ARI
Ari balled her fists, willing winter magic to come to her. She focused on the cold of winter in her heart, and the process of sending the magic to her hands. Heart to hand, Sanna had taught her.
But the magic didn't come. The thoughts of Sanna made her feel even worse, and she struggled against her attacker, but she had no magic to defend herself with.
She found herself held down on the ground, and pain shot through her body. It hadn't been very long since the King's Garde had held her to the ground and arrested her at the Midwinter Championships, and though the bruises had faded, it seemed the internal pain was still there.
Ari struggled again, and finally broke free of her captor.
She had expected a Garde, dressed in gold, but instead she saw a short woman, with pale skin and brown hair tangled with grey, and a round chin.
"They're rounding up all the Vastiens," the woman said, flicking her head out the door and in the direction of the pier, where she knew the Garde were standing.
"And you're going to sell me to them?" Ari asked angrily. She realised the woman was the owner of the little shop, whose vegetables were piled up outside.
"I will if you don't behave," the woman said sharply.
"Behave?"
"You're from the school, aren't you?" the woman said. "Only a rich kid like you could afford clothing like that."
Ari looked down at Katja's coat that she was wearing. The woman had no idea how wrong she was, but also how right.
"You can't just walk around with skin your colour," the store owner said.
"I'd gathered that much, thanks," Ari said sharply. "What do you want?"
"You got a dragon?"
Ari stared at the woman.
"Do you have a dragon?" the woman repeated.
Ari remained tight-lipped.
"Listen," the woman said. "If I give a shout, those two Garde at the pier will come running. They'll take one look at the colour of your skin, and it doesn't matter whether you're a posh diplomat's daughter or an ord. They're rounding up Vastiens, and they'll take you, too, whether you were born in Lombardia or not. They're setting up camps over the hill. That's where all your friends are being kept."
"And what do I have to do so that you won't turn me in?" Ari said sharply, and as she said it, the tone in her voice reminded her of Bell. She remembered the way Bell would stand up for herself, talking back smartly to their foster carers or to teachers or to bullies.
The store owner pushed her further into the darkness of the shop, and then pointed to a hole in the floor. Ari could see the top of a ladder sticking out of the hole.
"Down," the woman instructed.
Ari hated being underground. The feeling of darkness and the closing walls terrified her. She knew it was how Bell had died - trapped under the city, killed in an explosion that went off. It made Ari panic. But the woman pushed her again, and Ari knew she had no choice.
She took a breath and gripped onto the ladder, descending into the darkness.
Her heart was beating as she felt her feet hit the floor. There was nothing but darkness, but she could see the shadow of the store owner descending the ladder above her. Ari took a step back and felt sacks of something behind her, maybe sugar or salt or grain.
The store owner held a solar lamp up and struck the fuse so the stored ball of light magic burned inside the globe. It lit up the basement, revealing stock of winter food stored neatly.
But then Ari noticed, hiding between two sacks of flour that were bigger than her, a tiny girl with dark skin.
"If you've got a dragon," the store owner said. "You'll take my daughter to Zantiala."
Ari stared at the young girl. Her hair was dark curls tied into two small braids. Her big black eyes stared up at Ari fearfully.
"What's your name?" Ari asked.
"Sofia." Her voice was just a whisper.
Ari felt herself soften.
"Do you like dragons, Sofia?" Ari asked.
The little girl gave a slow, careful nod, without taking her eyes off Ari.
Ari swallowed, and then looked up at the store owner. "This is your daughter?"
"I trade with the Vastiens who come here by ship. Fruit and vegetables isn't the only thing they've given me over the years."
"Right."
"So you'll take her on your dragon to Zantiala."
"I'm not going to Isla Zantiala," Ari said.
"Zantiala is the biggest stronghold of Vastier. You'll be safe there."
Ari remembered that Savvas had wanted to take Ari to Zantiala, but Ari had refused. And now she had even more reason to. She couldn't take Jinni to Vastier. She had to get him to Kakaio, where she could return him to Lumi.
"I'm not going to Zantiala. I'm looking for a ship to take me to Kakaio."
The store owner stared at her. "Impossible. Ships don't go to Kakaio. The borders have been closed for over ten years. They don't trade with us."
"I need to get to Kakaio."
"You need to go to Zantiala. You'll be safe there. You and Sofia will be safe."
"I don't have a saddle," Ari said weakly. "We would never make a journey that long without a saddle."
The store owner fixed her with a look. "I can help you with that."
Ari took a moment to think. She needed to convince this woman that it was a bad idea to send her tiny daughter off with a stranger on a dragon. But if the woman suspected Ari was dangerous, she would turn Ari into the Garde.
"Why do you want a stranger to take your daughter to Vastier?" Ari asked.
"King Matthias has announced that all Vastiens should be rounded up and imprisoned in the camps over the hill," the woman said. "He doesn't care if they were born here or not. He has a new team of the Garde called the Golden Enforcement who have been arresting Vastiens. They've put out rewards to neighbours who will turn in their neighbours."
"But you can hide her down here."
"I can't keep my daughter locked in a basement. This war could last years. The Fire War did. She'll have a better life in Vastier."
"But what about you?"
"I'll try to find a ship to Vastier as soon as I can," the woman said. "But for now I can only make sure that Sofia is safe. You can hide here today, while I get a saddle for your dragon. Tonight when it's dark, we'll take you to your dragon and you can set off."
Ari glanced at Sofia, before saying, "Fine."
It was the only thing she could say.
But she had no intention of taking Sofia to Vastier. She would hide in the basement during the day, where she could be safe, and then tonight she would get back to Warrah and Jinni. When the woman saw Jinni the tiger, no doubt she would decide she no longer wanted Sofia to go with this strange starrling who had two kinnlings, neither of which were the right magic.
The store woman nodded. "I'm Dot, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Dot," Ari said weakly. "I'm Ariane."
She spent the day with Sofia, playing jisr in the storeroom of the shop while the woman served the few customers who were coming through. Business was too slow, and everyone who came in remarked about the King's new measures to find rebellious Vastiens. Some of them sounded in favour of the King, whereas others sounded wary.
At least Ari was able to eat food throughout the day and rest and regain some strength.
At night the woman locked up the shop and left for an hour. When she came back, she was huffing with the effort of carrying an old, worn leather saddle. Ari had no idea whether the saddle would fit over Warrah's back.
But that didn't matter, Ari reminded herself. She wasn't taking the saddle from the woman. She wasn't taking the little girl to Zantiala. She would get back to Warrah and Jinni and she would escape.
"Where's your dragon?" Dot asked her.
"Up the hill in the forest."
"Take us."
Dot had packed a small bag for her daughter. Sofia seemed on the verge of tears, but held tightly onto the little pack of food as they walked through the now-deserted streets of the town. The Garde were still by the pier, but no one stopped the three figures as they walked through the shadows.
Ari led the way, back the way she had come up the hill that led to the forest. She took them to where she had left Warrah and Jinni, her heart beating in her throat.
Suddenly the woman grabbed her arm. "Lion!" she hissed.
Ari froze, staring into the darkness. If the King's Garde were here, they would arrest Ari and Sofia straight away.
Ari watched for the telltale flash of golden light that would announce the Garde. But instead, she saw fire.
Ari breathed out. "Jinni," she said. "It's me. It's okay."
At Ari's voice, Jinni let out a snarl and stepped out of the shadows of the trees.
Dot and Sofia both stepped back, and Sofia let out a small cry of fear and clung onto her mother. Jinni growled at them.
"Why do you have a tiger?" the woman asked, panic laced through her voice. "Where is the dragon? You lied!"
Ari swallowed. "Listen, I'm sorry for deceiving you. But I told you, I'm not going to Zantiala. I couldn't risk you turning me into the Garde. You should go home now."
Jinni was still growling, and Ari glanced back at the tiger. "Sorry, boy. There's no ships to Singtsu from here. We're going to have to find another way to get to Kakaio."
But Jinni was still growling. Ari turned to Dot and Sofia.
"He doesn't like you," she said. "You should go home."
Dot was glaring at Ari.
Jinni was still growling.
"Hush, boy," Ari said to the tiger. "It's okay. I'll get you some more fish."
But Jinni was growling, and Sofia was tugging on her mother's skirt and saying, "Mama."
Ari suddenly realised there was light coming from down the path. She froze, and stared at Dot. "The Garde," she mouthed.
"You need to fly out of here. You need to take Sofia and you need to fly to Pythos Savvas's ship," Dot hissed. "It's the only way. You can't go to Singtsu."
"I'm not going to Savvas's ship!" Ari hissed back.
"Mama!" Sofia cried.
"Show yourselves!" a deep voice from down the path yelled, and suddenly the trees were lit with a blaze of light, as the two Garde approached from up the hill.
Dot grabbed Sofia and shoved her towards Ari. The little girl screamed.
"Warrah!" Ari yelled.
The dragon was there, and Ari slung the ill-fitting saddle over the dragon's back. She had no experience with dragon saddles, but there wasn't time to get all the clasps right. It just had to stay on.
Ari looked at Jinni. His bandages still covered one of his wings, so she had no idea if he was going to be able to fly, but there was no time. Ari grabbed at the bandages and pulled them away, and the tiger let out a bellow of a roar, but both of his black wings unfurled.
"Follow us, Jinni," Ari cried.
She pulled herself onto the back of Warrah, just as Jinni launched himself into the air with a great stumbling leap. For a moment it looked like he would fall again, and then he righted himself.
"TAKE SOFIA!" Dot screamed at her, and grabbed the small girl and shoved her towards Ari.
"I can't take her!" Ari cried.
Then the Garde were over the hill, two lions and their rides, each wielding beams of light as weapons.
"Vastien! Dismount from the dragon and get on the ground!" one of the Gardes yelled.
Dot threw Sofia, and Ari found herself gripping onto the little girl, as Dot turned to face the Garde.
The shop woman had no weapons and no magic, but she rushed at the lions anyway.
"MAMA!" Sofia screamed, as her mother ran straight towards the lions.
"GO!" Dot screamed back at her.
"Warrah!" Ari cried.
The dragon let out a bellowing roar, and sprayed a blast of water at the Garde before launching himself into the air after Jinni.
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