House of Dragons (Royal Houses 1)

She climbed onto Tavry’s back and watched Fordham assess how she’d gotten onto the dragon before making his own ascent. He took a seat directly behind her.

“This is your first time. You should hold on tight,” she told Fordham.

“To what?”

“Me.”

Fordham’s hands came to her waist gently at first then as Tavry rose to his full height, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him. She tried to tamp down the shivers that spread through her body at this touch.

Prepare yourself, Tavry told them.

Tavry reached the edge of the entrance to the dragon cavern. His wings fluttered open. She felt the softest touch of their minds all connecting as one before he flew out of the cave and plummeted toward the ground. Fordham’s arms around her waist crushed her ribs and lungs. She pulled him forward with her, flattening them to Tavry’s back as they all held on for dear life.

A gasp of excitement and exhilaration traveled through her. As they leveled out, tears streamed from her eyes from the wind, and she laughed uncontrollably. Her arms came out to her sides, even as Fordham held her so securely. This was life. Fordham had been right. She was so afraid of everything in her life. But flying? Never flying. This was the real joy she felt in the world. This was what she had been made for. If only she had been born a full Fae, she might have had this life.

That thought sobered her, and she forced Fordham’s arms to loosen. “Open your eyes. Look.”

She didn’t have to turn to know that he’d been squeezing his eyes shut, but at her words, she felt him relax. A soft inhale of breath meant he was finally seeing the world for what it was.

“The world is so…”

“Small,” she agreed. “So small up here.”

“Beautiful,” he finished. “Even in the dark, we can see for miles and miles, and every inch needs to be memorized for eternity.”

“The poet does come out on something other than paper,” she joked.

He shook his head and said nothing, just held her closer. She leaned back against his broad chest and watched the only world she had ever really known disappear completely in the starlight.

* * *

Kerrigan had lived in a castle in Bryonica until she was five, but her home was Draco Mountain… the city of Kinkadia. She had never been out of the city, except on stolen flights, since she was five. And even then, she had never touched the ground.

She skimmed the surface with her hands as they flew endlessly.

When Tavry touched down outside of the town of Archdale in the craggy, rocky wasteland that was Elsiande, she realized that this was her first time away from home in twelve years. Her feet hit the ground, and she shivered slightly despite the oppressive southern heat. Kinkadia had just hit the humid summer heat wave, but Elsiande must have been in it for weeks. She felt like she could drink the air and was certain her hair was twice the size it had been when they started.

Fordham dropped down beside her on unsteady legs. “Well, we made it.”

“Yes,” she agreed.

“Where to now?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never been to Elsiande.”

Fordham turned her to face him. “I thought you knew where we were going?”

“Not exactly,” she admitted.

“Gods,” he grumbled.

“I mean, I do know where he lives. He told me before. I just don’t know… exactly.”

Then, you should hasten. We must leave again within the hour, Tavry reminded them.

Kerrigan frowned and nodded. “Let’s go.”

Together, they traversed the uneven rocks that made up the southern landscape. Their eyes had adjusted to the night, but it was too dangerous to walk without a light illuminating their path. So, they held flames in their palms to cut across the rocks.

She was relieved when they left behind the last column of rocks, and she took a deep breath of the salty air. Archdale rested on the shore of the Corvian Sea, at the mouth of a small inlet. They let their fires die out and stared down at the town. The homes were made of the surrounding rock, most only standing a story tall, but sprawling, sloping out into the landscape. Each had its own private yard with a fence and cultivated grass and flowers. As they ventured deeper into Archdale, keeping tight to the shadows, they came upon a town square. Two buildings here were multiple stories—an inn and city hall. The whole thing was mesmerizing and confounding. It was absolutely nothing like Kinkadia, where nearly every building was two, three, even four stories high and no one saw grass outside of a park or a Row mansion.

“Which way?” Fordham asked.

She shook herself from her fascination and desire to see this during the day and then gestured westward. Ellerby had told her once that he lived on the western banks just outside of the city. A large Row-style home set into the hillside overlooking the inlet. She doubted there would be many of those.