Chapter 4

I followed the crowd toward the mountain. I'd changed into trousers before leaving the lodgings, but my patched blouse was still stiff with road dust.

Beyond the last farms, the road narrowed between cliffs and trees. My heart beat faster as we approached Dragon Valley. I'd heard stories about dragons all my life, but I'd never seen one.

The man leading us wore a red sash over his gray coat. He stopped beside the valley entrance and turned to face the contestants.

“I will return tomorrow to collect those who qualify. Bond with a dragon, and you'll advance to the main competition.”

He left us at the boundary. The contestants stood quiet, staring into the trees.

A clear note sounded behind us.

Viola Ashton stood with a silver flute at her lips. Her dark blue riding dress was spotless, and pale gloves covered her hands. The servant beside her carried a polished saddlebag.

A huge yellow dragon dropped from the sky and landed beyond the path. Dust rolled over our feet. Its wings folded with a heavy snap, and its claws dug into the ground.

I stepped back.

Viola lowered the flute. “Why are you staring?”

“How did you call it?” I asked.

“It belongs to my father. He lets me use it to find a dragon willing to bond with me.” She glanced at the yellow dragon, then at me.

“That's allowed?” a contestant asked.

“The rules say everyone may enter,” Viola said. “They don't say everyone begins with the same chance.”

Her servant fastened the saddlebag to the dragon's harness. She watched her with folded arms.

“Nobles bring help,” Viola said. “We know where to look. Some of us are already bonded to dragons. They go straight to the main competition.”

My fingers tightened on the pack strap. The notice had said we'd all stand as equals. So why did some of them get to skip the preliminaries?

Other nobles summoned dragons too. A red one swept over the trees. A gray dragon landed on a ridge, and someone mounted a black one before the commoners around me had found a trail.

Viola put one boot in the dragon's stirrup. “You said you were going to win.” Her gaze swept over my dusty clothes. “Try surviving the preliminaries first.”

Then she climbed onto the yellow dragon. The dragon launched itself into the air. Its wings sent dust into my face, and I turned aside until Viola disappeared beyond the cliffs.

I spat grit onto the ground.

I'd spent years tending the caravan's horses. Maybe I could approach a dragon the same way.

I would look for a calm dragon and speak before I got close. But what did a calm dragon even look like? The commoners beside me offered no help. One man peered into the trees without moving off the path. Another called after a noble whose dragon was already airborne.

Every snap of a branch made me stop and listen. I kept to the open ground where I could see ahead.

A scream broke from the trees.

I turned in time to see a man fall from a high ledge and strike the rocks below. The crack of it stayed in my ears after the screaming stopped. Had he promised his family he would come back?

A loose stone rolled beneath my boot. I backed away from the ledge and took the lower path, testing the ground before putting my weight on it. Above me, branches shook, but I couldn't see what moved through them.

Near a stand of twisted trees, wide footprints pressed into damp soil. I followed them onto a shelf of ground above a ravine, where a small green dragon crouched beneath the branches.

It was smaller than the dragons the nobles had brought, though it still reached above my head when it lifted its neck. Green scales covered its body. Its tail curled around a pile of red-gold fruit, and it bit through the hard skin with slow jaws.

It ate fruit. Maybe it would be easier to approach than something that hunted for its food.

I checked the path behind me. A root crossed the downhill trail; I stepped over it once, testing my footing. I returned to the trees, leaving the way clear.

The dragon raised its head as I stepped into view.

“Hello,” I said. “My name is Lena Vale.”

The dragon stopped chewing.

I stayed several paces away and lifted both hands. “My mother is Mara Vale. She has an illness nobody knows how to cure. I need to win the Claim so the king will grant my wish,” I said.

The dragon's eyes narrowed.

“I know that's a lot to say to someone I just met.”

My throat dried out. “But I have to try. Could we talk?”

It lowered its head and watched me without blinking. I edged sideways to keep the downhill path clear behind me.

The dragon stuck out its tongue.

I didn't move closer. “I don't know what that means. I'm still here. If you don't want to, I—”

“Get down!”

The shout came from behind me. I dropped.

Acid hissed over my head and splashed onto the ground behind me. Grass collapsed into black sludge, and a rotten smell filled my nose.

The green dragon spread its wings and shot into the air. I stared after it, still on my knees beside the smoking patch of earth.

“You should have backed away when it stuck out its tongue.”

A man in a rough gray shirt and coarse trousers walked toward me. Dust clung to his boots. Pale gold hair caught the sunlight, and his blue eyes stayed fixed on the hole the acid had made.

I caught myself staring at his mouth instead of listening.

He bent to inspect the damage. I dragged my eyes away from his face.

“I didn't know,” I said. “I've never seen a dragon before. Maybe you could teach me.”

His gaze snapped to mine.

“Don't move.”

He crossed the space between us in two quick steps, caught me around the waist, and pulled me away from the edge. I hit a solid chest, and the smell of dust and clean skin filled my lungs.

My hands grabbed the front of his shirt before I could think. Heat spread through the rough fabric beneath my fingers.

The ground behind me cracked.

I twisted toward the sound. The earth where I had been kneeling broke off into the ravine. I locked an arm around his waist as stones rattled down the cliff.

He bent his head toward mine. I went still, with my other hand trapped between us and his breath warm against my ear.

“I can teach you,” he said. “But you have to let go first.”