Dragon Song (Dawn of the Dragon Queen Book 1)

by Tara West

  Abby nudged her in the ribs. “Don’t look now, but I think those boys are staring at you.”

  Safina instantly looked up, following Abby’s line of vision to a cluster of young men standing by the pier. They had been with Señor Cortez last night and looked very much as they had before, huddled together, warily eyeing Safina as if she had the plague. There was one other among them who drew her attention. He had the same tanned skin, sharp nose, and wide, almond eyes as the others, but whereas their bodies were muscular and virile, he was lean and sickly; his bony knees knocked together as he hunched over in a chair with large wooden wheels.

  Abby elbowed her again. “I said not to look.”

  Safina ignored her. She was growing tired of taking orders from this mortal. She was not Abby’s puppet to be led about on a string. But when the crippled boy turned his gaze directly on Safina, her breath hitched, and she was compelled to look away. There was something very knowing in that boy’s eyes, something that filled Safina with a feeling of wonderment, anticipation, and dread all at once.

  “They are Señor Cortez’s grandsons,” Abby said with a hint of derision in her voice.

  Safina turned her back to them, though she could still feel the weight of the boy’s gaze pressing on her.

  Safina grabbed Abby’s elbow, pulling her close. “Aye. Mother and I met them when we arrived.” She dropped her voice to a strained whisper. “Who is that boy with them? The one in the wheeled chair?”

  “He’s their brother,” Abby said with a sigh, her tone changing to one of pity.

  “Can’t he walk?” Safina asked, but she already knew he couldn’t. His legs didn’t look strong enough to support his weight.

  “He was stricken with polio.” Abby arched back, looking at Safina as if she’d gone mad. “Surely you’ve heard of polio in Scotland.”

  Safina looked away. “We lived a sheltered life.”

  Abby shook her head, clucking her tongue. “Polio has killed and crippled many Americans.”

  “How terrible.” Safina’s heart lurched at the thought of the boy having to endure such a disease. She considered herself fortunate her mother’s healing fires had always saved her from such maladies.

  Abby clutched Safina’s arm. “They’re all looking at you funny. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they’re frightened of you.”

  “I’m not sure why,” Safina mumbled. Though she knew the reason, and it pained her to think of it. Had they not seen her in dragon form, they might have come over and greeted Safina.

  “Maybe your mother has warned them away from you. My nana respects the old man, Señor Cortez, but she’d never allow me to marry a Mexican laborer,” she said, making a face as if the words left a bitter taste in her mouth. “I must marry a man of good breeding and European descent, like Theodore Carter.”

  That was puzzling. Breeding? As if they were livestock? What difference did any of that make? Safina knew little of marriage, but she thought matrimonial bonds should be formed out of love, not breeding.

  “But what if you fall in love with one of Señor Cortez’s grandsons?” she asked.

  “Me?” Abby stepped back, splaying a hand across her chest. “Don’t be foolish, Safi. What life would I have as a laborer’s wife? I must live in a fine house and have many servants.”

  Immediately Charlotte and Theodore Carter’s grand home came to mind. Could a Mexican laborer not build her such a home? “And you cannot do this if you marry one of Señor Cortez’s grandsons?”

  Abby let out a shrill burst of laughter before swatting Safina’s arm. “No, silly. Goodness, you really have lived a sheltered life.” She continued to glare at the young men. “Those boys are still staring at you.”

  A trill raced up Safina’s spine. She knew not why it excited her, but it did. She wondered what they had told their brother about her and if he believed them.

  “What should I do?” She ran a hand through her hair, suddenly worried about the loose strands that had fallen out of place. Odd, because she hadn’t cared about her appearance until then.

  “Ignore them, of course,” Abby said haughtily. “Turn up your nose as I do.”

  Safina thought about it but reconsidered. She had no reason to be unkind to the young men who’d helped her and her mother. If it hadn’t been for their assistance, she might still be trapped in that miserable shell. Besides, she very much wanted to meet their brother. Something about the look in his eyes made her want to know more about him.

  As if Abby sensed Safina’s thoughts, she added. “You may show the crippled boy some kindness, but only him. You must scorn the rest.”

  Safina frowned. “They have done me no harm.”

  “They are gawking at you, Safi. That is harm enough.” She tugged on Safina’s sleeve. “Well, come on. I have a friend who works in the bathhouse. We can probably get bathing suits for free or half-price.”

  “Bathing suits?”

  “Yes.” Abby nodded at the water. “We’re going for a dip in the sea.”

  Safina dug her heels into the sand. “Thank you, no.”

  Abby’s mouth fell open. “Why not? Are you afraid?”

  Afraid? Aye, very afraid. Five centuries of listening to dark ocean sounds had that effect on a dragoness. Safina vehemently shook her head. “I just don’t want to swim.”

  “But it will be refreshing.” She pointed to the waves. Two familiar mortal girls were waving at them and bobbling in the water. “Look, Irene and Lydia are waiting.” Again, she pulled Safina’s arm. “Come on.”

  Safina dug her heels in harder. “No, Abby.” Her authoritative tone was strange even to her ears.

  Surprisingly, Abby dropped her arm and backed away. “Suit yourself,” she said with a petulant pout. “I’m going in. Will you wait for me onshore?”

  “Perhaps for a short while.”

  “I shall not be long. No doubt they are wanting to know all the details of our visit with Charlotte.”

  Safina’s pulse quickened as she recollected her behavior at Charlotte’s, how she’d told them the baby was a girl, a revelation she now realized was a foolish display of dragoness magic. “Will you tell them everything?”

  “Not everything. You secret is safe with me.” Abby pinched her lips, turning her fingers as if she were twisting a lock.

  Safina heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

  Irene and Lydia were yelling impatiently, waving their hands in the air as if their life depended on it.

  “They’re not giving up, are they?” Abby groaned.

  “Go on.” Safina nudged her.

  Abby turned on her heel, racing in the direction of Señor Cortez’s grandsons for what appeared to have been a house built on top of the pier.

  Safina waited on shore, impatiently tapping her foot until Abby emerged in blue pantaloons, a short-sleeved, frilly top, and a lace cap. Abby waved once at Safina before heading straight for the water. She laughed as soon as her feet hit the foamy surf, and she rushed toward her awaiting friends.

  Safina folded her arms and stared at Abby’s backside, feeling the slight pang of envy and regret that she had refused to join them, but then the memories of her imprisonment came racing back, and she knew she couldn’t go in the water. Besides, the boy in the wheeled chair was still staring at her. Curiosity finally won, and she slowly made her way toward him, the thrumming in her chest pounding like a drum in her ears.

  Funny how Señor Cortez’s grandsons received her as she drew near. The strong, virile young men shuffled their feet and hung their heads as they backed up, leaving their defenseless brother alone to face the dragoness. Safina couldn’t help but laugh under her breath. ’Twas a good thing she had an aversion to eating mortals. The cripple looked directly at her with his sharp gaze, seemingly more curious than afraid.

  “Good day,” she said to the boy, offering a short curtsy. She noted with interest how he slipped a book behind his back as if he was ashamed of what he’d been reading.

  “Hello.”<
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  He had a surprisingly deep, rich voice that did not match the size of his frail body. That’s when Safina realized perhaps he wasn’t a boy. When he beamed up at her, flashing a sweet, youthful smile, she was confounded all the more.

  “You look like your mama.”

  “You’ve met my mother?” Safina asked. Odd, because she didn’t remember seeing him yesternight.

  He shrugged. “My papí introduced us today.”

  “Oh.” Safina wondered why she felt this surge of disappointment, as if she’d expected her mother to have stayed with Mrs. Jenkens in anticipation of her return.

  “I am Gabriel. Gabriel Cortez,” he said.

  Gabriel? Safina remembered the priests in the old world had spoken of a beautiful angel named Gabriel, whom their god had used to deliver messages. This Gabriel had a beautiful face as well, so beautiful, in fact, that his large, luminous eyes nearly broke her heart. The warmth radiating from his smile seeped into Safina’s bones. At that moment, she knew she was going to like Gabriel Cortez.

  “What is your name?” he asked.

  Safina caught a glimpse of his legs, which reminded her of two bent twigs. “My mother did not tell you?”

  “She hardly spoke. She mostly argued with Papí.”

  She rolled her eyes to the heavens. “Aye, that sounds like my mother.” She briefly wondered what they’d been arguing about. Could it have been the severance of souls she’d heard her mother mention? Safina had been so struck by Galveston’s sights and sounds yesternight, she’d hardly had a chance to wonder what soul-severing meant. It concerned her even less as she stood before Gabriel, for though he was small and shriveled, his presence seemed to encompass her entire world.

  She flashed a smile, hoping he found her attractive. “I am Safina.”

  He arched a thick brow. “Safina?”

  She nodded a little too eagerly, liking the deep burr of his voice when he said her name.

  “That is beautiful.” He frowned. “But hard to remember. What do your friends call you?”

  She absently rubbed her arm, averting her gaze. “I hardly know. I’ve never had any.” Something she hated to admit but knew he’d discover soon enough.

  “What about her?” He nodded toward Abby, who was splashing the squealing girls.

  “Oh, Abby.” Safina grimaced, still not knowing if she could count Abby as a friend. “We’ve only just met, but she calls me Safi.”

  “Then I will have to call you Safi, too.”

  His wide grin tilted too much to the right, revealing a boyish dimple and confounding Safina even more. Was he boy or man? She had no idea. Perhaps he was a man trapped inside a boy’s body.

  Perhaps the only way to find out would be to kiss him.

  Safina gasped and stepped back, stunned at her bold thought. Where had that come from, and why would she wish to kiss Gabriel Cortez?

  “Are you alright, Safi?”

  “You are forward. My mother would not be pleased.” It was wrong of her to say, she knew it. For she did like that he was forward, and she did wish him to call her Safi.

  He answered with a deep, throaty chuckle, which confounded and then infuriated her. Was this weak mortal making fun of her, a dragon princess?

  She motioned toward the book behind his back, hoping to shift the topic to him and also curious to know why he’d hidden it. “What were you reading?”

  He leaned forward and pulled out the tome. The spine was in tatters and several pages had been creased inward. His cheeks turned a bright crimson as he ran his thumb across the title on the cover.

  Safina sensed the book was taboo, for why else would he have tried to hide it? If he only knew Safina could not read, perhaps he would not have been so embarrassed.

  But when he stared directly into her eyes with a deep penetrating gaze, as if he could see into her very soul, it was she who felt the flush of unease. Her only solace was that he looked away before she did.

  “The Love Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barret Browning.” His voice dipped and then splintered, reminding Safina of a sapling that had been split open, revealing the tender, raw wood beneath. “Have you read it?”

  “No.” She shook her head as a new sense of unease washed over her. Were people of Galveston expected to read? “I do not read much,” she lied.

  She hadn’t ever learned, and she doubted her mother had, either. She remembered Charlotte mentioning writing to Abby, which meant they both could read. A weight settled in her gut when she recalled all the words she’d seen posted on signs and buildings. The letters were boldly written, the messages much shorter than the missives she’d seen posted on the church doors when they’d lived in the old world. Of course people of Galveston were expected to read. She wondered if she would ever be at ease with the other girls if she could not understand simple signs.

  He held up the book, and a breeze ruffled the pages. “I could read it to you if you like.”

  Safina nodded and smiled, relieved that he did not expect her to read the book herself. “Thank you kindly. Perhaps one day.” She pointed to his legs, again feeling the need to change the subject. “Do they pain you?”

  He frowned at his bony, bent limbs. “Not anymore.”

  But her fingers began to itch and tingle, reminding her one need not be in pain to require healing.

  He nodded to the water behind her. “Why aren’t you swimming?”

  An involuntary shiver swept up her spine. “I’ve spent more than enough time in the water.”

  “I would swim if I could,” he said solemnly.

  “And I would fly if I could.” Safina slapped a hand over her mouth. The words had come out before she had time to stop them. She quickly scanned the area, relieved no one was within earshot.

  Gabriel’s eyes widened. He looked over both shoulders before dropping his voice. “Is it true then, that you are a dragon?”

  Safina’s hands fell limply to her sides, and her knees weakened. Why had she mentioned flying? Mother would chide her for sure if she knew Safina had spoken so carelessly. Now he would pester her for more answers, and a crowded beach was not the place to be discussing such matters.

  A starry-eyed young couple walked past, their attention only for each other as they hastened into the water.

  “Don’t be alarmed. Your secret is safe with my family.” Gabriel chuckled, his gaze shifting to his brothers, who’d crept farther away from them, pretending not to be paying them any heed while leering at Safina from beneath thick lashes. “I doubt anyone would believe us anyway.” He clutched the book to his chest. “So please tell me it’s true, that Papí and my brothers have not gone loco.”

  “It’s true,” she said on a strained whisper.

  A fire lit in his eyes, and he looked ready to jump from his chair. “How do you change and then change back?”

  She released a slow breath, all the while keeping watch for anyone drawing near. “It is easy, really. Almost second nature, like breathing.”

  “How fast can you fly? Faster than a locomotive?” The excitement in his voice, once again, made her think of a child.

  She shrugged, trying to recall if Señor Cortez had told her about locomotives. “I’m not sure, but I can outpace any bird.”

  He sank back in his chair and heaved a sigh. “I am green with envy.”

  She dropped her gaze to the sand as she reflected on her life as a dragon princess. Sixteen years running and another five hundred hiding. No friends and no family other than her mother. “It is not such a privileged life: always escaping from mobs and hiding who I am.”

  “You do not have to hide yourself around me, Safi. I think you’re magnificent.” He ended on a breathy whisper.

  When Safina looked into his eyes, she saw only sincerity and admiration. Could it be true? Gabriel knew what she was and thought her “magnificent?”

  For the first time in Safina’s life, an enormous weight lifted from her shoulders and her chest expanded with a feeling she’d never
known, a feeling of acceptance. Warmth radiated from her heart and spread all the way to her toes. It was as if her soul had been wrapped in an embrace.

  She fought the urge to bend on one knee and plant a big kiss on his full lips, for he truly did have a beautiful face, even more handsome than Mr. Carter. “Thank you, Gabriel.”

  A shrill scream broke through her cloud of happiness like a thunderbolt tearing through the night. “Abigail Marie Jenkens!”

  Gabriel smirked, nodding to something behind Safina. “Mrs. Jenkens doesn’t look too pleased.”

  Safina turned and grimaced as the heavyset woman marched across the sand with Abby in her sights, her cheeks looking like two overripe apples.

  And in an instant, Safina’s bubble of happiness burst. She spun toward Gabriel, who was rolling his chair back.

  “You’d better go. Once you fall out of her good graces, it is hard to win her back.” He chuckled. “That is, until she finds someone else to gossip about. Will I see you again tomorrow?” He spun his wheels again, crushing sand beneath him.

  Safina felt as if her heart was being crushed, too, as she fought the urge to chase after him. “Will you be here?”

  “Same time, same place,” he said as one of his brothers began to pull him away. “My brothers always swim in the evenings.”

  “Then I shall be here, too. Perhaps you will have time to read to me.”

  He held up the book, calling over his shoulder. “I will not disappoint.”

  Why did her heart skip a beat when he said that? For somehow she believed Gabriel was telling the truth. She only hoped her dragoness intuition wasn’t wrong.

  * * *

  The weight of Mother’s stare grew heavier as they approached Mrs. Jenkens’s home. The dragon queen stood on the porch, clutching the railing with whitened knuckles, the serene countenance of her placid smile not enough to mask the anger simmering in her hooded eyes.