“No!” the yell was as if it came from one throat, but as I looked through the crowd there were some who looked confused and concerned.
“Will you let her divide our great people now when we are in the midst of a terrible conflict?”
“No!” This time, the answer was unanimous. I bit my lip. There were so many of them against us.
“Then, dragons, you have our answer,” the Grandis said, spinning to face Taoslil. “This is our representative. She has answered your questions and come back with your mark. We demand that you acknowledge her.”
There was a long silence as every person waited to hear the answer. I felt a nudge and turned to see Raolcan behind me.
Mount up.
I didn’t question his order. When was the last time he’d given one? Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hubric already on Kyrowat strapping Haskell in behind him and Leng tightening the saddle on Ahlskibi while Shonan ran toward Rasipaer. The dragons knew something we didn’t.
The Ilerioc cleared his throat, raising his arms in the air. Tiny bells rang as his clothing moved and it seemed as if even the breeze stilled to allow us all to listen.
“I speak for the dragons and the great Taoslil, emissary of the Queen.” He paused, was he nervous to say the rest? “Taoslil, on behalf of Haz, Queen of Dragons, acknowledges Savette Leedris as the Chosen One and-”
His words were cut off as Starie ripped her blindfold from her eyes. She looked him in the eye and he burst apart like a handful of dust thrown against a rock.
Chapter Nineteen
As if it had been kindled by that one action, a dozen things happened at once. Rasipaer dove toward Savette, snatching her up in his arms like a child’s doll. Taoslil flamed his fury into the crowd, his bodyguard dragons springing forward to surround him as they hurried him back through the Gate.
The crowd around Starie was like a barrel of snakes – pure chaos as people ran from the flames, mounted dragons, hurried to surround Starie in a defensive pattern.
“Take down the False One!” Starie roared and the crowd roared with her, surging toward us.
Raolcan leapt into the air, but we were four dragons to their many. Somehow Rasipaer had managed to get Savette on his back and Shonan strapped her in as we surrounded him, flying in formation together.
We weren’t fast enough. Dragon upon dragon leapt into the air in front of us, like an army of grasshoppers, leaping up at once and filling the sky. A Green was the first to actually press an attack, diving towards Raolcan with such speed that I gasped. Unconcerned, he rolled to the side, flaming the rider with a puff of breath before rolling back into formation.
The Dragon Rider screamed as he lit up like a torch, tumbling out of the sky, along with his dragon. There were cries from beneath us, and I realized in a flash that we were not the only ones who had chosen Savette, despite how much the crowd had seemed to be one living entity. All around us clusters of dragons fought in twos or threes against other clusters.
Fire splashed across the ground and flared through the sky. Screams and curses filled the air around us while chaos ruled across the ground. Servants and hawkers among the tents scrambled out of the camp like ants in a kicked anthill. Some carried bundles in their arms, but flames rose up from the camps below and anything that wasn’t carried away the first time would not survive the blaze. In the creeping heat of the morning and with no water anywhere nearby, it was sure to consume everything while the owners of the tents, barrels, and sacks below were busy in the airy battles above.
Raolcan spun to the side, lashing against a sudden attack from an artful Red while Rasipaer maneuvered to take the Red’s spewing fire on his belly, protecting his riders. A knot of twenty Reds attacked us at once, like a flock of birds descending. I held the saddle tight in both hands, my head spinning as Raolcan dodged and rolled and spun, flaming and clawing and snapping at our attackers. I was never going to get used to these battles!
They’re the best part of being your dragon. We are always at the heart of things.
Oh, skies and stars! I swallowed down nausea.
I know! Isn’t it the best?
Light – white and searing – flared across my vision and then we were climbing. By the time my vision cleared, I managed to see we were all there just before a second attack – this time with dragons of every color – rolled over us like a fiery tide. I smelled burning hair as flames licked too close to me, blistering the backs of my hands and leaving my leathers hot. I gritted my teeth hard to keep from screaming. That wouldn’t help anything. Neither would the pounding of my heart. Or my fast breaths from burning lungs.
We’re clear of that attack. Hold on!
But how much longer could I hold on for? Around me, the screams and cries of my friends told me we were all in the same situation. And then suddenly something changed. There was a roar from below and Raolcan banked to the side, leaving my view clear of the ground below.
Knots of dragons still fought, but below us, a wide gash tore across the earth. Starie stood before it, hands raised and head uplifted as scores of Ifrits poured from the ground across the landscape, snatching up fleeing servants, horses and hawkers. They disappeared under the shadowy forms of the Ifrits. How many were there? Dozens? More. Hundreds? Maybe.
Fear filled me, and I was not alone. All across the sky, the battles broke up as Ifrits pawed and snatched at dragons and riders.
The Dawn Gate suddenly went black, as if it had been shut.
It has been. They have blocked off passage through it. Taoslil must protect our homeland. It’s his duty.
There would be no retreating there. What would we do now?
We stay in formation and stick together.
A pair of Ifrits sprang up beneath us, mouths wide and teeth gnashing around the red flames within. One of them swatted at Kyrowat, only to have Savette flare her white power at him. He disappeared in exploding mist.
I held on tight as we fled, glancing behind my back to see dragons fleeing in every direction as Ifrits charged after them. They didn’t seem to care about whether they attacked supporters of Savette or Starie. A mindless force of death and destruction, they chased anything that moved and destroyed anything too exhausted to run.
I felt sweat form on my brow as my grip tightened further. In the middle of the chaos on the ground I could still see Starie, her arms raised and her hair swirling out from her in all directions. Was she laughing?
Whatever else happened today, one thing is certain, there may have been war before, but those were only the opening moves. The true challenge has been issued. The true war has begun, and it battles not just for this land but for our hearts, our loyalties, our affections. There is not a human or dragon in this land that it will not wound and scar before this battle is won.
My heart sank at the truth of his words, as I watched wave after wave of earth demons pour from the rip in the earth.
Read more of Amel’s story in Dragon School: Dire Quest.
Behind the Scenes:
USA Today bestselling author, Sarah K. L. Wilson, hails from the rocky Canadian Shield in Northern Ontario where she lives with her husband and two small boys. Her interests include the outdoors, history, and philosophy. Her books are always about fantastical adventures in other worlds.
Sarah would like to thank Harold Trammel, Eugenia Kollia, and Sarah Brown for their incredible work in beta reading and proofreading this book. Without their big hearts and passion for stories, this book would not be the same.
Follow me on Amazon for new release alerts.
Join my Facebook Fan Group or Telegram group to chat about the books.
Join the Six Queens of YA newsletter.
Visit Sarah’s website for a complete list of available titles.
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER
Dragon School Reading Order:
Dragon School: First Flight
Dragon School: Initiate
Dragon School: The Dark Prince
Dragon School: T
he Ruby Isles
Dragon School: Sworn
Dragon School: Dusk Covenant
Dragon School: First Message
Dragon School: Warring Promises
Dragon School: Prince of Dragons
Dragon School: Dark Night
Dragon School: Bright Hopes
Dragon School: Mark of Loyalty
Dragon School: Dire Quest
Find them all on their Amazon series page.
Why Novellas?
I love watching television series. I don’t really like movies, because they’re simply too short of a story arc for me. I prefer long, drawn out stories in smaller, bite-sized episodes. Dragon School is my book version of the television dramas that I love. I’m writing the type of series I want to read – long and rich but with short episodes I can read in a single evening. I hope that you’ll enjoy this format as much as I do. I am planning approximately twenty episodes for the first season. The first season will be a complete, self-contained story. There is a second season planned for 2019 that will continue in the same world and timeline with a new main character and dragon. Stay tuned!
Dragon School_Mark of Loyalty Page 7
