Page 108 of Edge of the Wild

“There are totems all around his cave, half-grown-over with ivy. A dragon sits at the top of each, and each held a gemstone such as this in its mouth. A perfect gemstone – no facets, no occlusions.”

“How is that possible?”

He shrugged. “Toby – he’s one of mine” – he gestured toward the ceiling with his torch – “says that, according to the runes, all the gems were found in the heart of the fire mountain of the Fault Lands up North, many, many generations ago. They were brought here by the first Northmen settlers. They’re not regular gems, these – but you can tell that just holding it. They’re said to each be the heart of a dragon, long dead, and that, beneath their protection, dragons have the power to slumber peacefully, unseen, until the time should come to wake them.”

They both stared at him a moment.

Amelia glanced back at the ruby she held, big as a goose egg.

Malcolm said, “So the gems are magic, and they kept the dragons asleep like in a fairy tale.”

Connor tipped his head side-to-side. “More or less.”

“And you collected them.Removedthem,” Amelia said.

“Yes.”

“And the dragons woke up?”

“Er, well – they did. After a fashion. After we…walked down here and found them. We brought a fresh-butchered deer…and then Brian poked at them a bit.”

Amelia had been expecting a lavish story about spells, and sacrifices, or even a rousing song – and found herself snorting over this. “No wonder your brother overthrew you.”

“Yes,” he said, sighing. “In any event, while we managed to get out with our hides intact, and the dragons were awake, and did come out into the open, in the forest, it was all for naught. The scrolls I read in the dragon library did not lie. None of us here is a Drake, and so none of us could get them to cooperate.”

It all clicked into place, then. The ruby seemed to grow heavier in her hand. “So you want me to see if I can, what,tamethem?” The lunacy of it left her nearly breathless.

“I think, my lady, that it is in your, and the entire kingdom’s, best interest that you try.”

When she turned to Malcolm, she found him shaking his head, expression dazed. “Lia,” he said, a bit helpless. “I don’t – this can’t be real.”

“No, it can’t,” she agreed. But a part of her – a large part, all right most of her – did believe. It was too wild and weird a story to have been concocted just to, what, waste several hours of her time? And all of these bones were certainly real enough.

She faced Connor again. “I’m keeping this.” She slipped the ruby into her own pocket, felt it dragging at her coat. “Where are the dragons now?”

His grin flickered out, triumphant, and then smoothed away into a pleasant half-smile, the prick. “Let’s go and find them, shall we?”

They traveled back the way they’d come, up the terraced, claw-marked steps, around the bend, up the sloping dirt-floor, climbing much more difficult than coming down had been. Connor was in the lead, and slowly, the flicker of the torch began to be backlit by the lighter-indigo of the cave opening, growing larger and more distinct as they walked.

Amelia hastened her steps.

“Lia, you aren’t seriously considering this, are you?” Malcolm asked, quiet but urgent. “The man prefers to live in the woods with outlaws – he’s clearly cracked in the head.”

She sighed. “I don’t know. Living in the forest, free from society’s pressures, able to do what you want, love who you want – it doesn’t sound so bad.”

“What?”

It was an impossible dream. She said, “You saw the bones just like I did.”

“They could have put them there.”

“After making them out of what? Or, did they find them elsewhere in the forest?” She halted, and he turned to face her. “I’m not being held for ransom, I haven’t been killed or raped. As crazy as that story was, I think we need to acknowledge that Connor has no reason for making it up – unless it’s true.”

“But…” His gaze tracked back and forth across her face, a little wildly. “It’s just…dragons?Dragons, Amelia.”

“I know, I know.” She reached into her pocket, felt the smooth heat of the ruby. “What does it hurt to play this out? To at least see if we can see them with our own eyes?”

“Well, for starters, if they are real, we could all get killed and eaten.”

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