Might of the Dragon

by Jessica Drake

  Tavarian hailed a hansom cab, and we went straight to the academy to retrieve Lessie. The stablemaster, upon seeing Tavarian, released her immediately, and she bounded out of the stables and arrowed straight toward me.

  “You did it, Zara!” she crowed as she pranced around us in a circle. Her eyes blazed with joy, and my mouth dropped open when she came right up to Tavarian and wrapped her foreleg around him in a hug. Tavarian gave a startled laugh, but he took it in good humor and patted her neck. “Tell Tavarian his assistance is greatly appreciated, but in the future, he should restrict this tendency for being fashionably late to less dire circumstances.”

  I relayed Lessie’s message, and he snorted.

  “I came here as fast as I could,” he told her. “It was a miracle I made it before the hearing ended, in fact.”

  I was about to ask Tavarian how he knew about the hearing when Major Caparro strode up to us, a leather-wrapped bundle in his hands.

  “Your effects,” he said, handing them to me.

  “Thank you.” I confirmed with my treasure sense that everything was there, including my dragon blade, boots, and lockpick. I glanced at Caparro and Tavarian, not missing the look that passed between them. “Did you know Lord Tavarian was coming?”

  Major Caparro smiled. “I received word that Lord Tavarian was returning from Traggar and had been sighted at Port Lorring,” he said, referring to a port town west of here. “After reading your report, I sent Major Falkieth there last night to fetch him, knowing the other officers weren’t likely to give credence to your account.”

  “Then I thank you doubly,” I said, with feeling. “If you hadn’t intervened, I’d be on my way to prison right now.”

  “Indeed,” Tavarian said. He smiled, clasping arms with the headmaster. “I suppose this makes us even now, old friend.”

  Caparro’s eyes twinkled. “I’d like to think so.”

  “Old friend?” I asked, looking at them in an entirely new light.

  “We served together, once upon a time.” Tavarian offered no further explanation, holding his arm out to me instead. “Let’s go home, shall we?”

  Home. The word had never sounded as good as it did now. “Let’s.”

  18

  As it turned out, “home” was Tavarian’s floating island, which had drifted close enough to Dragon’s Table that we could see it from the academy. Declaring it would be faster than those “cumbersome airships,” Lessie offered to ferry me to it, then come back for Lord Tavarian. Tavarian was a bit surprised at the offer, but graciously accepted. It was quite an honor for a dragon to allow anyone other than their rider to mount them alone, but then again, Tavarian had just saved our lives. And Lessie had always liked him, even when I’d had my misgivings.

  As Lessie and I flew to the floating estate, my thoughts drifted to Jallis. Things had changed quite a bit since he’d taken me on that first dragon flight. I wondered where he was now, if he was fighting at the western border, or if he would be sent back to Zuar City to help defend it. I hadn’t seen him or Rhia at the hearing, and I was sure they would have come if Colonel Roche had brought them with her to Dragon’s Table. I hoped she had brought a contingent of riders with her and the general to help defend the city, or that they would be following behind.

  Lessie dropped me off in front of the mansion, where I was greeted by Mrs. Durand, Tavarian’s housekeeper. To my surprise, she greeted me warmly and brought me inside for tea while she prepared lunch. She served it with a small platter of biscuits, which I devoured as I paced the room, waiting for Tavarian and Lessie to return.

  Thirty minutes later, Tavarian walked in, looking tired but satisfied. “Miss Kenrook—”

  I threw myself at him before he could finish the sentence. “I have never been so glad to see anyone in my life,” I choked out, tears spilling down my cheeks. Squeezing him tight, I sucked in a shuddering breath and inhaled a lungful of his scent—bergamot and leather layered over something else that was purely masculine and surprisingly appealing. His solid warmth was reassuring, a balm to my raw nerves.

  Tavarian gripped my shoulders, pulling me back so he could look down at me with those molten eyes. “I wholeheartedly concur,” he said, and suddenly he was kissing me, those full, soft lips meshing against mine. My mind froze, but my body responded instinctively, twining my arms around Tavarian’s neck and kissing him back enthusiastically. Strong arms banded around my torso, crushing me against his solid chest. His heart pounded against my skin as he kissed me with desperation, with relief, with a joy that blazed through every single part of my body, and I poured all of those emotions and more into the kiss as I clung to him. It was a kiss that not only stole my breath completely but also made me question whether breath was truly necessary in the presence of such passion.

  Passion?

  The word echoed in my head, and it was so incongruous with Tavarian that I sprang away, the spell broken. “Sorry,” I said, my cheeks blazing with embarrassment. “I uhh…got a little carried away.”

  “I believe we both did,” he said, smiling. The warmth in that simple curve of his mouth, in those gleaming silver eyes, flustered me, and I looked away, finding the carved mantel very interesting all of a sudden. What was wrong with me? I wasn’t exactly an innocent maid, and yet I felt like a teenager again, caught up in the excitement of my first crush.

  Get a grip, Zara. I forced myself to meet Tavarian’s gaze and bristled when I found his eyes twinkling with amusement. “What’s so funny?” I snapped.

  “Nothing.” But his smile widened.

  Men. They were impossible creatures, I decided, and promptly changed the subject. “Are you going to grin at me, or are you going to tell me what happened after we last spoke?”

  His grin vanished, and I almost wished I hadn’t spoken. Tavarian smiled so rarely, and these brief glimpses of joy transformed his face, giving me a glimpse of the man behind the stoic façade he so often wore.

  “The morning after your court presentation, I reached out to the king’s office and requested a meeting,” Tavarian said as we finally sat down. “He agreed to receive me the following week, and I got him to promise to remain neutral by bribing Lady Hariana with a set of emeralds.”

  “Typical,” I said, remembering how she’d flaunted the Traggaran crown jewels around her neck.

  Tavarian smiled faintly. “I wasn’t there in person when the jewels were delivered to her, but they clearly made the right impression, as it took no time at all to get the king to agree. I also reached out to the local papers, as I mentioned I would when we last spoke, and they published every word General Trattner said to you about the king that night, plus some embellishments. The Zallabarian ambassador has been mocked up and down the Traggaran coast and had no choice but to leave the country with his entourage on the first available ship.”

  “Wow.” I sat back in my chair. “It was that easy?” Of the two of us, I’d definitely received the short end of the stick, I thought grumpily.

  “Well, the military and navy tried to reverse the king’s impulsive decision, but Zoltar had already publicly committed himself, so he was forced to uphold his decree. The fact that he received a very rude letter from General Richstein, the new Zallabarian dictator, may have helped things along,” he said, and I was treated to another brief grin. “That letter was also mysteriously leaked to the press.”

  I laughed. “You are very good at your job,” I said admiringly.

  “It pays the bills,” he said, and I snorted at the uncharacteristic sarcasm—he was independently wealthy and had no need to work. “In any case, the mood in Traggar had turned completely against Zallabar by the time I finished. I was about to head home, feeling quite good about myself, when I received word that the Zallabarians had seized northern Elantia. I immediately diverted my ship to the west, and as you know, the rest is history.”

  That explained why Tavarian had taken so long. Damn King Zoltar for taking so long to receive him! “I suppose it’s lucky you decided
to head straight for Zuar City instead of the camp to check on me,” I said. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have made it back in time for my hearing.”

  “Indeed.”

  A servant bustled in to announce that lunch was ready, and we retired to the back garden to eat in the sun.

  “Now it’s your turn to fill me in,” Tavarian said.

  I gave him a rundown of everything that happened from the time Salcombe had taken me to visit Lord Fanuel, all the way up until Jallis and the other riders had captured Lessie and me.

  “Lessie and I were so close to getting Salcombe,” I said bitterly as frustration kindled in me all over again. “He knocked me out, but I’m sure she would have gotten him if Jallis and the others hadn’t caught up to me. And now he’s off to who knows where with two pieces of the heart in his possession.”

  “That is unfortunate,” Tavarian said gravely. “I am truly sorry you’ve suffered such mistreatment at the hands of the military, but now that you are back in my custody I’ll pull whatever strings necessary to ensure you won’t be hampered by them again. As soon as we have figured out what to do about the invasion, we will focus all our efforts into apprehending Salcombe.”

  “But what if he already has the other pieces by then?” I asked desperately. “If he summons the dragon god, we won’t be dealing with an invasion anymore. We’ll be dealing with the extinction of all life on this planet!”

  “He will have to go through me to get the final piece,” Tavarian reminded me. “Dealing with Salcombe is vital, but it is impossible to give him all our attention while our own country is being overrun. The cities to the north are already under Zallabarian control, and they are taking more territory every day.”

  My gut twisted as I recalled the might of that army. “How bad is the damage?” How many thousands had been killed because of Elantia’s insistence on clinging to the old ways?

  “The scouts report that the Zallabarians are not killing the civilians,” Tavarian said, and I sighed in relief. “However, they are surrounding each city with cannons and confiscating supplies and food stores. That would be bad enough, but I am also concerned about our dragon rider forces. Colonel Roche brought ten riders with her, but many more should have returned from the western border by now.”

  I gripped the arms of my chair. “Where do you think they are?” I thought of Jallis and Rhia again. Were they all right? I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to them or their dragons. I wished I could snatch them up and hold them close to my chest, out of harm’s way. Maybe we could retreat to Tavarian’s hidden estate and wait out the entire war there.

  “That would be selfish.” Lessie’s voice intruded on my thoughts.

  “I know.” I sighed internally. “It wasn’t a serious thought. I haven’t come this far just to dig myself a hole and hide.”

  “I don’t know,” Tavarian said, bringing me back to the conversation, “but I will be asking the general at the first opportunity.”

  “Is there anything Lessie and I can do to help?” I asked. I didn’t know how we could beat back the invasion, not when the odds were so woefully stacked against us, but if the Zallabarians had to be dealt with before we could address Salcombe, I would throw everything I had into the effort. I knew it was silly, but Tavarian’s reappearance had renewed my hope. Surely if the two of us could convince an entire nation to back out of a war, we could find a way to thwart a second nation.

  “I wish we could get Zallabar to retreat with a few well-placed words,” Tavarian said, and I realized I’d spoken that last part aloud. “But the time for diplomacy has passed, at least for now. We must find a way to strengthen our manpower and defenses before the enemy arrives.”

  I wracked my brain, trying to think of something, anything. “What about the floating islands?” I asked as a wild idea came to me. “Is there any way to steer them so they can be used to transport large numbers of men?”

  He drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair, his brow creased in thought. “The floating islands could be a valuable resource, since they fly higher than the cannons can reach and are too thick for cannon fire to penetrate from beneath. Unfortunately, they can only be steered so far off their course, and the ones that would pass by the western border are too slow to make any difference. We could use them to evacuate, however.”

  “Or maybe for offense,” I said, thinking of the cannon we’d salvaged from the airship that had attacked us outside of Zuar City. “Has any progress been made with that cannon prototype? If we can replicate enough of them, we could mount some on the islands.”

  “I’m not certain,” Tavarian said. “That’s another thing I’ll have to check on. But if not, we may be able to steal some of the enemy cannons and outfit my airships.”

  “How many do you have?”

  “Three.”

  “Hmm.” I did some calculations in my head. “With the amount of territory they’ve taken, the Zallabarians will have left maybe a quarter of their forces behind. That helps us a little, but ten dragons and three airships won’t be enough. We need to find out how many troops, if any, are stationed here.” I imagined that some soldiers would have been left behind, much like the skeleton crew that had been stationed at the channel camp. But the captain had told me there were only forty or so men under his command, and that was nothing in the face of an army that was close to forty thousand strong.

  “Zara,” Lessie said, butting into the conversation once again. “I think we should seek out the missing dragons. It’s possible they’ve run into some trouble, and that some may have been killed. If we can find and rescue them, we might be able to hold off the enemy until our troops arrive.”

  I relayed her suggestion to Tavarian, and to my surprise, he agreed. “Rest up while I confer with the general and the council,” he said, pushing back from the table. “If I have my way, we’ll be leaving tonight.”

  Tavarian left to go work his magic, and I headed to my old room, the one Lessie and I had been locked into overnight all those months ago after he’d caught me trying to steal from him. I was pleased to see the housekeeper had sent my belongings up. A note on the vanity mirror said to check the drawers, and in them I found a collection of blouses, leather trousers, corsets, and other wardrobe essentials—all in my size and to my taste. I also found several coats and jackets in the closet, as well as packs and a few pieces of luggage. Tavarian couldn’t possibly have had time to purchase new outfits for me upon arriving, which meant he must have stocked the room anticipating I would use it again someday. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but Tavarian could more than afford it, and at this moment I was grateful for the assistance.

  I’ll have to send word to Carina that I’m leaving again, I thought as I packed a bag. She would be furious when she heard, but strangely enough, I was looking forward to the journey. I’d just returned from a harrowing journey, but knowing Tavarian and Lessie would be coming with me put me at ease. I hadn’t asked for any part of this war, but if I was going to fight it, I could think of no better company to do so with.

  Now, we had to figure out how to survive it.

  To be continued…

  Zara and Lessie’s adventures will continue in Secret of the Dragon, Book 4 of the Dragon Riders of Elantia series! Click HERE to be notified when it’s released!

  Did you enjoy this book? Please consider leaving a review, even if it’s just a single sentence. Reviews help authors sell books, and the better a book sells, the faster its sequel gets written. Plus, they make the author feel warm and fuzzy inside. And who doesn’t want that? :)

  About the Author

  JESSICA DRAKE is obsessed with books, chocolate, and traveling. When she’s not binge-watching Lord of the Rings or jet-setting around the world, she can be found chained to her computer, feverishly working on her next project. She loves to hear from her readers, so feel free to drop her a line at jessica@authorjessicadrake.com.

  he Dragon