Page 54 of Forcing Fate

So when the dragons bellowed, it had to be for a reason. If there was a threat, there would be more dragons joining the call.

What was the little blue dragonling doing?

My eyes shot open, staring at the wooden rafters above.

Maybe it was a fluke. It might have been scared…What if it was welcome to me, but here I was in my room, locked away from it? What if it was as lonely as I was?

Not thinking, I jumped out of bed and grabbed my cloak. I was just going to see the little dragonling. Just making sure it was alright. Elispeth would likely be caring for it, considering her maternal instincts, but I just needed to see. I laced my boots up quickly and pulled the hood up over my head.

Lanterns lined the dim, quiet corridor. Without a sound, I shut my door and padded down the hallway. I headed toward the common room on the first floor, knowing if I attempted the main entrance, the guards would stop me.

Every student in Northwing knew of ways to sneak out of the dorms at night, even if not everyone did. As an unspoken rule, no one dared breathe a word of the secret exit. I was sure that many older women used it at some point. And I could only hope the Masters hadn’t learned of it in my absence.

I crept into the dark common room. No one would witness my failure if I didn’t make it down. I crossed to the open windows and peeked through the gauzy curtains to the grounds. Not a soul walked about, which was a stroke of luck, even in the middle of the night.

I knotted my night shift and cloak at my hip to keep them from tangling my feet. Brushing the curtain to the side, I climbed over the sill. My boots scoured the wall for the unfamiliar footholds. The stone bit into my chest as I dangled over the edge. My toe nestled in a crevice and I dropped my weight on it, testing it. Confident it would hold, I scraped along with my other toe, searching for another.

Slowly, oh so slowly, I climbed down the stone wall to land behind the holly bushes lining the dorms. I peered out, sure that it took me far too long to descend and someone had seen me. I shifted my weight into a crouch, listening for the guards stationed just around the corner.

The crickets chirped in the night.

There were no calls of alarm or encroaching footsteps. I freed the knot, fastening my night shift and cloak, then darted off between shrubs and trees, keeping to the shadows.

Without using the path, it took me almost a chime to reach the Dragon Canyon. With each passing breath, the weight of guilt grew on my shoulders. This was a mistake, creeping around in the dark, wearing nothing but a cloak and night shift! If someone caught me, what would they think?

I shoved those thoughts down. Turning back wasn’t an option. I hugged close to a tree near the winding trail that led down to the canyon. Elispeth and her Rider, Gaven, would be in one of the larger chambers for adult dragons, far along the eastern side. Those were only accessible by dragonback. I’d never make it.

A dragonling, however, could not fly. Not till they neared their first year. Unless Elispeth carried the blue dragonling, she’d be in one of the ground-level chambers with the rest of the young ones.

Some Wild Ones were so ill-tempered that not even their mothers could temper them. Some were more docile with other dragons, but ferocious toward humans. Each dragonling was different, and I was hoping I was right about this one.

Hoping.

Hoped.

I sprinted down the path as quietly as I could. If I just saw the dragonling, everything would be alright. It might recognize me from when it hatched. It might remember I had done nothing to harm it. Perhaps, with time, I’d gain its trust.

The moon’s relentless glow threatened to illuminate my features, and I pulled my hood tight against my hair as I ran. At the bottom of the trail, I slowed and ducked into the first cave on my left. Those who cared for the young ones and their Riders frequented this path… and those who cleared the dung pits.

I paused, waiting for a sign of movement or a dragon’s bellow announcing my presence. Moonlight lit the cool gray stone. Caves and chambers littered the massive crevice, so wide that many dragons could fly abreast and their wings would not touch the sides. Dragons often flew from one end to the other, visiting one another, and dragonlings learning to fly dove off the lip of the canyon, plunging into the abyss below.

My breath caught in my throat as I snuck down the path on silent steps. The dragonling would’ve been exhausted from hatching, so Elispeth wouldn’t have wanted to take it far. If she and the dragonling were here, they wouldn’t be too deep in the canyon.

Soft lanterns lit most caverns, others had strategic holes chiseled out to allow moonlight in. The young ones slept in the first caves. The adjoining chambers of their Riders were hidden out of sight.

I walked past young dragons laid about in a blissful stupor, clearly tired from whatever training they had done that day. Some were thinner, more streamlined, and others bulkier. I smiled as I passed a green beauty—so graceful and small. She would be a sight to see when she started flying.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I crept on, determined to find my dragonling.

My dragonling.

I stopped and swallowed against the lump in my throat.

I shouldn’t get my hopes up, I really shouldn’t. But what if this was my second chance, and it accepted me? What if I could go down in the record books as the girl who didn’t accept the refusal and went on to forge a bond? What if I wasn’t just known as the girl who was refused twice? What if I was known as something more? Something that would have made my father proud? I took quick steps forward and peered around a corner to peer into a cave.

My heart took off like a startled rabbit. Elispeth lay curled in a tight ball, resting her slender horned head on the tip of her tail. Double eyelids closed in sleep hid her lavender eyes, and I held in my sigh of relief. The blue dragonling slept peacefully at her side, tucked against the back of her tail. Its bright indigo scales twinkled in the moonlight, still sparkling with the newness from hatching.

I contemplated my next actions, watching as it squeaked and tapped its tail in its sleep, dreaming of something, to be sure. I dropped into a crouch and crept forward, boots silent against the stone floor.

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