Dragon Wings Read online

  I can feel heat emanating from him, see as he inhales, preparing to turn me to ash.

  Tears blur my vision. Speak, Alita! Speak!

  But there’s a lump in my throat. I’m frozen.

  His neck cranes as he stoops to my height. I swallow the lump in my throat, trying to speak, but unable to make a sound. The acid in his breath reeks like spoiled meat and sulfur. I try not to squirm away or let the utter disgust show on my face.

  He turns to the gathered dragons and thunders out, “How did this mouse of a human cross our borders?”

  A few look away. Others shuffled backward. No one volunteers an answer.

  Until—

  “Yackros must have let her in somehow.” Breighad. He looks more diseased than ever, sick with glee.

  “Then the traitor dies first.”

  Ruxsiu begins to swing his large form toward Yackros, and even though my legs can barely hold me up, I stumble forward, and my tongue finally comes loose.

  “Wait!” I blurt out.

  His burning eyes are back on mine in an instant. “Either you wish for death, or you dare to enter my lands thinking you can do so without consequence. Which is it, girl? Do you think you are above the laws in this land? Or are you just too stupid to consider that anyone would punish you for disobeying?” He snarls, and a few tongues of flame spill from between his razor teeth. “Cowering before me will get you nowhere. Speak or die alongside your friend.”

  The way he enunciates that last word frightens me. What does he mean by that?

  I look up. My friend watches me, struggling against the arms and wings holding him back, ensuring he’s unable to come to my aid. The guards must know that if he could, we would have escaped together already, and I wouldn’t be faced with this impossible decision, one I thought I would never make. Not because it was a difficult choice, but because it shouldn’t be possible.

  “You can’t kill him.” I hate how small my voice is compared to these creatures. But I stand a little straighter, goose bumps rising on my arms, my heart beating so fast, it physically hurts. “I’m the one who came into your world. He told me to leave. It’s me you want, not him.”

  I look Ruxsiu in the eye, knowing the fire I see there will be my end.

  Everyone has heard that your life flashes before your eyes when you’re about to die, but that’s not what I’m seeing at all. Instead, I’m envisioning everything I haven’t done. All the moments when I could have been doing regular teenager things instead of spending every possible moment sneaking off to visit my dragon in the hidden forest. I could have gone to prom with Max. I could have joined band. I could have taken the ACT and imagined there was nothing more terrible in the whole world than my 23 composite.

  We’re both going to die, and there isn’t anything I can do to stop it. Only offer up my own life in hopes of deterring King Ruxsiu from killing my best friend.

  I don’t regret a single decision I’ve ever made regarding how to spend my time. I never did. I wouldn’t trade Yackros for any prom dance or any band camp.

  I wouldn’t trade Yackros for anything or anyone.

  And at least I will die knowing I finally stood up for truth.

  Temperatures rise as beasts prepare to burn me and leave my dried-up skeleton—if even that much remains—never to be found. Sweat drips from my forehead. My hair sticks to my skin like it’s been glued on. It feels like my insides are boiling, thanks to the bubbling, sick feeling in my stomach.

  A slight breeze goes by, and for a second, everything is still. No noise, no movement. There’s no impending death.

  I look at Yackros, who’s watching me, trying to reach out, though he can’t. And there’s a click, though I’m not sure if it’s audible or just in my head.

  A sense of peace washes over me and I relish this moment, frozen in time, because it may very well be my last one.

  And then the moment disappears, carried away on the fleeting wind.

  King Ruxsiu, his scales as black as death and then some, laughs. Throwing his head back, chortling to the sky, the sound reverberating off the trees. He leans down to face me again.

  “Is that what you interrupted the execution for? To tell me you’re to blame? You say it with such pride, little human. Is it because you thought I would spare you, so yours is a noble gesture?” He roars, the sound deafening.

  There’s ringing in my ears. Pounding in my head.

  “Don’t for a moment think I intended to spare you, or that I won’t take pleasure in snuffing out your meager life,” he sneers. His gray eyes flash red. “You have invaded our lands and corrupted one of the only competent dragons left. You have tainted our home and damaged our barrier.” He looks around.

  I do the same. We’re surrounded by dragons. All different colors, heights. Some looking concerned, others angry.

  “Do you think I won’t gut you with my talon? Or roast you with my fire? Do you think that because you’re small and pathetic, I couldn’t toss you into the canyon without pause? You have ruined everything. This”—he gestures to Yackros and the guards holding him—“is your fault. You brought this about. So I will gladly punish you the same as your dragon.”

  I imagine that his heart must match the color of his scales.

  I’ll never get to say goodbye to my family. To Max. They’ll never know what happened to me.

  I look to Yackros, immense sorrow drowning me as I see the anguish in his eyes, the pain he emits.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whisper, knowing he can hear it.

  He tries to open his mouth, stopped by the contraption keeping him from communicating with me. An odd choking noise escapes him as another dragon clamps down on his throat, holding him down so he can’t come to my rescue or his own. His eyes burn brighter orange, filled with more rage, trapped, unable to do anything but watch.

  I wish we could fly away together, never to return to Runavelius.

  I look back at Ruxsiu, still glowering at me, raising his massive claw, talons extended.

  “Stop!” a familiar and comforting voice calls out, causing another tremble in the earth.

  Guthrie, his sky-blue scales hard to mistake, parts the crowd, storming toward the king. His eyes are squinted, claws raking through the dirt, tail swashing back and forth, nearly taking out every dragon he passes.

  Ruxsiu turns so fast, it makes me dizzy.

  “You dare interrupt your king in the middle of an execution?” he demands.

  Guthrie comes to a stop near me, towering like a lighthouse.

  “As one of your advisors, yes, I dare,” he says calmly, his voice low. “Are you not aware of the ramifications of killing this human, let alone a dragon?”

  “As king, there’s nothing I’m unaware of,” Ruxsiu snaps. His tail whips to the side, and I manage to duck just in time to avoid decapitation.

  “Of course, Your Majesty,” Guthrie says. It may be just my imagination, but his tone seems mocking on the last two words. I wish I could see the look on his face.

  After barely a heartbeat of silence, Ruxsiu snaps, “For the sake of argument, what are these ramifications you tremble over?”

  Guthrie steps even closer, bringing his head side to side with Ruxsiu’s. Although he lowers his voice further, it’s still audible to me and—I assume—a half dozen other dragons.

  “Majesty, imagine if it had been a different human to cross our borders rather than this meager girl. Imagine if it had been Breighad’s human. Or even Séraphin.”

  Ruxsiu stiffens at the name and smacks his tail into the rocky earth, kicking up dust.

  “Completely different,” he growls.

  “Of course,” Guthrie agrees. “But do they know that?”

  He sweeps his eyes across the gathered dragons, and Ruxsiu does the same.

  The armored dragons closest to us shift, avoiding eye contact. Other dragons straighten, but don’t look away.

  “We went into hiding to protect our humans as much as ourselves,” Guthrie says. “If they were to
see you execute a human, it might cross their minds that you would treat their humans the same. We must avoid such a tragic misconception at all costs, Your Majesty—even the cost of sparing this pitiful girl’s meaningless life. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  Ruxsiu’s talons dig ruts in the dirt. Another thread of flame hisses from between his clenched teeth.

  My heart dares to beat again. I try to keep any hint of hope from my face.

  “As for Yackros’ betrayal . . .” Guthrie shakes his head. “It is tragic. Truly. But look around you. Our legion was thousands, and now there are only hundreds of us left. Do not take away one for such a petty crime.”

  Ruxsiu rears away, hissing, “Petty?” but I can see one dragon in the crowd nod, followed by another.

  “Lock Yackros away to punish him for his crimes, but do not kill him.” Guthrie speaks with authority and compassion, and with every word, more dragons seem to be nodding, agreeing with him. I hadn’t noticed until now, but his voice had been steadily rising throughout his argument, purposefully reaching those in the crowd.

  A murmur grows amongst the dragons. Things like, “Yes, lock him away.”

  “We’ve lost so many already.”

  “Perhaps he’ll come to his senses.”

  “Yackros has always been dependable.”

  “SILENCE!” Ruxsiu roars.

  The murmurs fall silent, and the black dragon paces, clawing at the dirt and smashing his tail into rocks.

  I glance at Yackros, who is breathing heavily, only slightly more relaxed with his guards no longer holding him down, though he knows better than to attempt escape at this point. Not when the situation has hope of diffusing.

  Suddenly, Ruxsiu turns, baring a deadly row of teeth.

  “Take the traitor to the dungeons!” he screams, nearly blowing my eardrums out.

  “No!” I yell. I find him already staring at me, reaching out, too far away to grab me.

  I lunge forward, only to be caught in Guthrie’s sharp talons.

  “I love you, Sparkles! I’ll save you!” It’s an empty promise. I would give my life for his, but what power do I have in the midst of dragons?

  “I will always be with you, Alita.” His voice is calm, but sure, and it resonates in every corner of my mind. “I know we’ll find each other again. Be brave, little wingless.”

  His words are more comforting than I could imagine any spoken sound to be. And the crazy thing is, they weren’t said aloud at all.

  As he’s dragged out of sight, I whisper, “How?”

  But there’s no answer. With Yackros gone, there will never be answers again.

  Guthrie releases me. He stares after Yackros with what seems to be a sorrow to echo my own.

  “I have shown mercy,” Ruxsiu says abruptly. “But it cannot extend to the girl. She must die.”

  “Think this through,” Guthrie hisses.

  “If I release her back into her world, she will tell others of our existence. The humans will begin another war, and we will be left in the circumstances we sacrificed so much to avoid—but this time with nowhere left to hide. She dies, Guthrie.”

  Once again, dragons in the crowd begin to nod, effectively crushing whatever tiny hope I held on to. I try to stop the trembling, sweaty palms, and erratic heartbeat.

  I back up, but there’s just rock behind me. Nowhere to go.

  Ruxsiu approaches me, eyes burning.

  “I won’t tell anyone,” I say, even knowing it’s useless. “I promise.”

  Ruxsiu chuckles. “Your promises are worthless.”

  Guthrie steps into his path, blocking him. “But magic is not.”

  Somehow, rather than lifting my spirits, his words steal my breath away. Somehow I know—

  “Release her,” he continues, “and I will personally see to the girl’s banishment. Not only will she not return uninvited again, but she will leave remembering nothing of this place or its inhabitants.”

  “No,” I choke out, reaching toward him uselessly. “No, please—”

  “Would you rather die, human?” Ruxsiu laughs again, as if amused by the thought. “Then perhaps this is a better punishment indeed.” He steps close to Guthrie, bringing them chest to chest. “But you will assume responsibility. If I ever see her in my forest again, I will kill her without hesitation, and she will be joined in death by both the traitor and yourself. Do you understand?”

  “Always so generous, Your Majesty,” Guthrie says.

  Ruxsiu snorts and turns away. “See to it.”

  Guthrie pins me against the rock with his talons, and no matter how much I struggle, I can’t move him so much as an inch.

  “Don’t take Yackros from me,” I beg, tears suddenly hot on my face. Guthrie’s blue eyes have never looked so cold. “Guthrie, please! I can’t live without him!”

  “You’ll find your own way,” Guthrie murmurs, his eyes sliding closed. His chest begins to glow, but in a different way from Ruxsiu’s earlier.

  I claw and scratch at his talons. I kick against his skin.

  He begins a quiet chant, and the very sound of it is like fingernails on a chalkboard.

  “I’ll find my way back, I swear it!” I scream, this time at Ruxsiu. “Your magic can’t keep me out! It never has!”

  His grin nearly splits his face. “By all means, come back to die.”

  Guthrie’s glow spreads to encompass me, and a splitting pain in my head doubles me over.

  In the same instant, Guthrie scoops me up and half-flies, half-runs to the border of the forest, the edge between my realm and his. He drops me in the grass, and I fall to my knees, hands clutched around my head.

  “Listen close and listen fast,” he says. Something buzzes over his words like a swarm of bees. “I am protecting you the only way I know how that ends well for everyone. I put a stipulation on your banishment. Alita, Yackros is your dragon. You are his human. The bond you started as a child, breaking down barriers between our realm and yours, was completed today when you offered to die in his place.”

  “Until you cursed me,” I gasp out, taking a swing at him that accomplishes nothing. The pain is nearly sawing my head in two.

  “Listen, Alita. You must save us all. Our true king is missing. Find him, and free us from this dark imposter of a king’s reign. Bring back the ways of old, unite dragon and rider once more. ’Tis the only way to save Yackros, to return here, and for all of us to truly live.”

  I’m trying to listen, but the ground keeps rising up in waves. The flowers are all the wrong shape. And the air is hot. So hot.

  “The king died,” I manage. A gulp of boiling air. “Yackros said—”

  “The messenger came. And until today, I believed what he said was true. The dragon who delivered that news brought with him an item that would make it possible for Ruxsiu to rule. But today, he had no power over me. Which means we’ve been deceived. Find the king.”

  Guthrie pushes me back, forcing me outside the dragon forest’s perimeter. I stumble and fall in the dirt, the sky spinning above me.

  “Sparkles,” I whisper.

  From far away, it’s almost like I can hear his voice say my name. Almost.

  I close my eyes.

  My eyes blink open to a cloudy sky, the light just beginning to fade. I push myself up on my elbows and blink around.

  I’m alone in the mountains. Lying in the dirt like a maniac. Who knows how many bugs could be on me.

  That thought launches me to my feet, and even after a thorough pat-down to be sure I’m not home to any scorpions, ants, or other crawlies, I still can’t stop shuddering. What was I thinking, coming up to the mountains without Max or anyone else?

  There’s a sort of alcove in front of me that seems familiar, and the more I stare at it, the more my heartrate slows. Hesitantly, I step forward, arm out.

  My fingers touch something solid, but there is nothing visible before me.

  I back up, frowning. To my left, there’s a single tree, green and vibrant and out of pla
ce in the Arizona desert.

  My ribs hurt like I just laughed for a hundred years straight. Or got pinched between two cars. In fact, everything hurts. The last thing I want is to be in the dirt again, but I’m wobbling on my feet, and this isn’t going to go well.

  I slide down the base of the tree, pulling my knees to my chest.

  “Alita,” a voice whispers, so gentle it’s as if the wind speaking to me.

  I straighten up, looking around for anyone or anything nearby, watching me. Every sense is on alert.

  “Who’s there?” I call out.

  “Remember me, little wingless. It’s Sparkles.”

  “Sparkles . . .” The word is like a cool waterfall, washing all the confusion from me, breathing life into my memories.

  I leap to my feet, ignoring the pain in my body, gasping for air.

  “Guthrie!” I gasp out. “He put a spell—I’d forgotten—”

  “I know,” comes Yackros’ voice, calming and gentle. “I could sense it. But it was a weak spell only, far below Guthrie’s abilities.”

  “Why would he. . .?” I reach out and steady myself against the tree, thinking over everything that happened with Guthrie and Ruxsiu. “He said I would leave remembering nothing.”

  “But not that such a condition would be permanent.” I swear I can feel Yackros’s smile in my own heartbeat. “Guthrie has always been clever with words.”

  He’d tricked Ruxsiu. Right there in front of everyone.

  He could have been killed.

  He risked his life for me. For us.

  My eyes burn hot, and I rub at them hard.

  “Alita,” Yackros says, almost like a moan. “I am so sorry. You never should have been involved in this. It is a great burden to bear. I do not expect you to take on this fight. I accept my punishment, am willing to take it, because the result has been knowing you. And I couldn’t imagine being bound to anyone else.”

  “Sparkles.” My voice breaks. “No!” I rest my forehead on the tree, beating my fists against it. “This can’t be happening! You’re telling me we’re bound, but I’m never going to see you again?” I choke on the words.

  “The day we met, you broke through barriers ten thousand men couldn’t breach. You entered my life, and from that day, I knew I could never let you leave it. I was selfish. I should have let you go.” I can feel the deep timbre of his voice around me, though none of what he says is out loud.