Violet Stormwing's Arc

Chapter 36 of 46

Violet walked south for two days before she stopped. Kael's fortress meant Kael's price. He would give her gold, but he would want the wild dragon's location in return. She could not trade one danger for another. She sat on a cold rock and thought. She did not need Kael. She needed treasure the dragon would want, and she knew one place full of it. The old crystal cave. The mother dragon had nested there for years. When the flight left, they took the blue stone, but not the walls. Those glowed day and night with crystal. A whole cavern of it, sharp and bright, more than any lord kept in a vault. If gems held the wild dragon, crystal would hold it better. She turned north and climbed for a day and a half. The cave stood empty and silent. Violet stepped inside. Purple, red, and green crystals lined the stone, throwing color across her face. But the crystals were rooted deep in the walls. She pulled at one. It did not move. She struck it with her knife hilt. Chips flew, but the main shaft held. She could not carry a wall on her back. She needed to break them loose and see them clearly in the dark corners. She reached into her pack and cupped her hands. The tiny flame sprite spilled out, warm and glowing, its ember tail flicking. She had used it once to warm frightened hatchlings without smoke. Now she held it near the crystal veins. Its light showed a seam of loose stones along the floor, gems that had fallen over the years and gathered in a heap. Violet knelt by the pile. Here the crystals lay free, already broken from the walls. Dozens of them, every color, some as small as her thumb, some as long as her hand. She scooped them into her pack until the cloth strained. The sprite hovered above her, lighting each one so she took only the whole stones. She filled the pack, then filled her cloak, tying the corners into a bundle. She carried the load back to the valley over three hard days. Her shoulders ached. Twice she nearly slid off the mountain path. But she reached the narrow crack in the rim and squeezed through with the bundle dragging behind her. The wild dragon lifted its head. Its single orange gem sat under one claw. Violet loosed the cloak and let the crystals spill into the grass. They tumbled in a bright pile, red and blue and green, catching the light. The dragon's eyes went wide. It uncoiled and crept forward. It nosed the heap, then pushed the stones together with its snout, guarding them close. It curled around the whole pile and folded its wings. Violet sat back, breathing hard. The dragon had a hoard now, not one gem. It would not fly to hunt for more. She had rooted it to the valley at last. But the pile would draw eyes if any rider ever climbed the rim, and Kael was still searching his mountains.