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Sam extended his arm to show a tattoo of a broken arrow surrounded by a partial circle. “Ours was a genocide, and they marked people like me as weak and inferior. I do hope your coven treats its people better.”
“We’re doing our best to prevent the coven from taking it that far,” Miles told Sam. “We might’ve found information that can help us, but we need to speak to someone in town named Beau Blankard. Can you get us there?”
Sam patted one of the dragons on the shoulder. “Leslie’s all ready for a flight, but she’s the only dragon I’ve got at the moment.”
Leslie was a smaller dragon compared to the others, but she was still the size of a small car, with shimmering purple scales and blue spines running down her back.
“Leslie can only carry two riders at a time,” Sam said.
“Then she should take Nadine and Lucas,” Chloe offered. “It’s important that they hear what Beau has to say.”
Leslie bowed her head to me, nudging her nose against my shoulder. I ran my fingers over her scales, and I was surprised by how smooth they were. The dragon licked me, as if to say she liked me. I saw she had a forked blue tongue that glittered in the sunlight.
“How will we find Beau?” I asked.
“He should be at the library right now, working a fundraiser for foster kids,” Sam said.
It seemed so positively normal. A witch couldn’t host a fundraiser in Octavia Falls these days, and it’s not like the priestesses would care about the foster care system, anyway.
“A lot of kids lost their parents in the war,” Sam added. “We’re doing what we can. The community’s really come together to help them, but it’s been a tough road so far.”
My stomach sank. “I’m sorry things have been hard for your people.”
“It gets easier every day,” Sam assured us. “Take it as a sign of hope. If our people can end their civil war and become one tribe again, then so can your coven.”
“Thank you,” I told him.
“It’s nothing,” Sam replied with a shrug. “Are you two ready for a ride?”
I bounced on my toes, and Lucas looked thrilled. I hadn’t seen him that excited in a long time.
“We’re ready,” Lucas said brightly.
“All you have to do is grab her spines, hoist yourself up, and she’ll take care of the rest,” Sam instructed. “She knows where she’s going, and when you’re done, just hop back on her and she’ll bring you back here.”
“Thanks for all your help,” Lucas said. “If there’s any way we can repay you, let us know.”
Sam waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it. Go help your people.”
Lucas grabbed one of Leslie’s spines and jumped. He settled into a smooth area on her back, then reached down to help me up. I sat in front of him and was surprised to find I felt secure in the curve of Leslie’s back. I held one of her spines to steady myself, and Lucas wrapped his arms around me to keep me even more secure.
“See you soon!” Chloe waved goodbye.
Leslie spread her wings, and my heart plummeted to my abdomen as she leapt into the sky. Lucas and I both screamed as we rose high into the air, until Chloe, Miles, and Sam looked like mere ants beneath us. My legs tightened on the dragon’s sides, and wind whipped through my hair as she pumped her wings.
I squeezed my eyes shut tightly as my heart pummeled against my rib cage. I thought this would be fun, but now that I was doing it, I realized I wasn’t at all prepared. One wrong move, and Lucas and I would plummet to our deaths.
Lucas’s screams turned to laughter. He let go of me, and I instantly curled over the dragon, clutching her neck for dear life.
“Lucas!” I screamed.
He tapped me on the shoulder. “Nad, it’s okay. Open your eyes.”
The ride seemed to even out, and the wind seemed calmer. Slowly, I peeled my eyes open and looked around. Clouds surrounded us at all angles, and Leslie had stopped flapping her wings. She soared through the air, her wings slicing through the clouds like butter. I glanced at Lucas to see he had his arms straight out to the sides. His fingers grazed the moisture around us.
“Woohoo!” Lucas screamed like he was having the time of his life.
And he was; I could tell. We’d been cooped up in that cabin for so long, and we’d been living in survival mode for even longer. Riding on the back of a dragon felt like freedom.
