My king has also offered to have lobster, fish, and other delicacies delivered to you. You could have a territory all your own in our appealing southern steppes. I understand dragons like a warm climate. There are springs and palm trees.
Why had he said palm trees? What was a palm tree to a dragon? Trip wiped his palm on his trousers, feeling ridiculously nervous about this. He tried to tell himself that it wasn’t that huge of a deal if the dragon rejected his offer. Iskandia would be no worse off than before. But he wanted his idea to bear fruit. He wanted to find a way to make his country safe, for his little siblings and for everyone else.
Are you trying to trick me, human? You should know better. You have the blood of a dragon in your veins. You know our kind are not stupid.
Trip sensed the dragon’s claw-like touch on his mind, his attempt to find the truth.
It’s not a trick. Instead of building his bank vault around his mind, Trip left himself open, letting the dragon see his thoughts—not that he could have stopped one as powerful as this from pulverizing his defenses. It is true that we hope to gain something from this arrangement. We’ve seen that other dragons fear you—
Lesser dragons, yes.
—and we are hoping that they’ll be less likely to invade our country if you’ve set up your home there. We are open to inviting dragons into Iskandia if they don’t eat humans or the livestock that humans have tamed.
Humans are completely unpalatable. Livestock—this means cows and chickens and horses?
Yes, animals that humans have domesticated and that live on property they have claimed. Trip didn’t know if a dragon could be made to respect property boundaries. Should he mention fences?
Humans cannot claim anything. The dragon laughed, a deep rumble that again rang with power. They are so puny. They are fortunate that our kind do not simply exterminate them. Since they do not taste good, they are worthless. Worse than worthless. They get in the way, and they kill far more than their share of prey animals—animals that taste good.
“He’s circling toward us,” Ahn reported. “Should we be worried?”
“I’m negotiating with him now,” Trip said.
Ahn paused, then repeated, “Should we be worried?”
“Likely so.”
Humans have developed weapons that can slay dragons, so perhaps you shouldn’t dismiss them. There has been talk among humankind about exterminating dragons. Humans lived a long time without them in their world, and they’re finding your return less than palatable. Trip didn’t know if threatening Drysaleskar was wise, but he tried to make it a subtle threat and frame his words in such a way that the dragon might see him as an impartial outsider rather than a representative of the enemy.
I have seen human weapons. They are not a concern to a dragon of my power.
As for humans having worth, they can bring you food, very tasty food. I have brought samples for you to try, samples of what the king’s ships would bring to you every week if you took up residence in the Tlongan Steppes. Trip hoped the fish now nestled in the storage hold wouldn’t dull the appeal of the baked goods. Maybe a dragon would like a fish-flavored tart.
No doubt they are poisoned. Do you think me a naive hatchling?
Even though Drysaleskar didn’t seem to have any interest in anything Trip was offering, Ahn was right; he was definitely heading in their direction now.
The telepathic equivalent of a growl rumbled in Trip’s mind. It wasn’t the elder.
Shulina Arya? Trip asked.
You have a female with you, Drysaleskar purred. A young and nubile female.
Trip almost choked. That was what the dragon was interested in?
She will go into her breeding cycle soon, Drysaleskar added.
Seven gods, was that why all the males were after Shulina Arya?
Rysha, Trip thought, narrowing his focus to her, why didn’t you tell me your dragon was the equivalent of a mare in heat?
Uh, I didn’t know. We haven’t discussed a lot of girl stuff yet. We mostly talk about nobly slaying things.
Drysaleskar banked to fly in close, and another mental growl emanated from Shulina Arya. Bhrava Saruth must have woken up to what was happening, because he veered abruptly toward her. If he spoke, it wasn’t to Trip, but from his body language, it was clear he thought he was defending his female.
Trip dropped his face in his hand. This wasn’t how he had imagined these negotiations going.
Bhrava Saruth must have drawn too close to Shulina Arya for her comfort, because her head darted sideways, and she snapped at him, almost shaving scales off his neck. Bhrava Saruth flew away, his tail tucking.
You can’t want that old scale-rot-covered dinosaur, Shulina Arya, he protested, this time sharing the words with everyone.
The elder dragon laughed again.
Trip glanced back. Telmandaroo was flying closer now, too, watching the exchange intently.
Trip shifted uneasily, not because he cared about the dragons’ mating interests, but because Rysha was on Shulina Arya’s back. What if this grew violent?
Drysaleskar sailed closer to Shulina Arya. Bhrava Saruth tried to fly to intercept, but so much power smashed into him that he was hurled away like a cannonball.
Trip winced, feeling the very outer edge of that power. He shuddered at the glimpse of how strong the elder was.
Once again, Drysaleskar angled toward Shulina Arya. She kept flying straight ahead, as if she meant to ignore him, but when he got close, her head darted to the side again. She snapped at him, just as she had Bhrava Saruth, but this time, her jaws came close enough to sink into scale and flesh.
The elder dragon roared and backed away, erecting a defensive barrier. Shulina Arya followed and threw herself into a half roll to let Rysha get close.
Rysha swiped at Drysaleskar with her sword, and his barrier popped.
Trip clenched his fist around the flight stick, his shoulders so tense they hurt.
“I thought we wanted to make an ally of that dragon, not attack it,” Ahn said. “What’s going on?”
“He wants Shulina Arya to become his female,” Rysha blurted. “And he’s being very rude about it.”
Fortunately, Drysaleskar backed off, and Shulina Arya didn’t follow him. She straightened her path again, falling back to travel alongside the fliers. Bhrava Saruth and Telmandaroo came up behind her, but not too close. They seemed to be offering help if she needed it, but Trip doubted she needed or wanted it.
“Are we staying out of it?” Ahn glanced back at Grady, but he only lifted his hands.
Trip didn’t know what to do, either. Maybe this was a sign that they should turn around and give up, but he hated to accept defeat so easily.
“I think it would be dangerous not to,” Grady finally said. “More dangerous than battling dragon pirates over ships they’re plundering.”
“Agreed,” Ahn said.
Then they both looked over at Trip. As if he had a clue what to do. Up until he’d met Rysha, he’d never even had a real grownup relationship of his own. Was he supposed to know something about dragon relationships just because he’d been sired by one?
Human, Drysaleskar said, and Trip realized the dragon was speaking to him alone. This female doesn’t see how magnificent I am, but she is clearly part of your flight.