By the time she had finished, the road was empty and the bakers were scooping ash over their fires, putting the oven’s heat to sleep until the next day. Silver packed up and pushed her way to the docks, her cheeks flushed and her heart racing. Would Hiyyan come for her?
First, she had to see if Hiyyan would even listen to her.
Silver cleared her thoughts and pictured the Aquinder. She imagined their first meeting. There had been a tickle of curiosity. What was that noise across the river? Then a rush of overwhelming emotion as Hiyyan raced to her. And finally, hugging him: when everything felt right in the world.
“If I could go back, I would,” Silver said. If I could be patient, knowing that we would meet someday, no matter what, I would wait.
Silver then thought about the stolen moments walking underground in the river caves, on their way to Calidia, when she would absently put a hand out to touch Hiyyan’s flank or look closely at his wings to make sure the delicate tissue there hadn’t scratched against a wall. They’d bonded so quickly, Silver and her Aquinder, and their connection was strong.
Stronger than her desire to be a great water dragon racer.
She sent Hiyyan a vision of where she stood. I’m here.
There was movement at all hours on the docks, with ships being loaded and unloaded, rodents scurrying underfoot, and glistening strips of light on the surface of the water, swaying with the tide. It was much darker here than nearer the palace. Silver crouched behind a large crate and fixed her vision on a dark blob in the distance. Her chest warmed, and she sought Nebekker’s pendant, but the jewelry was cool and still.
No, it was something else that was filling her with cozy happiness. Hiyyan was swimming toward her.
“You came,” Silver said, wrapping her arms around her Aquinder’s neck as he pulled up to the dock. She gazed into his eyes. There were so many words to say that it was impossible to speak out loud.
I’ll give it up, if that’s what you want, she thought. You’re worth more than a trophy. And I’ll do better. I’ll think about both of us, not just me. I understand that there’s a part of me that’s very human, that there’s a hunger that could become dangerous. I will fight that, to keep you safe.
Hiyyan sat back on his haunches, but he craned his neck forward, his face close enough to Silver’s that she felt his breath on her skin. She placed her palms on either side of his head.
I’m sorry, Hiyyan.
Immediately, Silver’s hands and feet warmed. Her shoulders lifted, and her chest opened to let her lungs take in more air. She breathed deeply and let the air out slowly, then smiled.
Girl and water dragon touched foreheads. Silver closed her eyes, the corners of her mouth turning up. This was how they were supposed to be.
A vision filled her mind: Hiyyan and Silver, gliding across a finish line, their opponents far behind them.
Startled, Silver pulled back.
You want to race?
In the vision, admirers gathered around them. Including Kirja.
“Mrowr,” Hiyyan said softly.
Silver understood. Hiyyan wanted more than racing. He wanted true freedom to be himself in the world.
Just like she did.
She nodded and rubbed her face in his mane. Part of her wanted to say more, but another part knew there was nothing more to say. Their bond was everything.
She climbed onto Hiyyan’s back, and together, dragon and rider paddled up the coast.
FORTY
They slept in the cove until the midmorning sun began burning the back of Silver’s neck. She gently nudged Hiyyan awake and felt a current of shared excitement flow between them. Today was race day.
Silver showed Hiyyan the camouin disguise and helped him into it.
“Not a bad fit,” she said. “How does it feel?”
Hiyyan tugged here and there so the draping metal settled where it felt best, and growled with appreciation. Silver smiled. There was a new feeling between the two of them. A quiet, steady determination to work together to meet their goals.
They rode back into Calidia to check the posted race schedule at the seawall. Desert Fox was listed in the third semifinal heat. Just beneath Ferdi’s name. Silver shaded her eyes with her hand and peered up. The sun was just about dead center in the sky. Out on the racecourse, a handful of riders began moving their water dragons toward the starting line. The air at the seawall buzzed with a sudden energy.
“How much longer until the first semifinal race?” Silver asked a woman beside her through her scarf.
“Ten minutes until the first and best. Look!”
There was Sagittaria Wonder, astride a Dwakka, in the center lane. Silver’s heart fluttered with hope. Kirja wasn’t being claimed today. The Aquinder was still a secret.
She peered at the sea past the racecourse. In the distance, Ferdi seemed to float atop the water, his Glithern warming up for their race. Sweat beaded on Silver’s temples as the minutes counted down.
Sagittaria’s race began with a wail of the horn.
The crowd roared with delight, waving banners and Desert Nations flags. A man sitting on a tall stool shouted race progress over the noise as people exchanged coins with a fevered frenzy.
“Where are your colors, girl?” the woman asked. “Who do you support?”
Silver thought about her desert fox mask, safely hidden in her bag. “My favorite racers are later,” she said.
Despite everything, the way Sagittaria Wonder raced took Silver’s breath away. She kept tight control of her Dwakka around bends, over obstacles, and as they dipped into the sea and out of sight before rising to the surface again. She seemed relaxed, even as her opponents screamed at their water dragons. She radiated the confidence that she would win, no matter what. She was that good.
The flame that burned in Silver grew to a roaring fire. Would she ever become that kind of racer, too?
With a flick of the reins from Sagittaria Wonder, the Dwakka deftly avoided the grasping eel-like tentacles of the dull-gray Decodro one lane over. The crowd roared with laughter and cheered at her maneuver, but Sagittaria’s calm expression didn’t change. She was as cool as seawater.
As the race grew tighter, the challengers became desperate, using any means possible to take their opponents out. A field of eight narrowed to six, then five and four, as two water dragons were injured and two more fell so far behind they had no hope of catching up. One failed challenger was bucked off his water dragon but still attached by a line, so that he was dragged through the churning waters. But Sagittaria held a comfortable lead, making it all look easy.
When she and her Dwakka crossed the finish line in first place, the crowd went wild. Silver cheered just as loudly. It felt like she was experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime event.
The woman beside her chuckled. “As to be expected! Our queen’s racer is the best in the world.”
Sagittaria Wonder took one winner’s lap, waving to her adoring fans and pausing to bow her head to Queen Imea, who watched from a palace balcony, before moving into the warm-up area.