Fate of Dragons

Chapter Fourteen

The dragons seemed to swarm out of nowhere, visible against the dark cliffs only because of the fire that poured from their mouths.

Orrie darted and dodged, but more dragons appeared. They snapped at his tail and his wings when they weren't breathing fire. Screeches filled the night. Tesa gradually realized that some of the screeches were Glenna's and her own. She had barely been aware of making a sound, she was so intent on finding a mind that made sense, a dragon she could talk to in the mess. If she could just get through to one of them, maybe she could get them to stop.

She winced as a body slammed into Orrie, causing him to falter in his flight. Glenna's arms around Tesa's waist squeezed the air out of her. The dragon kept pushing into them, keeping up as fast as Orrie could fly away.

Duck down. Now, came a commanding voice in her mind. Orrie heard it at the same time and followed the instructions.

It was Gira, Malía's dragon, and they came sailing over Orrie to pummel into the attacking dragons with a scream that deafened. Aerix followed right behind, snapping and whirling in attack, faster than the angry, frightened dragons could respond.

Orrie still flew around the swarm of dragons. He and Tesa didn't need to speak to each other to know that they both wanted to help if they could.

Get down, now. It was Gira's voice again, but Tesa could hear a little of Malía's tone in it. Even though she balked under the commanding tone, Orrie didn't. He turned and flew back toward the temple. Tesa was surprised to see that the attacking dragons didn't follow them. The fiery swarm seemed chaotic and uncoordinated from here, the counterattack by Aerix and Gira focused and deliberate.

Of course. They had no riders. And they attacked out of fear.

Malía must have seen that the attacking dragons weren't following, too, because Gira and Aerix gradually circled back, all the while protecting themselves from the onslaught of flames. As they circled downward, the other dragons retreated. Their dark shapes, with an occasional spit of flame, returned to the edges of the cliffs, then disappeared into the caves.

Footsteps and shouts greeted Tesa and Glenna as Orrie landed back in the courtyard. Tesa tried to get down, but Glenna's arms were still wrapped around her, and her face was buried in Tesa's back. She was sobbing. Tesa didn't know what to say. It was Orrie who helped. He bent his neck back and nudged Glenna.

It's okay. We're going to help them. She couldn't help it. Tesa raised an eyebrow at his speech, when she knew that Glenna couldn't hear him. Dragons could usually only speak with their own riders, riders only with their own dragons. Tesa was one of the unique people able to speak with all dragons.

But Glenna seemed to get the sense of what Orrie had said. Or maybe it was the rumbling purring that came from his throat that comforted her. Glenna straightened up, took a deep breath, then let it out. It only sounded a little shaky.

Yennar-Leian mages filled the courtyard, and one of them helped Glenna climb down from Orrie's back. Tesa jumped down, blinking in the bright lights that now illuminated the courtyard. The mages' voices sounded angry. Judging by their dress robes, most of them had come straight from the ball.

Emric emerged from the crowd, bearing down on Tesa. She wasn't sure what to do or say. Luckily, she didn't have to figure out, because the other two dragons landed just at that moment. Emric came to a stop and crossed his arms, then waited with pursed lips.

Tesa held her breath and watched, frozen, as Malía dismounted her dragon. She wished she could avoid the confrontation, but she would have to face her eventually. It might as well be now. She walked toward Gira as the dragon lowered her shoulders and Malía slid down. Her face was drawn. Tesa squared her shoulders and kept walking.