While we spend the morning flight on guard, expecting to see another Vladykar pair, there’s nothing else in the sky as Astralux and Vitegadium fly over the rolling plains except birds and, closer to the ground, butterflies. The beautiful summer day gets to me as the hours pass, and I relax, sighing as I hold out a hand, enjoying the wind rushing past my arm.
Astralux glances at me from the corner of one of her eyes. “And to think,” she says loudly, “you were once afraid of flying!” I grin sheepishly.
Vitegadium flaps his wings a little faster, raising himself. “Hey, what if we race?”
Thorn, who’s dutifully peering around, looks at his bonded dragon. “Vite, we shouldn’t be playing games right now. We’re getting into Amenyl country and we saw a Vladykar pair last night. We need to be cautious. And, we should be looking for a place to stop.” The emerald green dragon gives a whine that’s audible from where I am on Astralux. Thorn’s furrowed brow deepens. “Vite.”
“What if we just did a quick race?” I suggest. “To wherever we’re going to stop.”
Vitegadium immediately perks up. “Yes, a quick race!”
Thorn presses his lips together but looks around. “Well. How about to that pool of water over there?”
I feel Astralux’s muscles tense underneath me as she observes the pool. “First one to take a drink?”
“You’re on,” Vitegadium says.
The dragons don’t wait for a cue from us to start—Astralux suddenly dives down. I crouch low, clinging to the saddle horn as the wind blows past me. Squinting to keep my eyes from drying out, my heart begins to race at the speed we’re approaching the ground. Now I remember how terrifying it had been, fleeing from the Vladykars.
Astralux and Vitegadium are neck-and-neck, zooming toward this pool of water. Not wanting to cause Astralux any issue in her race, I don’t even lift my head to look around, staying as low as I can. I do look to the side to see Thorn doing the same, although he looks more like he’s poised for an attack than just flat on the saddle like me.
Just as I wonder if we’re going to have a tie, Astralux pulls ahead, her neck outstretched. We aren’t slowing as we near the pool of water, and I realize what she’s going to do. Closing my eyes, I cling fast to Astralux as she lands in the pool of water, splashing water every which way. She leans her head down and takes a gulp just as Vitegadium lands in the pool too.
“Ha! Good race!” Vitegadium, panting, eagerly drinks from the pool.
I sit up slowly, the lack of wind noise odd to my ears, and rub Astralux’s neck as she continues to drink.
“When you two children have had enough,” Thorn says, a wry tone in his voice, “can you drop us off on dry ground?”
“Children?” Astralux’s scales ruffle and she glares at Thorn, water dripping from her muzzle. “I wasn’t the one that asked to race.”
“But you did participate,” Thorn says.
Astralux grumbles, her scales still standing up. I smooth the ones on her neck just in front of me down. “He’s just teasing you,” I say.
“I’m not a child,” Astralux says. “I’m sixty years old.”
I frown, realizing that Astralux and I have never talked about this. “Wait. You’re sixty years old? How old is that compared to humans?”
“Dragons are considered adults at fifty years old,” Thorn says. “But there isn’t a good comparison after that point. A fifty-year-old dragon is an adult, just like a 1,000-year-old dragon is an adult. They just get bigger and more powerful with age.”
I stare from Thorn to Astralux, then to Vitegadium. “How old are you?”
“I’m sixty-five. Close to Astralux.” Vitegadium’s tail pats on the ground. “But Kalteratem? He’s 1,357 years old.”
“What?!” I exclaim. “But that, that would mean he’s from the 1st Era!”
Astralux nods. “My father remembers a time when there weren’t countries on Drakonia, simply nomadic tribes.”
“That’s….” My thoughts spinning, I make myself follow Thorn’s lead and begin undoing the satchels tied to Astralux’s saddle. Once they’re unloaded, Astralux and Vitegadium go chasing after a herd of wild goats in the distant. “I can’t even fathom being that old.”
Thorn chuckles. “Have you seen Kalteratem? That dragon is massive.”
“Well, yes.” I start laying out bedrolls and then go to help Thorn collect dead sticks for our fire. Glancing around, I bring a spark of fire to my hand and set the tinder alight. I watch as Thorn fills the cooking pot with water and brings it over. “Thorn, I’ve never asked how old you are.”
“Twenty-two.” Thorn begins dumping food into the pot. “Been bonded for just over two years now.”
“You never mentioned any family in Adytol,” I say.
Thorn’s deep green eyes flicker up to my face. “That’s because I didn’t grow up in Adytol.”
I blink in surprise. Almost everyone else I’d met in Adytol so far was born and raised there. “You didn’t? Then, where are you from?”
“A small tribe.” Thorn fidgets with his hands before finally crossing his arms, giving me a stern look. “You wouldn’t know the name because it doesn’t exist anymore.”
I sit down on a rock nearby. “I’m so sorry.”
“Klevor soldiers.” Thorn stares at the blossoming fire. “We were a mighty people. But our tribe was nothing compared to the hundreds of soldiers that swarmed us in the middle of the night. It was a massacre.”
“That’s awful,” I whisper. “How did you survive?”
“Vitegadium.” Now Thorn looks out across the rolling plains at the green dragon, who is trying to drag goats back to us. “He had joined the Wards a few years prior, and was out on patrol. He saw me fleeing into the woods and intercepted the soldiers on my trail. With nowhere else to go, I went with Vitegadium to Adytol. And it became home.”
I nod slowly. I know exactly what that’s like. “I’m sorry for your loss. The Wards are blessed to have you and Vitegadium.”
Thorn’s shoulders drop a little and his stern expression softens as he glances at me. “Thanks, Estelle. I…I know it hasn’t been easy for you either.” He looks like he had more to say, but he doesn’t, watching Vitegadium and Astralux bring several goats to our campfire.
Astralux drops three by the fire. “Not much of a catch tonight. We should stop midday for food on the flight tomorrow, since we’re headed into more populous areas.”
“Good idea.” Thorn accepts a goat from Vitegadium and begins skinning it, hanging it up on a small tree nearby to let the blood run out.
Glancing south, I frown when I notice a dot on the horizon. But it’s hard to tell what it is as the sun’s already setting, the sky a dark golden yellow, long shadows on the ground.
Astralux, halfway through her second goat, pauses, watching me. “Estelle?”
Just as I’m about to warn them, I blink and the spot is gone. “I thought I saw something to the south, but I don’t anymore.”
Thorn and the two dragons immediately pause and stare south. Vitegadium soon turns back and continues eating, while Astralux and Thorn are slower to look away.
“If you notice it again, let me know,” Thorn says. “Maybe I should scout tonight.”
“Are any of the Vladykars known for being sneaky?” I ask.
“Veremund caught word about a Vladykar called ‘The Snake’ who supposedly is really good at infiltrating, and Amon’s heard follow-up rumors,” Thorn says. “But that’s hearsay—it’s not like we have reported sightings of this person.”
“Has information leaked out to the Vladykars?” I ask.
“Yes. And that’s the most concerning part,” Thorn says solemnly. “Sometimes it’s like they know our exact movements.”
“It’s frustrating for how careful we are about who we share details with,” Astralux says.
“And of course, our trip and Amon and Andeuten’s trip make me extra nervous,” Thorn mutters. “I—”
Astralux’s dark blue eyes suddenly lock on something past us, and she jumps to her feet with a snarl, her scales bristling. Vitegadium drops the goat in his mouth, his green eyes widening in surprise, before baring his teeth. Thorn and I both scurry up and spin.
My heart skips a beat at the sight of a humanoid figure standing about ten meters away, dressed in a dark-furred cloak, the head of which is a wolf that sits over theirs perfectly in an eerie way, so that only the person’s dark eyes are visible through the eyeholes of the wolfskin. I’m honestly impressed that the person snuck up this close on us, what with our enhanced senses. I’m also terrified, because peering over the humanoid figure is a pale reddish-golden scaled dragon with medium gray-purple eyes that glint by the light of our fireplace. My one consolation is that I don’t spot a Vladykar coat of arms anywhere on them. But that also confuses me—are there other groups of dragon-bonded pairs?
“Good evening,” the figure says in a smooth, male tenor voice. “Out for an evening flight?”
Thorn starts to unhook his short sword, but the new dragon bares his teeth, growling. “Don’t even think about it,” the dragon says. Given that he’s about Astralux and Vitegadium’s size, I guess he’s close in age to them, but that doesn’t give me any idea how dangerous this new bonded pair are.
Astralux crouches, growling. “Or what?”
“My friend will make sure you never wake up again,” the figure says. A leather glove rests on a thin sword at his side, the handle of which glints gold from our campfire. The wolf-head turns and pauses, facing in my direction. “I say—what is such a fine damsel as yourself doing with such foul company?”
“Foul company?!” Thorn snaps.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” I say. “What foul deed have we done?”
“Only attack the greatest country in all of Drakonia,” the figure says with ease. His hand is still toying with his rapier.
“You’re allied with the Klevorians?” Astralux asks.
“Excuse me? You think Klevor is the greatest country?” The figure holds his other hand out to his side with two fingers pointed down. I’m not sure why.
“No,” Thorn says. “We thought you were with Klevor.”
The figure laughs. “You must be jesting.” He turns his wolf-hooded head back to me. “I would like to get to know you better, fair maiden.” I take a step back, putting a hand on Astralux’s side as she leans forward, growling. Before we can speak, however, the figure shifts closer to his dragon. “There is, however, only one way I can confirm your intentions.”
A sweet smell fills my nostrils. I’ve never smelled anything like it—the best I can compare it to chamomile and lavender, and even that’s not quite the same. The moment I smell it, however, my vision swims and I stagger, dizzy.
“Estelle?” Astralux says.
“What’s that smell?” Vitegadium asks.
My body suddenly feels like it was hit with a haybale. My limbs grow heavy and I drop to my knees, fighting to keep my eyes open.
“Additionally,” the figure says, a smile in his voice now, “there is a small price to pay.”
“Estelle!” Astralux nuzzles my arm. “What’s wrong? Talk to me!”
“Vite, run!” Thorn falls to his hands and knees beside me with a groan.
Vitegadium and Astralux plant themselves in front of us. But they’re already wavering on their feet. “I don’t feel good,” Vitegadium whispers. He teeters and drops.
“No, stay up!” Astralux growls, shaking her head. “Stay awake!”
That’s when I notice the new dragon’s mouth is open, and his chest is contracting—he’s breathing. By the light of the fire, I barely make out some sort of heavy, nearly invisible gas all around our area.
“Astralux,” I whisper. My thoughts swimming, I fall over onto my side. I can’t stay awake, sounds and visions fading away.
The last thing I see is the wolf-hooded figure crossing his arms, the creases of his gray-purple eyes crinkling as if he’s smiling. “Sweet dreams.”
Tamara Rivers 
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