But the truth could get us both killed or me demoted and Raolcan killed. It was better to wait.
Dragon Rider leathers felt very good after that dress. I’d grown accustomed to the way that the leather hugged my body, buckling in place. There was just one problem. I exited the lavatory, leaving the quarterstaff behind so I could try out the marvelous new crutch – it buckled onto my arm with a leather strap. What a brilliant idea!
“Fit correctly?” Hubric asked, his eagle eyes taking in every detail of my appearance.
“Yes, sir.”
“Master is fine.”
“But they are brown, master.”
“No point in buying you grey for a single day, is there? You swear today one way or another, and then the brown will be right. Now, let’s go. We don’t want to be absent when we are called.”
It felt wrong to leave Savette with a stranger. Should I stay? I wanted to follow Hubric, but how could I be sure she was safe?
“Oh, skies and stars girl!” Hubric’s exclamation made me startle. “You are the least trusting person I’ve ever met. Look at me.”
I looked.
“Good. Your friend is safe here. Nothing will trouble her. If she isn’t, your dragon will notice. Ask him if it’s true.”
Was it true?
Of course. So nice to meet another Purple Dragon Rider. They’re the only ones who really understand us.
“He told you he would?” Hubric asked.
I nodded.
“Then stop worrying and follow me. We need to hurry and that is not where your strength lies, is it? Even with that new crutch, we’ll have to factor in a little extra travel time.”
I stepped over to place a hand on Savette’s arm. The Magika flinched when I touched her like he was watching me put my hand in the flame.
“I’ll be back soon,” I told her. “Hold on to yourself.”
I wasn’t sure whether I should be offended by Hubric or glad that he treated me in the same brusque manner he seemed to treat everyone. At least one thing was likely: I would swear before the Dominar and then no one would be able to send me away.
Chapter Nine
Hubric was surprisingly spry for someone his age, though he walked with the bow-legged gait that all dragon riders seemed to develop. He slid through the churning crowds like a snake into its den and somehow, he created enough wake for me to follow unhindered. The crutch he’d given me fit my forearm perfectly. It was padded with sheepskin around the leather strap. Perhaps I wouldn’t lose this one – for once.
I had to focus so much on putting my crutch right that I almost stumbled right into Hubric when he stopped suddenly. We were still on the first tier, and the Castel was on the top tier, so why had he stopped?
“Seen one of these before?” he asked and I followed his gaze. We stood at the foot of a pillar. Above us, benches suspended by ropes hung from a cable. What sort of a rig was this? People sat on every bench as it carried them up to further tiers. Impossible! And yet it was right before my eyes. I hadn’t noticed it before because it was only on this street and this one had been assigned to Artis and the twins. I gaped at the contraption. It was certainly faster than walking, though who would have believed such a thing existed?
“It’s incredible.”
“Not as good as a dragon, but suits our purposes for today.” We were following a line of people to where a set of steps took you to a platform to mount on the benches. “Look lively when we get there. The lift waits for no one.”
When our turn came we climbed up onto the wooden platform and Hubric paid our fee.
“Two to a seat, jump aboard when she comes,” the attendant said. I heard a flurry of activity behind me, but I was focused on making sure I was ready to stumble onto the bench when it arrived. I didn’t want my crutch to catch in the slats between the platform’s floorboards.
Our seat arrived and Hubric leapt aboard with a cry of, “Look lively now!”
I tensed to spring forward, watching my crutch but the second I was about to leap an arm wrapped around my waist, holding me in place just long enough for the bench to move on. I saw Hubric’s surprised expression and then my chance was gone.
“I’ll pay for two – the lady and me,” a velvet voice told the attendant who touched his fist to his chest in respect. I didn’t need to turn around. I knew who held me in place. I would recognize that velvet-wrapped-steel voice anywhere.
The next bench arrived, and the iron arm released me. “Let’s take a ride Amel Leafbrought.”
I shivered in fear, but I knew he wouldn’t be alone. I stumbled forward, catching the bench and managing to twist into a seated position. I was just in time before it rocked forward again. I clutched my crutch in one hand and the arm of the bench in the other as it slowly moved up and forward. I was fighting to bring my pounding heart back to a normal pace and breathing deeply. I hadn’t asked Hubric how it was powered. What if it broke and I was stuck up here ... with him. I turned to my bench-partner.
“I didn’t know that princes sat on wooden benches.”
Prince Rakturan’s grin was as humorless and threatening - as usual.
“I didn’t know that peasant girls ran off to fight Magikas. We learn new things every day. It’s what makes being alive so exciting, am I right?”
“What are you doing here?”
“I came here to find the bride I was promised.” His eyes were hard.
I swallowed before speaking. “They gave you a new bride, I thought.”
“But I liked the old one better. And I thought I had an agent to help me find her. I guess you’ve decided to forfeit the life of your dragon after all?”
“No!”
He grabbed my wrist holding the crutch. His grip was too strong, and I moaned in pain. He let off a little, looking startled, like he hadn’t meant to hurt me, but then his lips pressed firmly together. A little muscular tick began beside his eye. The lift was fast, but not fast enough. We weren’t even halfway to our destination.
“If you want to buy his life, then the price has gone up. And this time, if you betray me, I will kill both of you.”
Chapter Ten
I shuddered at his words, but his gaze held mine and I could tell he meant every word of it.
“Can I trust her, that’s the question?” he asked, as if speaking to himself.
“Starie Atrelan?” I asked. He was beginning to sound crazy.
His eyes narrowed. “Not that wayward road. You. Can I trust you?”
“You’ve threatened me, belittled me, mocked me and manhandled me.” My voice shook with fear. He had my wrist. If he tried to fling me off this lift I would smash on the cobblestones below – or, more likely, on the heads of several people, though that would kill me just as fast. It didn’t matter that I was afraid. I needed to speak because there was no one else here to do it for me.
Judge your words carefully and speak slowly. It will help you get them right. You’re right to stand up to him.
I took Raolcan’s advice and spoke slowly, trying to control the tremble in my voice. It was all I could do to suppress my fear.
“I’d say that since none of that has achieved the results you wanted, you could certainly afford to choose a different course.”
He exhaled like he was letting go of something. He had such a personal magnetism to him that it was hard not to offer to give him whatever he wanted. I could imagine that in his home nation there were probably people who would do anything for him – and just as many who had seen him like I did and wanted nothing more to do with him. Eventually, he gathered himself and spoke in a low, dangerous tone.
“Peace between our two countries is essential to prevent the loss of many lives.” He waited as if wanting confirmation, so I nodded. After all, it was people like me who would die in a war - unimportant people. “But forces and conspiracies are at work to prevent that. I have been lied to, deceived and stolen from. Tell me you were not a part of the kidnapping of Savette Leedris. I saw you there when
I stormed her captor’s lair.”
“I was there to free her.”
“You could have told me you were planning to do that in the gardens when I questioned you.”
“I’m being threatened by more people than just you, Prince.” Why did he think I would trust a man who did nothing but insult and threaten me?
He smiled triumphantly.
“I knew you were more than a common cripple.” Was I meant to be flattered by that? “I think we’ve kept enough secrets from each other. I know now that Starie Atrelan has been foisted on me by people bent on the destruction of both our nations. I know that they stole away Savette Leedris – the High Castelan most likely to help me cement peace between nations, and I know that your people are not the only ones with dark forces at work amongst you. In my own land – among my own men! – there are traitors. So, I won’t threaten this time. I will ask: help me stop a war.”
I swallowed. Should I trust him? His charm made me wary. It made me distrust my own instincts. Was my desire to agree just common sense or a desire to please this enticing prince? What should I do?
What do you have to lose?
He could kill me. Or you.
I think he already promised to do that if we didn’t agree to help. We don’t want a war and we might learn something by watching him.
“What do you expect me to be able to do?” I kept control over my expression. I didn’t want him to know that I might be willing to help – not until I learned what was at stake. Is this what Leng meant when he said that Castelans talked about important things over cards? Did they learn to bluff and read their opponents for moments like this?
Probably. Sounds like the silly kind of thing humans would do.
His grip on my wrist intensified and I blinked back tears. “Somehow, you always turn up at the heart of this, like the calm in the middle of the storm. You see things. Your presence intensifies them. I want you to listen and look and tell me what you hear and see. All of it. I want you to start by telling me where Savette Leedris is. I’ll know if you are lying.”
He would, wouldn’t he? He was holding my wrist. He could feel my pulse. We were so close that he could probably see the sweat shining on my face as I thought about lying to him. What would he do to Savette if I told him – and what would the Lightbringers do to all of us? Their building was clearly meant to be a secret.
“I don’t want her hurt,” I said.
“What makes you think I’d hurt her? Haven’t I just told you that I want to marry her?”
“Why her?” If only he could give me some reason to trust him.
“Her family is a key Castelan family.”
“So is Starie’s.” We were getting closer to the end of the lift line. I could almost see the platform.
“Her family is loyal to your Dominar.”
“There are other families loyal to our ruler.”
“The moment I met her I knew there was more to her than a pretty face.” His eyes grew liquid with a strange intensity. “There was something about her that sang to me. Together we could rule an Empire.”
Was he suggesting he was in love with her? After meeting her once? That seemed ridiculous. I’d need to watch him to see if he meant the things he said or if he just said them to get the reaction he wanted from people.
“I need to see her again,” he said.
“She’s ill,” I said, not able to meet his eyes. “She was hurt by her captors. She needs time to recover.”
He took my chin in his free hand and turned my face back to him. “When she is well again you will inform me. And today, in the Dominar’s court, the Baron Trakten will present himself on behalf of Baojang. Watch him carefully. You will report to me anything you see.”
“How?”
“I’ll be around. I’ll contact you when I’m ready.”
Our bench bumped something, and the prince released me from his grip just as it was time to leap off the moving conveyance. Rakturan half-helped, half-lifted me off the bench and onto the platform where Hubric waited with an eagle eye on us.
“You should teach your trainees how to use transportation better,” Rakturan said to him. “This one nearly missed her ride.”
Hubric inclined his head slightly, acknowledging the prince almost rudely before saying, “Follow me, Initiate.”
Chapter Eleven
If I wasn’t so troubled by Prince Rakturan I would have enjoyed being in a palace for the first time. The floors were mosaics of tiles - as large as the end of my thumb - depicting scenes from our storied history. Horses raced down the hall, chariots arcing behind them. In the wider mezzanines, dragons battled, their riders falling from their backs with gouts of flame swirling around them. The walls and arched doorways were similarly adorned but in concentric designs and scrollwork.
Hubric strode in the main door of the Castel without seeming at all nervous, as if he frequently visited Castels. He didn’t even acknowledge the guards dressed in black plate armor on either side of the entrance. There were at least twenty of them stationed on either side of the door, their leader wearing an elaborate helm shaped like the open mouth of a dragon.
I followed him as quickly as I could, glad for a firm floor under my crutch and worried about my new role as spy for Rakturan. It did not sit right with me to be engaged in subterfuge of any kind. Especially not as an informant for a nation likely to be our enemy. I wasn’t going to tell him about Savette. Not even if he was claiming to be falling for her after just one meeting. It would be so much easier if I could just be a student instead of always a pawn in a bigger game – and I had no illusions. I was no center of the storm. I was no rook or bishop. I was a pawn and nothing more.
The Castel was a busy place. Like everywhere, servants were on full display – their livery a sign of their station. But servants weren’t the only ones here. The Castel was as busy as the streets outside, but here the people were well dressed and nodded to one another as they passed as if they were all connected. Some were clearly foreign, their dress and accents like nothing I’d ever heard before. I tried not to stare. That would be rude. People were always staring at me and I knew how frustrating that was.
We were well into the Castel when the halls narrowed, and the traffic grew thinner. Hubric led me down a dark, narrow hallway that seemed to be tucked off to the side. Was it for servants? He looked carefully from side to side before grabbing me by the front of the shirt and shoving me against the wall, his face a bare inch from mine as he whispered in harsh tones.
“I took you on as an apprentice, girl. I stuck my neck out for you. What are you hiding from me?” He was surprisingly strong for such an old man. I couldn’t budge his grip.
“Nothing,” I gasped. Was that a knife he held to my ribs? I swallowed as my mouth felt suddenly dry.
“Don’t play games with me. In a few moments, you will swear to the Dominar. Then you’re my responsibility. Do you understand what that means?”
I shook my head. My breath was coming too fast. Was my new master threatening me, too?
“If you fail, I fail. If you betray the nation, I pay the price. I am you from that moment on and you are me. Tell me that you come to me without entanglements.”
That would be a lie. What should I do? Raolcan? Hubric’s eyes narrowed.
“You are asking your dragon for help answering me? You can’t just tell the truth?”
I almost choked on my gasp, it came so fast. How did he know?
“Don’t play silly games with me. I haven’t ridden a Purple dragon for sixty years without learning their ways.”
I glanced down the hall to where a maid was frozen, staring at us, a basket of laundry in her hands.
“Nothing to see here!” Hubric barked at her and then turned back to me as she rushed away. “Okay. It’s confession time, girl. This is where you bare your soul to me and we decide what to do with you.”
“How do I know I can trust you?” He didn’t feel very trustworthy with a knife to my ribs!
I shook my head.
“That’s right. But none of them – no, not even your beloved dragon - can save you from whatever mess you’ve got yourself into. Except for me. And why is that, Initiate?”
“I don’t know.” I really needed important people to stop threatening me. I felt as on edge as if I was constantly walking past the Dragon coates without my crutch. Every step was one more person flaming at me as if they wanted me dead.
“Because I’m old, girl, and by now I’ve seen it all.” He eased his hold on me, but the knife was still there. I trembled at the feel of it against my leathers. “Tell me if I’m wrong: you’re afraid to trust me because you trusted Grandis Leman and he got himself killed and then you trusted Grandis Elfar and she was much less trustworthy than you imagined.” How could he know that? “In fact, I suspect that if you went to the Ruby Isles right now she would end your training immediately. Right so far?”
I gaped at him.
“I can tell by your witty repartee that I’ve nailed it again. And no wonder. We have long had suspicions about Elfar. Let’s move on. You don’t trust the Lightbringers because we are a secret society and you don’t like secrets. You didn’t ask to join, and you think the way Leng and Savette ended up being tortured by the Dusk Covenant means that we are all incompetent, or worse, evil.” Was he reading my mind? “Final problem. You are a pretty enough lass and healthy – sort of. But you are low-born, crippled, likely not capable of producing heirs, and not pretty enough to tempt a prince. Don’t get me wrong – none of those things will prevent you from being an excellent Dragon Rider. They simply leave only one reason for a man like that to single you out. Either he knows you are with us and wants information on the Lightbringers – unlikely since you only just came to us – or he wants you to spy for him. Ah. And he maneuvered you into it so you couldn’t say ‘no.’”
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