The dragon’s maw opened, and it spoke in a voice lowerand more ominous than thunder. “Would you rather go in the cage or my stomach?”
I choked, unable to get words out.
Zafir leapt forward. “The cage, please. And we brought you the requested sum.” He waved to the servants, who staggered forward with the chest of gold and set it down at the dragon’s feet.
The dragon tilted its head. “Open it.”
Zafir hastened to do so, fumbling with the lock until he managed to swing the lid open. Gold and jewels gleamed in the bright sun, my wedding ring from Rahil mixed in among the treasure. The dragon’s eyes flamed the color of molten brass. “I accept your payment.”
“Thank you, my good…sir.”
An ear-splitting sound, like a hundred saws cutting through logs, pierced the air. I clapped my hands over my ears. Was it angry? Laughing? Preparing to eat us? I genuinely had no idea.
“I’m female,” it rumbled.
“And you’re a b-beautiful dragon,” I stammered. How was one supposed to compliment a dragon, particularly when I was so frightened I thought I might pass out? “Your scales are the most s-stunning color I’ve ever seen.”
She rustled her wings and extended her neck, preening just like a peacock. “You’re only saying that so I don’t eat you, but it’s true. Iama very beautiful dragon.” She nodded to the giant cage. “In you get, humans. You chartered a flight to Brisden, and that’s a long flight. We’ll get to Brisden tomorrow evening.”
“I feel like some sort of pet,” I murmured to Zafir as he gave me his hand to help me step up into the wooden crate, where a small crate of fruit and dried meats was waiting for us.
Once again, the dragon had heard me. “You flatter yourself. Humans aren’t nearly amusing enough to be considered pets. You are more like pests, but as long as you pay, I’ll allow you to live.”
The wooden room shook as she shut the door behind Zafir then flicked a talon so a heavy boltthunked into place, locking us in.
“She’s almost as pleasant as you were when we first met,” Zafir said with a mischievous grin.
“Lie down,” the dragon called. In the small cracks between the strong wooden planks that our cage was constructed from, I saw the dragon’s gigantic wings unfurl, extending far out on each side. Immediately, sand swirled up and particles snuck into the gaps between the wooden crate’s planks. I blinked furiously.
“Lie down?” I asked Zafir. “Why?—”
My unfinished question answered itself. The dragon beat her wings and we rocketed into the air. Both Zafir and I immediately collapsed to the crate’s floor. We were traveling so fast that it felt like a whale had been beached on my chest and I couldn’t even begin to lift my head. My eyes watered. Cold air slapped my face, hissing in from the tiny cracks between the planks like tiny icy daggers.
Zafir groped for my hand and entwined our fingers. I wasn’t sure how he could move any part of his body; it felt like my eyeballs were being forced back into my skull from the force of our takeoff. When the dragon had first told us we would be riding in a crate like some caged animal, I’d felt slightly offended, but now I was grateful. Existing moment by moment was hard enough; I had no interest in trying to ride a dragon if it meant I would have to hang on while experiencing this level of gravitational pull.
I squeezed Zafir’s fingers and managed to roll my headto look at him. He looked faintly green beneath his heavily tanned skin, and I was sure I looked similar. We exchanged commiserating expressions, then I turned my head to the other side, trying hard not to vomit.
Once the dragon got high enough in the sky, she stopped her ascent and began to glide forward. The pressure sitting on my chest eased. The air was still cold, but at least I could sit up.
“Well, that was the worst experience of my entire life,” Zafir groaned.
I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes. “Being stabbed was worse, but only slightly. I think I’m going to be sick.” I took deep, steadying breaths. “Going by boat might have been better.”
Zafir laughed. “And it would’ve only taken a month instead of two days.”
The air grew even colder as the colors outside our compartment shifted from a sandy gold to a bright, vivid blue. I squinted between the cage’s planks and saw an immense ocean stretching out so far that it was impossible to see land in front of us. As I stared, Zafir wrapped his arms around me from behind.
“Taking advantage of our romantic moment alone together?” I teased with a shaky laugh.
“I’m not opposed to romantic moments, but I’m actually freezing. You weren’t used to the heat when you came to Pyren, and I’m not used to the cold.” His teeth chattered and I felt him shivering where he touched me.
“It is really cold up this high,” I agreed, sinking down and burrowing into his side so we could share body heat. “This might be a really long day.”
My prediction turned out to be accurate. While at first I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the glittering ocean, itquickly lost its appeal. The waves all looked the same, and from this height we couldn’t see any fish or anything but endless blue as the sky bled into the ocean. There were no birds this far out to sea, and Zafir, shaking from the cold, wasn’t interested in examining the view.
We held each other for hours as day faded into night, sometimes dozing off for a few fitful minutes at a time, but never staying asleep for long. Even though the flight was mostly smooth, when the dragon caught a different air current, she would rapidly drop or rise several feet. Each time this happened, my stomach gave an unpleasant swoop, like it was trying to vacate my body.
“And to think I sold everything I own for this,” Zafir groaned, holding his stomach after the fifth sudden drop.
