Avian (The Dragonrider Chronicles) (44 page)

“Keep your helmets on,” Jace warned us as we all dismounted.

Dressed in our finest armor, with sweeping black capes buckled over our shoulders, we followed him as he led the way down a white stone path that wound through the city. The path led all the way up to the front gates of the castle. Everywhere we went, people were clamoring to see us. Girls threw handkerchiefs. Kids waved flags with the king’s eagle on them. I saw lots of them with their faces painted to look like dragons. It was a huge celebration, but I was almost too anxious to enjoy it.

“Why can’t we take our helmets off?” I whispered to Felix. He was walking right next to me, waving to the crowd and drinking in all the adoring looks the girls were giving us.

“For you, idiot.” He winked at me through the eye slit in his helmet.

I frowned. Right away I knew Jace was trying to shield me from any more discrimination. He didn’t want the crowds to see I was a halfbreed, probably because he was concerned they wouldn’t accept me. But I was not in the mood to be coddled like some child who might get his feelings hurt. I did have some pride left.

I ripped my helmet off and stuck it under my arm. A few people standing nearby gasped so loud I could actually hear them over the noise. They stared at me in complete horror. A young girl screamed.

Jace whipped around and glared like he might actually punch me. “What are you doing?”

I glared back at him. “They’ll find out sooner or later. I can’t change what I am, so either they will learn to accept me, or they won’t. Either way, it isn’t my problem.”

Felix took off his helmet, too. He was grinning and laughing when he draped an arm over my shoulder. That made even more people gasp in horror. “He’s right. Let’s have a good time.”

When he took off his helmet, I could see Jace’s nostrils were flared like an angry dragon about to breathe fire. But he didn’t say anything else about it. He kept walking toward the castle gates, and we followed while we waved to the crowd.

People were definitely staring at me. Most of them didn’t look happy. They probably had never seen a halfbreed before, and definitely not one wearing a dragonrider’s armor. But nothing they said could touch me now, though.

I looked through all the unfamiliar faces, and didn’t see a single person I knew. There were no gray elves in the audience, either. They were all locked away in the poor ghetto where I had lived with my mother, only a few blocks away from where I was standing at that moment. Thinking about it made my insides twist painfully.

The king was waiting for us at the front steps of the castle. The huge gates were open wide to let everyone inside the perfectly manicured courtyard. People poured in by the hundreds. Banners hung off every roof and gable, and garlands of roses adorned either side of the walkway leading up to the front steps. Guards in gleaming armor stood at attention, their swords drawn in a parade stance as we passed.

But I couldn’t look at anyone, or anything, except the king. He was at the top of the staircase that swept up from the courtyard to the front doors. There were six elite guards on either side of him, all wearing those white masks I remembered all too well. The sight of them made my chest burn dangerously again, and I clenched my fists to keep from lashing out. I reminded myself over and over that I had no proof. There was no evidence except for a dream and a coincidence. That wasn’t nearly enough for me to do or say anything.

Felix had been telling the truth when he said the king looked pitiful. He was small, bent over like an old man, and every inch of his body was covered—even his face. He wore a porcelain mask painted in blue, red, and gold. It looked regal, and was supposedly hiding the gruesome scars of his battle with a shrike.

One by one, we each went up the stairs alone to meet the king. Felix went ahead of me. He knelt at the king’s feet, kissed the royal signet ring on his hand, and swore an oath to be obedient until death. Then they took off his old black cloak, and put a new blue and gold one in its place.

Suddenly, it was my turn.

As I walked past Jace, he muttered, “Don’t look him in the eye. Keep your head down. And for kingdom’s sake, don’t do anything stupid.”

I didn’t answer. I was wondering what, exactly, he meant by “stupid.” Tripping, maybe? Or drawing my sword and ramming it through the so-called king’s chest before his elite guards could save him? Both were definitely stupid, and entirely possible for me at that point.

At the top of the staircase, I decided to follow Jace’s advice. I kept my head bowed, and my eyes on my boots as I knelt before the king. Being close to him made my heart beat loudly in my ears. Over and over, I reminded myself that there was no proof. It was a dream. I couldn’t do anything based on a dream.

The king’s hand appeared in front of my face. It was covered in a white glove, and there was a big golden signet ring on his middle finger with the shape of an eagle engraved on it. My soul burned as I kissed it. The metal tasted bitter.

“This is the first time a halfbreed has ever knelt at my feet.” The king spoke in a hoarse, gravelly voice that made his words hard to understand. “How did you become a dragonrider?”

I couldn’t help myself. Slowly, I looked up and met the king’s eyes through the holes in his mask. They were bloodshot, and their color reminded me of cracked amber glass.

“I was chosen,” I said.

The king didn’t reply. He stood there, staring back at me until I lowered my eyes again. Then he went on with the ceremony like nothing had happened. He spoke the oath, and the words passed over my ears like white-hot flames. “Do you swear yourself to the service of the kingdom of Maldobar? To protect it and its people with every bit of your strength, even unto your dying breath? And do you swear yourself to the service of its king, to honor and obey him in all things without hesitation?”

I hesitated. I was thinking about doing one of those stupid things Jace had warned me about. Then I bit my tongue, and squeezed my eyes shut. “I swear.”

The elite guards removed my old black cloak, and clasped the blue and gold one onto my shoulder armor. It was made of expensive silk, and the neck was trimmed with white fox fur. When I stood, there as a reluctant round of applause, and I went back down the steps feeling like I had just sold my soul to a demon.

I didn’t smile. I didn’t wave. This wasn’t something to be happy about, much less proud of.

When everyone in our group, except the two instructors, had gone up to take their oath, the crowds erupted in cheering and applause. Music and laughter filled the air. People rushed in upon us, eager to meet the newest dragonriders to join the ranks.

Not many people came close to me. Only a few brave souls dared to smile and bow, or offer me a handshake. But I could sense their apprehension and disapproval when they did. The only ones who didn’t give me that kind of greeting were the children. They didn’t seem to care what I looked like, and a few of them rushed up to stare at me and ask me weird questions, like how heavy my shield was, before darting away.

The sunset drove the people out of the streets, but it didn’t put a stop to the festivities. The castle wasn’t open to us, but every single shop and home in Halfax was. Felix was set on going from tavern to tavern until he was too drunk to stand up. The others seemed to like that idea, but I had other plans for the evening. I followed them to the first few taverns, watching as they laughed and eager citizens bought drinks for them and thanked them for their service.

“We’ll be getting our first lieutenant’s pay soon!” Felix chuckled. He had that mischievous glint in his eyes. “Better drink up while it’s free, and before some woman comes along and gets her hands on your money!”

I smiled at him. It was good to see him in high spirits again. I was beginning to realize he hid a lot under that cunning, dangerously charming smile—all the things he didn’t want anyone else to see. I didn’t know how to put up that kind of a barrier, not when all of my emotions smoldered so near the surface.

I waited until it was very late. We were on our fifth tavern, and I knew everyone was too distracted to realize I wasn’t drinking. When I saw a good chance, I ducked out the back door of the tavern and walked the dark alleyways with my helmet still under my arm. I let my feet guide me, taking me on familiar secret paths I hadn’t taken in years.

There was a hole in the wooden wall that separated the elven ghetto from the rest of the city. When I was little, I had used it to sneak in and out so I could run errands for my mom. But now I was way too big to fit through it anymore. That wasn’t about to stop me, though. I pried the boards apart with my bare hands, and managed to squirm through the gap even with my armor on.

Beyond that fence, it was like stepping into another world. There was no light except for the moon and stars because it was well past curfew. The narrow dirt streets were empty. Trash was scattered everywhere. The wooden shacks leaned in all directions, looking more like piles of debris that had been raked together than something anyone would want to live in.

I passed several city guards on night patrol as I walked the dark, filthy streets of the ghetto. They stared at me, but as soon as they saw my armor, they hurried on their way and never said a word. Halfbreed or not, I was out of their reach now.

I walked past the old shack my mother and I had shared for so many years. Seeing how little it had changed put a pain in my chest like I’d been stabbed. I wanted to go inside and touch the things that had once been my entire world. But there was light coming from inside, and shadows were moving past the windows. Another family was living there now. So I stared at it for a moment before continuing on.

My feet carried me to a place I had almost forgotten. On the far edge of the ghetto, closest to the castle, there was a skinny, three-storey building that backed right up against the perimeter fence. The old gray elf woman who had lived in the shack beside it had made herself a lattice out of scrap wood, and she always grew flower vines on it in the springtime. I had used that lattice as a way to climb up to the roof of the building a few times, when I was feeling especially brave. You couldn’t beat the view from up there.

The climb might have been easier because of my height, but my armor definitely made up for that. I clamored up to the flat stone roof, and sat on the edge like I had when I was little. I could see all the lights of the city stretching out around me. I could see the castle bathed in the light of a thousand torches. Overhead, the stars glittered beyond my ability to count.

This place still made me feel as small and forgotten as it had years ago. Once, that feeling had been so frustrating to me. Now, it was a nice change of pace. It felt good to be out of the spotlight for once.

“You’re missing your own party, you know.”

I jumped to my feet, turning around at the sound of a soft, feminine voice coming from behind me. Beckah was standing with her long dark hair spilling over her shoulders. In the glow of the city lights, I could see her smiling at me. It was more beautiful to me than all the stars hanging over our heads. It made my world move, and pulled toward her like an ocean tide.

“Sorry, I should have said something sooner. But I saw you sneaking away, and I wanted to see where you’d go.” She started nibbling on her bottom lip.

I couldn’t speak. I just ran to her and hugged her as hard as I could.

Beckah hugged me back. She put her arms around my waist, and buried her face against my breastplate.

For a long time, we stood there holding each other without ever saying a word. Finally, she pulled back so she could trace her fingers over the scar on my face. I saw her expression change, as though seeing it made her feel guilty.

“Does it hurt?” she whispered. “I’m so sorry. I should have gotten there sooner.”

I took her hands and squeezed them firmly. “I can live with a few scars. You saved our lives, Beckah. That’s the only thing that matters.”

“I saw you lying there like you were dead. I was afraid I was too late. You were so pale, and you weren’t moving, and—” She choked on her words. I saw her eyes welling up with tears, even though she was trying to smile at me. “I’m so glad I wasn’t too late. I love you, Jae. I can’t lose you.”

I had been resisting doing stupid things all evening. Eventually, I was bound to slip up. When she told me that, I didn’t even think about it. I grabbed her face and kissed her as hard as I could.

She gasped, and at first she was stiff. I was beginning to think this might be a mistake. I might be about to get punched in the face by a girl half my size. But then I felt her put her arms around my neck.

She kissed me back.

We sat together as the first light of dawn started to turn the skyline pink, slowly melting away the stars. I had an arm around her, and she was leaning against my side while holding my hand. It was the best feeling in the world.

“I’ll be going to Northwatch,” I told her. “Jace asked me to be his wing end.”

She smiled strangely as she wriggled her hand down into my vambrace and pulled out the handkerchief she had stitched for me. Seeing it made her cheeks turn pink. “You carry it with you?”

I laughed. “You told me to!”

Beckah stuck her tongue out at me. “Do you always do what girls tell you? I heard you already kissed someone else before me.”

Panic hit me right in the chest so hard I literally wheezed out loud. I stared at her and tried to think of how to explain. But when I tried, no sound would come out.

Then she started giggling. “Look at your face! You look like a fish gasping for air!”

“H-how did you know about that?” I managed to ask. “I-It’s not what you think! Julianna practically attacked me!”

Beckah smirked and pinched my nose playfully. “Oh stop it, I know that already. Gossip travels fast, especially about a noble girl tackling a halfbreed like that. I wish I could have seen your face. But I bet you looked just like you do now.” She started laughing again.

I still wasn’t sure if it was safe to laugh with her or not. I gave a few careful chuckles and tried to remember how to breathe normally. “I thought you would be upset about that.”