As her shivers turned more violent, Asha understood the reason for Torwin’s fitted coat and gloves. If she didn’t find him soon, she would have to head back—or she’d freeze.
It was when she looked down again that she saw a familiar shape, flying below. Asha clicked to Kozu and he dropped, making her stomach flutter. A heartbeat later, both dragons flew side by side.
Shadow’s rider looked over at Asha. His sandskarf covered his nose and mouth.
Don’t make me say good-bye to you,she thought.
Asha pitched her voice above the wind. “Where are you going?”
He didn’t answer.
Squinting into the distance, just past two rocky peaks, she saw the glassy surface of a lake, silver in the moonlight.
“There’s water down there!”
Again, he kept silent.
“I’ll race you to it!” she shouted.
Torwin didn’t have time to respond. Asha leaned close to Kozu, who knew exactly what she wanted, and together they plunged into the wind.
A feeling rushed through her as they fell: excitement, fear, exhilaration, all snarled up together and lodged in her belly. Soon, though, a sharper feeling replaced it. Asha looked from side to side, searching for Torwin and Shadow. They hadn’t followed. She and Kozu were alone.
Asha swallowed disappointment. Sensing it, Kozu started to level out, and, just as he did, a dust-red dragon and its rider plunged past them. For a moment, Asha watched them: Torwin keeping low to Shadow’s back while Shadow tucked his wings in—falling, falling. As if they’d done this thousands of times. As if it was their favorite game.
A moment later, she was falling too.
Asha clutched Kozu’s neck as the wind whipped her hair. When they righted again, Kozu was head-to-head with Shadow.
Torwin glanced their way, then clicked. Shadow sped up.
A moment later, almost lazily, Kozu caught up with them.
Above his sandskarf, Torwin’s eyes narrowed. He clicked once more. But this was the fastest Shadow could go. He was smaller and more agile, but Kozu was stronger and had more weight to thrust them forward.
Torwin and Shadow fell back. Asha turned her attention to the lake.
She thought Kozu would landbesidethe water. Kozu did not. As Asha focused on the bank, the dragon headed straight for the water. Asha clicked frantically, then tried to pull up on his neck,then his wings, wanting him to slow down. To stop before—
The surface of the lake broke as Kozu hit. Asha held her breath just before the water rushed up to swallow them.
Underwater, she slid from Kozu’s back. When her feet touched the bottom, she pushed up, then broke the surface. Asha spluttered and gasped. She splashed at Kozu in retaliation, but the dragon was deep underwater, swimming away from her. The lake was warmer than the night air and Asha stayed a moment, her dress floating around her as she tilted her face back to the jeweled sky above.
On the shore, Shadow landed.
Asha swam for the lake’s edge as Torwin dismounted, but the layers of her dress made kicking hard, and it took her twice as long as it normally would. She lost both her slippers. When her feet finally touched stone, Asha made her way toward the place where Torwin stood. Her bare feet slipped on the underwater rocks.
“You win,” he said, reaching down from his dry overhang.
Asha made a face as he grabbed hold of her hands and pulled her out of the water. The wet dress stuck to her body and weighed her down. Shivering, she picked up the hem and wrung it out.
“Here.” He slid off his strange coat and tucked it over her shoulders. “There are dry clothes in my tent, if you want them.” She did want them—and along with them, an escape from this gown. Torwin pointed up the shore to an angular shape hunched on the sand. “I’ll make a fire while you change.”
Asha nodded, shivering, then made her way toward it.
Halfway up the shore, though, her feet fell still as she remembered the tiny buttons dotting the back of the underlayer of her dress.
I can’t take it off without help.
