Silver Batal and the Water Dragon Races

by K. D. Halbrook

  When Hiyyan had flown as close to the docks as he safely could, he landed with an inelegant splash. With a gasp, Silver rolled off his back and into the sea.

  Before she could panic, Hiyyan lifted her out of the water by the back of her racing suit and deposited her on the wood dock.

  She wrapped the pieces of brown scarf around her head as best she could and walked with a limp through the archways of the harbor. But as she disappeared into the shade of the stone columns, one more vision came to her: Hiyyan, struggling in their first water dragon race. Silver was on his back, her face twisted with the desire to win at all costs. The Silver in the vision closed her eyes.

  That was the moment Silver had manipulated Hiyyan to swim faster, with the promise of Kirja.

  A chill raced down Silver’s spine. She hadn’t sent that vision because of Kirja; she’d sent it because she was desperate to win at any cost. Hiyyan knew the truth, and it was time for Silver to be honest with herself, too.

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  As Silver held her scarf pieces over her face, scanning the crowds for Brajon, everything that had happened over the last several days piled up on her. She wanted to drop her bag and sleep it all away. Instead, she picked up the pace, her stomach gurgling. The morning bread and fruit seemed so long ago.

  “Food,” she croaked.

  Silver’s attention was fully on the first fried-dough vendor she could see, the smell of sugar and spices drawing her close, so when a hand reached out and grabbed her elbow, she easily stumbled into the alleyway. Her assailant pulled the mask out of her bag and held it up.

  “I knew you were more than a street urchin, Desert Fox,” Ferdi said. His eyes flashed, and his mouth turned up in amusement. “Heroes like you don’t stop at rescuing stolen Glitherns, do they? I think there’s more to your dragon, too. How about letting me in on your secret?”

  “My secrets are none of your business. Let me go!” Silver yanked her arm away, but Ferdi had a tight grip. Was he going to turn her in to the queen?

  “I’m not your enemy.” Ferdi’s eyes swept the streets, studying the faces of the people walking to and fro. He pulled Silver farther away from the crowds, into the deep shadows, and lowered his voice. “You’re playing a dangerous game. I don’t think you realize what’s going on here.”

  “What’s going on is that I need to find my cousin and get out of Calidia.” Silver forced her words out, but her voice shook and the hairs on her neck stood on end. How much did Ferdi know about Hiyyan? Or about Kirja?

  “I can help you. I know how to get under the Royal Pools.” Ferdi licked his lips as he chose his next words. “Hoonazoor does a lot of exploring under those waters, and no one but me knows about it.”

  Silver caught her breath. Was Ferdi bonded to his Glithern? “And she shows you what she sees?”

  Ferdi wrinkled his brow. “Shows me?”

  “Never mind,” Silver said hastily.

  Ferdi looked at her hard. “The first day I got to Calidia, Hoonazoor disappeared for longer than I’d expected. When she came back, we went for a practice ride and she took me to a whole different set of pools. I’ve seen where Queen Imea keeps her dragon stock.” Ferdi’s eyes turned brighter than normal again, and Silver began to back up.

  “Have you seen the posters?”

  Ferdi nodded. “And I don’t care. Because I’ve also seen the Aq—”

  “No,” Silver said. “Don’t say it out loud!” She looked around, but they were alone. Her palms went up. “Please, Ferdi. That dragon doesn’t belong to the queen. She belongs with a friend of mine, and I’m trying to reunite them.”

  “The queen stole it? Thieves everywhere I look.”

  “Not exactly.” Silver paused, and the air between them grew thick. Could she trust Ferdi with her story? It was dangerous to tell secrets to too many people.

  After several beats, Ferdi sighed. “Of course you don’t trust me. You don’t even know who I am. And if you did, you’d trust me even less. I’m not going to turn you in. Go free. Find your friends. But before you do, tell me one thing I can do to help you. I’ll do it—promise. Then maybe you’ll decide you can trust me.”

  “Why?”

  Ferdi looked over Silver’s shoulder and nodded. “I’m hesitant to tell my story, too.”

  Silver saw the two companions who followed Ferdi everywhere lingering at the entrance to the alley, discussing something.

  “I’m hoping I won’t need your help,” she said. “I plan to win my race tomorrow and ask Queen Imea for what I want.”

  “The Winners’ Audience,” he said, and let out a low whistle. “Disguise in place, I assume. Do you think that will work? No one’s ever asked for one of her dragons.”

  Silver clutched Nebekker’s pendant. “It’s not hers!”

  “Keep quiet!” Ferdi rubbed his thumb against his chin. “All eyes and ears will be on you when you approach the queen. Are you ready for the whole world to know your secret?”

  “No, but if everyone’s watching, the queen will have to act honorably.”

  At that, Ferdi looked a little hesitant but gave a quick nod.

  “I don’t know if I can help you win your race tomorrow, but if you do win, I’ll do what I can to make the Winners’ Audience easy for you.” An impish smile lifted Ferdi’s cheeks. “Create a diversion so the guards don’t realize you’re the same girl as on the posters? That could be fun. My father’s anger would churn like a whirlpool to hear I caused chaos in the Calidian palace.”

  “Thanks for your help,” Silver said. She smiled gratefully. “If that doesn’t work, I might need you to show me how to get under those pools.”

  Ferdi’s companions raised their voices and looked toward the shadows.

  “Sounds like an adventure. One we’ll have to continue in the morning.” His companions were approaching. “Go this way.” Ferdi pointed to a bend at the end of the alleyway. “It will let you out closer to the shops.”

  Silver pulled up her scarves and turned away, but Ferdi grabbed her arm again. His expression was compassionate.

  “Good luck and be careful.”

  THIRTY-NINE

  Silver doubled back until she was near the seawall again and made a stop at the fried-dough vendor. Her winnings were substantial enough for many, many meals in Calidia—and certainly things finer than street-vendor food. But as she shoved eggs baked in tomatoes, plus the fried dough that should have been sweet, in her mouth as she dodged the crowds near the inn, she realized that after her fight with Hiyyan, everything tasted like sand. With a hard swallow and a look over her shoulder, she darted to the road behind Mr. Homm’s inn and knocked on the little door to Mele’s room.

  “Brajon?” she whispered.

  Her cousin flung open the door, yanked her inside, and slammed it shut behind him.

  His grin was as bright as the desert sun. Even Mele looked happy for once.

  “You got through!” Brajon said. “There’s buzz all over the city about the fierce masked racer and who she is under the disguise. How does it feel, water dragon racer?”

  Silver tried to force a smile, but her insides were shriveled. Everything she’d imagined about winning was different. Instead of triumph, she felt shame.

  “Even better,” Brajon went on, “now you can get one more race over with in the morning, march into the palace, demand Kirja back, and we can go home. By dinnertime, I’ll be sitting down to my mother’s warm spiced beans. Mmmmm.”

  “That’s nice for you,” Silver blurted. “What about me?”

  Brajon exchanged a look with Mele. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

  “All right, Silver. Tell me. What about you?”

  Silver dropped her pack and slid to the ground. The stone floor felt cool. She rubbed her wrist slowly, feeling the roughness of her healing scar. The one she was sure looked just like a coiled water dragon.

  “I spend almost every waking moment wishing I was chasing glory, wanting to be on the water, enjoying
the dust and noise and excitement of Calidia,” Silver said. “This is where I belong, this is what I was made for. And I’m worried that I’m going to lose that somehow.”

  Silver thought of Hiyyan’s growl and fought back tears. She shook her head. It was time to be honest.

  “No, that’s not it. I think I’ve lost Hiyyan. And lost sight of what matters, too. Something happened during the race earlier. If you thought I was driven to be a water dragon racer before … now it’s even worse,” she said. “I feel the pull so strongly that I’m sure I’ll die if I don’t listen. And listening to that made me get into a big fight with Hiyyan.”

  Silver licked her lips. Salt had dried them out, and they hurt. If she were home in Jaspaton, her mother would track down the most soothing ointment and apply it with the gentlest of touches. She missed her mother. Her father, too. But most of all, she felt guilty.

  “We came here to save Kirja from Sagittaria, and to race Hiyyan so I could claim him and save him, too. But I abandoned you and Kirja when you needed me most, and I told Hiyyan I didn’t care how he felt. All for the win. I’ve been so selfish.”

  Mele cleared her throat, then stepped forward to take Silver’s hands.

  “I understand that feeling,” Mele said. “But with your bond, you’re not the only one you have to think about. You and Hiyyan are a team. Nothing can change that—not even your dreams. Why do you think I work here, cleaning up after ungrateful guests? Bonds mean sacrifice.”

  “Your heart was in the right place,” Brajon said. “You just got lost in the moment. But you probably shouldn’t keep upsetting Hiyyan. He’s big enough to gobble you in one bite.”

  Silver laughed quietly. “The best thing I can do for Hiyyan right now is get Kirja back, and that means we have to race again.” Her eyes flicked to Mele. “Unless…”

  “Oh no. Keep me out of this,” Mele said.

  “I’ve heard there are underground pools, but I don’t know how to get to them,” Silver said. “This boy I met—another racer—said he’d show me after the Winners’ Audience. If we can even get that far.” Silver shook her head. “I just don’t know if Hiyyan’s up to racing again. But if there’s a local who has her own connection to the water dragons…”

  Mele shook her head. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t want to be involved? Everything you’re doing is dangerous. You think the races are just a game, but I’ve heard things! I know the lengths people go to in order to win … I know the things they bet, the things they lose. Not just things. Lives! And those are the lesser racers. The royals’ water dragons are a whole other game. One I don’t want to touch.”

  “But the water dragon we’re looking for isn’t a royal dragon,” Brajon said. “And we don’t want to get involved, either. We just want to get what we came for and get out of here.”

  He’d looked pointedly at Silver when he said we, but Silver couldn’t meet his eyes. She stared at the ground instead.

  “I’m not going to get rid of you until I help you, am I?” Mele groaned, then narrowed her eyes. “Unless I turned you in. That would sort things out—and fill my pockets.”

  “Mele, please.” Silver held her hands out, palms up. “We need your help. The dragons need your help.”

  “If you didn’t know about my … situation with my water dragon, I probably would help. But I can’t risk my secret, either.” Mele sighed. “The Royal Pools are on the south side of the palace. They’re most likely fed by the Sonflir River. There are underground springs, which probably connect to the river, in the caves. I suppose you could access them through the south orchards. I used to go down there all the time when I was little.”

  Silver and Brajon looked at each other with bright eyes. If there was anything they knew, it was underground river caves.

  “I’m going to get Hiyyan,” Silver said. “Mele, can you show Brajon how to access the Sonflir River? If I can win tomorrow and get a Winners’ Audience while Ferdi creates a diversion and you two are approaching the Royal Pools from underground … we’ll have the best chance to get Kirja out.”

  * * *

  AFTER BRAJON AND Mele left, Silver paced Mele’s room, trying to decide the best thing to say to Hiyyan. I’m sorry seemed too small for what she’d done. How she’d taken advantage of him.

  Even though she ached to see her water dragon immediately, she knew she had work to do first. Before she could even apologize and ask Hiyyan to race one more time, she had to do everything possible to make the race comfortable for him. He deserved that.

  In Jaspaton, the communal bread oven was the center of the city’s social world. It was also swelteringly hot, and busy enough that a girl her size could slip in and out of the area unnoticed. Surely, Calidia had a communal oven, too. What kind of desert city would it be without one?

  Even though the sun had dipped past the horizon some time ago, the city glowed with light: ornate Calidian metal lanterns on every street corner and in the hands of many; sizzling sparkler wands carried by the children; and, over the harbor, fireworks blooming pink, blue, and green. Silver pressed her scarf over her face and kept to the shadows, always looking left, right, and over her shoulder for people who might be following her.

  Silver wished Hiyyan were with her. His keen sense of smell would pick up the location of the ovens immediately. Instead, she sniffed alone. A few more steps, and there it was: the lingering scent of freshly baked bread.

  She darted down lanes and around corners until she came upon the largest clay oven she’d ever seen. There were several wide openings to allow for many hundreds of loaves to be baked at once. Now, though, only a small section of the oven was being used.

  Silver sat in a quiet, shadowy spot next to the oven opening farthest from the road and pulled the remaining camouin and wool out of her bag. Just as Hiyyan needed Kirja, Silver was realizing that she also needed her parents, and the skills they’d taught her, too.

  Silver pressed the camouin into small pins with holes on either end. Her first attempts were a mess—it was a difficult metal to work. But she thought back to what her father had taught her about observing the properties of different metals. This one needed heat to keep it stable. So she wove chains with the wool and wrapped the camouin around the chains. Then, when the bakers weren’t looking, she pushed one end of wool into the oven fire, waited for the fiber to light, then pulled it out again. Heat traveled through the core of every camouin pin, solidifying them into hollow and lightweight, but strong, pieces of metal. In this manner, Silver created a sort of rough chain mail to drape over Hiyyan’s flanks. The pins allowed for movement, so the chain mail would conceal his wings but not suffocate them. It would, hopefully, keep him comfortable while they raced. At least until they could safely reveal his true nature.

  By the time she had finished, the road was empty and the bakers were scooping ash over their fires, putting the oven’s heat to sleep until the next day. Silver packed up and pushed her way to the docks, her cheeks flushed and her heart racing. Would Hiyyan come for her?

  First, she had to see if Hiyyan would even listen to her.

  Silver cleared her thoughts and pictured the Aquinder. She imagined their first meeting. There had been a tickle of curiosity. What was that noise across the river? Then a rush of overwhelming emotion as Hiyyan raced to her. And finally, hugging him: when everything felt right in the world.

  “If I could go back, I would,” Silver said. If I could be patient, knowing that we would meet someday, no matter what, I would wait.

  Silver then thought about the stolen moments walking underground in the river caves, on their way to Calidia, when she would absently put a hand out to touch Hiyyan’s flank or look closely at his wings to make sure the delicate tissue there hadn’t scratched against a wall. They’d bonded so quickly, Silver and her Aquinder, and their connection was strong.

  Stronger than her desire to be a great water dragon racer.

  She sent Hiyyan a vision of where she stood. I’m here. />
  There was movement at all hours on the docks, with ships being loaded and unloaded, rodents scurrying underfoot, and glistening strips of light on the surface of the water, swaying with the tide. It was much darker here than nearer the palace. Silver crouched behind a large crate and fixed her vision on a dark blob in the distance. Her chest warmed, and she sought Nebekker’s pendant, but the jewelry was cool and still.

  No, it was something else that was filling her with cozy happiness. Hiyyan was swimming toward her.

  “You came,” Silver said, wrapping her arms around her Aquinder’s neck as he pulled up to the dock. She gazed into his eyes. There were so many words to say that it was impossible to speak out loud.

  I’ll give it up, if that’s what you want, she thought. You’re worth more than a trophy. And I’ll do better. I’ll think about both of us, not just me. I understand that there’s a part of me that’s very human, that there’s a hunger that could become dangerous. I will fight that, to keep you safe.

  Hiyyan sat back on his haunches, but he craned his neck forward, his face close enough to Silver’s that she felt his breath on her skin. She placed her palms on either side of his head.

  I’m sorry, Hiyyan.

  Immediately, Silver’s hands and feet warmed. Her shoulders lifted, and her chest opened to let her lungs take in more air. She breathed deeply and let the air out slowly, then smiled.

  Girl and water dragon touched foreheads. Silver closed her eyes, the corners of her mouth turning up. This was how they were supposed to be.

  A vision filled her mind: Hiyyan and Silver, gliding across a finish line, their opponents far behind them.

  Startled, Silver pulled back.

  You want to race?

  In the vision, admirers gathered around them. Including Kirja.

  “Mrowr,” Hiyyan said softly.

  Silver understood. Hiyyan wanted more than racing. He wanted true freedom to be himself in the world.

  Just like she did.

  She nodded and rubbed her face in his mane. Part of her wanted to say more, but another part knew there was nothing more to say. Their bond was everything.