Page 17 of Kingdom of Spirits
“Bow and arrow!”
Maiwenn and Ophelia remained in triangle formation as if they hadn’t heard her. The wind had risen, so maybe they weren’t just being pricks this time.
“Bow and arrow, then drop on a five count!” Tahlia shouted, trying again.
Ophelia turned her way and blasted forward, taking up the arrowhead point. “Bow and arrow, drop at five!” she shouted in Maiwenn’s direction.
Maiwenn steered Donan and soon they were parallel with Tahlia and her mount.
“One, two, three, four…” Tahlia whispered to herself.
She pressed her palm against the Seabreak’s scales and the dragon dove. The blue beauty tucked her wings tight and she zipped toward the arena, outpacing Ophelia and forcing the Terror to adjust his head and wings to decrease the influence of the wind on his speed. Ophelia looked over her shoulder and gave Tahlia a smile full of threats. Tahlia swallowed and focused on the quickly approaching ground.
“And up now,” Maiwenn ordered.
Tahlia’s and Ophelia’s mounts moved in sync, drawing their wings wide and using the airspeed to flip directions. Tahlia’s body lifted from the saddle, wind whooshing under her and trying to pull her away. She forced her heels down in the stirrups and tightened the hold her legs had on the dragon’s mounded spine. The Seabreak turned her head to eye Tahlia and they lost altitude.
“Go on! I’m fine!” Tahlia smiled in what she hoped was an encouraging spirit even though it probably looked like she was about to vomit, which she was.
They caught up and ran three more formations and simulations. Justus and his Spikeback, Longfire, joined them. Every time Tahlia was ordered to run a mock scenario, she had to use hand signals. They either truly couldn’t hear her or they were trying to prove the point that half-humans shouldn’t be in the sky with them. She could have sworn all three of them were getting her directions wrong on purpose. At one moment, Justus had Longfire blow third fire—a lower level of flame but still rough and not at all what Tahlia had commanded. The fire nearly scorched her Seabreak. Tahlia’s blood boiled.
When Maiwenn at last called for landing, Tahlia and her dragon were winded and gasping. On shaky legs, Tahlia dismounted. She leaned against the Seabreak and ran a hand down the dragon’s quickly moving ribs.
“I am sorry they are acting like fiends. It’s my fault, and I hate that you’re being dragged into this.”
The dragon twisted and snuffed into Tahlia’s hair, blowing her wind-tangled braid even more out of its pins and ties. Tahlia reached up and scratched the Seabreak under the chin. A deep trill vibrated through the softer scales there and Tahlia’s anger and frustration fled in the wake of knowing this majestic creature cared for her and didn’t blame her for anything.
Footsteps sounded behind her, and Tahlia turned to see Maiwenn, Ophelia, and Justus looking at her like she was a piece of dragon dung.
“You see?” Maiwenn put a hand on her hip and shook her head. “The fact that you don’t have Mistgold blood and aren’t even fully Fae means you are a weak link in our unit. I am not trying to hate on you for fun. It’s not your fault you’re taintedwith inferior blood. You can’t choose your birth. But it’s a fact. And it will get some of us killed. I’d swear on it.”
Ophelia’s gaze traveled up and down Tahlia as if she was sizing her up for a physical fight. “Where are you from? Don’t lie this time, human.”
“Northwoods was a lie?” Justus asked.
“It was,” Tahlia admitted. She’d indeed lied when she’d competed for her place. She’d told them she was the Lady of Northwoods, a completely imagined name and title. “I was born south of the capital.”
Justus’s eyes widened.
Ophelia held out a hand. “So you weren’t even born near the Shrouded Mountains.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Maiwenn said.
“But some of the other riders weren’t born here,” Tahlia argued.
“They had parents who were and were only temporarily relocated because of their landholdings.”
Nodding, Ophelia continued, “You can’t possibly fit in with the order. You know nothing of our culture or our ways. The order must function as one body. I am sometimes a fist while Titus is our eyes and Maiwenn serves as a wing.”
Tahlia frowned. Ophelia was very good at being horrible, but not so great at metaphors. “Right. It’s true. I’m learning. I mean, it’s only been fourteen days or so…”
Her glare said she didn’t care about the short timeframe. Of course not. That would have been reasonable.
“What festival do we celebrate silently at the end of the year? What sacrifice is required during said festival?”
Tahlia had no clue. She had been studying the Shrouded Mountain culture, a niche community in the Realm of Lights that did indeed do things differently from everyone else. But she hadn’t had enough time to learn everything. “I don’t know.”
“I appreciate you being truthful,” Maiwenn said, her tone painfully reluctant. “Do you have any clue about our great library and the ancient magic and history stored there? Have you studied any of the archives yet? Or are you spending most of your free time?—”