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Food, the thought of that made my stomach roil, but a drink was very welcome. My throat felt dry as a desert. While I wasn’t exactly walking like a panther, the fact I could make it over to where everyone was sitting under a nearby tree under my own steam made me happy. I sculled down the first cup of water in two swallows, another handed to me before I could get up to grab the skin.
“So how are you faring, Tess? You’re looking much better than reports would lead me to expect,” Alden asked, coming to sit by me. He offered me some food, but I shook my head. My stomach felt overly full and slightly queasy with the rapid intake of water. The other riders took a seat as well, Vella shooting me a small smile, Grey and Rylen intent on helping themselves to lunch.
“It took a day or two, but I’m feeling better now,” I replied.
“That’s good. To be struck down and to lose your dragon at the same time, I can scarcely imagine how you must have felt. We were all quite concerned for you.” Alden’s eyes flicked to Vella, who nodded enthusiastically if rather belatedly.
And yet you saw neither hide nor hair of them? Miazydar said.
“You got a date for the ball?” Rylen said, turning back to us now he had a sandwich in each hand.
“Rylen…” Vella said with a shake of her head.
“What? You’re going to go with his Lordship, as per usual, and this is the first time Grey and I have a chance of anything other than stag.”
“What’s all this?” Keel said, taking a seat by me and passing me what appeared to be a wrap.
Rylen and Grey looked over the dragon rider, seeming to measure the space between us. I glanced down and saw his hand was just next to mine on the grass.
“So that’s how it is,” Grey said with a shake of his head.
I frowned, about to reply to that when Keel asked, “How’s the training going?”
“I think I’m starting to get there,” I said with a shrug.
“And where’s Miazydar? He OK?”
“He’s back on his eyrie…nope, he’s having something to eat right now. I was told he wasn’t needed today.”
“He’s not,” Keya said. “You’re going to be required to fight on another dragon’s back during the war games. The feeling is that yours may seek to compensate for your inexperience.”
“Another dragon?” Keel frowned. “But Captain, that’s not usually done until—.”
“Orders are orders,” Keya said with a shake of her head. “You did well, Tess. You’re a natural fighter. I want to try you on dragon back after you’ve rested.”
Silence fell over the group. Rider and cadet all turned to eye me, their expressions not exactly reassuring. This was obviously dangerous and everyone was waiting to see how I reacted. “We strike without warning,” she said very deliberately, her fist going to her chest as she did so. That seemed to break the mood, the riders repeating the motto with growing enthusiasm.
“Tess,” Keel said, his eyes darting around the group. “You don’t have to do this, not now. I’d be happy to spend the extra time getting you up to speed. You needn’t feel pressured.” Rylen snorted at this but kept on munching on his food.
Keya got to her feet, wiping her hands on her thighs. “What are you going to do, cadet?” she said to me.
“We strike without warning,” I said, making the salute. She nodded, smiled and then jerked her head for me to follow her.
26
Which is how I managed to find myself fighting on a dragon’s back, metres and metres up in the air.
Oh my god, ohmyfuckinggod, I thought, my eyes darting to the side where I had a spectacular view of the Lorikham campus spread below us. Tiny people clustered underneath looking up to watch, no doubt to see whether I could pull this off, or be splattered on the ground below. My grip on the wooden spear was weak as my palms grew slick. My muscles were both unnaturally tight with anxiety, yet also not able to clench so hard I felt secure. Standing up on a live dragon was something else altogether from my experience on the dummy. Hunderley, Keya’s dragon, had a broad back, tall spikes of cartilage forming a jagged ridge down the centre, but he shifted like a ship on the sea in response to the currents. Breathe in, then breathe out, I told myself, trying to slow the thundering pace of my heart.
“Strike, block, strike,” Keya said through the helmet comms, "like we practised. You ready?”
No, no I’m not. My eyes flicked over to where dragons soared through the air, performing complex manoeuvres in and around each other. Strike, block, strike, I repeated. Just take the first fucking step.
I moved fast, trying desperately to ignore the way the ‘ground’ dropped slightly beneath my steps. This was less like walking and more like surfing on a surfboard. You had to be able to shift with the dragon. My toe caught on one of the dragon’s spines, causing me to stumble momentarily. I froze, hand whipping out to grab a spike to steady myself. Keya just watched me straighten up again, legs shaking, muscles twitching with the effort before beginning to move forward again. Strike. I jabbed out with the spear, Keya’s rushed up to meet mine. Block…
Keya was no longer pulling her punches. Her spearhead whipped around to catch mine and she shoved both down, tugging me with them. Oh fuck, oh fuck! I thought as I barrelled over to the edge of the dragon. It was only by dropping down to one knee, my free hand grabbing a spike, that stopped me from careening off into the air. For a moment all I could do was stare out into the empty space, breath coming hard. “On your feet,” came Keya’s command, “your weapon does you little good down there.”
This is nothing like fighting on a bloody dummy. I forced myself to stand. I couldn’t lock my knees, having to keep them loose to compensate for the dragon’s movements. We’d barely been here for five minutes and they already felt like rubber. Why did I do this today? I’ve been training for hours, for the first time in years. I’m out of condition and my body is trashed. I looked up at Keya’s blank face mask and wondered.
