The temple came into sight, its rocky island tucked inside the protective inlet. The gray and black weapons platform in the back was as large as the temple itself with railings to keep anyone from falling over the side once it was airborne and twelve towers positioned around the edges with weapons on them. At least Rysha hoped the rocket launchers had been mounted. She spotted someone in a white jacket with dark hair kneeling atop one of the towers.
Tolemek doesn’t have all the rocket launchers installed yet, Trip told her grimly. Only four of the twelve are mounted. I should have been here to help him this morning.
Rysha reached back and patted his leg.
Bhrava Saruth is not here to defend his temple. Shulina Arya sounded surprised. He is at the butte in the city where the fliers are taking off.
The city needs dragons to help, Rysha thought. Is there any chance Phelistoth or your parents are on the way?
My parents are not on this continent. They are doing more research on population problems and have been discussing breeding prey animals, the way humans breed livestock, to increase the availability of desirable food for dragons.
A noble pursuit, but not one that would help the city today. What about Phelistoth?
He is outside of the city at the house of magic, picking up the sorceress Tylie.
Good. At least, Rysha thought it was good. She hoped Sardelle’s children would be fine with all the adults in the house gone. Would the younger students watch over them?
She’d been a little surprised Sardelle had volunteered to go up with Zirkander, and that he’d seemed to expect that she would. What would happen to their children if they both died in battle? Maybe the odds were against that, but they had to have considered it. Were they so dedicated to the city and the country that they were willing to risk themselves? Maybe they believed it necessary, that to lose their sovereignty to the dragons would be unacceptable, for them and for their children.
As Shulina Arya dove toward the back of the temple, the first dragons came into view, two large, powerful golds leading the flight.
Rysha worried about what would happen if all eight descended to deal with Trip and the weapons platform—and her and Shulina Arya—before continuing on to the city. She pulled her spectacles strap out of her pocket and affixed it, having a feeling she would need that extra security before the day was over.
They landed in the center of the steel platform, with Trip leaping off before Shulina Arya folded her wings in. Rysha thought he would run up to talk to Tolemek, but maybe they were already in telepathic communication because he ran instead toward a ladder that led down into the platform itself, toward the area housing the engines.
Before he reached them, the deck thrummed, a sign of them starting up.
I feel the magic of this place, Shulina Arya said. Your mate has made powerful artifacts.
Will those dragons sense them? Rysha said.
Of course. But I also sense… There is something most unpleasant embedded in this structure. Shulina Arya lifted her taloned foot and peered at it, as if something distasteful might be sticking to the bottom.
The banded iron, Rysha said. We’re hoping dragons won’t like it.
I certainly do not. Shulina set down her foot but soon lifted the other one to peer at it.
I’m going to attempt to camouflage the platform now, Trip spoke into their minds. I’m not sure how effective it will be—the tainted ore will fight me. If Shulina Arya can help, I would appreciate it. Even under ideal circumstances, my meager talents wouldn’t fool dragons.
I will do so, Shulina Arya replied, though it is unfortunate that we don’t have a trap to spring. We could have lured them all down here.
The two gold dragons came into view again, flying over the cliffs above the island. They were much closer now, their powerful muscles rippling under their gleaming scales as they pumped their wings.
Rysha held her breath, feeling vulnerable and out in the open. Dorfindral hummed on her hip, seeming to cry, “Fight!” into her mind.
“Soon,” she whispered.
Four silver dragons came into view, following the golds, and two bronze dragons came after them. Trip had been right. Eight total.
One of the bronze dragons dipped a wing and peered down toward them. Had he seen through the camouflage? Since Rysha couldn’t sense magic, she had to trust that it was there.
The bronze straightened his path and continued after the others. The dragons disappeared over the cliffs, still heading toward the capital. Alarm gongs sounded in the distance. The city was alert. Rysha hoped it was ready.
The thrumming under Shulina Arya’s feet increased, and Rysha felt the reverberations through her body. One end of the platform tilted upward, then dropped back down. It wobbled like a top for a few seconds, and Rysha worried that meant it wouldn’t lift off. But then all sides rose at once. As incredible as it seemed without the help of balloons of any kind, the platform inched upward.
The enemy dragons have engaged your people, Shulina Arya said.
Tolemek ran down the ladder from the tower he’d been on and, without glancing her way, raced to a pile of materials, grabbed what he needed, and ran to the next tower. Trip climbed out of the engine area and also sprinted for the materials pile.
Rysha realized there was little she could do since she hadn’t seen the most recent blueprints and didn’t have any experience assembling rocket launchers. A part of her wanted to stay and protect Trip while he finished working, but she could check back on him later. The city needed her sword and Shulina Arya’s fangs and magic.
“Trip,” Rysha yelled, “if you don’t need us, we’re going to join the battle.”
Good, he told her. He was running toward a tower with heavy-looking materials floating in the air behind him, but he paused to look at her, to meet her eyes. Be careful. I love you.
Rysha’s heart lifted. He’d implied before that he felt that way, but he had never said the words.
I love you too, Trip. Rysha patted Shulina Arya’s scales to let her know she was ready to take off. You be careful too, she added. I’d be most distraught if you died before I convinced my family that they like you and approve of you.
You’re going to convince them of that? Trip climbed the ladder to the bare tower, nothing but the base of a rocket launcher installed there so far. I thought I had to make them a coffee maker.
That will certainly help, especially right now, since I don’t think they’ve yet hired back any of the servants.
They had servants to make the coffee?
Of course, Trip. Noblemen and women don’t make their own beverages.
He snorted. Major Kaika as queen is going to be downright scandalous, isn’t it?
I have no doubt of that. Rysha imagined Kaika getting up from some function at the castle and heading into the kitchen to refill her own beverage as the servants gaped in flustered distress.
As Shulina Arya flew over the cliffs and toward the harbor, Rysha wondered if Kaika would be in one of the fliers, taking her chapaharii sword into the air for battle again. It was hard to imagine her not wanting to fight, but with her hair not grown back from her last encounter with a dragon, she might not be as eager as usual.