on your progress. I can’t wait to see another Flamma up in the skies with us. Try not to worry so about your partner. Trust that your dragon knew what it was about.”

“Yes, my…Justin. I’ll try.”

He touched a finger to my cheek. “You do that. Now I’ve got to go to some ridiculous ball tonight, so I must be off. My father tells me I spend too much time with my dragon, and not enough with my other duties. But I’ll tell Ryan and Reynalt you’re still as wild as ever.” He gave me a grin and set off across the practice ground, his long legs taking him away all too fast.

I watched him until he vanished into a doorway that led to out of the Academy and along the road back into the city, where the king’s castle stood. It was good to see someone who had once known me, and to be friends again, after so long. But did Prince Justin really have any idea of how hard these tests were going to be for me with Sebastian in tow?