“That the races are fixed?”
“Yes, dear girl. Yes.” He set the decanter down so hard I feared the glass might crack. “Duke Covington isn’t the honorable royal he’s depicted as all over the papers. He’s fixing races, and I’m determined to prove it. And what’s more, I think it should be done by someone like you. Someone of your status proving to everyone out there that dragons can bond with anyone, not only those of the nobility. Only problem is, no onebut me believes any of it—about the duke or about bottomsiders bonding with dragons.”
My jaw dropped and my hands fell limp against my sides. “Only the godborn can bond,” I said, feeling as if I’d missed something.
Fairfax lifted a finger and said, in a voice akin to the way we used to recite history lessons at my old school, “Only the godborn can bond with dragons because of the vestiges of ancient immortals’ blood in their veins. Hogwash. Immortals are from storybooks, not history books.” He chuckled as my eyes opened even wider. “But no one listens to old Fairfax. I’m too offbeat for their liking.”
His words rang in my head. “But anyone of non-noble lineage caught attempting to bond to a dragon is imprisoned.”
“True. But you already told me you’re a thief.” He grinned and pulled a long-stemmed rose from one of the flower displays and sniffed it, turning away with a grunt. “The whole system is like this rose. It looks beautiful, immaculate even, but it has thorns that will bleed you if you try to uproot it.” He sniffed it. “And when you get close, you notice it stinks like a hothouse.”
He pointed the rose at my face and waited until I stepped close enough to sniff it. The flower did have a strange smell, not like the rhododendrons that grew in the forest, but a manufactured smell, the hint of something artificial about it.
“My proposal is this, Miss Mireaux. I need someone bold enough to attempt to bond with a dragon.” He held up a finger as my mouth opened. “And enter the country’s best racing program at Cardan Lott College. Ah, you’ll really need to work on schooling those expressions of yours, Miss Mireaux, if you wish to work with me.”
“Cardan Lott? The school for bonded riders? Only a few students there actually race.”
“Indeed. But there’s something about this whole racing business that stinks like a hothouse to me.” He propped his knuckles on his waist. “And do you know who else is starting there this year?” At my beat of silence, he added, “The duke’s younger son, Rushland. And you can bet that the duke will not allow his son to lose a race. Not with the scandals that boy has already brought on the name Covington. If the duke cheats—and I’m certain he does—you will figure out how he does it. And when you do, you can beat him.”
“You want me to spy?”
“Gather information,” he corrected.
The rose twirled in my vision, its deep red petals reminding me of the crimson blood I’d seen this morning on the duke’s dragon and on his son. Attempting to disrupt the Covingtons’ racing empire sounded like trying to topple a mountain with a pickax.
“Why, sir?” I squeaked, unable to control the fear and excitement and shock racing through my veins.
Fairfax rested his short crystal cup against his cheek and stared out over the buzzing arena. “Because someone should. Everyone out there placed a bet today, and though they believed they were taking a risk, their choice was made for them, by your employer. And that, my dear, is not the way the world should work. People have tried to stop him, but no one can touch him. I want to try a different approach. Rather than publicly expose how he fixes races, I simply want to beat him. To prove it can be done.”
My shoulders sagged as I exhaled. “But I’m not nobility. I can’t even bond. Much lesswina dragon race against a Covington dragon.”
“I believe you can.”
His words stole my composure, and I coughed out a small scoff.
“And the best part is, if you can, you will prove that dragon bonds are not just for the nobility. Even if you lose the race, Miss Mireaux, you will win a better future for everyone like you.” He shrugged, as if to say,What more could you want?
It was that simple, and yet it was like saying the whole system of gravity and physics was corrupt and one should try to overrule it simply because humans should be able to fly, too. I’d dreamed of racing ever since I was a little girl, but a dream didn’t make something possible.
Unless, perhaps, you had deep enough pockets.
Cautiously, I lifted my gaze and stared at Lord Fairfax. His bushy brows waggled expectantly as he took another sip of his drink. “What do you say? Bond with one of my dragons, if you can, and I’ll sponsor you for one year at Cardan Lott. In exchange, you will uncover what you can about how Covington always wins.”
I swallowed. The training program was for the wealthiest riders in the country. Second sons, heiresses, people without the burdens of running houses. Every single grand champion was ridden by a graduate of Cardan Lott College. Getting in was a feat in and of itself. You had to be bonded to a dragon, for one thing, and you had to have a sponsor among the nobility wealthy enough to afford not only the spot at the school but also the buy-in fee for the end-of-year race. Even among the upper class, attending Cardan Lott was a privilege.
Sweat was now leaking down my back, my temples, and my heart was running a race of its own. It was more than I’d ever dreamed possible, all handed to me in a matter of minutes.
There had to be a catch.
I eyed the thorns on the roses, recalling his words. “You said the system would bleed those who tried to uproot it.”
“Ah, yes. You want to know the risks. Smart girl.” He tossed the rose onto the nearest couch. “I won’t pretend the course I’veproposed will be easy. No empire likes to be toppled. But I will do what I can to ensure you are kept safe. If anyone goes down with this ship, it will be me.” His tone had lost its bounce, and his expression was, for the first time, flat and unwavering. The heat on the balcony was rising as the sun arced higher. “One year at Cardan Lott is all I’m asking. If all goes well, you will find out how his dragons win, but in addition to that, you will prove a point that, in my opinion, must be proven. At year’s end, we’ll reveal your true identity to the world, and by then, no one will be able to deny that dragons can bond to those outside the nobility. This will improve our world, Miss Mireaux.”
His words settled on my shoulders like a mantle I wasn’t strong enough to carry. For a moment, I stared at the solitary rose.
“Sir,” I said, looking up. “You said one year at Cardan Lott. The program is three years.”
Fairfax nodded, gaze again fixed on the arena, where the crowds were thinning. “Indeed. But the deal is win against the duke’s son or don’t bother returning for year two.” He lifted his glass. “You think it harsh? My dear, if your identity as a bottomsider is revealed, and it will be by the year-end race, that will paint a target on your back that, once it’s there, I’m not sure I can erase. So, my bargain is for one year only. Find out how the duke cheats for me. And for yourself, for ourworld, prove that a bottomsider like yourself, no offense meant, can become a dragon rider.”
