A story about Sang, the first ever female to receive the mark of a dragon. Entering a world where males reign supreme, she struggles to prove that a woman has what it takes to be a great rider. Even if the dragon she's paired with is stubborn, moody...
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Sang
It'd been three weeks since the mark seared itself into my skin and my dragon was nowhere to be found. I was starting to believe that I didn't even have one. I'd been careful to keep the mark hidden from my family and the rest of the villagers, knowing that if they found out, all hell would break loose. Zalfari had never had a dragon rider birthed within its community, let alone a female one. I wasn't ready to be made a spectacle and much preferred the quiet.
It was my day off of work so I decided to get some training in with Wil and Derek until I left for my daily walk through the forest. The guards set up a training ground at the edge of the village for the men about two years ago. They all laughed at me the moment I stepped foot there, but with time and hard work on my part, they finally accepted me. I worked tirelessly to prove to them that I was more than the expectations they set for women, and I only wished that the other females of my village did the same.
Entering the training ground, where designated sparring rings sat in the center, I let a smile lift my lips. During my first few months of visiting, I was already excelled in archery, so I spent a lot of time perfecting my aim with knives. I then moved up to hand to hand combat and swordsmanship. The first, I was great at. The second, not so much.
I was too busy to visit the last few months because of work, and judging by my shape, I needed to get back into training sooner rather than later.
I strolled to one of the benches and sat my satchel down, which was filled with berries that I picked on yesterday's walk. My plan to give them to Veronica on my way home so she could use them for her pastries was purely selfish. I was bound to have at least one—okay, maybe three—of her delicious little treats.
I took off the sword strapped to my back and removed my jacket. I'd been using Marie's makeup to cover up my mark so I wouldn't have to worry about someone catching sight of it. Wil and Derek, both of my best friends, were sparring in one of the rings while some of the other men were stationed throughout the field doing other training exercises.
I picked up my sword and studied it as I waited patiently for my turn in the ring. It was a beautiful piece that Henry custom made for me on my last birthday. The blade had a point sharper than that of a wraith's tooth, and the blade was sleeker than glass. Right on the base, an engraving read 'Be brave, my heart. Have courage, my soul.' Both the pommel and the cross-guard were decorated with stones I found up in the mountain streams while I was fishing for trout. One was a brilliant shade of teal while the other was an inky black. Henry spent weeks on designing it for me, making it the most thoughtful gift I'd ever received.
"Hey, Sang," Derek greeted as him and Wil walked toward me, both chugging down water and wiping the sweat from their faces. Both boys were fairly handsome and highly sought after by ladies in the village. With Derek's black hair and piercing blue eyes, and with Wil's unkempt blonde hair and sculpted chest, it was easy to fall for their charms. Actually, it explained why my sister and her minions were on the other side of the field watching me with hatred in their beedy eyes. They didn't take kindly to me ruining their advances and wanted me know it. Deciding to be cheeky, I sent them a wink. Take that, vultures.
