Violet Stormwing's Arc

Chapter 16 of 46

The pink dragon chewed the last berry. Outside, the horn sounded again. Violet counted the seconds between calls. Closer each time. She had berries left, but berries would not build trust fast enough. She needed the dragon calm before the men reached the village, or a hiss would give them all away. She looked to the cellar mouth. On the steps sat the white hatchling with gold horns, the boldest of the brood. It had crept down after her. Behind it hopped a pair of brown and white bunnies, plump and slow, that had wandered in from the ruined streets. The hatchling batted at them. Violet's chest tightened. Fresh meat. A starving dragon would trust the one who fed it. She moved slow. She caught both bunnies in her hands and held them out. The pink dragon's nostrils flared. Its eyes fixed on the food, then on Violet. It did not spring. It waited. Violet set the bunnies down and stepped back. The dragon lunged, swift and clean, and swallowed them whole. When it lifted its head, the fear in its eyes had thinned. It sniffed toward her pack for more. Boots crunched above. Voices carried down through the broken village. Kael's men had reached the top streets. Violet froze at the cellar mouth and listened. They were kicking through the ruined houses, searching every wall. The white hatchling squeaked. Violet grabbed it and pressed it to her chest. "Quiet," she breathed. But the pink dragon heard the strangers too. Its wings twitched. Its throat swelled for a hiss. Violet turned and knelt before it. She had one breath left. She held out her open hand, empty, the way she had with every dragon before. "They took your mountain," she whispered. "I won't. Stay with me and we both live." The dragon stared at her hand. Above, a man shouted that a cellar door stood open behind the barn. Feet ran toward the gap. The pink dragon made its choice. It pressed its snout into Violet's palm. The hiss died in its throat. Violet felt the great head grow heavy against her hand, trusting, and knew the bond had taken. A man's shadow filled the cellar mouth. He raised a torch and peered down. Violet stood, the hatchling on her shoulder, the pink dragon rising behind her with wings spread wide. The man saw the dragon and stopped. "It's here," he called up. "The wild one. And the girl. Bring the chains." He backed up the steps. Violet heard him counting his fellows aloud, ten, twelve, more. The bond was won. The refuge was found. But the men now knew exactly where she hid, and they had come with iron to take everything she had earned.