scales Aquella always keeps on her. That would have at least made me drowsy.”
“Well, obviously.” I rolled my eyes dramatically and nudged Kitsuna with my shoulder. “We should have totally thought of that. Because, you know, we’re all experts on dryad medicine. Right, Kit?”
“Shut up, you idiot.” Mercedes stood up and came toward us, tucking the orb into the pouch that was tied to her belt. “You don’t even know what a griffin’s breath looks like.”
“Of course I do.” I shrugged. “It’s a plant. So it’s what? Green? With leaves? Maybe a flower or two?”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about. Do you?” Mercedes huffed and then rolled her eyes at me.
“Shut up.” I nudged her. “Or I’ll whomp you upside the head with a book and really put you to sleep.”
“Hey!” Mercedes pointed toward the window. “There’s Winston. I didn’t know he was out on patrol tonight.”
I bit my lip and watched as a huge black dragon with curling horns and the elongated body of a snake flew straight toward the aerie. “I’m pretty sure that’s not Winston.”
Chapter Nine
“What do you mean that’s not—”
We watched in horror as blue flames shot from the dragon’s mouth, and the trees exploded. More dragons poured out from behind clouds, all of them long and snakelike, their wings shorter but wider than those of the dragons we were used to seeing.
“That’s definitely not Winston.” Kitsuna grabbed us both by the arms and tugged us to the ground, throwing herself down over our backs. “Get down. Don’t let them see you.”
“But—” I swallowed as we cowered low, underneath the window, and I heard the high-pitched, shrieking wails of dragons flying in the night. I turned to look at Kitsuna and could see that her eyes were closed and her mouth was twisted up in a way that made her look as terrified as I felt.
“Stay here.” Mercedes let go of my hand, and I watched as she scrambled across the room on all fours, snatching some things up into her arms and then turning to scoot across the floor on her knees back to us.
“Here.” She let her arms open, and both Kitsuna’s and my swords fell onto the floor between us. I looked up to see the thick red welts on her arms from where the iron had touched her skin. “We need to go,” she said.
“Go?” Kitsuna asked. I looked over to see her staring at Mercedes before she looked down at the swords at our feet. “Right, we need to go. Allie, you need to stay here and—”
“Shut up, Kit,” I said as Mercedes huddled next to us, keeping her head low while we hurriedly buckled on our sword belts. My fingers slipped on the slick brown leather, and I couldn’t get it to fasten properly.
“Come on,” I snapped as the leather slid again in the dark, and I felt the heavy sword bang against my hip.
“Here.” Kitsuna took the ends of the belt out of my hands and fastened it, pulling it tight enough around my waist that it wouldn’t slide down my hips in the middle of a fight.
“You ready?” Mercedes asked as she grabbed her bow and slid it on her back.
“Are you going to be able to use that?” I asked. “Its pitch black out there.”
“Lucky for us,” Mercedes retorted. “Dragons like to breathe fire when they attack. Turns them into a nice, big target.”
“Yeah? Well, try to make sure it’s Bavasama’s dragons you’re shooting and not ours. We’re going to need them,” I said as we all scurried to the door, still crouched over and keeping our heads low.
“I’ll do my best,” she said when we reached the portal stone. I grabbed her hand with my left and felt Kitsuna grab onto my belt. “Now where do you think we should go?”
“The aerie,” Kitsuna said, her voice high and shaky. “If they’re attacking us at night, they’ll go to the aerie first. Take out our dragons so that they can attack us without worrying about them.”
“Right. Take me to the aerie,” I said, my voice a command, as I brushed my fingers across the stone.
The world shifted apart, and the only thing I could feel was my two friends pressed against me as we were transported. Then the world came back together again, dropping us into the thick grass that surrounded the large stone tower where the dragon clans made their home at the Crystal Palace.
“Where are they?” I asked, turning in a quick circle and looking around before pulling my sword. “Where are the dragon warriors who are supposed to be standing guard?”
“Your Majesty?” Dravak yelled, and I turned to see the boy standing in the doorway of the aerie. “What are you doing here?”
“Where are the rest of the dragon clans?”
“Most of them are on patrol.” Dravak hurried toward us still in human form. “They left me and Tietsen here to guard the aerie and rest our wings after our flight to Dramera while everyone else…”
He looked up, and I let my eyes follow his into the sky. The rest of them were up there while he’d been left on the ground to keep watch, too young to fight. A child caught in a grown-up’s war.
“How many dragons up there are ours?” Mercedes asked as she scanned the dragons darting across the sky, shooting fireballs and screaming as they attacked one another.
“Six,” Dravak said. “Why?”
“Do you keep any bows in the aerie? An armory of sorts?” Mercedes asked.
“Yes.” Dravak nodded quickly, his floppy red hair bouncing in front of his face.
“Good.” Mercedes nodded. “Because I’m going to need a lot more arrows.”
“Right.” Dravak took off at a run as the three of us stood, back-to-back, and stared up at the night sky.
“Here!” he called out a few moments later as he ran toward us, two quivers of arrows in his arms and another slung across his back.
“Thanks,” Mercedes said as she took the arrows from him and dumped them on the ground beside her feet. She dropped to one knee and removed the bow from her back.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” I asked as I pulled my own sword free of its scabbard and clutched it with both hands.
“Don’t worry, Allie, I can do this.”
“Sure you can,” I said, trying to sound supportive instead of scared out of my mind.
“Stay out of the way.” Kitsuna pushed me behind her, one of her own swords clutched in each hand. “Just in case she accidentally shoots one wide. Our best tactic is to stay back and let her shoot them down, and then when they hit the ground, we’ll finish them off.”
“And how are you supposed to tell which dragon is which?” I asked as Mercedes pulled back on her bowstring and aimed.
“Our dragons are big and bulky. Theirs are long and skinny.”
“And that’s how you’re telling them apart? Shoot the skinny ones and let the fat ones go? What if they have fat dragons, too?”
“Okay, so I’m guessing.” Mercedes grunted as she let an arrow loose and a loud shriek filled the night sky.
“Guessing?” I asked.
“If they’re dive bombing the aerie”—Mercedes drew back another arrow and took aim again—“I’m going to assume they aren’t one of ours. How does that sound to you?”
“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed as I scanned the skies above us, looking for where the next attack might come from in the darkness, waiting for Winston and the rest of our warriors to fly to the rescue before we found ourselves in another blaze like the one in the Forest of Ananth this morning.
“Dravak?”
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“Winston? Where was he on patrol?” I asked.
“He’s part of the squad that flew northward, guarding Lord Rhys’s land near the White Mountains.”
“Good.” I nodded, still keeping my eyes fixed on the skies above us. “Let’s get this mess cleaned up before he gets back.”
