The dragons were in our territory—
You have no territory!roared the Great Dragon, darting forward so that its jaw hovered inches from her face, its lipless mouth pulled back to reveal rows of fangs as long as her arms.I have guarded these mountains since the beginning. Your kind come and go.
Tiannie stumbled away. Heat spun off the creature in waves, filling the air with a burning stench. It was like standing before a seething fire.
Please, I beg of you,she cried.Save my people. I will do anything.
She thought of her little sister, the only family she had left. The child had just learnt to walk, wobbling on chubby, stumbling feet. It was too horrific to think what might happen to the girl at the hands of the enemy.
The Great Dragon shifted, its haunches flexing. It regarded her with an unblinking, yellow gaze. Finally, it hissed,Perhaps we can reach an agreement.
Hope and unease flared together in Tiannie’s chest. To enter into a bargain with an ancient creature like the Great Dragon was surely perilous. Mountain folk were afraid of the beasts and Fae who roamed their lands – those they called the Hidden People. Mountain children were taught never to speak to a nymph, a brownie or a troll: such creatures of chaos and pain. But above all, they were taught to fear the Great Dragon, a being as powerful and ancient as the very mountains themselves.
Princess?
She pushed aside her misgivings. She did not have a choice.State your terms.
The Great Dragon arched its neck, revealing a glimpse of a burning red throat.I will threaten your enemy with merciless attacks if they do not retreat. They may take the surrounding lands as their own, but they cannot have the mountains – those will belong to your kind and mine.
Tiannie almost choked on hope. She thought of her people hiding in the forest, watching their loved ones lose the recent battle, knowing they would be sought out and slaughtered next. An end to their suffering sounded almost too good to be true, and she knew there would be a price to pay.
What do you want in return?
The Great Dragon made a ticking sound and a curl of smoke oozed from its lips.You and your people,it replied.
Tiannie paused, her unease souring into dread.What do you mean?she asked.
Today and on the first day of each spring, you must send one of your kind to me before sunset. Over the winters, you have slain my kin, and now I will have my revenge. If you do not follow these orders, the treaty will be broken and all of you will face my wrath.
Distantly, they heard the loud blast of a trumpet followed by the beating of a drum. It was a foreign, unfamiliar sound. The enemy were moving forward.
Do we have an agreement?asked the Great Dragon.
I do not fully understand the terms—
The Great Dragon snapped its huge jaw and the edges of its wings quivered, as if it might launch itself away.
Wait!cried Tiannie, holding out her arms.All right, yes. I … I agree.
The air quivered, a pulse rolling outward, gathering force and momentum. The ground shuddered, the sky rang with power and the very realm itself seemed to vibrate with a deep, resonant hum. The light wavered and bent, colours bleeding into one another, rippling through the dawn like the aftershock of something vast and unstoppable.
Then all was still.
Our bargain is made, Mountain Princess.The Great Dragon raised its head in the direction of the drumbeats.I will follow you now and you will explain the treaty to your enemy. If they harm you, I will destroy them.
Pure relief settled over Tiannie, cool and soothing. The sight of the Great Dragon would terrify the enemy into agreeing to the terms of the Mountain folk’s surrender. There would be no more bloodshed. Her people would survive. They would still have the mountains.
Then you will return with me,added the Great Dragon.
Tiannie looked at the beast’s thick, muscled limbs and its curved, glinting fangs. She had seen a dragon less than half its size tear a man into strips. She had killed a much smaller dragon and she knew their strength and stealth.
What will you do with me?she asked.
The Great Dragon’s yellow gaze bore down upon her.You will be the first sacrifice,it said.You will be mine.
Part One
THE PRINCESS AND THE SQUIRE
