The Dragon Games

Skydescent

Accepting the paraly was worth it, if only to see the look on Leon Bates' face. Regan was pacing her cell when he stormed in, backed 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 through the bars. 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. "Does the Blood Moon Festival have some rule against violence? Like, if I give your man a bruise, l get disqualified?"

Leon's face darkened. Without another word, he turned on his heel, and as he led the way down long stone corridors, his knights were relentless. Obviously, the jig 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."