The Dragon Games

Skydescent

Accepting the parlay was worth it, if only to see the look on Leon Bate's face. Regan was pacing her cell when he stormed in, back up by three knights. His eyes burned into hers, his expression darker than the grime coating her handcuffs. He must have spent years hunting the raiders down, only to free her days after catching her.

Regan grinned broadly, unable to help herself. It was in her nature. Knights and raiders are like cats and dogs. "So am I officially in the Blood Moon Festival now?"

In response, he threw a balled up leather jacket between the bars. It landed in a muddy puddle, splashing her shins. Her jacket looked exactly the same as Cassian's, except there was an empty patch where his had two symbols, one for House Tudor and the other for the king.

"Hey," Regan said. "What happened to the symbols?"

"Not my concern," Leon replied flatly, gesturing for her hand.

"Well I did not steal my own symbols." Regan splayed her bare palms to prove her point.

Leon sneered and grabbed her wrist, jerking her hand to his chest. Then, to her surprise, he began removing her binds. She thought he would stop at her wrists, but he did everything – wrists, ankles, and fingers – and no doubt died a little more with each freed limb. Once her hands were free, Regan flexed her fingers for the first time in weeks, letting the Divine back in like a rush of static electricity. With one swipe, she could throw Leon and his knights against the dungeon wall and book it to freedom. The knights must be aware of her power, yet none of them looked nervous.

"Follow me," Leon ordered, striding for the dungeon steps. "Cassian awaits."

"Is he taking me to the Blood Moon Festival?" Regan shrugged on her jacket, folding up the sleeves to hide the mud stains.

"No, he's taking you to Skydescent. It's a castle where contestants train and form allies leading up to the festival. Though I doubt you'll have much success in either."

As Regan left her cell, one of Leon's knights shoved her in the back. She stumbled into her cell's iron bar, her head connecting with a loud thud. Another person might respond with confusion or fear, but Regan only knew one way to respond to violence, and that was with more violence. She whipped around, her fists high, only to realize the knight didn't want to fight. He was biting his lip as if trying not to smile, his arms hanging limp by his side, his head tilted as if to give better access. Releasing her binds wasn't a sign of trust, Regan realized. Leon wanted her to attack them. He was dangling a carrot in front of her face, waiting for her to lunge.

Regan dropped her fists and turned to Leon. "You ought to get a better actor next time you try to entrap me. This one all but rubbed his hands together and cackled."

"Excuse me?" Leon said, his face coloring.

"I assume the Blood Moon Festival has some rule against violence? Like, if I give your man a bruise, l get disqualified?"

Leon's face darkened a shade further. Without another word, he turned on his heel, and as he led the way down long stone corridors, his knights were relentless. Obviously, the game was up, and she wasn't going to give them an excuse to have her disqualified. Now they played a different game, one called 'look how fun it is to strike someone who can't strike back. They pulled her hair, shoved her shoulders, kicked her boots, and hissed insults at her.

It was a relief to finally step outdoors. Weeks in the dungeons made the air that much fresher, the sun that much brighter. Across the courtyard, Cassian awaited her, leaning against the side of a carriage.

"Thank you," Cassian called to the knights, striding toward them. He was rushing and trying to look like he wasn't. "I'll take it from here."

"Are you sure you don't want any extra hands?" Leon said. "The road to Skydescent is long, and if she escapes, it's on your head."

To Cassian's credit, he didn't hesitate. "No, I'll take it from here. Good day, sir."

The knights didn't move. One still had a piece of Regan's hair wrapped around his fist.

Cassian's smile dropped. "Good day, sir."

"As you insist," Leon said colorlessly. Then he gripped Regan's shoulder and lowered his crusty lips to her ear. "This here?" he whispered. "This was nothing. They'll tear you apart, raider." And with that, the knights left.

Cassian watched them go, frowning. "Sorry for that. I've never seen Leon so – I mean, wow."

"I think one of them stole part of my uniform." Regan pinched the empty patch on her jacket. "Along with several clumps of my hair."

Cassian bit back a smile. "That's how all pledge's uniforms come. You earn your crests once you earn a dragon and a place in a squad."

"What'd you call me?"

"A pledge. Bonding with a dragon at the Blood Moon Festival doesn't automatically make you a rider. Once you have a dragon, you must pass three years of training at Skydescent. First as a pledge, then as a rookie, then as a grad, short for graduate."

"But, uh, I don't have any money." Clearly. All they let her keep was the clothing on her back.

"So?" Cassian said.

"How will I afford training?"

"Training is fully funded by House sponsors. In exchange, you'll fly for their squad, under their colors. And it's for the best that you keep your plans to fly for my squad a secret. If people get — ahem — crazy ideas that I was holding your parlay ransom to force you to fly for my squad, it would be highly frowned upon."

"Highly frowned upon?" Regan's eyes danced in the sunlight. "Is that another way of saying 'definitely illegal'?"

"No, because I am not forcing you to do anything." Cassian crossed his arms over his chest, skewering Regan with a pointed stare. "Flying for House Tudor is a mere suggestion."

Regan paused, sensing her parlay was teetering on a very thin line. "A suggestion," she said slowly, gauging his reaction with every word, "that I am more than happy to take."

He smiled approvingly, and once again, her parlay was safe.

"So these three years of training ... do they count toward my six-year sentence to the king?"

"Good catch." Cassian opened the carriage door. "Quick wits like that will serve you well at Skydescent."

Regan squinted at him, unimpressed. "So do they?"

"Nope!" Cassian replied cheerfully, sliding into the carriage.