Page 10 of Under Restless Skies

The air whooshes from my lungs at once. Is he insane? “In enemy territory? Against dozens, perhaps hundreds of dragons? You want to reach their most heavily guarded areas?”

“Yes, yes, yes. I have a plan.” Bizarrely, he sounds totally confident, but crazy people are great at sounding confident, so that doesn’t mean much.

“Impressive. May Foros bless you.”

“Bless us. Come with me, help me, and I promise that you’ll be pardoned, and you’ll get into the academy.”

His words are a dangerous spark. Hope flickers, struggling against a tide of disbelief. While his proposal is insane, the opportunity he’s dangling is too good to be ignored.

Still, I appeal to the reasonable part of me. “How am I going to get into the academy if I’m dead?”

He taps his chin with a finger. “That’s the easy part. Don’t get killed.”

“Are you serious?”

“Of course I am.”

My mind is spiraling like draining water. “What are you going to do with the eggs?”

He grins. “A huge omelette, obviously.”

Great. It was nonsense, after all. I’m so angry for having been fooled. And disappointed. It means I won’t have to go to the Kingdom of the Riders, but it also means he can’t get me into the academy.

As I’m trying to find the words to reply, he chuckles and shakes his head. “I’m not going to do anything with the eggs. They’re for our kingdom. Auranius can brood them. We’ve been struggling for so long, and why? Because we don’t have the numbers. Once we have more dragons, we can raise them here, wait for them to grow, reproduce, then breed more and more dragons. Eventually, we won’t be at the mercy of the riders. It’s our chance to win this war, to reclaim our land.” His eyes are bright with determination. There’s no deceit, no arrogance or sarcasm in his voice, just sheer yearning. I know all about yearning.

And yet… “Their land is monitored by flying dragons. Nobody can go there unnoticed.”

“Are you too scared to come?”

I swallow. “I want to understand the plan.”

“Do I look like I want to die?”

“Right now, yes.”

He laughs softly. “I don’t. I want to live and become who I’m meant to be. I have plans. Hopes. But I’m not going to explain everything now. Either you trust me or you don’t.”

“Well, I don’t trust you.”

“Fine, then.” He lets out an annoyed huff. “You can trust the Sky Guard court. Maybe they’ll have mercy on you.”

As he turns and walks toward the exit, panic hammers against my ribs. What if this is my last chance? What if this is an opportunity to help the kingdom? What if he’s right that I could be sentenced to death if I stay? Even then, it sounds so convenient… But do I want to remain in this cell, waiting?

“Hey,” I yell. “I said I don’t trust you. I didn’t say we can’t work together.” His steps pause, and I ask, “What’s your name?”

He returns. “I thought you’d never ask. Alayel Storm Chaser.”

“I’ll go on two conditions: you’ll sign a contract, and you’ll let me give my brother a note telling him I’m alive. I won’t say where we’re going, if it’s some big secret.”

He lets out a relaxed, relieved chuckle. “Then come. We leave now.”

3

My mouth’s still dry and my stomach’s a hollow ache, but at least I can see the stars and smell the ocean.

Alayel led me outside the prison through a side door. On our way, we crossed some guards and I almost fainted, but they didn’t stop us or ask any questions.

Now we’re on the outskirts of the city, walking on empty streets and trails, away from the bay. The houses here are small and made of stone, most of them with only one window or none at all. It’s where farmers, fishers, and artisans live, away from the hustle of the port.