The Dragon Games

Return

Squad by squad, we left the church. Elio and I made the rear of squad Tudor, and we both grimaced as we stepped outside. After spending hours indoors, the brightness of the afternoon sun was blinding. 

I blinked a couple of times, my vision clearing to reveal massive crowds lining the streets. It wasn't just citizens from the capital. People from all over the kingdom had come to see the newest generation of dragon riders, shouting out the names of their favorites. 

The most shouted name of all was Edmund Balthasar, the rich and handsome heir to the strongest House. In the wake he left behind, several girls clutched their chests, reeling from their brief brush with perfection.

I too had excited my own section of screaming girls. They dressed in beige dresses buttoned to their chins and aggressively rung tiny tin bells as I walked past. 

"Shame! For shame, Raven Black!" Ring, ring. "The gods will condemn what the courts have not!" Ring, ring. "Shame, for shame!" More ringing.

Elio switched our positions to walk in between the group and I. "So, you said you'd help me?"

"Now?"

"I've waited over a decade for a new lead. I'd rather not wait a minute longer."

So as we reached the pier, where a line of rowboats awaited to carry us to Skydescent's shores, I started at the beginning – the first time I met Sammy. 

The story lasted until Skydescent's castle came into view – first its silver towers rising above the treetops, followed by the rest of its vast, sprawling property. 

 I went over my early days of being a raider as we moved back into our old chamber with Gordo and Bianca, then as we headed to the bidding ceremony, I covered our most lucrative heists.

"Is any of this helpful?" I asked. 

Moonlight poured through the windows, casting shadows across Skydescent's long, empty halls as we passed the free standing armour of various knights and riders who had graduated from the castle. We were alone now, the rest of our squad having already entered the mess hall.

"Anything that seems like a small detail now can be just what I need in the future."

I paused, remembering I hadn't just kept a small detail from him. I had Sammy's journal hidden in the bottom of my travel bag. While I couldn't crack his code, Elio excelled at that kind of thing, but a nagging feeling hung in the back of my throat that I'd have to be a fool to give Sammy's most valuable asset to the person who hates him the most.

"What?" Elio said. "Do you remember something?"

I looked away. There would be other ways to clear Sammy's name without also risking his safety. "No. We better walk faster, or we'll miss the first matches."

"Raven —"

"We're going to be late."

We rounded the hall to come across the double-door entrance to the mess hall, and the two knights guarding it. Their friendly conversations broke off, immediately tightening their grips on their weapons. With their free hand, they opened the doors, refusing to say a single word as I stepped though. 

Bless their hearts. As cities rise and empires fall, the one thing I can always count on in this crazy world is the Sword Brethren's bone-deep hatred of me.

Inside the mess hall, a long line of pledges waited for their weapons, half listening to the knights' instructions to do no serious harm, half plotting out the destruction and decimation of their opponent. All the tables had been pushed to the walls to make room for the coming fights except for the four reserved for the squads.