Scarlett Meris's Arc

Chapter 14 of 15

They reached the sanctum before dawn. It rose out of the rock like something grown, not built — sweeping stone arches, tiered ledges, a central hall wide enough to hold a wing at full stretch. Scarlett had heard of it from old riders. She had never seen it. Rivilin dropped onto the highest ledge. The blue dragon landed beside him and folded its wings tight. Kieran slid down and stood with one hand on Rivilin's shoulder, watching the sky. "They'll come in scared," Scarlett said. "Three from the peaks. Any that saw the mother die won't land for a rider they don't know." "They know you," Kieran said. "They know one of me. Not this place. If the first one bolts, the rest turn back and the king picks them off in the open." Kieran looked at the blue dragon. It had not left her side since she pulled the barb from its wing. "Then use the one who already chose you." She understood him. She walked to the blue dragon and laid her palm flat on its jaw. It let her. She pointed east, then down at the stone, then east again. The dragon watched her hand. She did it twice more, slow, until the meaning settled. Go out. Bring them in. Land here. The blue lifted off the ledge and climbed hard into the graying sky. They waited. Kieran did not speak. Scarlett counted her own breathing to keep from counting minutes. The first shape came in from the north — one of the peak dragons, a lean red. It circled twice, saw the blue already perched on the lower tier, and dropped onto the stone. It did not look at Scarlett. It looked at the blue. That was enough. The second came behind it. Then the third, slower, favoring one leg. The blue dragon landed each time first, then called once — a low sound that carried down the rock. Each new dragon followed the call, not the rider. Four on the ledges. Then the fourth shape banked wide and would not come in. Scarlett saw it hesitate at the edge of the light. A young one. It had seen too much. It turned north. The blue dragon pushed off the tier and went after it. Scarlett lost sight of both against the cloud. She waited with her hand on Rivilin's neck and did not breathe. They came back together. The young one landed last, shivering, and would not fold its wings until the blue folded first. Five dragons on the stone. None had bolted. None had fled toward the king. Kieran let out a breath. "You have a sanctum full of dragons." "I have a sanctum full of dragons the king doesn't own," Scarlett said. Her hands were shaking. She pressed them against Rivilin's side.