Page 57 of Court of Secrets and Flames

The female stretches her neck up toward the sky, her pale yellow belly a stark contrast against the ash and blood covered ground. Her yellow wings unfurl like sails catching dawn’s first blush as she swings her massive head toward me. A puff of steam blasts my face.

Lowering her head until it’s level with mine, she regards me with an unblinking golden gaze.

With invisible fingers plucking at my nerves, I dip my chin and wait out the inspection.

After mere seconds, the formidable dragon chuffs and stalks toward me. A silent agreement passes between us as her intent becomes clear.

She will be my mount today.

Impatience sweeps through me, and she chuffs again.

I’m pretty sure that’s dragon for “quit standing around and grinning like an idiot and get your ass in gear.”

My back shrieks in pain as I scale the leg she extends to mount her. The dragon shifts beneath me before I’m fully seated, yanking a yelp from me and a quick repositioning as she lurches forward. Muscles coiled, she launches into the sky, her powerful wings beating out a rhythm that thrums through my bones.

We rise, higher and higher, the palace shrinking below us until it’s no more than a toy castle nestled near the mountains. The horizon unfolds in all its glory, the sun a molten orb spilling golden light over the world.

Here, among the clouds, I let the wind chase away the stress of failed abductions, unfamiliar surroundings, and confused hearts. None of that can reach us up here, where I’m untethered. Unburdened. A creature of the sky.

The dragon’s joy mirrors my own, and I draw strength from her confidence. Air whips through the loose tendrils of my hastily assembled braid, offering me peekaboo views of greenand brown patchwork land stitched together by threads of silver rivers and winding roads.

Excitement and pride thrum from her, louder than the wind, along with an image of a scaled egg. When I put the pieces together, I can’t hold back a little squeal.

“You’re pregnant! Congratulations!”

Wait, does one congratulate a pregnant dragon? Oh well, too late to second guess now.

I can’t wait to see her baby.

She snorts, a puff of smoke curling from her nostrils. A twinge of unease knots in my stomach when I realize that I know next to nothing about dragon gestation or child-rearing practices. How long does a dragon pregnancy last? And once the eggs come out, how long until they hatch? Do mated dragons remain together forever or part after breeding? What do hatchlings eat?

So embarrassing. Only a really shitty dragoncaller wouldn’t know the answers to such simple questions. I have a lot of catching up to do.

She catches the thermal currents, and we ascend higher, the earth stretching out beneath us like a painter’s canvas. The dragon responds with a gentle tilt of her wings, banking toward the light of the rising sun.

We soar together, two hearts beating as one, and joy bubbles up in my chest. “I’ve got to admit, when we first hit the air today, I was a little bent out of shape. With the way you and your scaly friends were invading my brain this morning, I thought there was some kind of emergency.”

She jerks her head and arches her back, the powerful ripple traveling down her spine. “Yes, I get it now. This is really nice. But maybe we could sleep in just a little longer next time? I could definitely use more?—”

A shriek from my own lips cuts off that thought when, out of nowhere, the dragon barrel spins and launches me off her back. For a fraction of an instant, my body feels weightless.

Then gravity seizes me, and I fall from the sky, the rushing air drowning out everything else while pain explodes through my body like a sudden hurricane.

The dragon’s red scales gleam in a sunbeam above me, where she’s hovering like everything’s fine.

After all the attacks and assassination attempts, the thing that’s going to end me is a godsdamned dragon joyride.

And I didn’t even get a chance to say my goodbyes.

Chapter Nineteen

Tears sting my eyes as I continue to plunge toward the ground.

The air howls past with a screaming ferocity, echoing the raw emotion bubbling from my throat.

I can’t believe she did this to me.

And as if one betrayal today wasn’t enough, white-hot agony lances through my back.

---