Young Writers Society

The attack came just as the canyon was opening into the valley. A pegasus, flying high overhead, saw them, and he wheeled around and flew behind a hill.

“They’ve seen us,” Cinder said. “Be ready.”

“For what?” Madeline asked.

A shadow fell across Ayda, and the downdraft of a pair of massive wings almost knocked her out of the air. Two ice dragons were swooping down on them, flashing silver in the sun. The pegasus followed behind.

“Look out!” Ayda dove to the side. Frost spewed out of the dragons’ mouths, a wave of super-concentrated cold aimed directly at her friends. Madeline and Cinder leapt away. Spikes of ice crystalized where the dragon’s breath hit.

“We come in peace!” Madeline screamed desperately. “He’s not evil!” But the dragons were too high up to hear her.

I have to stop them! Ayda shot upwards, panting heavily. The dragons were circling around for another attack. “We’re friends!” she shouted. “We seek refuge!”

She flew too close and was blasted backwards by their wings. The world spun around her, ground becoming sky and vice versa. She managed to right herself, fuming. What could she do? To the dragons, she was little more than an irksome fly.

Madeline had her hands up and Cinder had sank onto his belly, clear signs of surrender, but the dragons were swooping down again. Ayda dodged between them and pulled up in front of the pegasus, who was hanging back to watch the fight. “Listen to me! Call off your friends!”

He noticed Ayda for the first time, recoiling in surprise.

“We just want to talk.”

He eyed her, then gave a long, shrill neigh. The dragons pulled up immediately.

“Lady, what are you doing with that?” he said, nodding to Cinder. “And who’s the funny-looking dryad?”

Ayda felt her ears go hot. “His name is Cinder. We broke the spell over him. He’s perfectly safe. And the girl is Madeline, the only human in all the Three Kingdoms. We barely escaped alive from Crescent Moon, and now we come to tell your leaders what we know. Unless you don’t want us, that is.”

The two dragons flew up to Ayda and the pegasus. “What was that about?” one of them complained. “You don’t have the authority to call off attacks. They’ve got a Shade with them!”

The pegasus puffed his chest out. “This young lady here says they’re from Crescent Moon. And that the Shade’s in control of himself. They want to help.”

“What help could we gain from you? Even if you are who you say you are,” said the other dragon. She looked Ayda up and down, unimpressed, and her lips curled back into a sneer.

“Sylvia’s right,” the other dragon said. “The finest military minds in the Three Kingdoms are leading the assault. What could you add?”

Ayda wanted to curl her hands into fists and punch the two derisive dragons right in the nose, but she knew she needed to win them over, and fast. “We got out of Crescent Moon alive. Cinder was being controlled by her. We know how she’s getting her power, we know her plans, and we know how to stop her. Madeline — the girl — is human. So is Nadra. Her magic is the key we need to defeat that piece of root-rot.”

This seemed to convince the pegasus. He looked at the other guards. “I could fly them to the city,” he offered. “One scout short won’t make much difference.”

“I’d like to give them a good sniffing first,” said Sylvia. “She’s fine — “ she motioned to Ayda — “but I want to make sure the other two are what she says they are.” Dragons were notoriously good at reading people’s magic.

They flew down to join Madeline and Cinder, the dragons shaking the ground with their landing. Madeline stared at them with a mixture of terror and wonder, and when Sylvia sniffed her, she yelped.

“It’s all right,” said Ayda, laughing a little inside. “They’re going to take us to King Avantor.”

“Are they fine?” asked the pegasus impatiently.

“I suppose so,” said Sylvia reluctantly. “The Shade’s magic is clear. What’s the charm for?”

Cinder’s ears twitched. “It shields me from Her.”

“Climb on,” said the pegasus, kneeling down so Madeline and Cinder could mount. Ayda settled on Madeline’s shoulder. The pegasus rose to his feet gracefully and took off with a sweep of his powerful wings. Madeline seized his mane.

“You’re perfectly safe,” the pegasus called back to them. “We never let riders fall.”

“What’s your name?” Ayda shouted over the roar of the wind.

“Tel. I didn’t catch yours.”

“I’m Ayda.”

“Nice to meet you all. How did you escape Crescent Moon?”

“Ran. Madeline made a portal here,” said Ayda.

“One of the lucky ones.” Tel shook his head. “Well, you have my condolences.”

Ayda forced herself not to be irritated at him. “Were there many survivors?”

“More than in the smaller towns. The fighters gave everyone time to evacuate.”

Ayda swallowed. At the cost of their lives.

They rounded a hill and Vjorin was revealed. It sparkled in the rising sun, light glinting off a hundred thousand facets. Ayda had never seen the city from the air — she had always come through the portal in the center. The sight took her breath away just like the first time.

Vjorin was a city made of jewels. Buildings made of emeralds, rubies, and other precious stones spiked high into the sky, isolated by roads paved with black opals. Built into cliff was a palace of pure diamond, too bright to look at.

“How is that even possible?” Madeline breathed.

“Dwarves can change rocks into into gems.” Ayda was still awestruck. “They’re not exactly the same as truestones, though.”

“They’re still beautiful.”

“The diamond palace is truestone,” Tel shouted back to them. “The number one wonder of the Three Kingdoms, right here in Erinore.”

Legend said that when Erinore first opened official relations with Arvania, the dwarves gave every diamond they had to their most powerful jewelers, who built a stunning palace around the portal to celebrate the formation of a bond harder than any material in either Kingdom.

Moments later, Tel crested the top of the cliff, and the palace sprawled out beneath them, a series of open-air terraces, with beautifully carved marble floors and tall pillars that served as the only separation between rooms. Dozens of dragons, both fire and ice, crouched below. The sheer scale stopped Ayda in her tracks.

“Now if you ask me,” Tel said, and though Ayda couldn’t see his face, she could imagine his proud, cocky grin, “this here qualifies as a wonder all by itself. I’d give you guys a tour, but I can’t stay long. I’ll just take you to the petitioners’ rooms and see if I can get you in quick.”

They swooped over a large, flat patch of ground on the edge of a terrace. Tel flew lower and lower, skimming the ground until he had slowed enough to put his hooves down and come skidding to a halt.

Cinder sprang off, every hair on his body bristling. He muttered something about hating flying. Ayda resisted the urge to laugh. Flying was more natural than breathing.

Tel explained the situation to two of the largest dragons Ayda had ever seen, one Fire, one Ice. They had a good look at Madeline and were forced to agree she wasn’t a dryad. But instead of letting them in to see the king, they sent Tel to the petitioners and told Ayda and the others to wait there.

When Tel came back, his tail was swishing in annoyance. “Sorry guys,” he said. “Best I could get you is tomorrow afternoon. But trust me, that’s priority. You might’ve been waiting three weeks or more.

“Anyway, I did get you some rooms down in Vjorin. You’re honored guests, since Nadra wants Madeline for some reason. I’m to fly you down there now.”

Cinder grumbled about it, but he did climb on. The flight back was uneventful, save for a few dives for Madeline’s amusement.

“I’ll fly you back up tomorrow,” Tel offered as they landed on the roof of the inn and dismounted. The manager stood across the roof, waiting for them. “I have to be there anyway, since I was the one who brought you in. It’ll save you a trip up the lifts. Those couldn’t be slower if they designed them to be.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Cinder growled.

Tel looked at Madeline.

“I’d love to fly again.” She smiled.

“It’s a plan, then,” Tel said, spreading his wings for takeoff.

“Wait!” Ayda flew up to Tel. “If we’re free until tomorrow, then do you… do you know where I can find the refugees?”

“Looking for someone?” Tel said, sympathetic. “The ones from Crescent Moon and Moonwater are still scattered. It’ll be a few days before we can bring them in.”

“No.” Ayda shook her head. “From an earlier attack.”

“They’re being housed in the cave system,” Tel said. “Head to the base of the cliffs, by the lifts. You’ll find an accounting house. Ask there — they’ve indexed most of them by now. Good luck, kid.” He whickered softly.

“Thank you,” Ayda whispered, and with a rain of pounding hooves and a whoosh of air he was gone.