“At least we all survived this time,” Father said.
“I know,” Krey said, “but there’ll be so much extra work to do to replant. And there won’t be a harvest for years, not for the grapes or the apples and pears that the other dragon took out. It’ll take a long time for the vines and trees to regrow and bear fruit again.”
As Rysha listened to the growing argument, she looked toward Shulina Arya and also toward the sky. The valley was quiet, but she had no idea what was going on in the capital. Now that the fires were out and she’d verified that her family had survived, she needed to report in.
“Shulina Arya?” she asked, heading toward the dragon. She looked tired, her tail wrapped around her supine form. Rysha hated to ask her to take her on another flight.
Yes, Storyteller. I am ready to do battle again, if need be, but I believe it has ended.
“Oh? Can you sense the city from down here?”
I can sense other dragons. There were many in the city earlier. Now, I sense only Bhrava Saruth and Phelistoth.
“Does she talk back to you?” Aunt Tadelay asked from the shadows along the path.
Rysha jumped. She hadn’t realized her aunt hadn’t gone back to the manor. She noted with some bemusement that Tadelay still had a rifle. The butt rested on the ground, and she didn’t look like she intended to fire on the dragon. Shulina Arya certainly didn’t appear concerned. She rested her chin on her tail and gazed at Rysha and the valley behind her.
“Yes, telepathically.”
Aunt Tadelay arched a skeptical eyebrow. Then the other eyebrow flew up and her gaze jerked toward Shulina Arya.
“What did she say to you?” Rysha asked dryly.
Tadelay hesitated, her lips turned down. “That rifles are ineffective weapons for defending young ladies from dragons.”
“Is that what you came over here to do?”
“It crossed my mind, but it doesn’t seem very…” Tadelay spread a hand toward the resting dragon. “It’s not what I expected.”
“Shulina Arya is a she, the only female I’m aware of that likes humans.”
“To eat?”
“No, but she does like our food. Sardelle makes tarts for the dragons, and I understand there are regular orders from Donotono's Bakery in the capital. I just tell her stories. She seems to like those almost as much as food. Did you see the other gold dragon that flew past? He likes humans, too, though he believes they should worship him. And give him belly rubs. Sometimes, he turns into a ferret to encourage that.” Rysha realized she was babbling, but she wanted her family to understand that not all dragons were a threat. And that Shulina Arya was the reason that the silver dragon wouldn’t bother them again.
Aunt Tadelay scratched her head, not seeming to notice when she pushed her hat askew. “When your mother and I came to the capital, we truly believed you needed to be saved from…” She extended her hand toward Shulina Arya again, who flopped over on her side and either stretched her jaw or yawned. It might have been both. Fortunately, she didn’t look threatening in that position, even with her fangs on display. Her tongue lolled out, and Rysha smiled, remembering the jawbreaker incident. “Dragons,” Aunt Tadelay finished.
“Just some dragons. But with Shulina Arya’s help, along with this sword, which has an affinity for slaying dragons—” Rysha touched the hilt but didn’t draw Dorfindral, lest he get overly excited by Shulina Arya’s proximity, “—I can defeat them. Granted, Shulina Arya does a lot more than I do, but together, we’re a good team. And the country needs someone who can defeat enemy dragons right now.”
Aunt Tadelay shifted her gaze toward the smoldering vineyard and then toward the front of the house, where the gas lamps illuminated the dead silver. Rysha wondered whose responsibility it would be to move the body. And where did one put a dead dragon, anyway? If her uncle Sabber had been here, he might have offered to taxidermy the head for his hunting lodge.
After a long moment of consideration, Aunt Tadelay looked back to Rysha, eyeing her up and down. Rysha felt rumpled after multiple battles and a full day of travel, but she stood up straight, hoping her uniform wasn’t too mud-spattered and wrinkled.
“I’m beginning to see that,” Aunt Tadelay allowed.
“Trip helped, too, though it would have been harder for you to tell he was doing something. Every time the silver dragon smashed into an invisible obstacle, that was Trip’s work.”
“He’s… a sorcerer, then? It’s true? I thought your brothers were gossiping.”
“He’s half dragon. It’s a very long story, but I love him, and he’s good to me. He made me a fancy display case to hold my elite troops initiation medallion and the awards he’s sure I’m going to earn in the army.”
“You’re truly determined to have a career in the military?” Aunt Tadelay didn’t seem that comfortable talking about Trip and latched onto that.
Rysha didn’t push. This already seemed like progress, that her aunt had seen what Shulina Arya was capable of, and had also seen what Rysha was capable of.
“Yes, Aunt. And speaking of that, we need to get back to the city. Dragons are causing trouble up there too.”
“It’s a daily event anymore. I wish something could be done.”
“We’re working on it. We’ll find a way to protect Iskandia’s borders. Just give the king and the military time.”
Aunt Tadelay took a deep breath. “I shall find it encouraging that your brain is helping with the problem.”
Rysha didn’t think her brain had been that useful of late, but she didn’t object to the statement. Someone in her family seemed to finally be coming around to her side.
Since Father and Krey were still arguing about vines, Rysha decided to leave her parting words for Aunt Tadelay. “Be very careful if Lord Lockvale comes around again. Trip questioned him while we were chasing the silver. It was, uhm, telepathic questioning, so he doesn’t have any evidence, but he found out that Lockvale conspired with that silver dragon, that they were plotting to get Father to sell the family estate cheaply.”
Rysha watched her aunt warily, immediately wishing she hadn’t said anything about telepathy. Even if the secret was out about Trip’s magical powers, she doubted her family would find actual proof of those powers any less creepy than his Wolf Squadron comrades did.
“Lockvale,” Aunt Tadelay snarled, not commenting on telepathy or creepiness. “I knew that’s what he’s been doing. We all knew. He’s not the subtle genius he thinks he is. Fool. I even suspected he was aligned with that dragon. It was all too convenient otherwise.”