Page 76 of Crown of Ashes and Awe

“Enough! Lennon and Kivi, do you fight, or will you choose death for you both?”

Kivi’s head swung, catching Lennon off guard and knocking her off her feet. The beast then charged for the wagon and paused beside it. She looked once more at hermarkaand spoke.“Táimid aontaithe. Táimid ag eitilt. Táimid táimid.”We are united. We are flight. We are we.She plunged her head through the gap and struck the frame with her shoulders, jarring the blade loose. By the time the diabolicslicericocheted around the arena, it was over.

Kivi!

The massive head rolled once and stopped, right side up, its eyes closed.

I couldn’t breathe! My heart had stopped completely! I couldn’t move.

Kivi! Oh, Kivi!

Still on the ground, Lennon put her hands to her head and screamed. Griffon trampled the guards keeping him from her and sprinted to her side. He pulled her up against his still-bloody chest and rocked her while she wailed. Over the top of her head, he glared at Ciro, silently promising the fiend would pay dearly.

Ciro tossed the horn toward the waiting announcer and stomped back to his seat. Every sycophant around us tried to slink backward to avoid catching his eye. He signaled for another drink, then slouched back in his chair.

“I have lost control,” he said. “Not at all what I had planned. But they can’t blame me if she threw herself under the blade.” He stared into the distance for a minute, then looked around as if he’d forgotten where he was. When his gaze fell on me, his expression darkened, and I knew I was in trouble. “Time for the princess to take her turn.”

He gestured to someone behind me, and before I could stand, a guard grabbed me under the arms. Another guard seized my legs, and I was unceremoniously hauled out of the box. Thankfully, when we reached the stairs, they put me on my feet and allowed me to descend unaided to the arena floor.

I should have had a plan by then, but I didn’t. And I didn’t think Ciro had one either because, when I reached the center of the arena floor, it looked like he was still in his chair, frowning and talking to himself.

The mob seemed intrigued by my gown and my crown. No one had explained who I was. And I wondered if I might win their pity, like Kivi had done. But a talking dragon was a trick I couldn’t beat.

When they slowly but surely started chanting the names of dragons, I knew my time was up. If I didn’t think of something fast, that maniac was going to pit me against Nogel. Or worse, Tearloch!

It was just the kind of poetic torture that Ciro reveled in.

“Good people of The Soundless!” I shouted as loud as I could. “Surely a princess should be allowed to call down the dragon of her choice!”

Ciro jumped up and came forward. The crowd cheered my suggestion. The man looked around the stands and realized the mood had improved. Then he looked at me for a long time, probably hoping I would beg for mercy.

“Asper!” Tearloch was outraged. “Stop talking!”

I turned to face him, smiled, and tried to say goodbye. I kissed my fingers then pressed them to my heart. He might be wounded by my actions, but at least he would live. I was confident that whatever he was faced with, he would win.

“Very well.” Ciro had his horn back. “Choose the name of thy doom, Princess Asper.” And with a sweep of his arm, he indicated my brightly colored choices perched along the rim. The rim made of heartstone—where the dragons drew power!

I spun so fast a muscle in my neck burned like fire. I bit back my grimace and gave Tearloch a big wink. The last thing I wanted was for him to vault over that wall again and get in the way. I needed him to live. And I intended to live too.

I put my hands on my hips as if considering my choices. The bloodthirsty monsters quieted, waiting, wagering. When the anticipation was about to prove too much for them, I looked Ciro in the eye and shouted, “Skullcrusher!”

The mob approved of their obvious favorite and called the dragon’s name. Ciro kept his smile, but I could see even from a distance that he was suspicious. When the chanting peaked, he gave a signal with his hand. The black lifted off his perch and slowly swept around the arena, circle after circle tightening until there was no more room to fly.

He lit on the arena floor and moved toward me, drawing out the drama enough to prove his master was controlling his every move. When he halted, I started closing the distance. He cocked his head and watched me come, amused.

“Can you hear me, Ciro?” I asked quietly.

From high above, I heard the man laugh. “Yes! I can hear you!”

I kept walking. “You know where you went wrong?”

He didn’t offer a response, but I could tell he was listening when Skullcrusher moved his head forward to see me better. I imagined Ciro watching my every move through those giant blue and black eyes. And I wondered if he could feel it when I reached up and stroked the bumpy snout.

“Where you went wrong,” I repeated, “was the second you decided to toy with my family.” I took a step closer and wrapped one arm around the dragon’s leg—that leg that had stomped on Zelan’s remains. I held tight and stretched out to lay my hand over its heart. Then, with all my might, I willed every ounce of Hestia’s power out of the beast and into me. Even if it killed me to receive it all, I hoped it would kill the beast to lose it.

If it worked, I might not be able to torture the man or even put a blade in him, but at least he would feel the same anguish Lennon was feeling. That was, if he had any tender thoughts for his own dragon, like I’d been led to believe.

Skullcrusher tried to stomp, but it did no good. He could barely lift his leg, let alone shake me off. The murmuring crowd must have thought me mad. I was certain Tearloch did. But still, I held. And when the dragon stopped trying to push me away, I felt a punch of energy come through my arms. After that, it flowed freely.

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