Silver thought back to the collection of water dragon facts tacked to her bedroom walls. Daknyan. Light-sensitive eyes. Can’t race while the sun’s up.
“Can you tell me which race Sagittaria Wonder is in?”
The woman’s mouth twitched. “Oh, child. Everyone wants to test themselves against Sagittaria Wonder. But it’s the easiest way to ensure that you won’t move on to the finals.”
“I’ll … I mean, my rider will take that challenge,” Silver said firmly. That would wipe the smug expression off Sagittaria’s face.
“Well, you don’t have the option. The races are sorted randomly after registration closes. No one will know who or what they’re up against. Too much knowledge lends itself to cheating.”
“And there’s already plenty of that,” the old man put in. “You’re not a cheater, are you?”
“No.” Silver held her head up high. To save Kirja, Silver had become a lot of things she wasn’t proud of: a disappointment, a thief, a liar. But she wasn’t a cheater.
The woman finished making a note on the parchment and gave Silver a numbered tag from a pile on the table. “Here’s your assignment. Place it on the back of your rider’s uniform. The race schedule will be posted on the seawall just below us at noon, so check back then to match your number to your race.”
“So I won’t know who I’m up against—”
“Until you’re at the starting line. Correct. The first races test speed. If you move through to the semifinals, you’ll be tested on speed and agility. Next!”
The person registering next to her jostled her as she turned away from the table.
“Oh, hello. You look familiar.” The man in dark blue—one of Ferdi’s companions—raised his eyebrows at her. “What are you doing up here?”
“Registering for my rider.” Silver hastily tucked her number in her coin pouch.
The man looked suspicious. He reached over as though he were going to dig through her bag. Silver pulled back, right into a sturdy figure. The other man in blue.
“I think this whelp has something to hide,” he said over Silver’s head. “There’s more to her than just a street urchin, I think.”
“I’m not a street urchin,” Silver said.
“Of course not. You’re a hero, too! Saving water dragons from theft.” The men laughed. “Ahrid, what shall we do with her?”
The first man snatched her tag. “Number one hundred fifteen. That’s a lot of water dragons. Cam, do you really think there are one hundred fifteen dragons in Calidia right now? That’s … why, that’s an army full, isn’t it?”
A shudder went down Silver’s spine. There was something about the man’s words and his smile and the way his friend gripped her shoulder that reminded her of Sagittaria Wonder.
But Silver raised her chin and sniffed derisively. “There can’t be that many. Where would they be kept? They would fill up the guest pool.”
Ahrid chuckled. “They would, if everyone here were a special guest of the queen. But they’re not. Most dragons are over there.”
The man pointed over Silver’s shoulder. Cam spun her around.
Silver’s eyebrows shot up, and her mouth dropped open. The seawall cut across the palace grounds, creating a private lawn and beach for the royals, before continuing on the other side of the palace. There, where there were no docks or grand ships bearing exotic goods from around the world, the open seas churned with white-capped waves. Water dragons. Maybe not hundreds of them, but a lot. Dozens. More than Silver ever thought she would see in her lifetime.
Some of the dragons swam, darting to and fro as their racers put them through their exercises. Some floated along lazily, soaking up the sun’s rays. Others formed groups, playing and talking. Silver strained her ears.
“They’re singing,” she whispered to herself in wonder. Could Hiyyan sing, too?
Silver recognized some of the breeds from the drawings that were on her bedroom walls, but others were new to her. And still others were so far away that even when she squinted she couldn’t quite tell them apart.
It was magical. A dream come true. She felt like she could lift off the platform and float right over to the water dragons.
“If only you had a scarf to wipe away your drool,” Ahrid said. He smirked, still holding her tag. “Bet a street urchin like you dreams of being close enough to a water dragon to touch them. I don’t believe you have a rider.”
“I do too.” Silver glared. “And a water dragon.”
“No rider would let you near their precious beast, no matter how many times you step in front of a cart. Dragons are worth more than silks, more than jewels.”
“More than kingdoms, in some cases,” Cam said.
“It’s none of your business,” Silver snapped.
“It’s not? I make it my job to assess Ferdi’s potential opponents. And you are up here registering, after all.”
“For my rider,” Silver said. “And you don’t need to worry about Ferdi. His father thinks he’s good enough to be here, and that’s all that matters.”
The two men shared a shadowed look.
“You know more about Ferdi than you should.”
“Aw, don’t listen to her.” Cam grabbed the tag and pressed it into Silver’s palm. “You can lie to the folks at the table, but you’re boring me with your stories. Go on. Get lost.” Cam shoved Silver off the platform.
Fighting the urge to shove the man back, Silver gritted her teeth and melted into the crowd. Better that the man believed she was a liar. She wanted to keep her secret a bit longer. Needed to if, as Ahrid said, they took a special interest in Ferdi’s opponents. But as she looked back at the platform one last time, she saw Cam still standing there, a curious look on his face.
THIRTY
Silver shoved the man’s suspicious expression out of her mind. She needed to focus on finding camouin and another way to disguise Hiyyan and herself before the race. There might be enough camouin to hide Hiyyan’s wings, but his face—and hers—needed a different kind of disguise. Too bad her Aquinder couldn’t stay underwater the entire race like Ferdi’s dragon did.
At her side, Silver’s fingers worked back and forth as she thought, her bedraggled scarf rubbing against her skin. The fabric was smooth, the weave tight, and Silver wondered what it was made of. Cotton? Silk? Not Jaspatonian wool, and definitely not Aquinder fur. Both so useful. There are thousands of ways yarnwork is useful and wonderful, her mother had once said to her, when Silver had complained about learning it.
Silver had an idea.
There wasn’t much time to collect everything she needed to make her plan work, but to do that, she had to find Brajon. She darted down the road, back to the breakfast stand, but when she got there, he was nowhere to be found.
“You would disappear,” she muttered. Never mind that she was the one who took off first. She craned her neck left and right but caught no sight of her cousin.
What she did catch sight of were two guards posting a new notice on a wall near the palace. Most people paid little mind—there were many colorful flyers promoting merchants or festival events—but Silver crept closer. The wind shifted so that the delicately briny breeze became something harsh and cold, something with a touch of a warning.
There, on that poster, was her face.
WANTED: JEWELRY THIEF. REWARD OFFERED.
Silver’s breath flew from her. Fortunately, her hair was still long, and it was a rough enough sketch that the resemblance wasn’t immediately obvious. But Silver was certain it was meant to be her. Sagittaria had seen Silver moments before. How had she spread the notices so quickly? All of a sudden, her presence in Calidia was more dangerous than ever. The thief notices would spread over the city soon enough.