Violet Stormwing's Arc

Chapter 7 of 46

By dawn the nest had come alive. Violet stood inside the crystal cave and counted five wet hatchlings, all crying, all hungry. The gold-horned one pressed against her knee, but the others snapped and clawed for food. The mother watched every mouth, ribs sharp, eyes flat. Violet knew one bear a day would not feed this. If the little ones starved, the mother's trust would break in a single night. She had to bring more meat than she ever had. Theo waited outside, boots planted at the cave mouth. Lord Kael's spy had followed her north for weeks, always clean, always watching. He tapped a folded paper against his palm. "You can't hunt fast enough," he said softly. "I did the sums last night. Five mouths, and more meat than your dragon can carry in a day." He stepped close. "I know a herder in the low valley. He keeps one beast worth ten sheep. Big enough to feed the whole nest for days." "Show me," Violet said. They flew south. Theo pointed to a wide pen below a farmhouse. Inside stood a great gray elephant, tall as a barn, tusks curved and pale. The herder used it to drag fallen trees. Violet landed and offered her whole purse and the silver clasp from her cloak. The herder looked at the black dragon and took the deal. Moving the elephant was the true test. It would not fly. Violet roped its legs, then guided the black dragon to lift and drag it in slow stages up the ridge. The dragon strained. Twice the ropes slipped. By dusk they reached the crystal cave, both of them shaking. "This will not last forever," Theo said. He watched her drag the huge carcass through the entrance. "But it buys you days." Violet pulled the elephant to the middle of the floor, between herself and the nest. She backed to the wall. "For all of you," she said. The mother rose. She smelled the meat and Violet's sweat on the ropes. Then she called the hatchlings forward. Five small bodies swarmed the carcass beside her, and for the first time they fed until their bellies swelled. The crying stopped. The cave went quiet but for tearing and the hum of the crystals. When the nest was full, the mother turned to Violet. She lowered her huge head and touched her snout to Violet's chest, gentle, deliberate. The trust had held. It had grown. But Theo's paper was still in his hand. As the mother settled, he wrote a line and tucked the note away. "Lord Kael will want to know she's tame enough to feed her young from your hand," he said. "He'll want the last wild dragon claimed before your days run out." Violet met his eyes. She had won the nest tonight. Now the man beside her would tell his lord exactly how close she was.