“Eder, what of the two Ward pairs?” one of the Vladykar humans asks—and by his voice, I recognize it as Vladykar Jarogniew. He healed up well, as did his dragon Raucharger, faint white lines in-between his smoky dark gray scales the only remnants of our battle days ago. Vladykar Vaimiti and her dragon Salannagro, who fly nearby, look to have recovered as well. “Where are they?”
“Hidden, but not far,” Vladykar Eder says. I get the impression that he’s the highest ranking Vladykar of the present riders, given the way the other five Vladykar pairs hover around him and Velenosever respectfully. “We decided against pursuing in tight quarters, and instead came to lend support here. What news do you have? Any progress, Azar?”
“No,” a Vladykar human says, this one a male I’ve never seen before with dark red hair that matches the scales of the large dragon he rides. “The Star seems to have fallen in a small crevice but trying to break it open has been oddly difficult—the light hurts.”
“It hurts?” Vladykar Eder asks, his voice full of disbelief.
“It feels like it burns, but it’s not fire,” another Vladykar human I haven’t seen before says, his voice quiet and difficult to hear. His dragon, which has dark blue scales that become black at the tips, is the smallest bonded Vladykar dragon I’ve seen, closer in size to Astralux and Vitegadium’s size. “It doesn’t leave a mark, so we can work through it, but it complicates things.”
“Furthermore,” Vladykar Azar says, “every time we move the rocks, they start to cave in.”
Vladykar Eder turns his head toward where the brilliant white beam of Ariadna’s Star is shining up past the mountains all around us. I feel like if I even so much as shiver he’ll see me, and I cling tightly to Astralux.
“I suppose if we bury it, we then have to guard this area?” Vladykar Lochan says.
Vladykar Azar nods. “The Wards would no doubt search until they found it.”
“We must retrieve it,” Vladykar Eder says. “Continue digging—Velenosever and I will keep watch.”
The Vladykars fly back to where the light was shining out, landing on the boulders near the light. The dragons carefully pry the rocks loose—the light of Ariadna’s Star flickers as some rocks fall.
My heart quivers. “We have to get to the Star,” I whisper.
Astralux glances back at me with one eye. “I appreciate your vote of confidence, but we can’t take on six Vladykar pairs, especially with Velenosever here. I have no idea who those other dragons are, but that one looks particularly dangerous too.” She nods toward the dark red-scaled dragon that Vladykar Azar rides.
“Maybe we can find another way in?” I look down the rocky mountain Astralux is perched on, searching for an opening.
Astralux stiffens. I turn my head in time to see Vladykar Eder gaze straight at us. “Wards!” he shouts.
I squeak in fear.
Astralux leaps off the mountainside, propelling herself down, as the excited battle roar of several dragons rumbles down after us. My eyes search the mountainside desperately. I know that if we don’t find a hiding spot, we are doomed.
After what feels like an eternity, but was probably only seconds, I finally spot what I was looking for—a small dark cave. “There!” I shout.
“If it doesn’t go any further in, we’re trapped,” Astralux says.
“But we can’t outrun them, can we?”
Astralux gives a groan and then zooms toward the cave. To my surprise, she doesn’t slow at all, but as we near the ground she tucks her wings in and puts her front paws over her face, protecting her head. I cling to the saddle and duck low.
Astralux flies so fast into the cave I don’t see a thing as we bounce along the rock walls. It scrapes against Astralux’s scales with a metallic ring and we jerk back and forth, still barreling forward. A jagged end catches my arm, tearing into my light armor and pulling my hand off the saddle horn. Astralux yelps as something sharp hits her underside—I feel it on my lower left abdomen—and still we half-slide, half-tumble forward.
Astralux starts to spin and then we both give a shout as we come to a halt, slamming into a wall. I topple down, and Astralux quickly puts a paw over me, both of us gasping for air. I follow my bonded dragon’s gaze to the tight corridor behind her that we slid down.
“Good thing there was a tunnel,” Astralux says.
“Ward Estelle? Astralux?” Vladykar Eder’s voice trails down the corridor. Astralux and I both scramble up to our feet. “Stop this game now. Come out nicely, and things will go better for you.”
The corridor we slid down turns north. Astralux glances at me once and then pads ahead, her wings tucked tight to her body. It’s so small, like the other cave system we were in just moments earlier, that she has to crawl through. I slip past her in a broader section and then help pull Astralux through constricted parts.
“What is it with us and caves?” Astralux mutters. I smile a little, rub her muzzle, and then grab a hold of the nub at the tip of her nose and begin pulling again. Wriggling free of rocks once more, Astralux sighs as we continue forward. “It’s a good thing I’m younger, otherwise none of this would have been possible.”
“I still feel like someone else would be able to help you out a lot more,” I say. “If any of the Vladykars follow us on foot…if several of them do….” I shudder.
Astralux nuzzles my arm. “Don’t think about it. Besides, you’re doing fantastic!”
I hug the dragon before we continue through the small cave system. “I wonder if these were natural or built?” I say. “They’re too rough to be recent, but some of this looks like it was created by hands. Or I suppose a volcanic system years ago could have made this.”
Astralux eyes a stalactite above my head. “Perhaps, but if so that was years ago.” She breaks the rock off and sets it aside before squeezing on past.
It’s dark, but with my bonded sight I can see well enough. It’s like everything has simply lost its color. Except for a sheen from Astralux’s iridescent white scales in places where the dirt I’d rubbed on her has fallen off. I frown, observing the sheen. “Are you glowing?”
Astralux opens her mouth. Then she looks down at her paw. She huffs, blowing the dust off her arm, and the sheen on her grows brighter. “I…I guess so. I just thought my scales were particularly bright.” Then Astralux tilts her head. “I think you’re glowing too.”
Surprised, I look down at myself. She’s right—my dark skin is giving off a strange glow, like the light from a lantern at its outermost edges.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“I’m not sure.”
We keep going, but we walk slower, looking at each other and ourselves. “Does your magic feel any different?” Astralux asks. “Because I feel that same…surge.”
I nod, uncomfortable with the way my magic blazes inside me. It wouldn’t take but a cough to accidentally summon fire. “Like when Ariadna’s Star landed on Zoi.”
Both of us pause, staring ahead. While we’re emitting the smallest bit of light, now I can see a white glow from ahead.
“It…it couldn’t be….” Astralux murmurs. “Ariadna’s Star?”
We share a wide-eyed look. Then we hurry forward. The white light grows stronger with every bend we take, as does the glow on our skins, and the thrumming of my magic makes it difficult to keep from summoning it. Helping Astralux through one more small squeeze, I keep my hand on her as we cautiously head toward another bend in the cave system. It’s so bright it feels like daylight is in the cave, and like sunlight this light has a refreshing, invigorating feel to it. Reaching the last bend, Astralux and I share another look, then I follow Astralux around the bend, squinting into the light. I gasp, staring.
In a large, dome-structured cavern, tall enough that Astralux can stand up straight and could even spread her wings, lies a diamond-looking crystal, in the shape of an eight-point star, four of the points a little longer than the others. Its center is as big as the palm of my hand, and from its depths emits the bright white light. A strange, small bell or tiny chime-like sound tinkles in the air, as if the glow itself played quietly, gently in the background. There’s even the slightest breeze down here underground, that faintly smells of a summer’s day among a field of lilacs.
And the energy! I can hardly breathe at the unending power radiating from the crystal, which washes over me repeatedly. It’s strong, but it’s also inviting, like the fierce heat of a warm fireplace at home after walking amid an icy snowstorm during the night.
“Oh Estelle,” Astralux whispers, her voice full of emotion. “It’s beautiful!”
I nod, awed to the point of feeling dazed. “Ariadna be praised,” I whisper at last.
“Ariadna be praised,” Astralux repeats after me.
I hug Astralux, overcome to the point that I can’t say anything else, and she nuzzles my shoulder.
We’ve done it. By Ariadna’s guiding hand, we’ve done it!
We’ve found Ariadna’s Star!
Tamara Rivers 
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