Page 48 of Ties of Bargains

Daisy flailed, and Val wrapped the dog in both arms to keep her from racing off. Harm shouted, covering his head with both arms as if that would save him from a dragon.

Then the dragon scooped all of them up in his front claws. Val tumbled, unable to brace herself with her grip on Daisy. The dog’s head clunked painfully into her jaw, and Daisy’s frantic clawing left bruises on her legs.

Val’s stomach dropped as the dragon rapidly ascended into the sky. The cold deepened into a chill that the dragon’s warm claws around them only somewhat mitigated.

After a few minutes, the dragon leveled off, and Valsquirmed upright, her back resting against the dragon’s palm—pad of his paw? Despite his size, the dragon was at least gentle with his grip, cupping Val and Daisy instead of squeezing them tight.

Peeking between the talons, Val assured herself that Harm rested just as unharmed in the dragon’s other front claw, only a few feet away thanks to the limitation of the magical cord.

Harm caught her eye. His mouth moved as if he were shouting, but his words were lost to the wind and the beat of the dragon’s wings.

Val shook her head and pointed to her ear.

Harm nodded, then waved first at the dragon, then forward. Perhaps he was asking where they were going?

Val shrugged. She had no idea where the dragon was taking them. The Dragon Moot met whenever the Elders of the various Flights called one, but it changed caverns each time so no one besides the dragons knew where it would be held.

As she didn’t know how long the flight would be, she might as well be comfortable. She leaned over Daisy as much as she could, somewhat squishing the dog, and fumbled to unbuckle her ice skates.

In the other claw, Harm did the same, though he got his skates off much faster since he wasn’t hampered by a panicking three-headed dog.

Once she had her ice skates off, Val stuffed them into her magical pocket. After a moment, she fished out a harness and leash. She didn’t put the leash on Daisy often, but she couldn’t risk Daisy running off in fear once they landed at the Dragon Moot.

It wasn’t easy, wrestling the frenzied dog into the harness. But Val managed it eventually.

Then she settled in as best she could with a shivering three-headed dog curled up in her lap.

After several hours of flying,Golbet abruptly dove downward. Val braced herself while she held on to Daisy.

A black mountain stood out against all the white of the surrounding court. Rivers of glowing lava flowed down the mountainsides.

Golbet swooped through a large opening in the side, gliding down a long black tunnel.

The scent of sulfur and an overwhelming heat smacked into Val. She immediately started sweating beneath her layers of clothing. Daisy’s agitated panting grew even worse.

At the edge of a huge cavern, Golbet landed on his back talons with a jolt. He dumped Val, Daisy, and Harm onto the floor, and Val barely managed to keep a grip on the end of Daisy’s lead as the dog tumbled, scrambled to her feet, and attempted to bolt. Val was dragged a few feet over the ground before Harm’s weight at the end of the tether halted her.

Val struggled to her feet, keeping a tight grip on the leash as Daisy’s claws scraped desperately on the stone floor.

In a blink, Golbet shrank, and a large man with straggling brown hair and wearing a yellow-green shirtbeneath a black jerkin stood in his place. When he spoke, his voice held a similar timbre, though it lacked the growling depth. “Keep moving. We’re late.”

After sharing a glance with Harm, whose eyes had gone wide, Val staggered forward, leaning back against the pull of Daisy’s leash.

A few yards ahead, the tunnel opened up into a large, well-lit cavern, and the sounds of voices thundered down the passageway toward them.

Daisy stopped pulling toward the opening and instead scrambled back to Val, cowering behind her legs again. Not that Val blamed her dog. Daisy was plenty brave. But anyone would cower in the face of a Dragon Moot.

Val took the last step into the cavern, blinking at the smoky haze burning her eyes and choking in her lungs.

Daisy dug in her paws, refusing to move another inch. Val hefted Daisy into her arms, toting the dog rather than dragging her.

Before them, pools of lava were scattered throughout the cavern, and dragons in their dragon form lounged in them as if in a soothing bath. More dragons in their fae form stood in clusters on the raised edges of the room while a large walkway led to a central space.

“Golbet!” One of the dragons in fae form standing in the center raised a hand. “Finally!”

“Are these the captives you promised for the bargaining?” Another dragon, this time in his scaled form, climbed out of one of the lava pools. He shook lava off his scales almost like a dog.

“I’m not—” Val tried to speak again, but Golbet shoved her and Harm forward before she could get the words out. She tried again. “I’m a mercenary. He’s the one with the bargain. If you would just—”

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