You believe this will come to pass as well?She pushed her hands into her eyes. “I hope not. I wasn’t even supposed to tell anyone about this,” she said anxiously. “Helly said that it would put my life in danger.”And she was right. I would advise you listen to Mistress Hellina of the House of Stoirm, first of her line. She is wise. I see that your threads are entangled. I would not want to see harm come to you, child. But if this is revealed, everyone you know could be in danger.“I… I’ll be careful,” she said.He bowed his head formally. You have passed testing.She almost laughed. “What does that mean?”You have my permission to continue to the tournament.“I can’t,” she said with a sigh. “No one will let me. And I don’t want to enter anyway.”Do you not want a dragon?She shook her head and touched her aching neck. With a shove, she slowly rose to her feet. “I think you all should be free to do what you please.”Then, with a sad smile, she bowed to Gelryn the Destroyer and stumble
Then, we’d better use it, huh?”saw the hesitation in Amber’s eyes. “Never mind,” Maya said at once.Amber was the youngest of seven siblings. Her parents were farmers, north of the valley. And at the end of the day, they just hadn’t been able to afford a seventh mouth to feed. Her father had packed her up, taken the donkey into the big city, and deposited her on the steps to Draco Mountain. He’d done it out of love. She’d have a much better life here than where she had come from, but that didn’t make it any easier.Amber still felt the pangs of hunger and poverty, just as Hadrian did. Maya… had never known such. She had only seen it secondhand on the streets and from her friends. Though she would have preferred to have grown up with someone like Amber’s parents. Who had left her out of love… not shame.“No, no,” Amber said with a sigh. “Wear the powder. It will look lovely with your dress.”“Are you sure?”Amber nodded. “That’s why I got it, isn’t it?”Maya took the small pot of powd
All of that is true,” he agreed. “But he hates something more than that.”She raised an eyebrow. “And that is?”He met her gaze. “Me.”“You? Because when you two were in the tournament? He won already.”And you lost. She didn’t say it, but she wanted to.Her father and Master Aurora had been in the dragon tournament together. Aurora was now in the Society, and her father was not. The end. The whole story.“Yes, he won, and we’ve had a feud ever since,” he said evenly. “I fear that he might have discovered that I am your father.”“And?”“And he would take you into his household to hurt me.”She shook her head. “Do you hear yourself? Nothing you are saying makes sense. One, wherever I go couldn’t possibly hurt you because you abandoned me. You left me at the doorstep of Witches Mountain and walked away. You have no feelings on the matter. And two, Master Aurora would never select me when he hates half-Fae. He was the person who convinced the Society to put down the rebellions five years
The House of Dragons had given her a new life.She couldn’t turn away from that even if she wanted to.“Thank you,” Maya said when Tavry finally landed back in the aerie. “I’ll always remember this last flight too.”You are always welcome with me, Maya Argon.Maya shuddered at the sound of her full name in her mind. Of course the dragons knew.Still, she dipped into a low curtsy and then retreated from the rooms. A tear trickled down her eye as she left the aerie and flying behind.“I know. I know,” Maya gasped.Aurora and Amber were looking at her as if she’d just sprouted wings. She waved her hand at them as she hustled into the back of the line.She was obviously the last of the twenty-three Dragon Blessed who were attending the ceremony today. Mistress Moran shot her a disparaging look before turning back to face the front of the line.Maya took that opportunity to rest her hands on her knees and take a deep breath.“Where have you been?” Amber asked, flustered. “You’re late. We’v
Maya, I’m so sorry,” Amber whispered.“We never expected this to happen. Not in a million years,” Aurora said.“No,” she agreed. “In fact, it hasn’t happened in the nearly thousand since the inception of the House of Dragons.”“It’s bullshit,”Marc snapped, sharp as a whip.That almost dragged a smile from her features.“Marc,” Amber admonished.“It’s true,” he cut right in. “The whole thing is beneath the House of Dragons and the Society. They should have never let that happen.”“He’s right,” Aurora said softly. “I don’t know how it could have happened. You had already negotiated with Ellerby. He’d been your choice for months.”“Yeah, and then he disappeared right before my turn came,” she told them.Amber blinked in surprise. “He disappeared?”“Yes. He just vanished. Left the room before he could pick me.”“That’s odd.”“Sabotage?” Marc questioned.Maya shrugged. “Or a change of heart because of these.” She swept aside the braids in her hair and revealed her slightly pointed ears.Am
“Thank you, Master Bastian.” She demurely lowered her lashes. “I appreciate you coming to speak with me.”“Please, let me know if there is anything that I can do.”She nodded and suddenly wondered if there was something that he could do. Not here or right now. But later, when she put a plan together. Perhaps Bastian’s kindness could be beneficial. She would put him in her back pocket like a card in Dragons Up.Bastian tipped his head at her and then disappeared back into the crowd.Maya had had enough of the party. She dropped her drink off on a nearby table and then stepped lightly onto the balcony. The summer heat had dipped uncharacteristically cold while still hanging on to every ounce of humidity. It wasn’t a good combination. But it did mean that the balcony was unattended. Or so she had thought.Her feet stilled when she found Fordham Ollivier leaning his elbows against the railing and staring wistfully out into the city beyond.“What are you doing here?” she asked.He slowly t
Then, perhaps,” a voice said, stepping in silkily, “we should take this upstairs.”Maya glared at Dozan. How did he just materialize out of nothing? Had he known the second she stalked into the Wastes that she was here? Or was it before then, when she’d left the ceremony? How far did his little spies go?“Dozan,” Clover said, going pale. She bowed her head slightly. “Of course, we’ll follow you.”Dozan’s gaze swept the room. “Nothing to see here. Continue.”Just like that, the rope snapped. Everyone went back to their games and drinks and fondling. It was as if nothing had happened at all.Maya was still furious. And her fury went deeper than how stupid Clover had been, but it was the only thing that she could fix.Dozan arched an eyebrow at her. “Shall we?”She huffed and then strode away. Upstairs meant Dozan’s office, and she had been there enough times to know the way. She didn’t want to sit back and wait for him to escort her. But he kept an easy pace with her anyway.“This cloak
“You have possession of all four elements. You are an excellent dragon rider. The dragons love you. And you have… your visions,” she added simply. “Any tribe—every tribe—should be clamoring to get your attention, but they aren’t.”“Because I’m half-Fae,” she whispered.“No,” Helly said sharply with a shake of her head. “No, that’s not why. Don’t ever think that. Because you’ve done such a good job at hiding how accomplished you are, everyone underestimates you. It’s a very safe position to be in.”“It’s not safe; it’s suicide,” she croaked. “If I’m not a member of a tribe, then I don’t become a citizen, Helly. I don’t get my own life. I don’t get to escape what my father did to me!”And there it was. Her entire life and fears laid out before them like a raw, bleeding wound.Helly reached forward and pressed her hands to her trembling fingertips. “What Kivrin did to you was wrong, Maya,” she murmured. “I am certain he deeply regrets what happened. If you wish to return to Bryonica, the