Page 27 of Dragon Fight

I had to wonder what he had been like back then, because as the crown prince bowed to Bernard in acknowledgement of his words, it seemed to be done with a mocking air.

I needto strengthen my muscles now so I will be strong enough to fly?Glimmer asked me as we went to collect her. She had been sleeping on Obsidian’s shoulder when we approached, but both dragons had woken as we drew near.

It seems so.

It must be so I will be as strong as possible as I put on weight, my muscles keeping pace with that, she said with more confidence, making me wonder where that came from.I must be fast, lean, and light if I am to outfly the males when I rise to mate.

I stifled my internal thoughts ruthlessly. We hadn’t spoken of it, what would happen to Glimmer when she reached maturity. She would go into heat, like all other animals that experienced oestrus did, and her call would be irresistible to the male dragons. Zafira’s male dragons. I realised now that the bond Glimmer shared with my men’s dragons was the same as Zafira’s with all other dragons in the keep. They felt an undying loyalty towards her, something the king and queen used ruthlessly to protect Nevermere.

So what would happen if another female dragon challenged that monopoly? I found Draven staring at me, as if he was coming to the same conclusion, but I shoved this line of thought away and focussed on something else.

You seem to know these things already, I said to Glimmer.Where does this knowledge come from?

I just know it, she replied snippily.

And that’s the only answer I got. Obsidian roused himself when Brom communicated where we were going, while Glacier let out a noisy bugle.

“Any excuse to get your scales wet,” Flynn said with a chuckle, wrapping his arms as far around Glacier’s head as he could and the dragon bunted his rider. But the other dragons rose as well, including Darkspire.

“I guess we’re all going to enjoy a day at the beach,” Draven said with a shake of his head.

The distanceto the top of the cliffs above the beach was so short that it wasn’t worth getting on dragonback to travel there, so we were escorted to our destination by the entire wing of dragons. The cliffs were steep so Brom, Soren, Ged and Draven seated themselves bareback on their dragons who leapt off the cliff edge and then landed on the sand below with a flap. Flynn and Glacier remained at the top of the cliff with me and Glimmer.

“That’s what you’re going to do, my queen,” Flynn told Glimmer in a warm, comforting voice. “You won’t fall.”

Of course I won’t, she sniped inside my head, but I could hear the nervous edge to her voice. The distance between the cliff edge and the sand was somewhat dizzying.

“Perhaps we should find a small cliff. Somewhere that isn’t quite so high above the ground?” I said.

“This is perfect,” Flynn told me, holding my eyes. “It’ll be terrifying the first time, I am not going to lie. I had to do it with Glacier on the top of the cliff and me in a rocking boat below to entice him forward. He hung back for a good few minutes, didn’t you, lad?”

Glacier’s answered was a low grunt, and he turned to Glimmer, eyeing her steadily which made me think they were communicating.

Glacier says I am ready, Glimmer told me stiffly.He says I will be strong, stronger than any queen that lived. He knows it in his bones.

Well, he is your mate. Perhaps we need to trust his judgement?

It was now that I realised the terrible burden of being a dragon rider. You bonded heart, mind and soul to a dragon, only to have to force it to put itself in danger, to fight battles and suppress its natural self-preservation instincts for the good of the country.

Just as I was going to have to do, now.

I’ll be below on the sand, I told her.I caught you once.You know I’ll catch you again.

You always will,she told me with a nod of her head. She moved her claws experimentally, picking her way towards the edge of the cliff, pausing when pebbles went rolling over the side, then continuing until she stood at the very edge.

“Looks like she’s ready,” Flynn said, catching me by surprise by sweeping me up into his arms and hoisting us both onto his dragon’s bare back. Glacier leapt over the edge of the cliff, only Flynn’s grip keeping me in my seat. When we reached the sand and dismounted, I looked back up the cliff face.

You can do this, I told Glimmer, even though she was only a small golden shape, far above us.I’ll catch you. I’ll—

Our bond always made us perfectly attuned. That meant that I felt the moment Glimmer threw herself off the cliff, as if it was me doing it. I was absently aware of the men below shouting something, but they weren’t my focus: she was. I watched her wings flap open, the resulting updraft of wind pushing her up for a moment, which had her heart soaring, but then it dropped away. She began to flap her wings wildly, to try to regain some of the altitude she’d lost, but she kept dropping anyway.

That’s it, I told her.Hold steady. You’re just coasting down, not flying right now.Her wings seemed to settle then, held out firmly so they slowed her descent, but the weather here seemed to help and hinder her. The gusts of wind gave her a brief burst of uplift, but those hitting her from the sides threatened to snap her wings backwards against her body. I could feel the tension thrumming inside my body as she floated closer and closer.

“She needs to be flapping her wings.” A sharp voice had me turning to see who could be speaking with such a dismissive tone. I should have known who it would be. Draven. “She needs to be flying, not floating. She’s a dragon, not an ocean buoy.”

“Shut. Up.” I growled as I dived closer to the cliff face because, although Glimmer was flapping her wings, she had lost control and was falling faster and faster.

Thud.As soon as she landed in my arms, I wrapped her tight in my embrace, hearing the frantic skitter of her heart beating in time with mine. However, I didn’t get to hold her long.

---