And yet again, her words went unanswered.
A thin moon, like the seam of a scar stitched into the sky, shone dimly. Cressyda could barely see a few paces in front of her, and the surrounding valleys and peaks were only faint outlines in the gloom, distant and unreal. She had not thought that the Great Dragon would be hard to find. She wondered how many otherMaiden Sacrifices had wandered the mountains all night like this. Perhaps she would die of the cold before she even came across the beast. She imagined herself as one more nameless girl whose bones would be claimed by the rocks, her story unfinished, her courage wasted.
Shivering, she forced herself to continue. If she stopped now, she would not be able to muster the energy to move again and it had already been too long since she left the path. Her muscles were sore, but she willed her legs to go on, pushing herself higher up the incline. Samsel and the guards would be almost halfway down the mountains by now, making their safe way back to Tormale. Faith in her own plan was beginning to fade.
Cressyda crawled up another slope, her teeth chattering. At the summit, she paused, gasping, and looked out. A long, uneven ridge stretched ahead, rising and falling like a spine, dotted with the dark shapes of trees and bushes. She swallowed and gritted her teeth. Hugging her arms around herself, she began shuffling forward, weaving behind the shrubs to avoid the cutting wind whistling over its edge.
Cressyda’s bare feet were so numbed by the chilled, damp ground that, at first, she did not notice the strange texture beneath them. Then something dry and feathery caught between her toes and she stopped with a frown. Bending, she touched the speckled, downy ground and raised her hand to her face. A fine grey substance dusted her skin, clung to her nails and settled into the lines of her palm – ash.
The wind momentarily dropped, and Cressyda smelt the unmistakable bitter char of burnt wood and scorched earth – fire.
Hope and fear snarled together in her stomach. Perhaps she was finally heading in the right direction. She took a deep breath andstraightened, intending to force herself to push on, but when she raised her chin, something ahead caught her attention.
She squinted, craning her neck.
Then she saw them: two red eyes flaring through the darkness.
She stumbled back, a scream choking her throat.
It was a dragon.
The beast slithered closer, its movements quick and juddering. Pale moonlight flickered on its black, scaled sides, lighting the horns arching from its forehead and the fangs curving from its jaw. Heat swelled the air, burning Cressyda’s cold skin with a scorching itch. She faltered, blinking and dazed. Every image she had ever known of dragons – embroidered banners, stitched tapestries, carved statues – instantly shattered beneath the reality of this living terror.
I am … I am here to see …she began, but the words failed her.
The dragon crouched low to the ground, its nostrils flaring. A guttural, clicking noise vibrated from its throat, then it threw back its head and spewed a plume of fire into the night sky.
Cressyda sprang away, throwing her arms over her face as sparks fell.I am here to see the Great Dragon!she managed at last.
But the creature did not seem to hear her. It crept closer, muscles twitching beneath its scaled hide.
With a plummeting feeling of dread, Cressyda realized that it did not understand her. This thing was not one of the Hidden People or a sentient being who could speak the ancient language. It was a beast.
Smoke trickled from the dragon’s mouth and trailed into the darkness around them. It crouched low to the ground, its gaze fixed upon her, its stance ready to leap.
Cressyda shrank back, filled with horror.I want to speak to the Great Dragon,she cried one last time.
But she knew it was pointless.
The clicking sound rumbled in the dragon’s throat once more and its jaws glowed red, the beginnings of a fire smouldering behind its fangs.
Cressyda looked around her, searching for a stone or a branch – anything she could use to attack. But there was nothing.
The dragon stooped lower.
Cressyda braced herself, a grimace etched across her face. She could not even scream.
Then a shape crashed over the side of the ridge.
There was the thunder of hooves and the snap of underbrush before something hurtled towards them. A blur of motion, silver slicing through black. Then a horse and rider surged forward, the blade in the rider’s hand flashing as it slashed through the air.
The dragon’s head snapped around.
Cressyda’s eyes widened. ‘Alinore?’ she gasped.
Alinore
AS SOON ASshe caught sight of the dragon, Alinore’s stomach lurched and some of her courage leaked away into the surrounding darkness.
