Outposts

by Vickie Knestaut

  Vickie Knestaut & Danny Knestaut

  The Dragoneer: Book 4

  Outposts

  Copyright © 2019 by Danny Knestaut

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

  First edition

  Cover by covermint designs

  For Kayla

  It’s hardly an adventure without you.

  Contents

  I. SA YALLA

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  II. HEART OF ADALINA

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  About the Authors

  Also by Vickie Knestaut & Danny Knestaut

  I

  Sa Yalla

  Chapter 1

  Trysten clutched the lip of the saddle tighter as Elevera banked hard in the brisk wind and blue sky. The sudden shift in speed and momentum sent Trysten’s stomach plunging to the plains below. Wind off the mountain range filled Elevera’s wings and shoved Trysten and her dragon toward the cloud of doves fleeing the horde. She ducked behind Elevera’s neck with a slight eep of surprise as several doves bounced off of the dragon’s shoulders before fluttering away.

  Once Elevera completed her turn, Trysten peered at the dole of doves scattering upward. With their dark gray wings, silver bellies, and bright coral legs, the birds looked like an explosion of smoke and sparks as they fluttered fast and hard to escape. But then their flight was capped as Lucette soared over, spanning the dole with her wide, violet wings. Upon her back, Sera peered over the dragon’s side, her teeth clenched and lips pulled back in concentration. She would have leaned out of the saddle if it hadn’t been for the restraints holding her down.

  “That’s it!” Trysten yelled at her. “You’ve got it!”

  Sera glanced at Trysten, then leaned forward some more, shoving down on the lip of her saddle as her heels raked up slightly across Lucette’s shoulders. The dragon lifted and tilted her wings as she slid forward and drove the doves back to the waiting ring of dragons formed by the rest of the new recruits.

  Elevera swept toward the plains below, preparing to cut off the retreat of the doves that had dropped instead of climbed. Trysten raised her head and watched the dragons circling overhead. The recruits had done an excellent job of setting up a holding ring. The dragons flew in tight formation, without any prodding from Trysten or Elevera. It was all the work of the recruits, and they were coming along fine.

  They would be ready for battle soon.

  Trysten tried not to picture the swath of ash stretching out from the village behind her. She did her best to ignore it, along with the berm of stone that stretched in a crescent shape from the edge of the village. The berm stood higher than a man’s head, and it took a good bit of time to walk from one end to the other. It blocked her view of the west from the open doors of the weyr, but there was little else they could have done with the hundreds of soldiers that fell when the Western army attacked Aerona.

  The new recruits tightened their knot of dragons and contained the majority of the dole. The doves raced around inside the trap, forming a tight ball of panicked birds and drifting feathers as the dragons circled them on all sides. Trysten looked up and grinned.

  A low rumble shook Elevera and she began to climb without any input from Trysten. What in the wilds? The alpha rumbled again and broke formation, pumping her wings hard and fast, determined to gain altitude. Trysten placed her hand upon the dragon’s neck, ready to say something when she sensed what was causing the behavior. She peered at the eastern horizon.

  Dragons.

  Elevera climbed even higher into the sky. Pressure grew in Trysten’s belly and began to shift and bubble up to her chest as she sensed the firebreath building inside Elevera. The alpha was preparing to display.

  With one hand gripping the lip of the saddle, Trysten leaned back and signaled to the recruits to return to the weyr and sound the alarm. It took a few seconds for them to work out what to do, then Sera turned Lucette toward the weyr. The others quickly followed, falling into a V formation behind her. Trysten smiled to see their quick and correct response to her order.

  With the recruits off to the safety of the weyr, Trysten turned her attention to the horde on the horizon just in time to feel the final rumble of firebreath in the dragon beneath her. Elevera flashed her golden wings wide, her head lashing side to side as a blaze of fire scorched the sky. Trysten clung to the saddle and peered at the eastern horizon as she opened her senses to the oncoming dragons. The horde was too far away to be challenging Elevera for the sky, so the alpha must be taking an absconded horde.

  Trysten held her breath and resisted the urge to glance down at the village and count the goats in the weyr pen. The loss of more than half of her horde had cut down on the demands for food, and luckily, the beasts of burden used by the Western army were edible—at least as far as the dragons were concerned. But they didn’t have food to spare, and although work had resumed on the second weyr, it would be well into winter by the time it was ready. Aerona did not have the resources for more dragons right now.

  Trysten’s awareness expanded as dragons responded to Elevera’s display. The flight pattern of the approaching horde changed. Two rows of dragons now moved across the sky.

  Fish and birds. There were thirty-seven dragons in Elevera’s horde already. There appeared to be at least that many approaching. Where had they all come from? It was more than a single horde. As far as Trysten knew, only Elevera could have more than twenty dragons in her horde. The gold alpha leveled out and flew in quick, darting swoops back and forth between her weyr and the approaching dragons.

  Trysten sighed. By the wisdom of dragons, if her horde needed to be doubled, then so be it. But it had taken every ounce of her strength to survive the curtain of fire, to throw dozens of dragons at the Western army knowing they would fall. Trysten had felt every punch from the iron tips of the Western arrows. She cringed at the memory of dozens of dragons unleashing firebreath across the screaming soldiers scrambling to get away. The heat that had blistered her skin, and crinkled and burned her hair was still vivid in her mind.

  The watchtower bell rang, snapping her back to the moment. She drew in the thin air of the high plains sky. Her right hand went to
the pendant beneath her riding sweater, the one given to her by the female Original to replace the pendant damaged in the battle. Her left hand flicked to the hilt of the dragonslayer sword that was forever at her side now. Trysten did not know when the Originals would return, but she knew they would. They had plans for her and Elevera, and as sure as anything, they weren’t done. For all she knew, what approached was another scheme of their making.

  Trysten looked at the weyr yard, keeping her eyes from the blackened scar across the western edge of the village. The recruits had all landed successfully, and weyrboys ran to help with their dragons. Paege stood among them and gestured at several of the riders, presumably giving orders. Then he darted back inside as the first of the hordesmen led their mounts into the yard.

  She turned her attention to the east again as Elevera banked hard and resumed her lateral path. Trysten tried to count the oncoming dragons, but there were so many wings, most of them moving in unison. But not all of them. She squinted and took a deep breath, opening her mind to sense how many dragons were nearing the village. Scores. More dragons than were in all of the Aerona horde.

  “By the dragon’s breath,” Trysten whispered as her eyes widened. They weren’t all Elevera’s however. Only a few of them. The ones on the leading edge.

  She looked back at the weyr. More hordesmen filed out of the building, leading their dragons into the yard. Her hand sought the bow and quiver she kept on Elevera at all times during the fighting season. She had not bothered with her riding armor today, though. The pale blue skies of the early summer had been thankfully quiet in the two weeks following the defeat of the army.

  There was no time to go back to the weyr for her battle gear now. If they went to battle, Trysten would have to be extra careful, stay above the fray and rely on Elevera to protect her. She glanced down and saw the first of her dragons take to the air. They fell in behind the deep red Sone with Paege on her back. Trysten grinned as she looked back to the east. With her entire horde behind her, they were a formidable force.

  But her grin crumpled into confusion. There were Aerona dragons in the advancing horde. Her dragons. Not just the ones that had absconded and been absorbed into her horde a few minutes earlier, but other dragons. Familiar dragons.

  They were the dragons she had loaned to Prince Aymon when he returned to the mother city with news of their victory over the Western army. She signaled to Paege to display the village colors. A moment later, he unfurled the gold and blue of Aerona’s flag from a pole attached to Sone’s saddle. Soon an identical flag fluttered behind Vanon as well.

  In response, the approaching horde displayed their colors. The purple and silver flags of the Cadwaller kingdom fluttered from poles held by the oncoming riders.

  Trysten’s shoulders slumped in relief, and she smiled. It still didn’t explain why Elevera had just added to the horde, but at least there would be no battle today. Trysten signaled her horde to take up an escort position, then urged Elevera out to greet the approaching horde.

  She was happy to have her dragons back, but her smile faded a bit at the thought of Prince Aymon’s return. It was probably wicked to hope that his tongue had fallen out somewhere between his departure and his return, but the last thing Trysten wanted was more sparring with the man. After turning away the army that threatened the kingdom, she surely had gained enough leverage to tell him to be quiet.

  As she closed the distance between herself and the approaching horde, Trysten’s smile continued to fade until it disappeared completely. Ahead of her, she counted ninety-one dragons. She counted them again and came up with the same number. Three of them were from the Aerona horde. Six of them she recognized as dragons that had belonged to Muzad and had been sent back to the mother city on various errands throughout Prince Aymon’s first visit. Elevera’s display now made sense. When Avice and Muzad had fallen, Elevera had taken the remains of Avice’s horde. Now that Avice’s dragons had returned from their courier duties, they were discovering that Elevera had taken Avice’s place.

  But that did not explain the rest of the dragons. An entire swell of four hordes dressed for battle and weighed down with gear stretched across the sky. Hordesmen sat rigid and upright on their backs and flew in tight V formations. The braids upon their shoulders flapped in the wind created by the dragons.

  Prince Aymon was in the point position, riding a royal white dragon. On either side of him flew two couriers. Trysten’s returning dragons also carried riders. It made sense that Avice’s former dragons still bore their riders, who were now Aeronian hordesmen. But men she didn’t recognize sat atop the dragons she had loaned Aymon.

  What in the wilds was he up to? Why was he traveling with four hordes of dragons dressed for battle? Surely he wasn’t thinking of setting up a station in Aerona. There was no way in all the wilds she could support that many dragons, even if they came bearing their own food.

  As Elevera approached the royal caravan, Prince Aymon waved a greeting. In a more formal manner, he signaled for permission to approach the weyr.

  Trysten’s head shifted back on her neck in mild surprise. The last time she had intercepted Prince Aymon in the sky, he had abruptly ordered her and her horde to ground. As a prince, he had every right to approach any weyr in the kingdom. He didn’t need to ask permission. Technically, every weyr in Cadwaller belonged to his father. Yet this time, he sought her permission.

  Trysten signaled her consent, then took up position at the head of the horde. Avice’s dragons dipped down in a final show of deference to their new alpha and then joined the V formation on either side of Elevera. Trysten noted that their horde was now up to forty-three dragons. And so it began again. Her grip tightened on the lip of her saddle.

  Ahead, Paege and the rest of the horde approached, and Trysten signaled for them to put away the colors and join her in the escort. They sailed past her to take up position on the flanks of the swell. Elevera rose up enough for all of the other riders to see her. Trysten then signaled for the riders to take their dragons to ground. She pointed at the secondary weyr yard, which was distinguishable as a depression of trampled heather around several empty troughs.

  As Elevera sailed over Aerona, villagers emerged from cottages. They turned their backs to the afternoon sun and watched as a cloud of dragons descended upon their village again. People ran through the lanes, passing in and out of shadows as dragons soared overhead and landed in the weyr yard in the west, and the temporary yard south of the village.

  Once Elevera landed, Trysten undid her safety straps while several people called out to ask if all of the dragons belonged to Aerona now.

  “No,” Trysten yelled back. “Prince Aymon has returned.”

  “I saw Elevera display,” one of the villagers said.

  Rather than explain the situation, Trysten waved and smiled, and said she was off to investigate. She slipped off the saddle as Iven ran up to take Elevera’s reins. The weyrboy’s eyes were wide as he glanced between the new dragons and Trysten and then watched the last of Prince Aymon’s dragons disappear behind the roofline of the weyr.

  “What’s going on?” Paege asked as he jumped from Sone’s saddle and approached Trysten.

  “I have no idea,” she said. “But let’s go find out.”

  Chapter 2

  As Trysten and Paege crossed the secondary weyr yard, dodging dragons in their way, the newly arrived hordesmen turned to watch, their eyes drawn to the sword at Trysten’s side. When she passed them, they grew still and stiffened as if she were a dignitary. Their reaction was not what she had expected, and it made her uneasy. She thought the royal hordesmen would be more like Muzad and his hordesmen, dismissive and looking for a fight, even though Karno and his men had been quick to integrate into the Aerona horde. Of course, she reminded herself, Karno and his men were royal hordesmen, while Muzad had been the Prince’s personal dragoneer. Hopefully, she would not have to deal with these ones long.

  At the center of the yard, Prince Aymon stood besi
de his mount and held her reins. The white dragon lifted her head at Trysten’s approach and pulled the slack out of the reins until Aymon’s hand bobbed with the tension.

  “Trysten!” Prince Aymon called. “It’s good to see you again.”

  He grinned, and all the sky help her, he looked sincere.

  “Aymon,” Trysten said with a nod as she stepped up to him. He was not wearing the pompous purple and white fur-trimmed riding cape he had worn when she last saw him. His riding armor was impressive, the breast-piece protected by a metal plate stamped with the Cadwaller family crest. At his side, he wore the short sword of the royal hordesmen. He appeared to be making an effort to pass as a hordesman, rather than the fifth son of the King.

  “What brings you our way with four hordes in tow?” Trysten asked.

  “Well,” Prince Aymon said as he nodded toward the weyr, “I wanted to return your dragons to you, of course. And while I was at it, I brought the rest of Fallen Muzad’s horde for you, as I’m sure you have noticed. And I brought you some gifts.”

  Trysten nodded at the dragons behind Aymon. “Surely you’re not bringing these dragons to me.”

  Prince Aymon surveyed the sights around him. He appeared quite satisfied with what he saw as he turned back to Trysten. “Certainly not. These men and their dragons are under my command. We are merely passing through. I beg your hospitality as we take a day for rest and preparation. I assure you that we have brought our own provisions. We will only trouble you for some water and a place to pitch camp.”

  “You know where the river is,” Trysten snapped.

  A bit of Aymon’s grin faded. “I also have a few matters I’d like to discuss with you. Matters of some delicacy. May we go to your den?” He glanced at Paege, then back to her. “Alone.”

  Trysten shifted her weight. She looked across the massive collection of dragons and hordesmen caring for their mounts. The men slipped the dragons bits of dried meat from pouches on their saddles. The dragons lifted their heads and swallowed the morsels eagerly, hungry from their flight.