Mele put emphasis on should, which made Silver worry. Her cousin could be in real trouble.
The water dragons pushed on, fighting against the current. Hiyyan was strong, but after the race and all the flying he’d done earlier that day, Silver could feel his exhaustion in her bones. They were both spent.
“We just need to find your mother, then get far enough away that we can rest safely,” she told her Aquinder. “It’s almost over.”
The cave opened suddenly, and they swam into a colossal room, bigger than any underground space Silver had seen before. Crystals glittered from the ceiling, bouncing light everywhere, and Silver had to look down to keep from getting dizzy. The lake was like a perfectly clear topaz, and it was ringed with a shoreline of glittering white sand.
When her head stopped twirling, Silver looked up again. The walls were a rainbow of colors, showing the history of the river cutting through the cavern. And in the middle of it all, huge glass cages held water dragons.
Most bobbed docilely. Some were even asleep. But a few paced back and forth anxiously, and one Decodro even rammed its head against its cage over and over again, trying to break free. Silver’s heart squeezed at the sight.
“We have to let them all go,” she said to Mele.
“We can’t. And they’re not all here against their will. Some are part of the regular royal kennel.”
“Kennel?”
“What we call the water dragons belonging to the royals.”
Silver urged Hiyyan forward, looking for Kirja. She kept sneaking glances at the water dragon ramming its head, until tears began to roll down her face.
“Ow,” Silver suddenly cried. Nebekker’s pendant glowed hot enough to sear Silver’s skin before cooling once more. “There’s Kirja!”
Hiyyan let out a happy roar, but the old Aquinder stayed still and snorted in their direction. A warning.
“Oh, you found us. I thought you might come here.”
The haughty voice of Sagittaria Wonder rang out. Silver whipped her head around to see the other side of the cave. Sagittaria was weaving in and out of the water tanks on the back of her Dwakka. Her dragon’s two heads were focused on Silver’s companions: one on Ferdi, the other on Mele.
“How do you like my kennel?” Sagittaria asked. “I’ve spent my whole life building this water dragon empire. I started young. How old are you, ele-jeweler?”
“Thirteen,” Silver said, to keep her distracted. Silver quickly glanced around the cavern. Where was Brajon?
“I began working with water dragons when I was five and an orphan. My parents were traders who were killed on the road to Calidia. When my only other relative learned they were dead, she left me at the docks. Do you know what that means for a Calidian child?”
A flicker of movement caught Silver’s attention. Probably Sagittaria’s shadow on the crystals. But just in case, Silver kept her eyes fixed on Sagittaria. She didn’t want her to suspect anything.
“The lucky ones scraped by as beggars, but other children were snatched up by sailors to toil on their ships, never to be seen again. Once they’d outlived their usefulness … let’s just say the seas are vast.”
Silver swallowed. Another flicker of movement. Silver chanced another glance into the crystals and nearly gave a shout. Peeking from behind a rock was her cousin. Brajon pressed his finger to his lips. Silver had to keep the great dragon racer occupied.
“But not you,” Silver said loudly. “You weren’t taken, and you weren’t killed.”
“No. I would survive to get revenge on my aunt.”
“What do you mean?” Silver asked.
Suddenly, the Dwakka’s heads twisted away from Ferdi and Mele, swaying to the left and right. Their stubby ears were perked, listening.
“I asked you a question,” Silver shouted. Her voice echoed. Brajon needed more time.
Sagittaria Wonder raised her eyebrows. The Dwakka heads swiveled back to Silver, whatever they’d heard drowned out.
“A combative Dwakka hung around the docks.” Sagittaria patted her water dragon. “And I was the only person who wasn’t afraid of it, didn’t want to hurt it, or steal it. Dwakkas can be a little intense. Only I could compel him to bend to my will.”
Sagittaria Wonder smirked. Silver gulped as she looked at the Dwakka, which didn’t even have one smiling head to offset the ferocious one. Both heads were scowling.
Sagittaria continued. “Despite befriending this dragon and gaining his loyalty, despite winning our first races, despite gaining the attention and favor of the royal court—an orphan!—there was always something I wanted more than anything else.”
“Revenge on your aunt.”
Sagittaria Wonder waved her hand. “Oh, that. No, I achieved that quickly. Did you know water dragons hate the taste of human flesh? But whatever I ask for, I get.”
Sagittaria patted the Dwakka again, and Silver’s stomach turned.
“No, what I wanted was to realize my dreams. Sound familiar, Desert Fox? I care nothing for the spats the royals have, or for money. But to be the greatest? To show the whole world what this unwanted, pathetic little dock girl was capable of? That drives me, Desert Fox. That drives us. And later, when I heard there was a water dragon breed no one had seen in centuries … I had to know. Could it be real? Could I, a nobody from nowhere, hold a legend in my hands?”
Sagittaria Wonder pivoted suddenly and gazed at Kirja. Brajon, halfway to Kirja, dropped to the ground, pressing his face into the sand. He almost blended in, his dark clothing a shadow on the shoreline, but all Sagittaria had to do was look past Kirja’s tank and she would see him.
“You know how it feels, Silver Batal of Jaspaton,” Sagittaria Wonder said softly, turning back to her. “You know how all of it feels.”
This time, the regret on her face seemed genuine. “I care more for the fate of water dragons than just about anything else, but I still can’t give Kirja back.”
“But she’s not yours,” Ferdi exclaimed. “Let us take her and go.”
“No, she’s not mine. But you, of all people, Prince, know these games are more complex than any commoner can imagine.” Sagittaria Wonder nearly snarled at Ferdi. “And you might not survive if you get involved.”
“I don’t care about games,” Silver said. “Kirja and Nebekker belong together.”
“I’m sorry,” Sagittaria Wonder said. And she really did sound sorry.
The Dwakka moved slowly in Silver’s direction, both heads focused on her. “Kirja belongs to the queen now. And you, ele-jeweler … I wish you had run when you had the chance.”
The Dwakka shot at Silver, both mouths open wide and fangs dripping with anticipation.
FORTY-EIGHT
Mele screamed. Her Shorsa reared up in surprise, throwing Mele off and into the lake. Before Silver could lunge for her, one huge Dwakka head descended on Hiyyan and clamped its fangs onto the Aquinder’s neck. Hiyyan screeched and threw his head back.
“No, Hiyyan,” Silver yelled. It took all of her strength to keep hold of his mane and stay on his back. The lake was deep. If she got thrown off, she would drown.
“Hold on,” Ferdi called, rushing toward the Dwakka. His Glithern rammed the Dwakka’s underbelly, and the other Dwakka head screamed.
Silver pulled her knife from her belt and stuck it between her teeth, a metallic taste filling her mouth. She crawled up Hiyyan’s back until she was within arm’s reach of the Dwakka head that still held on to Hiyyan. She raised her arm and brought the knife down across its face. The sharp blade sliced into its cheek. The first head screeched and let go, but she didn’t see the second head coming. It slammed into her shoulder.