Chapter One


“What? What’s happening? Why do I have to wear this stupid gown?” The man ignored her, his hand holding out the seamless dress. The dragons’ humming grew louder. “I don’t have to wear this, do I?” she groaned, staring at the dress. “I just got here, and I don’t feel like parading around just yet. Stars above, I don’t even know why I am here! Can’t I sleep or something?” The girl glared angrily up at the earth dragon rider, her blue eyes flashing. He had hauled her down to his room after everything she had gone through to get dressed in her country girl finery? Even if it was a bit soiled and dirty, it was her best!
His green eyes sparkled with anger. “Do you want to be a queen candidate or not, Steephi?” he growled, his hand tightening on the white cloth.
“Oh, so I’m to be a candidate for the new queen, am I? Well, I’m glad I was finally told! I might have gone for, I don’t know, one of the forest dragons or aqua dragons!” She threw up her hands and stormed around the room. She didn’t want the dragonman to see how afraid she was, and he couldn’t. She smirked with her back to him, and then turned around to glare at him.
The man was frowning deeply. “You know that you can’t impress a aqua dragon! Only we” He indicated himself with a dirty thumb “Can! And you can’t go around talking to those forest dragons if you were chosen to stand for the queen!” He grimaced as she pulled down her hair and began to fiddle with it lazily. She could tell it irked him, so she continued. “You have to wear the dress for the dragonet queen to accept you. Haven’t you listened to anything I’ve told you?” He glared angrily at her, his eyes so accusing and harsh that she stopped messing with her hair and let it fall onto her shoulders in rumpled waves.
She held his gaze and blinked defiantly. “I just rode on dragon back for heaven knows how long, my butt is sore, my face is burnt. I am tired and hot and sticky and I don’t need you to tell me what to say or think or do!” She glared angrily at him as he returned her look. She had been taken from her home in a moment, and he expected her to remember everything she had been told on the ride to Siani Dragon City and be perfectly willing to slip on a dress when she couldn’t even move her legs without wincing? “Can’t I rest for just a second? Don’t forget that I am just a poor, weak, little farm girl, Suvian. Not one of your tough city girls,” she said, relaxing her stance and shrinking into herself. A lock of golden hair fell in front of her eyes, and she blinked innocently up at him, ruining the effect by smirking evilly beneath her veil.
The man snorted impatiently. “Whatever, Steephi. Just put the dress on.” Steephi sighed. How come they never believed her? She shot him a nasty look and it looked like he almost laughed at her. “You may not be strong, but you country folk sure are fierce as anything! Your mother must have been an angel to have dealt with you, and your father a demon for the way you act.”
Steephi’s eyes sparkled in fury, and Suvian was soon clutching his face as a big red whelp formed. Refraining herself from shaking her pained hand, Steephi glared up at him. “Don’t—insult—my--father!” she hissed, and he stepped back a bit. She was a bit surprised by her own actions, but she forced herself to appear arrogant. “I’ll change, but only because I want to prove I’m not the ‘country girl’ you think I am.”
She could have sworn that the man muttered “demon” as she reached out for the dress. Nervously, she fingered the material as she took it from his hands. Suvian looked at her expectantly, almost eagerly. It reminded her of her stepfather, the true demon of her life, and she stepped back, fighting the urge to run and hide. She forced an arrogant look on her face and stuck her nose into the air as she turned around. “Okay…but can you leave. I’ll be changed quicker.” Looking over her shoulder, she smiled sweetly at him, waiting. She felt herself blush as he frowned, and stood straighter with a haughty look on her face as she tried to hide her fear. He stood still, and she swallowed nervously. “Please?” Finally, he bowed mockingly, with his eyes never leaving her face, and left her alone in his room.
Ripping the dirty gown off her head, she wriggled into the clean white one. The silky fabric felt good on her skin. She was so unused to having fine clothes. At her father’s small ranch outside of Sol City Town, she only had the usual farm girl clothes and her one good—not quite good, but all right—dress for special occasions. Sighing, she fingered the fabric again.
“Are you done yet?” the dragonrider yelled from outside, his voice higher and more worried. “The eggs are going to be hatched by the time you’re done!”
Shaken out of her trace, she pushed open the door and ran down the stone corridor towards the shadow. She winced as her tired legs strained, and her chest constricted as she ran. Suvian seemed to step farther and farther away from her as she tried to get closer. Finally, she reached him, and she saw the contemptuous look on his face. So it was as revenge for what she had done to him. “What do you what?” she gasped, scowling at him. Roughly, he grabbed her arm and dragged her down the corridor. “Where are we going?” she wheezed. The blue light of the hallway stopped, and they stepped out into a sort of bridge. Steephi had never seen one like this before. The sky was above her, but they were still inside. Then, the pair were in another hallway.
The rider glanced over his broad shoulder and seemed to size her up. “You’ve never been here before, have you?” he asked, slowing down a bit to give her a surprised look, then dragging her around a corner. “Most of the farmer children have been here on errands and such. Surprised you haven’t ever been here, or to the Dragon City up in Sol.” Steephi heaved a sigh at the avoiding answer. He grinned back at her and chuckled quietly at her disgruntlement. “We’re going to the hatching grounds. Didn’t Nihan tell you?” She shook her head, too out of breath to say anything. “Okay, well, we’re going to the hatching grounds.” She nodded sarcastically at his answer, then gasped as she tripped on a ledge. Her arm was wrenched out of the rider’s hand, and she slammed into the hard stone floor, her knees and head hitting the ground first. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself shakily up, and caught the rider’s mocking expression. “Oops! Maybe you just weren’t meant to be a queen candidate! Nihan must have been wrong. Again!” Suvian fingered the swelling mark on his cheek, and he grinned down at her. “After all, he is only a aqua dragon rider. Maybe you just weren’t the right candidate,” he drolled, and Steephi wanted to reach up and punch in his smug face.
Shoving herself up, she glared at him. “Yeah, I agree!” She made her voice sound weak and submissive, bowing her head and looking away, and Suvian grinned brazenly. He stepped closer to grab her arm, and she swung out and hit him in the chest with the back of her hand. He lurched backwards, and she kicked out with her leg to knock him off balance. “Or maybe it’s just you.” She shrugged and crossed her arms as she glared down at the earth dragon rider. “Which way do I go now?” she demanded. The rider looked surprised, but pointed down the corridor. Wincing at the new pain in her legs, she ran down the hallway towards a light at the end. Bright sunlight greeted her, warming her face as she came out onto the ledge. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw Suvian leaning against the wall. “Aren’t you going to fly me down?” He grinned again, but this time it was just malicious. She sighed and looked in front of her, then back to Suvian. “Oh, I’ll get you for this Suvian!” She hated how the riders here treated her! Nihan had been just as gentle as Suvian had! Why weren’t they as nice as the Sol dragonriders? Tilting her head back and staring into the bright sky, she wished that she wouldn’t impress. How wonderful would that be! To not have to stay here, and to go back to Sol! Maybe she could be chosen there! She sighed happily at the thought.
While she waited, Steephi looked out over the vast area. The Dragon City was situated in a huge crater, the walls reaching high up into the purple-blue sky. The clear, glass tunnels like the one she had walked through edged the walls, the dim light of the hallways shining at their ends. A couple crossed the center of the Bowl, as it was nicknamed, and dragons flew gracefully around it, their huge, shimmering bodies all flocking towards one place, which Steephi supposed was the hatching Grounds. The humming around her grew louder, and the girl began to panic. Was anyone going to take her down?
A sharp whistle sounded behind her, and she turned around to se a younger rider, Suvian disappeared. “Umm, hi…”
The rider grinned, and she saw his knot on his shoulder. He was a earth dragon rider, not yet out of training. “Hi, I’m Terevoor. Think you might need a lift?” He raised an eyebrow, and Steephi laughed. Suddenly, her skirts were lifted as the wind rose. Embarrassed, she held her skirt down. Terevoor laughed. “Don’t worry. It’s just Ragul. He’ll take us down to the grounds. We can time it.” There was a mischievous look in his eye.
“Have you ever timed it before, Tr’voor?” Steephi asked, afraid of his answer. She had heard stories from her mother about dragonriders timing a flight and being lost in the darkness of beyond forever.
The young rider shook his curly head, his dark brown locks falling in his eyes. “Nope, but you were down there before I came up here, so I guess it worked, right?” he joked. Steephi grinned back at him, and his bright blue eyes sparkled. “Come on. Ragul won’t hurt you.” He helped her onto the big earth dragon, and Steephi arranged her skirts as the young man settled himself behind her. His hands were warm on her waist, and she shuddered. “You okay?”
She turned around and smiled at him. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She didn’t want him to know. She stifled another shudder as his hands tightened, and she forced a smile. “But we should probably hurry, right? Even if we are timing it.” The earth dragon rider laughed and told the dragon to fly. Then, they went beyond

.
The air was cold. Just when Steephi thought she couldn’t take any more of the freezing temperature, the threesome emerged overhead of the hatching Grounds. Ragul bugled loudly, and Terevoor laughed. “Told you we could do it!” he laughed. The dragon slowly landed, and Terevoor helped her down. “You should hurry. The other candidates are over there. Good luck!” he called after her, giving her the thumbs-up sign, then flew his dragon to the stands. After dropping his rider off, the earth dragon settled himself onto the ledge next to all the other earth dragons, his throat thrumming as he hummed.
Hurrying over to the cluster of girls, Steephi squeezed in next to two of the girls she knew, Erika and Kayti. “I’m so nervous. Shards, what if the dragon can sense how nervous I am,” Erika hissed into her ear. The girl shivered fearfully next to her friend, and Dragonleader, J’hua, motioned for silence. The girls solemnly followed him out onto the sands. Then, the tall rider strode off into the stands, leaving the girls huddled tightly by themselves in the middle of the Grounds.
The room shimmered in the heat of the Hatching Grounds. Beneath Steephi’s bare feet, the sands burned with a blistering warmth, but she didn’t mind. She was focused on the golden egg that stood in front of her. A massive golden queen lay heavily on the sands, her eyes dull and unfocused, her hide pale and sickly. Sympathy filled in Steephi’s heart as she looked at the queen. Her rider stood in the stands, hugging her heart's mate tightly. The dragon queen's last clutch began to hatch.
Squeals erupted from the small circle of boys clustered around the other eggs, 30 of them in all. Dragonleader Johua wanted to give the dragonets as much choice as possible, but this had been an exceptionally small clutch. The poor queen. She had been sick for so long, and it had taken all her effort to fly one last time. Now, she watched as her clutch emerged.
The queen egg rocked slowly, and Steephi could tell that it would take a while to hatch, so she turned around to look across the Hatching Grounds. For such a tiny Dragon City, the Siani Hatching Grounds were very large. Stands filled the northern side of the room, and there were little glass tunnels leading out of the Grounds. Squinting, Steephi could make out the dark shapes of dust and aqua dragon riders holding bowls of meat for the new riders.
A feeble bugle echoed around the cavern, and her eyes darted to the little earth dragon that had just fallen out of the shell. His body was damp, but she could tell that he was a beautiful dusky bronze, almost brown in coloring. The hatchling cooed up to the queen, and clumsily clamored over to a boy. Steephi recognized him as David, from Ruatha Hold. Recently, the people of Syrnyai had decided to start using the old Earth names, and feet. Humbly, the boy helped the dragonet to its feet and his face melted into an awed, loving expression. “His name is Shorth!” D’vid shouted. He had made Impression.
Another egg cracked, and a big aqua dragon fell onto the hot sands, his wings flapping weakly as he got to his feet and made his way to a boy. More egg began to crack, and Steephi watched in wonder as the boys left the sands to feed their new life mates. Another, much smaller, egg began split. It’s creamy surface was covered by the cracked veins, and a feeble chipping could be heard from inside. A piece fell off, and Steephi held her breath in anticipation. A green wing tip poked out of the hole, its claw grasping the edges to push outwards.
“It’s hatching! It’s hatching!” a girl near-by screamed. Steephi reluctantly stared at the little forest dragon. It was having so much trouble. And what if its life mate wasn’t here? She could already see the little eyes searching and growing gray at the edges. “Oh my stars! What’s happening?” Only her desire for the queen egg kept her from running across the hot sands to help the poor trapped creature. Be safe, little one! Your rider is here. Don’t leave us!

she thought to the little thing, and to her surprise, it looked at her and blinked, but no warm feelings of Impression soaked into her. “Steephi! Oh bright stars, Steephi, look at it!” Whipping around, Steephi turned to see the egg rocking wildly now. The girl who had yelled backed up with a cry of alarm, and Steephi steadied her. “What is it?”
Steephi recognized the girl. It was Erika. She was from the same city town as Steephi was. She was from Sol City Town, but she was actually from the main City Town, not from a smaller ranch like Steephi. “Don’t worry, Erika. It’s just hatching, just like the rest of the eggs.”
Erika didn’t look reassured. She turned huge brown eyes onto Steephi and brushed back a lock of curly brown hair with a shaky hand. “But—but it’s so much bigger than the rest of the eggs. I—” She looked over at Steephi. “I’m afraid of it, Steephi.” Her voice shook with fright, and tears leaked out of her eyes. “I don’t want to be needed like that. I don’t want to be the Dragon Lady…” Her voice trailed off as she began to cry in Steephi’s arms.
“It’s okay, Erika,” Steephi comforted. The white dress was soon sticking to her shoulder, and Steephi patted Erika’s hair comfortingly. The girl was making a strange creeling sound. Lifting the damp face from her white sleeve, Steephi looked into the red eyes. “Are you okay? You’re making a weird noise.”
Startled, Erika frowned, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She stared at Steephi, then gasped. “I’m not making that noise. Only the new dragonets…” The young candidate looked down at her feet. The tiny forest dragon that Steephi had spoken to lie helplessly at the girl’s feet, but the cat-like eyes were whirling slowly in worry. “Oh!” the girl breathed. Dropping from Steephi’s arms, she lifted the damp creature to its feet. “Steephi, look at her.” Her face dissolved into tears again, and she looked up at the other girl with a look of surprised wonder. “She says her name is Lyrith.” Her fingers drifted over the soft dragon hide. “She’s my dragon, Steephi. I don’t have to be the Dragon Lady. I have a dragon.” She started to cry again, and a aqua dragon rider ran out onto the sands and lifted her and her dragonet followed. Steephi watched him as he took the pair into the tunnel where she saw him settle the two down to feed.
“Steephi, what are you doing? The dragon is about to hatch, you dull glow!” Steephi turned around to see one of the other candidates grab her arm and pull her back into the circle around the egg. Mari grinned at her and quirked an eyebrow at her legs. “Careful with those cuts. Y’know how blood attracts everything. Wouldn’t want you to be killed at your first standing, now would we?” the blonde asked sarcastically. Casting Mari a smirk, Steephi wiped the blood off her knees and brushed sand off her front.
The earth dragons on the ledge over the Grounds started to hum, and Steephi focused on the egg again. Wonder filled her. The egg’s thick shell started to crack, and the floor shook. The floor shook?

The floor wasn’t supposed to shake. For a second, Steephi took her eyes off the egg and watched as the old queen sat up and unfurled her winds. She could see the veins, which carried the green ichor through the pale skin. Through the crowd, a screaming erupted. The dragon bugled, and a woman pushed out onto the sands. With surprise, Steephi recognized the current Dragon Lady, her red hair streaming out behind her as she ran towards her dragon. Behind her, J’hua followed. Tears were streaming down the woman’s face, and her eyes were puffy and red. The queen bugled again, and the woman stopped, her face dark with pain. Then, the queen reared onto her back legs, her eyes still watching the egg. Abruptly, the cavern grew silent. Not even the newest forest dragon dared to make a sound. The entire City seemed to be holding its breath as they waited for the egg to hatch. Swiveling around, Steephi stared at the egg. Its smooth surface was broken, and a small golden head poked out. Its glistening body followed, falling on the hot sands. With a feeble creel, the little gold pushed herself to her feet, stretching pale golden wings to the ceiling, nuzzling her mother’s tail tip briefly. The queen leaned down and caressed her daughter’s neck. The little queen was safe. Cheers broke out, then fell back to silence. The old dragon queen’s eyes whirled pale blue, gray tingeing around her pupil. Her great wings stretched high, just like her daughter’s. Then, she crouched down, preparing to leap into the darkness of beyond

. Suddenly, the Dragon Lady broke her trance and leaped onto her dragon’s foot, her feet sliding off and her fingers digging into the tough dragon hide. The queen let out a trumpet in surprise, and then her eyes grew darker, closer to forest dragon, closer to a shade of love and devotion. The gray grew farther out, but the forest dragon stayed. Steephi looked sown at the woman, tears streaking her face as she looked up at her life mate. The candidate was amazed by the love and total sacrifice in the woman’s eyes. Winerinth raised her foot in mid-air, allowing her rider to clamor onto her back, then with a high-pitched call to one of the earth dragons, she and her rider blinked into beyond

.
The hatching Grounds were frozen in shock. Even the baby dragonets were stunned to silence. Then as one voice, the dragons bugled their farewell cry into the blue-purple sky. Something wet was running down Steephi’s face. Lifting a hand, she tenderly touched her face. She had been crying. She hadn’t cried since her father had died. Her body felt numb with shock. The Dragon Lady had given up her life for her dragon. Was that how it was to have a dragon? She shuddered at the thought.
That blasted creeling broke through her thoughts. The little dragon queen was stumbling towards one of the candidates, her eyes whirling red with hunger. The little creature’s pupils were dilated, and the colors surrounding it swirled with the yellow of grief and the red of hunger. They searched through the crowd, and Steephi had to look around Kayti to see the young gold. She gasped as it stumbled, and silently urged it to get up. The dragonet glanced up at her and pushed herself up. Kayti was frozen in front of her, and the little gold stumbled towards the girl. Shrugging, Steephi turned to walk away. Kayti would get the queen. Step in front of her now a voice commanded. Shocked, Steephi froze. Hurry up, you dull glow! Do you want her to kill her?

Steephi gritted her teeth. That was the second time that day that she had been called a dull glow, and that Kayti might kill the poor little queen! Thinking of that, she shoved the candidate on the ground. “What do you think you’re doing? Don’t ever say that again! I am not a dull glow, and you can’t go around hurting poor defenseless dragonets!” she hissed, furious. The girl whimpered, scooting backwards across the hot sand. “Did you call me a dull glow?”
The girl shook her dark hair. “No, Steephi. I said that when you were going to miss the hatching of the queen.” Steephi glared at her, and Kayti whimpered, “I promise. I would never just call you a dull glow for no reason. And I would never hurt anything! Honest! Don’t you know me?” Steephi glared at the other candidate, and she sniffled. "I’m s-s-sorry…” Tears leaked down her face.
Kayti scrunched her knees up to her face and began to cry. Confused, Steephi held out her hand. “Sorry,” she mumbled and helped the other girl up, then turned around. The little queen was standing right behind her. With a little scream of surprise, she fell backwards, startling the golden creature, too. The dragon squeaked and fell backwards into the sand, and Steephi brushed the sand off of herself and crawled on hands and knees over to the little animal. She could feel the heat and sand grinding its way into her cuts, and her palms and knees were burning, but she had to make sure the little dragon was all right.
Someone to her right whispered, “She’s covered in sand. No queen in her right mind would choose her.” She gritted her teeth again and scooped her hand underneath the warm back and helped the creature up. She could feel one of the ridges poking into her hand, but she ignored the dull pain. The dragonet was as big as she was, but she wasn’t scared. How could Erika have been so afraid of something so harmless? She gazed into the swirly depths of the queen’s eyes and felt herself falling, falling into a pool of magic and calming darkness. There was something new in her. There was something that had never been there before that startled her. Gasping, she blinked. She felt complete now. How could her old life have ever been good compared to what it was now. Pride and fondness and contentment filled her, and she felt tears rise and flood her eyes. “Hello my queen,” she whispered.
Hello Steephi

, the Dragon City’s newest member replied. My name is Talarth

.


Chapter Two


My back itches. Can you get just behind my wing?

Talarth asked. Steephi spread the oils over the patches of flaking skin. Talarth sighed, her eyes changing, whirling with a contented blue-green. That’s better. Thank you!

At least you have manners today,

Steephi teased. Maybe I’ll let you see some of the other dragons today.

The dragonet snorted, flinging her beautiful head back in mock rage. And if you get an attitude, I might just stop oiling you now,

Steephi said sternly. Do you know how hard it is to oil a moving dragon?

She stepped back to glare at the young creature for emphasis, shielding her eyes from Solis’ rays. “Please stop moving! I can’t reach the top of your shoulder!” she complained, and the dragonet purposely moved away from her rider. Gasping in mock anger, Steephi slapped the dragon’s hide, slipping as her oily hands hit an oiled patch, and she fell onto Talarth’s foot. Picking herself up, Steephi groaned at the scratches in her hands. Now you definitely can’t talk to any of the dragons!

Talarth grumbled, but when Steephi tried again to reach the troublesome spot, the golden beast sidestepped, and Steephi stumbled. “Oh, you horrid little beast!” she hissed, and Steephi lunged again, missing as Talarth spread her wings up so that Steephi hit her side and not the shoulder. Slowly, Steephi lowered herself with a groan as she rubbed her forehead. “Thanks! I don’t think that knocked any more sense into me, but it sure hurt!”
Sorry,

Talarth mumbled. But I can see the other dragons any time I want to! You can’t stop me from doing that!

She turned her golden head to look at her rider, lowering the offensive shoulder for it to be oiled. Steephi couldn’t help but admire the golden curves. Some people on Syrnyai thought that there were “colors” that made a dragon better or worse than another dragon of the same color. A green had to be a perfect mix between green and blue, blues between the deep blue and indigo, browns the dark chocolate-colored brown, and bronzes the rich almost-gold bronze. All were extremely rare, but the rarest was for a queen to be a deep antique-golden hue. Winerinth, the previous queen had fit the rules, but Talarth had a beautiful light golden coloring, like the color of a Harper’s harp. Steephi loved the pale coloring, but others, such as stuffy old Mari, the head woman, hated it.
Mari hated the new queen and her rider because she had not impressed. Stop worrying about Mari. She’s just a fat old snidler.

Talarth sounded so sure of herself that Steephi laughed. And she could just picture one of the six-winged avians with Mari’s long, blonde hair, her curved beak chattering in the high-pitched, nerve-grating squawk of the snidlers. The golden head turned away from her now, the eye facing her spinning slowly blue beneath the black. Well, she is,

Talarth said indignantly. Keep oiling!

I know she is, Love. Who wouldn’t be, with what she’s been through! Being denied you, getting stuck with the headwoman’s job, and having to report to me all the time,

Steephi said sarcastically. She laughed again. She had known Mari for all of her fifteen years, but the girl had hardly been friendly to her. Mari had just recently been made headwoman after her mother died. Yet even at a mere sixteen years, she was a very capable headwoman. With the sun beating down on them, Steephi frowned. “Do you think you are well oiled now, Love?” she asked out loud. The dragonet rumbled a reply, and Steephi leaned wearily against her already-dry side, the pot of oil at her side. “I’m glad! Maybe I should have some of the youngsters oil you from now on!”
Someone chuckled behind her, and Steephi straightened, but couldn’t see past Talarth’s lowered wing. Move your wing, please?

The wing didn’t move, and Talarth feigned sleep. Smacking the dragon’s nose, she demanded in frustration, Move you wing, Talarth!

The wing was slowly raised, and Steephi turned to look for the mysterious person.
“You do a good job on your dragon,” a deep voice praised from behind her. Spinning around, Steephi lost her balance and fell, the arms of the young man catching her as the bucket of oil slipped from her hands and clattered onto the ground, spilling its contents. Wriggling out of the man’s arms, she bent down and picked up the bucket, frowning as the handle started to slip from her grasp. Hurriedly, she set it gently back down next to Talarth, but she was still unsure about what to do with the spilled oil. Shrugging and figuring one of the servants would take care of it, she used her elbow to brush a piece of hair out of her eyes, making sure that her oily hands didn’t touch her face. She hated working on days so hot and muggy. “You should do a better job with yourself,” the man quipped.
Surprised, Steephi looked up at the rider and gasped. It was Misson, one of the older bronze riders. Chagrinned, she smoothed her skirt and then realized that she still had the oil on her hands. “Great stars above! That was the last clean dress I had!” she moaned, touching the oily smudges on the dress’ light pink fabric. “Heavens, Dragon! You need to stop all this growing so that I don’t have to be doing this!”
It was your own fault that you wiped your hands on your dress, Steephi,

Talarth said offended. And you were the one to drop the oil, not me! I couldn’t have picked it up if I tried! And I can’t help growing.

She pointed her nose into the air. I’m only a couple months old anyway. I still have a long time to grow.

Yes, and unfortunately, I’ll be the one oiling you, you big oaf!

Steephi smiled and turned to Misson. “Sorry about that. Can I help you?” She had heard stories from some of the women in the kitchen and from some of the nicer dragonriders. Even though he was only twenty years old, he already had two children. He had been a dragonrider for three years, and yet he acted like he had been riding for ages.
Misson cleared his throat and tilted his head towards her. “You should probably change before you go to the meeting,” he drawled, winking and leering down at her.
Shocked, Steephi stepped back, and Talarth rose to her haunches to loom over her rider in defense. Curse her shortness! Steephi clutched angrily at the front of her dress and glared at him. “Excuse you, sir!” she exclaimed, feeling her face begin to burn with anger and embarrassment. He only widened his gaze, still slightly looking down at her, and Steephi almost couldn’t resist the urge to slap him. The dress was loose so as not to hinder her while she was tending Talarth, but that was no reason for this…this…this boy to be looking down her dress! Talarth trumpeted again, raising herself up off the ground so only her back legs touched the ground. A dragon bugled angrily in response, and Misson frowned, running a hand through his short, tightly curled black hair. Collecting herself, she told Talarth to sit back down, then turned back to the handsome rider. His dark brown face was smooth, and two bright green eyes stared out of the brown. “What meeting?” she asked, careful not to look directly at him. Without being asked, the dragonman slipped his arm through hers and swept her off to the center of the City, through the blue tunnels and deep into the heart of Siani Dragon City.
The heavy, wooden door was opened for her and Misson led her inside. What’s going on?

Talarth asked. I can’t see you!

It’s okay, Love. I’m just inside the city a bit further than you,

she reassured. She felt numb with surprise. She had never been this far away from her dragon since the queen had hatched. The pair walked quickly through tunnels, and Steephi was haunted by the memory of the bronze rider, Suvian, and that whole experience. She shuddered, but Misson just continued to drag her on. Abruptly, she stopped. Talarth was withdrawing from her.
Misson tried once to drag her on, but she held. “Oh stars, what are you doing? Johua will be mad!” he growled, trying to pull her again.
But Steephi ignored him. Even she was a bit surprised by the force that she had to stay. A little voice in the back of her head kept telling her that the farther back she got from her beloved, the more Talarth would leave her. Breath caught in her throat, and worry filled her. Stifling a sob of fright, she called, Are you okay, Talarth? Are you alright?

The calm, sweet voice of her dragon filled her mind, and love and adoration followed, if not tinged by a bit of irritation. Talarth hated to see Steephi so upset. Yes came the irritated reply. I was just starting to fall asleep. Thank you for waking me up!

Despite the harsh words, Steephi could feel the dragon’s smile. She was sure that Talarth was the only dragon on the whole of Syrnyai who could smile.
Laughing hesitantly, she glanced up at Misson. “Sorry about that! Dragons,” she said, and he nodded his head in understanding. Shaking her skirts smooth, Steephi let him take her to the room. He was much gentler now, but his fingers were still strong. Finally, the great wooden door stood in front of them, and Steephi tried her best to walk regally into the room. Stifling a gasp of surprise, she saw all the dragon generals in the room. “Umm…hi!” The men all stared at her, so she cleared her throat. Their blank expression made her so angry. She was new here! They should be helping her, especially if she got to choose which one would be the new Dragon Leader! She could feel her face twisting into a grimace, and carefully, pulling on the love from her dragon, she smoothed her face into a mask of serenity and calm. “So…what do I do? I haven’t done this before!” Her voice was hard with suppressed anger to her dismay, and she strode purposefully across the room as if her voice was always like that. She couldn’t trust her voice to say anything, but she forced herself to be calm. “I’m sorry. Growing dragons!” She rolled her eyes and smiled softly, getting a few chuckles from the men. Now she was proud of those horrid years she had spent lying for her family. Clasping her hands in front of her, she glanced around the room. Spying Johua, she curtsied to him. “My apologies, Dragon Leader. I was not told…” The man watched her, then blinked slowly. Steephi was surprised. She had thought the man to be much more caring and not as stiff before this. At least he had been helpful enough with Talarth.
She glanced over to Misson, hoping he would help, but he was laughing silently behind his hand. Her eyes searched the crowd of faces. Eight Generals, more lieutenants, and then just some ordinary riders filled the room. Finally, a young man that she had never noticed before raised his hand. His eyes danced with amusement, and she felt a flush rise to her face. “Yes—Arely?” His eyes widened, and she silently blessed Talarth, as he pointed slowly to the only open chair left. Of course! Why hadn’t she seen it! Steephi felt so stupid! Embarrassed, she lowered herself into the chair and folded her hands into her lap, blushing as she felt the oily stains under her fingertips.
You aren’t stupid!

Talarth argued. And you were oiling me. It was Misson’s fault for startling you!

Steephi smiled, and the men watched her carefully. Realizing her slip, she turned her smile to the young blue rider. Arely smiled back, as if relieved. Anyway, I’ll bet the other Dragon Lady had as much trouble as you’re having,

Talarth babbled on, and Steephi just barely kept a straight face and stifled a giggle.
Thanks!

She replied sarcastically. You’re a big help, you know?

Yet even in spite of herself, she couldn’t repress a smile. How she loved her dragon! Her life had been empty before. Someone in the room cleared their throat and snickered, but she didn’t know who. A pair of light green eyes watched her, and the girl snickered again. “Sorry” she said curtly, not in the least sorry. The girl watched her intensely. “Talarth was just telling me how much poor Clarith hated the drills because of her rider.” She had picked up on a dragon name and used it. To her satisfaction, the girl blanched. “Yes, it seems as though the poor green would rather not fight. Wants to clutch herself.” She laughed lightheartedly at thought, and others joined in. The green rider stood up, her face black, and Steephi smiled gaily at her. “Careful with that dragon of yours. She’ll get you into trouble,” Steephi scoffed, still smiling, but her eyes were icy cold. The girl sniffed and walked out of the room, dragging a young brown rider with her.
She returned to watching her audience. They had all grown silent, and she gazed at each one in turn. There were a few more female green riders, and, to her surprise, a female blue rider. Talarth primly informed her that the blue, Scarith, was also female, by a quirk. Nodding politely to the woman, whom she had been staring at, she coughed, and started again. “So, you will all have to help me. Even after being here for so long, I hardly know you all.” She smiled sweetly to Misson, who blushed as deeply as his tan would allow, and a few of the younger riders snickered at her boldness. She looked around the room and arched one eyebrow. “Okay…umm…you,” she pointed to an older rider who wore a brown’s knot on his shoulder. “Help me out. What’s supposed to be going on, since no one else will tell me.”
Sitting up from his slouched position, the man grunted. “’ello Miss.”
“My name is Steephi, thank you.”
“Sorry Miss Steephi,” he grunted, reaching up to scratch his head with grubby fingers. “This is just a meeting to determine who will mentor you.” He grinned, showing brown teeth worn with age. “Me name is Moher. Me dragon is Interth. We’re usually the watchdragon, but Johua” He looked over to the handsome man, then back to Steephi, daring her to say something of his slip. “Johua suggested I come to the meeting. Good thing I did to, eh Miss?”
Her fingers gripped the fabric of her dress tighter. “It’s—” His eyes danced at her discomfort. Loosening her grip on the dress, she smiled at him. “It’s nice of you to have come, Moher. Yes, Johua did make a good choice in having you come to the meeting.” She glanced over to the former Dragon Leader. His handsome face was lined with sadness, and his eyes looked old, despite his mere 35 years. His Lady’s suicide had hit him hard, and yet he still managed the training and leadership of the Dragon City. His eyes were the only part that showed his weariness. His hair was neatly brushed, and his shirt was tight over his muscles. Looking around the room, Steephi saw that most of the dragonmen in the room looked similar: bulging muscles, tan faces, and dark hair. One or two had red hair, and a couple more had blonde, but they were all so alike.
Johua nodded to her and stood up. “Very good, Dragon Lady Steephi. You handled that very well. Siani shall be in good hands.” Steephi couldn’t detect any bitterness in his voice as he gave her the title of his former mate. He must have been a wonderful leader. “Like you said, I should introduce all the men and here today.” His voice drifted off, and Steephi absently nodded to each man in turn. Fillip of blue Casinth, Garrett of bronze Gareth, Cimeeron, Garrett’s twin, of brown Asenth, Arely of blue Sath, Mehuu of green Janicth, Jothan of bronze Hathon, a couple more browns and blue, an ancient green rider, and one or two bronze riders were introduced. The man paused, and the blue female rider blinked patiently at him. “And this is Salone, rider of blue Scarith, and Morgan of green Katrionath.” Both nodded politely. Johua cleared his throat and glanced almost anxiously at the clock. After a few minutes, he sat back resignedly in his chair, and she couldn’t help wondering who else was supposed to be here. “Now that you’ve met everyone—“
The door to the room slammed open, cutting off Johua. “Sorry, Johua. Master Degger called me out to help him move some of the smiths’ equipment. It took Bomarth and Sonarth all day.” The Dragon Leader shot a stern look at the man, and he grinned. “To waste time is a crime!” he almost sang Johua’s favorite saying, and got a sterner look in response from the man while others snickered behind him. “What did I miss?” he asked, shoved forward a few steps as a brown rider ran into him.
“Hurry up and move! Stars above, Bryan, I don’t want to be in too much trouble!” the other man hissed, and Bryan let him pass.
“Anyway,” he continued. “Bomarth told me there was something important back here. You could hardly expect me to miss it.” The man was hardly nineteen, and he had shockingly blue eyes. Scraping a chair back, he sat down and looked expectantly at his leader.
Stifling a giggle, Steephi said, “I guess, Sir, I haven’t met everyone

yet, have I?” Johua looked mildly surprised then smiled. Turning to the newcomer, Steephi smiled at him. “Hi, Bryan, glad you could make it.”
The rider shifted his gaze from Johua and looked over at her. Pulling off his helmet, he ran his fingers through light blonde hair. “Umm, hi…” He blushed and glanced back over to Johua. “I’m Bryan. I ride bronze Bomarth. Sorry about being late, Miss.”
Before Steephi could say a word, Moher grunted. “Her name is Steephi, you fool! Don’t you know your Dragon Ladies?” he mocked, batting invisible lashes at the bronze dragonrider. “We wouldn’t want to offend her majesty, now would we?” His stony gaze had shifted onto Steephi, and she felt herself burning with embarrassment.
She desperately looked around the room for a face to help her, staring purposefully away from Bryan. “She is no majesty, Moher,” a calm voice responded. Shocked and furious, she turned to look at the speaker. Terevoor winked at her and continued in his haughty tone. “Don’t you know that a good Lady can never come from royalty? High heavens, Man, look at Erikana. She was a drudge for, like, twenty years before she was found, and she was the best Dragon Lady Synyai has ever had! And Dragon Lady Elsie came from Hinx City Town. She was another wonderful Lady, and she was no royalty until she came here!” Johua nodded solemnly, and Moher grunted in disapproval. Grinning impishly, Terevoor leaned closer to her and whispered, “Ignore him! He just doesn’t like pale dragons or young Dragon Ladies. Can’t get the young ones anymore.” He winked again. “He must have been born under the darkness of Thricon for how he acts!”
Steephi smiled and nodded. Everyone knew of the horrid luck that Syrnyai’s third moon, Thricon, had for people born during its dark days. Turning again to Bryan, she smiled feebly. “I’m Steephi, rider of Talarth. It’s nice to meet you, Bryan.” The man nodded, his face growing a light pink, and he looked away. Trying to act more like a proper Lady, Steephi cleared her throat and said, “So, Johua, who will you make my mentor?” She watched him as he stared at her. She blinked politely when he didn’t choose. “You have gotten one picked, haven’t you?”
The dragonman broke into a wide grin, and she felt herself let go of a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. So he wasn’t really mean, just testing her. “It used to be that I would be your mentor, but times have changed. Now, the Dragon Lady—” he paused to let his words sink in, “chooses.” He leaned back in his chair and looked at her expectantly. Steephi sat dumbfounded. Of all the men in the room, she had to choose one? A slow smile spread across his face. “Well, aren’t you gonna choose?”
Talarth, what do I do?

Her rider’s frantic call awoke the sleepy dragonet. What? Why did you have to wake me.

The queen stretched, then spoke again. What do you have to do exactly?

Steephi’s irritated expression made some of the dragonmen laugh. “Your dragon can’t help you, Princess. Pales can’t never do nothing to help their riders. Their too dull for anything like that!” Moher snorted, and a few dragonriders laughed outright. He grinned again, and glared at her. “We all know how that pale queen of Sol’s did. About ruined the City with her pathetic clutches and weak flights. Why, I wouldn’t be surprised if this one was even worse.” He wasn’t watching Steephi know. “She’s almost yellow! They’re called golds

, not yellows

!” he sneered.
Steephi stood up so quickly that her chair flew backwards and broke against the walk. She could see the startled expression spread across the older man’s face as he turned to look at her. “What did you say about my dragon?” Her voice was icy calm, as dangerous as a queen before her Flight. “What did you say, Dragonman

?” Now, she stood right in front of him, her feet moving so quickly and quietly that she didn’t even hear them.
Running a gnarled hand through his graying hair, the man grinned evilly. “I said that yore dragon’s too dull to help you.” His grin spread. “She is too pale to be a good queen. Now Elsie’s Winerinth” he shot a knowing glance to Johua, who had one eyebrow raised. “Winerinth was probable the best queen since Rainerinth! No stupid little dragonet can match up to her! She’s gonna be ashamed to even be around the weakest of greens!”
Steephi was shaking with rage, and she heard the green riders’ anger. She put her face right up next to his and hissed into his ear, “Your right, Moher. She never will be able to match up to Winerinth.” The big man’s eyes widened in surprise at his easy victory, and the room grew silent. “She will make her mother proud, but she will also make her look like, like, like a green just hatched!” The green riders muttered, and she apologized by nodding to them. “That is a compliment, to say your green is compared to the late queen,” she said, and the grumbling ended. “Unlike your poor brown. I thought dragons never chose a handicapped rider, and your brain sure seems to be.” Moher glared at her, and she continued, her anger flaring up again as the bigger brown challenged Talarth outside. “Oh, well. They always say that the dragon chooses those like him.” Moher was silent in shock and anger, and she stood up and glared around the room, Talarth’s bellow backing up her claim. So now you follow along, Love!

Steephi said, her mind’s voice still shaking with anger. Help me choose a good mentor for us.

She was not about to leave without finishing what she was supposed to have begun. Which would be best. Johua?

Bryan...

Choose Bryan. He’s nice and his dragon is nice, too.

Talarth’s voice was full of confidence, but Steephi wasn’t listening. It was that voice again. The voice that had spoken to her at the Hatching. It had been right then, so it must be right now. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Talarth has chosen Bomarth’s rider, so I choose Bryan.” With a thin smile, she turned on her toe and walked out of the silent room.
Good choice, Steephi! Bomarth is so nice!

Of course,

Steephi teased. It’s always about the guys with you, isn’t it?

Of course!

Chapter Three


The tunnels confused Steephi as she tried to get back to the outside. Oh, Moher annoyed her! The blue light of tunnels lit around her, and she absently turned to the left at a fork. She snapped out of her thoughts as she realized she was going downhill, not up! Oh, great! Talarth, do

you know the way around here?

There was something like laughter in her mind, and she stopped. Dragons didn’t laugh! Just the thought of it had her laughing, too. Well, if the queen could smile, why not laugh? But the stupid thing was laughing too much to answer. Talarth, can you help me on this and stop…laughing?

Yes, I am sorry.

Steephi snorted in disbelief. You have gone in one big circle around the dining hall. Go back up and take the right. Even the youngest dragon knows how to do that!

There was a fit of giggles, then, and she waited impatiently for the gold to continue. And then you’ll be in the dining hall. Can you get me a sweetmeat?

Despite herself, Steephi gave a giggle. You really are all about food, aren’t you?

As she started back up to the dining hall, she glanced back. Anywhere in that extremely intelligent dragon mind of yours does it tell you where this goes?

Of course!

Again, Steephi waited, but this time she continues to walk. A few of the men in the meeting pasted her, and she received polite nods and hearty handshakes for her exit. She almost ringed the last young man’s hand in anger at her dragon when Talarth spoke again. Don’t hurt anyone! I’m sorry. I was just waiting. It’s the back entrance to the Sands.

The dragon sighed in her mind, and Steephi stopped, luckily at the entrance of the dining hall. A few people waved at her, and the blue rider, Salone, and Morgan, green rider, waved her over to their table. Smiling kindly at them, she walked as regally as she could over to their table.
Why do you make it sound like that? The sands are a happy place!

The memories of her Impression swam in front of her eyes, and she blinked to rid herself of them. Anyway, don’t send me any more of your emotional stuff or your confusing riddles. How do you come up with all this? Sitting in the sun with nothing to do all day?

She smiled warmly at the two women and seated herself.
Yes,

came Talarth’s disgruntled reply.
Laughing, she looked over to the two other women. “Do dragons really just sit out in the sun and make up things to confuse us poor humans?” she giggled, and the others laughed, too.
“My Scarith did that as a young dragonet to me all the time until Thio came along. Then she just bugged him and poor Timoth. I’m surprised they didn’t go crazy!” Salone laughed, wiping tears from her eyes. A little mini blinked into the dining hall and lighted on her shoulder. Its hide gleamed a rich, deep green, and the blue rider absently patted the creature. Its forked tongue slid in and out as it looked at the others. “And then little Pawla came along, and she’s been almost attacked by Scarith’s riddles!” The green trilled for effect, and they all started laughing again.
Two young men walked up to the table. The one on the right bowed politely to Morgan and Steephi, then turned to face Salone. “Mother, Thio will come as soon as he can. Timoth got caught in a tangle of galas, but he’s fine. Just a few scratches,” the boy added at Salone’s worried look. “I’m going to get Rosealee to help him with the bandages. It’s difficult to bandage that brown, even without him trying to run away from the numbing salve all the time!” Salone smiled at him, and the boy walked away. The other slid in next to Morgan, flipping a loose strand of red-blonde hair out of his eyes.
Steephi looked inquiringly at Salone. “I was Impressed at twelve. At fifteen, I had Thilon, right after Scarith was flown by Timoth.” She grinned at the look on the Lady’s face. “I am only twenty-eight, Steephi. He just looks older at thirteen than the other boys.” She gazed off in the direction her son had taken. “Yes, and he shall stand for Impression this next time around. Too many were chosen, and he had been at the Academy when they were searching people.” She turned back to the Dragon Lady and the green rider. Her eyes widened slightly, and she leaned forward. “Steffan, have you introduced yourself to the Dragon Lady yet?” she scolded.
The man blushed and held out a callused hand. “I am sorry, Ma’am. I wasn’t thinking.” He shot a look at the blue rider and ran his hand through his hair again. “I am Steffan, rider of brown Salith. Katrionath was flown about a year ago by my Salith,” he added proudly. Morgan beamed up at him, her eyes shining with the love she felt for him. He grinned down at the green rider and then blushed as he looked back up to the Dragon Lady. “I’m sorry. I’ll go see if Mari has any lunch left over.” The man stood and headed for the kitchens.
Steephi smiled at the green rider. “He seems nice! And Talarth tells me that both you and your dragon love him. And with Katrionath so young!” The other rider blushed, and Steephi smiled kindly at her. The talk of flights had awoken something in her, and she suddenly needed to know what it was like. She felt the suddenly fear and wonder cloud her face, and she desperately tried to hide it. “I—I was just wondering…”
The green rider grinned back at the Dragon Lady. “Oh, yes! It was wonderful!” For the next hour or two, the three women talked about their flights and the flights to come. About half an hour through their talk, Steffan rejoined them with Thio and the food.
Finally, Steephi had to remove herself from the pleasant company. “I’m so sorry, but Talarth wants her bath now.” The four riders nodded their heads, and Steephi retired to her room as gracefully as she could. Are you ready, Love?

The dragon crooned outside, and Steephi was careful to hide the riding leathers in the mass of towels and soap and brushes she brought for her dragon. Fly over to the northern ridge. I’ll be there as soon as I can.

The young queen prepared to take off from the ledge, and Steephi squeaked with surprise. Wait! You’ll need to take this!

she said, holding out the bundle of equipment. If anyone asks, you are just helping me to take everything down. Don’t add anything unless you ask me.

The gold nodded as Steephi strapped the bundle to her neck. And don’t let any of it fall!

Do I ever let anything fall?

Talarth sprang off the ledge and swooped between the two blue tunnels. Her golden sides gleamed with the dim blue light, and Steephi sighed contently as she watched her beauty land on the other side of the crater. Are you going to come or not?

Talarth demanded impatiently. Startled back into reality, she hurried back into the room and down the hall. Out of breath, she arrived at the northern side of the Bowl. Finally!

Together, they glanced around the City. No one was watching them, even as conspicuous as they were. All were asleep because of the heat. Sighing with relief, Steephi led Talarth down the side of the crater wall. “Sh!” The dragon lifted herself off the ground to glide silently beside her rider. “Okay, you can come down now.” The spot was so worn from the many times before, and Steephi expertly slid the riding leathers over the young dragon’s nose. “Alright?” The dragon blinked, and Steephi swung herself up onto the gracefully curved back. Talarth was already ten yards tall at her shoulder, halfway grown! Soon, she would be ready for…for what? Steephi hated how the gold put those random thoughts in her head. Just as she was about to scold the dragon, Talarth leaped up, legs flexing with practice. Barely above the rocky ground, Steephi gave the gold the picture of Hinx, and they were in the noth.
The beach looked so warm and delighting! Its blue-green waves carried the faintest of hints of the periwinkle sky above. White caps lapped the pink-tinted sands, and the palm trees waved peacefully in the wind. Gala trees spread their spindly fingers to the sky, and as the gold’s shadow dropped over them, the lush blue leaves retreated, baring their sharp, hooked thorns. “I wonder if that’s what Salith was caught on? I think we are the only ones who know about this place.” The queen snuffled beneath her and spiraled down to land.

A pair of baby blue eyes watched the pair as they descended. Seabreeze, take Shell and watch them. They come too often for my likes.

There was a green and gold flash, and the man turned around. Gala, come to me. I need you to warn the others.

A lock of brown-blonde hair fell in his eyes, and he turned from the rider and her beast as a little quidah flipped into the clearing. Her bright orange eyes watched her master as he turned once more to look at the pair, now frolicking in the ocean’s waves, his people’s waves. I do not like them here. They should not be able to find this place.

The quidah, Gala, tilted her blue and pink head, her big eyes watchful and alert. The man ran a finger down the side of a gala tree and watched with a strange smile on his beautiful face as the little creature leapt at the emerging thorns, pulling herself up the tree. Hurry, little one. Hurry. She must be watched. She cannot come here anymore!

The quidah lowered herself a bit and hung with one pinkish hand curled around the yellow thorn. Chittering to the man, she disappeared into the blue.

Sunlight streamed down upon the pair in the sea. Lithe gray-spotted bodies swam around them, spraying water as the stellena reached the top of the water. Steephi backstroked, her tan arms sliding through the water. The water felt good on her skin, the sun’s rays heating the chilly ocean water. Mari and some of the other Siani girls had stolen her swimsuit, so she was bare. “Catri, will you take me to that cave you showed me last time?”
One of the stellena, a young one, shoved her nose into the girl’s hand. She squeed, then went under. Her dark, spotted body glided through the crystal clear waters, but she didn’t try to have Steephi grab her fin. Ducking under, Steephi watched as Catri did summersaults through the water. Please, Catri? I want to see it again so badly!

In her mind, she saw the beautifully carved walls and the dim lighting from the ocean. It was so beautiful.

The stellena rose to the surface, and so did the girl. No, I can take Stee there no more.

There was an almost fearful look in her bright blue eye. I can take Stee there no more.

She blinked at the girl, and Steephi’s heart sank. You like too much. No one else like that much!

Sighing, and gasping as the air left her lungs underwater, she rose again to the surface and gulped in air. Catri bumped her with her dotted head. Maybe next. Maybe next.

Sighing again, she let her head rest on the animal’s smooth side, stroking the soft skin. Suddenly, Catri darted away from her, and she sank spluttering into the salty waters. Sorries. Will help. Scared.

Catri appologized by helping the girl swim on her own, and then she was away, the water from her tail splashing in Steephi’s eyes and making her wince.
Opening her eyes, she looked up to see Talarth leap out of the water and into the sky, wings spread wide. Don’t, Talarth! Please! Please?

Steephi begged, coughing out the lung-full of water she had just taken in. Please? I still have bruises from last time. And you should have seen Mari’s face when I walked in with that huge scrape across my chin! Please, Bryan will get mad.

The dragon snorted and flew higher. Talarth, they told me not to fly you until you were eight months old! As it is, if anyone finds out, they will kill me! I’ve got enough scrapes that even old Gerebell will wonder. And you know that his green has been watching you.

Then don’t swim in this time.

Steephi growled playfully and the dragon, splashing water as high as it would go. The gold blinked innocently down at her rider, then gave Steephi a picture of the view.
The girl drew in a sharp breath, unable to continue her ranting. It was beautiful. To the south, the lush forests of the Hinx with the dark mountains of Siani in the background, the north, east, and west an endless stretch of crystal blue waters. The beaches were bright whitish-pink against the Hinx forests, and she could just see herself in the waves, her body bronze amidst the pod of gray-silver stellenas. They had returned after their initial surprise, and she felt Catri bump gently against her skin. She sighed contently. Suddenly, she was looking up at the sky again, seeing through her own eyes again as she watched in shock as Talarth rose gracefully into the sky. Then, she turned on a wingtip and began to dive down. “TALARTH! Don’t!” Steephi screamed, paddling as fast as she could towards the beach. Suddenly, a huge wave washed over her carried her inland, her body scraping over the rough coral and onto the beach. Talarth!

she whined. That hurt! How many times do I need to tell you not to do that unless I’m on the beach?

The dragon drifted happily on the waters, her eyes swirling yellow with excitement. Well, you wouldn’t have been hurt if you had stayed where you were!

the dragon protested. It was your fault for swimming closer to the beach, not mine! And I

did warn you not to,

she added.
Playfully, Steephi splashed water towards the golden beast. You gave me that picture to distract me! That isn’t fair!

Steephi crossed her arms, wincing as she felt a gash in her upper arm. You owe me, Talarth. No bath for you today!

Talarth snorted, water spraying from her nostrils. She turned her magnificent head towards her rider, and the morning sun nearly blinded Steephi. YYou

have to bathe me.

She blinked her eye coyly at Steephi. You wouldn’t want a pale dragon queen as well as a scarred, dull dragon, would you?

Pulling herself into shallower waters, she waded closer to her rider. Her eyes slowed their shifting, and they changed to a mellower blue-green. She waddled out of the water, her hide shimmering as the sun caught on the water droplets. Blinking expectantly at Steephi, she hummed. Bath, please?

So now you have your manners?

Standing, Steephi walked away from the water’s edge and turned her back to the queen. You weren’t nice, and I told you that I wouldn’t.

The dragon moaned, and Steephi laughed. It’s your own fault, you stupid green mini!

The dragonet growled playfully at her rider, but Steephi wasn’t paying attention. It sounded like there was something in the forest. Creeping towards the trees, she heard a cackling in her mind, and the rough growl of anger. I am no green, and definitely not a mini!

Talarth’s voice, brought Steephi back, and the girl picked up the sponge and soap, forgetting her earlier promise.
Talarth reared her head proudly. How could you think I was a mini? They are so much different than us!

She flexed her wings and curved her elegant neck. They have forked tongues and not forked tails, like me. And the greens are so irresponsible. They would leave their clutch to die. And golds in a green clutch? No, only greens and blues.

The dragon winked her eyes at her rider, and Steephi was sure she had heard a growl from the forest. The gala trees suddenly spread their leaves, baring the bright yellow thorns as a quidah climbed to the top. And

my clutch will have gold, and bronzes and browns and…

The queen paused, making Steephi look back at her. And not all greens and blues!

she finished.
Steephi grinned at her dragon. You would fear that, wouldn’t you? Well, the green minis are good. They clutch much more often, and you know how the rulers get about their minis. Always in demand!

The gold glared at her. But we are much more useful. None of the rulers will allow their children to come to the hatching. And you know how they hate it when we flame over their City Towns.

The mind voice changed to the high-pitched squeal of Siani City Town’s king, Trint. Our servants can’t clean up all that char. It makes the city dirty!

Steephi laughed. “Yes, Love. I don’t like the rulers either. But another thing that minis are good for. They help with the clean up.”
By adding to it. I still think that there should be no minis. They get in the way. It was the best way to take care of them.

Her dragon looked quite flustered, and Steephi soothingly began to scrub her hide. At that, Talarth seemed to relax.
The rider thought over the gold’s words. Anyway, where did you learn how to mimic Trint? I thought you dragons were too stupid to remember things like that?

The head swiveled around again, the eyes spiraling into red. Excuse you? I can remember things very well, thank you!

She splashed around in the water, sending waves up over Steephi. I can remember the day that I first met you…

A vivid picture of her hatching day flashed in front of Steephi’s eyes. And I don’t need your memories to remind me!

‘Kay, that explains your memory, but what about that little speech! Stars above, I didn’t know you knew that much about Trint!

Launching into the air, Talarth said, Bomarth told me about it last week while you and Terevoor were talking at dinner. Ragul doesn’t talk much to me. I think he’s embarrassed.

Gracefully, she swooped in the air. But Bomarth does. And he teaches much to me.

The golden wings beat lightly on the air, and the wedge-shaped head swiveled around slowly. By the way, here they come…

The gold dragon let out a welcoming bugle and Steephi screamed. You had to wait until just now to tell me?

she accused. Scrambling up the beach, she grabbed her dress and underclothes, and ran into the forest. Once she was far enough inland so that the bronze rider couldn’t see her, she struggled into her dress. “Curse that stupid dragonet!” She muttered under her breath while she struggled with her buttons. “Just because she’s a queen, she thinks she’s so funny! Oh heavens! The stupid button!” The girl sat holding her dress as a button rolled off into the underbrush. A golden flash flickered over by where the button had disappeared, then was gone. “Great! Now I’m seeing things!” A chirp followed her words as if to affirm her sight, and she cried out in surprise. “And hearing things!” She sighed wearily and shrugged on the rest of the dress. “Why can’t I just wear plain old trousers! It would be so much easier!” she muttered. The top button of her dress was the one that had popped off, and the top of her chest was shown off. “I hope Bryan isn’t like that cursed Misson,” she growled, stomping onto the sands.
You know he isn’t,

Talarth reassured.
“Sure!”
“Hey, Steephi!” The dragonrider was just sliding off of his dragon. “What were you doing in the forest?” His eyes drifted over her frame, and Steephi protectively crossed her arms. “Lost a button, I see,” he laughed as she frowned at him. “Don’t worry so much! I’m not going to hurt you.” At her expression, he grinned. “Stars above, child. All I wanted to do was have a swim. Bomarth suggested it. Didn’t know you were here. Honestly!” The bronze dragon bent his head, and Bryan removed the harness. He glanced over at her, and then saw the riding leathers she had strewn across the rock behind her. His eyes took them in, but he didn’t say anything.
Snorting, Steephi spoke to Talarth, You told Bomarth we were here, didn’t you? You knew that Mari stole my clothes! You cheeky little quidah!

The quidah in the trees shrieked, and the girl jumped a bit, as did her dragon, but then ignored it in her anger. I can’t believe you would do something like that! You do know that now we can’t ever come back here unless some dragon comes to pick me up! Ergh!

She strode over to the water’s edge. Get out! We’re going home NOW!

She grabbed her riding gear off one of the rocks and shoved her jacket and helmet on, not caring anymore that Bryan would know that she had flown here by herself.
You just didn’t want him to see you!

Talarth teased. He is your mentor. What’s so wrong with that?

But, she humbly pulled herself out of the surf. You aren’t any fun!

Smiling over to a bewildered Bryan, she fluttered her eyelashes. “Sorry to leave you both so soon. I need to talk to Mari about fixing this dress.” The rider blinked and looked into the sky, and she continued, trying to think of another good excuse. “And it was too cold to go swimming anyway! I’ll need to hurry back in time for Mari to look at this before dinner.” Turning on her heel, she swung up onto Talarth. “Bye, boys!”
“Wait!” Bryan called. Talarth hovered in mid-air. “If it was too cold to swim, then why is your hair all wet? And why were you changing in the forest.” Even twenty feet above him, she could see the amused look in his eyes. “And, how old is that queen. Six months, right? There was no dragon to come and take you!” The amused look had turn to worry and fear.
“I—uh—”
The picture that Talarth had shown her earlier flashed in front of her eyes, and she lost her grip with shock. “Talarth!” she yelled, unable to see past the picture. Her head exploded with a fierce emotion, and she felt blinded. “Stop it!” Her fingers slipped from the golden ridge, scraping against the hide as she tried to stop herself.
I can’t. I’m not doing it!

Then, Steephi fell, her scream echoing off the waves.

The image was gone, but so was her sight. Blinking furiously, she tired to clear her vision. They felt like they were full of sand or salt, and she couldn’t move. A smooth object butted her, and she realized that it was a couple of stellena, with Catri at the front. “Help!” she tried to say, but bubbles escaped her mouth and she started to choke. Two smooth heads shoved themselves under her arms and began to swim to the surface of the ocean. Her vision had begun to clear, and she could see the sunlight filtering through the water a couple feet up, but she felt like she had been under for so long!
Finally, her head broke the surface, and she gasped in breaths of the sweet ocean air. Her eyes were burning from the seawater, and as she turned her head, she felt herself grow dizzy and felt the painful blackness start to cover her again. “NO!” She couldn’t pass out! What would happen to Talarth? Where was she? Forcing her eyes open, she turned her head. A head bobbed up out of the water and grabbed her around the waist. The Stellenas squeed and followed them a couple of feet, then disappeared into deeper waters.
Catri chittered to Steephi, and she turned to face her to her rescuer. “Talarth! Where’s Talarth?” Her voice was weak and raspy, and she could feel her strength failing. Bryan nodded towards the beach, and Steephi had barely a glimpse of golden hide before the darkness consumed her.

The sun heated her face and she rolled over, curling up against someone. Their body was warm and salty-smelling, and she opened her eyes. Stifling a squeal of surprise, she sat up and fell backwards, her head pounding. What had happened? Talarth? Where are you? What—What happened to me?

A different voice answered her, deeper and more mature than her own dragonet’s. You fell off of Talarth. Something startled you, and you fell.

It was the same voice that had spoken to her at the Hatching, and that had spoken to her at the meeting to choose a mentor! Talarth won’t tell me what happened, but she fell, too. Because of your connection to her, she experienced your terror and helplessness. She didn’t fall into the water like you, but would have landed on the rocks if I hadn’t caught her.

There was pride in the voice, and she looked around in confusion. As if the voice knew her question, it answered, I am Bomarth, Bryan’s dragon. I have been talking to you since you first came to the City.

The bronze dipped his head, and Steephi stared at him in confusion. The great cat eyes blinked, and the shadowy depths swirled from the placid blue to a worried yellow. I caught a bit of whatever it was, but I didn’t get much.

Bryan had pushed himself up from next to her and his hand rested on her arm as she stared in dismay at the bronze. By now, her head had cleared and she looked past Bryan’s worried face to the pair of dragons. Bomarth blinked serenely at her, his eye whirling slightly blue among the yellow as he calmed himself. You were talking to me? Why?

Steephi was confused. How could Bryan’s dragon talk to her? Wasn’t it supposed to be that only Talarth could bespeak her?
The dragon’s first eyelid drooped, then shut. That doesn’t matter. You are safe.

Talarth is safe. We need to get you back to the City so that you can get better.

The eyelid lifted, and all the yellow was gone, leaving just the normal blue-green dragon eye. He turned his head away from her now and rested it on the queen’s golden side, his wingtips touching hers.
“Are you okay?” Bryan’s voice broke through her thoughts. Her eyes still drifted on his dragon, but she nodded to him.
She felt much better now, but Bomarth had confused her. “Yeah, your—”
Don’t tell him yet!

The dragon’s head was up now, his eyes red and swirling, pupil dilated. Don’t—tell—him—yet! Even Talarth sat up in surprise, blinking sleep from her eyes.
Okay, okay! I’m not a little kid!

Sighing, she turned to Bryan. Clearing her throat, she finished. “You’re all wet! What happened to you? I thought I was the one who fell into the water, not you!”
Bryan laughed. “Yeah, me too! But the—I think you called them stellenas—” He paused to gaze out across the ocean. “Anyway, they couldn’t carry you all the way in. I swam out to help get you in.” He frowned. “You were out for hours. What woke you up?” He pushed himself up onto one elbow, the white sand even whiter against the tan. Solis was slowly setting, and it cast a reddish tint onto everything.
Embarrassed, she brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “Oh, that? Umm…” She let her sentence hang, unable to think of an answer.
Abruptly, Bryan started to laugh. “Oh, did I wake you?” he teased. At her shocked expression, he laughed harder, tears running down his young, handsome face. Finally, he was able to gasp out, “Did you forget that Bomarth still talks to me? He can tell how you are feeling through your dragon.”
Steephi muttered, “Her name is Talarth!” but he continued more seriously.
“Talarth didn’t seem to mind waking up next to her mentor, though.” Steephi blushed, and started to mutter something when gentle, harness-worn fingers lifted her chin. Anxiety had filled the blue eyes, and Bryan seemed to be staring into her soul. “You were told you couldn’t ride her yet. Why were you?” She tried to turn her head away from the pain in his eyes. She didn’t want to see that. “You could have hurt yourself worse than you did, and even more important, you could have hurt Siani’s only queen. How would you be able to live with that?”
Finally, Steephi was able to rip her head away from his grasp. “It wasn’t her fault. She is a wonderful flyer. And she’s strong. She’s been flying so well for ages now!” Quickly, she covered her mouth, wanting to shove her words back down her throat. “I mean, alone she has.”
But Bryan didn’t stand up and shake her and beat her like her stepfather would have done. He just sat there on the sands. Turning around, she looked down at him, her blue eyes wide with fear. Yet his only looked sad. “You chose me to be your mentor. Why can’t I be allowed to mentor you?” Shaking the sand off of himself, he stood up next to her, taller by a foot or so. Steephi was confused, and he must have seen it in her face. “You said I could help you. I’m supposed to train you to be the best queen rider you could be, but you won’t listen to me,” he gently explained, looking much older than he was. “Why didn’t you listen?” Shaking his head, he let out a shrill whistle, and Bomarth stood up and walked over to the pair. “You will ride with me, and Talarth shall take her direction from me.” He put his hand out to help her, but she was too angry to take it. Bomarth held his forearm out for her to get up, and she swung herself onto the broad bronze back. Sighing heavily, Bryan got on, too. “We shall have to talk with Johua about this, you know?” When she didn’t respond, he shook his head and his face smoothed. Steephi could tell he was talking to the great bronze. Then, the dragon sprang upward and blinked into beyond

.


Chapter Four


The cold of beyond

seeped into Steephi’s bones. Wrapping her arms around herself, she realized that she didn’t have her riding gear. And she had made it all by herself, too! We had to remove it from you after your fall so that you wouldn’t drown

, Bomarth’s voice explained. She still wasn’t used to having him talk to her. It felt so weird. First, having Talarth speaking to her, even though that was wonderful, then having Bomarth speak to her. It was all so confusing, even if the bronze had been speaking to her for so long. It was difficult to finally put a name to the voice she had been hearing, and even more difficult to admit that she could hear him. Don’t worry. You’ll understand later, the bronze dragon reassured.
Nodding, she wrapped her arms around her tighter. The cold didn’t leave her, but it felt good to be able to feel her arms around herself when she could feel nothing else. A sight flashed before her eyes. A black building, almost like the castle at Sol, reached its obsidian finger into a sky of a menacing green. The black, glass-like surface of the building reflected the odd light, making it appear evil, and something like a snake twisted lazily around the finger.
Steephi shuddered and shut her eyes tight, determined to forget the horrid picture. Why was it taking so long? It didn’t take this long for them before. Just as she began to run out of breath, they burst out into the air above the Siani Dragon City. Moher’s Interth bugled a greeting, and Bomarth responded. Then, he swiveled his big head around, his eyes beginning to whirl with fear, the black pupils dilating with a sudden fear. Turning to follow his gaze, Steephi turned to see Talarth pop out of beyond

, her mouth open in a silent scream. Pain seared across Steephi’s mind, and she screamed as Talarth’s cry was finally voiced. Talarth’s terror filled her, and she grabbed onto the bronze rider behind her, her nails digging into the soft wher-hide of his jacket. “Don’t let her die, Bryan! Don’t let her die!” she sobbed, falling against him. Talarth screamed, her wings limply outstretched in a feeble attempt to slow down. Below them, the dragons of the City were bugling in alarm as their queen fell from the sky, their bodies packing the ridge as they watched. Suddenly, a new terror enveloped her, one of surprised shock and fear. Lifting tear-streaked eyes towards her dragon, she saw the golden queen being slowly lowered to the ground. Talarth writhed from an invisible attacker, her eyes spinning almost purely white, her pupils mere slits. Before Bomarth had touched the ground, she ripped herself away from Bryan’s restraining grip and slid off the huge beast. “Talarth! Are you okay?”
At the sound of her voice, the queen began to relax, but Steephi could still feel the panic coming off of her, bouncing from her dragon in waves. It was horrible!

Talarth shrank back at the thoughts, and her voice was hoarse and quiet, filled with terror and a terrible frenzy of thoughts as the gold shied away from whatever had happened. I must have gone back in time or something…

She flinched as Steephi laid a warm hand on her hide. She tilted her head down towards her rider, and Steephi nodded for her to continue. I—I came out in a city of black, with a green sky. There were creatures that looked like us—

Steephi assumed like the dragons, and Talarth continued. – except that they were longer and thinner.

The queen shivered compulsively and continued, her mind voice faltering here and there. They were circling a big tower, and then they saw me. They hated me because I was in they’re lands, and they--They attacked me!

The dragon let out a little trickle of a squeak at the memory, and Steephi shuddered as she remembered, too, the sight she had seen. She must have seen it through Talarth’s mind, she figured. So you have seen it, too? That was before I came. I did not see them like that. While they attacked, I went

beyond to get away, but it took forever to get back here.

Steephi let her fingers caress the shivering body. “You’re okay now, Love. We’ll let Rosealee look over you. She’s a good healer. Maybe she can give you something to help calm you down. Surely it was just a dream…” She looked into her dragon’s eyes, but the white had not dimmed a bit, and it looked almost unnatural in her dragon’s usually placid eyes. “Calm down, Talarth. You will only hurt yourself more if you—Oh!” She turned to her hand. She reeled away from the sight. A long, red line scored her dragon’s flawless golden hide. Her fingers had lingered there, and she could still feel the cold of beyond

that lingered. Green ichor from the wound stuck to Steephi’s hand, and she knew that Talarth wasn’t lying. But she did not want to see the thing that had attacked her dragon. “Of all the stars above!” she breathed, and sank to her knees as she stared at the gash. “Look what has happened to my dragon,” she whispered, her hand covering her mouth as the other lingered over the gashes, the dragon blood soaking her sleeve up to the elbow. Again, tears sprang to her eyes. And Talarth was just six months old! Breaking down again, she started sobbing, cries raking her slender frame. Gentle arms encircled her, and she looked up through her tears to see Terevoor’s kind face. “Where’s—where’s Bryan? Why isn’t he helping?” The young man nodded towards the entrance to the weyr with a slightly sour expression on his face, where a small figure could be seen running inside. It had to be Bryan. She looked back to her dragon and steeled herself. Blinking back the tears, she counted the marks. Ten all together. How had she gotten there? How had she gotten back?
Terevoor gently pulled her away from Talarth’s wounds and underneath the great beast’s neck so that Talarth could rest her head on her rider’s lap. Still crying softly, Steephi patted the gold’s head comfortingly. Breathing deeply, she suddenly smelt the burning smell of sulfurous gases, which she had studied briefly. “Talarth, you stink!” she exclaimed, and the little dragon hiccuped lightly. “What did you do?”
Move!

the gold suddenly commanded, and she raised her head and her body away from Steephi to belch a little flame from her mouth. Hiccuping again, she laid her head back onto the Dragon Lady’s lap and closed her eyes. I had to defend myself, and I hurt some of the serpents. I don’t think they will mess with us much more.

Steephi almost laughed at her dragon’s bold words. Then, an evil laugh floated to her on the wind.
“That shows you what a good queen that one will make!” a man chortled behind her. Terevoor’s hold, which she had forgotten, tightened on her, and she buried her face deeper into the comforting smell of his riding leathers. Moher snorted again and said louder, “and my Interth tells me she was swimming at the beach and nearly got her rider killed. Some queen!” Terevoor tightened again as Steephi struggled to get out, her anger growing. “What was the Dragon Lady doing riding her dragon now anyway? She shouldn’t be riding so soon. Queen riders don’t ride for at least a year after the Hatching,” he sneered, and some other dragonmen laughed at his jokes.
Finally, she wriggled out of the bronze rider’s hold. Or maybe he had let her go. She didn’t care. Talarth raised her head in surprise at her rider’s fury, and Steephi pushed herself to her feet, pausing only to give the queen reassurance. Pivoting around, she saw that Moher had his back to her, and she stormed over to him. One of the men in the brown rider’s group leered at her, and Steephi glared at him until the blue rider shrank away from her glare. “Hey, Moher,” she said as sweetly as she could. The blue rider shuffled his feet and looked away from her and into the air. “Can I ask you a favor?”
The old brown rider grunted, but didn’t turned around. “Hey guys, the Dragon Lady wants to ask me a question. Mabbe it’s on how to properly take care of a dragon.” Some of the men laughed, and his friend, the blue rider, squirmed as she fixed her gaze on him again. Egged on, he continued, “Or maybe she wants to give up like a good little farm girl and admit that her dragon is inferior, even to mine. At least mine is a more re-spect-able color.” Steephi gritted her teeth as the man drawled out the words. The men laughed harder, and he turned around. His dark eyes danced with anger and malice. “What can I do for ya, Missy?”
“You can do me a favor and shut up!” she yelled, bringing up an arm from her side. She felt the soft tissue of his mouth and heard the satisfying yelp of pain. She grinned vindictively as the older man sank to the ground, his hands cupping blood that flowed from his mouth. “You should get something for that mouth of yours.” He groaned and spat out blood. “Heavens, man, the way you’re acting, you’d think someone with a ‘good’ dragon hit you.” Smirking, she turned around and started to walk off. Then, she turned around again. “And just so you know, my name is Steephi, not Missy.” She paused, looking over to her dragon, then back to the hunched-over man. “And no one

insults my dragon.” Talarth reared on her hind legs, bugling agreement, her forepaws landing close to the man’s bent over head even as she mingled her bugle with a whine of pain as the wounds stretched. With a yelp of surprise, Moher leaped back, slamming into the men who had been encouraging him. Talarth snorted, and Steephi laughed as the men held the brown rider up, and then grinned as the blue rider scornfully dropped Moher onto the ground and stalked away. “Or me, ‘cuz my dragon will deal with you!” she yelled back over her shoulder to the frightened Moher as he looked around for his deserted cronies.
With that, she turned and marched back to Terevoor, skirts flaring out behind her like a sail. The young dragonrider stared at her open-mouthed. Angrily, she asked, “Did you expect me to stand there and not defend Talarth? You would do the same thing for Ragul!” Huffily, she sat down, her weariness overcoming her. She had had a busy day. Blinking to keep her eyes open, she spoke to Talarth. How are you feeling? Better?

Yes…but they hurt bad, and I don’t think that stretching them like that helped any, you know. I hope Rosealee hurries up.

The queen shuffled away from where she had been standing, moving carefully to a more open area. Gingerly, she opened one wing. The sail was all intact, but something was wrong with how it folded out. It took too long, and the wing wouldn’t come out all the way. Ouch! Quickly, but carefully, she folded that wing back up. Again, she stretched out the other wing, its predicament not much better than the other. I think I pulled my wing muscles!

the gold moaned as she refolded than one, too.
Steephi pushed herself up off the floor with Terevoor’s help and walked over to the dragonet. Talarth was still small enough that Steephi could reach the top of her shoulder. Slowly, Steephi helped her queen stretch the wing, gently massaging whenever it stopped. Finally, the right wing was fully extended. Thank you! That feels better.

There was a pause, and the little queen turned her head to look at her rider. Why do you think I came out in that place from

beyond? How could I go so far—so far away from here, and somehow manage to get there from Siani? A gusty sigh came from the dragon, and Steephi soothingly scratched the eye ridge. Where is Rosealee? I wanna go to sleep,

she whined.
“Steephi, what are you doing!” an angry voice yelled from somewhere behind her. “You could hurt Talarth by doing that! Stupid, selfish, big-headed riders,” she muttered, thinking that Steephi couldn’t hear her. Gasping for breath, the City’s healer-nurse struggled up to the dragonet queen, pulling out numbing salve, cleanser, and some of the gala tree’s juice. Her brown eyes scanned the golden body, and she let out a gasp of surprise. “Steephi, what did your dragon do to herself?” she asked in a shaky voice, a slender finger pointing to the long, shining, green wound. “I haven’t ever see that before…”
Steephi delighted in the uncomfortable, worried look. So the healer didn’t know everything. Then, she realized that her dragon’s well being rested on Rosealee finding a way to help her. “Um, she says she went out of beyond

and was attacked by something. So, I guess she’s been attacked.” The healer stared at her, and Talarth snorted at the obvious. “She came out somewhere from beyond

. Obviously, there aren’t any ‘serpents’ or whatever she calls them,” Steephi wasn’t ready to admit she had seen the creatures herself just yet, “Here right now. We don’t have any creatures like the ones she described, but the scratches are real.”
Not scratches. Gashes,

Talarth corrected passively.
“I’m sorry!” Steephi teased Talarth. “The gashes

are much like any other a dragon could get, just deeper, and bloodier.” Rosealee still stood frozen. “Are you going to treat her or not. Some healer you are!” Snorting, she turned back to scratching Talarth’s eye ridge. The stupid quidah-brain doesn’t believe me. She wanted to know what happened…

Suddenly, she looked up into the round eyes. That is what happened, right?

Yes!

Talarth sounded weary too. I’m going to sleep while she fixes me. You should sleep some, too.

Careful not to move too much, Talarth settled herself and shut her first two eyelids. Good night, Steephi. Tell Rosealee to give me the gala juice quick, because I don’t want to wake up in the middle of it all.

She belched again, conveniently catching a still sitting Moher’s shirt on fire. Rosealee quickly had him taken care of, and Talarth nudged her rider towards a silent shadow a few yards away. I will be fine! Go and sleep. You will need it.

Good night, Love.

Stifling a yawn, Steephi stumbled away from her dragon. She hated how much Talarth’s tiredness came onto her. Sometimes the bond could be so bothersome. She felt heavy with sleep, and she knew she could never make it to her own room the way she was. Her fist was pounding now that the adrenaline was leaving her body, and she felt weak with exhaustion. Even the small nap she had had on the beach hadn’t prepared her for all this excitement, and she could feel herself wilting at the thought of navigating through the big Dragon City, even though many people would be willing to help her, as she was the Dragon Lady. There were so many hallways and other things and… Her legs gave out under her and she collapsed, her knees connecting painfully on the stony ground of the landing area. Biting her lip, she pushed herself up, tenderly stepping forward. Suddenly, a warm arm was around her waist, and she glanced up again, surprised. Terevoor grinned down at her, winking. “Couldn’t let you just collapse in the middle of the Bowl, now could I? And Ragul’s more than happy to escort you to your room with Talarth’s being unable to fly.” His face became sly and mischievous, and Steephi was reminded of her younger brother, Jeshi, in the man’s tanned face. “I am, too.”
Tears sprang to her eyes as she thought of her sweet brother, and Terevoor anxiously wiped them away, his blue eyes clouding as he watched her. “Thanks, I’m fine! Really!” she insisted as he continued to watched her. “I just want to sleep is all,” she mumbled, too tired to say much more.
“Couldn’t let the new Dragon Lady fall asleep in the middle of the Bowl while I’m standing right next to my dragon, can I?” he teased. “C’mon. I’ll help you to your room. Which way?” She looked up at him, and his eyes were unfocused. He was talking to Ragul. The air pressure changed, and the big bronze settled himself on the Bowl floor, a leg outstretched in appeal. “Can you tell me?”
Her tongue felt heavy and thick and dry in her mouth. She licked her lips to moisten them, and nodded to accept his offer, but was unable to think straight. His face started to become blurry, and she fought with the urge to shut her eyes. “I—don’t know…I was supposed to talk to Johua…and Bryan was mad at me…and I wanna sleep…” Her speech was slurred, and she blinked blearily. How had she gotten so sleepy. Looking over to Talarth, she saw Rosealee spooning the sour gala juice down the queen’s throat. That was it. “I’m gonna go to sleep now…” she breathed, her eyelids drooping as she spoke, forgetting the man’s earlier question as sleep overcame her. Terevoor tensed, and she relaxed against his strong shoulder. She could feel the gala juice, and she gave into the warm feeling. The bronze rider said something, but it sounded far off and gurgled. Shards, Rosealee used a lot of fellis. Enough to subdue a dragon! Wait, that was why she had given it, right? To settle Talarth. She shook her head to try and get rid of the flurries that gathered at the corners of her mind. Numbly, she was aware of Terevoor lifting her, then being on Ragul. Sleepily, she patted the dragon’s soft bronze hide, like a little child. It felt warm to her touch, and she stroked it softly, enjoying the feel of the dragon underneath her and Terevoor behind her, his strong hands keeping her from falling off his dragon. She let her head fall against his shoulder. She felt the big dragon takes off beneath her, his launch smooth and practiced, not like hers and Talarth’s bumpy take off. She smiled as she felt Terevoor’s arms tighten around her to keep her on his dragon. Then, she was asleep.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 27.06.2011

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