Jildarin circled the boat, sending more flames toward the lake. Purple brightened the water, another species of the magical bioluminescent organisms bestirred to glow.
Rylana had no idea which color the aquaticyeaststhat they needed were, but she grabbed the stockpot and cheesecloth. As more flames struck the water near the bow, a green glow started up.
“We should have brought more pots,” Rylana muttered as she awkwardly alternated paddling with one oar to turn the boat while scooping water from the middle of each glowing pool into her only container.
In the lake, the different species of microscopic organisms kept their distance—at least, that was what the non-mingling of the colors had always suggested to her—but she forced several kinds into the pot. She picked up the cheesecloth but wasn’t sure why she’d brought it along. What could they strain while in the boat? Besides, wouldn’t these tiny organisms be too small to be filtered with it? She had no idea and simply used it to cover the stockpot.
“I’ve captured a bunch of samples,” she called.
But Jildarin had left the area, flying to the south. Rylana frowned in confusion. Had he gotten an abrupt urge to hunt?
Then she saw another winged being in the sky over the wetlands. Another dragon.
By the moonlight, it was hard to be certain of its coloring, but it was dark. Maybe black. Had his mother returned? Or—Rylana shifted uneasily again—his aunt? Lysilria had been the one who’d suggested getting rid of Rylana to ensure she didn’tdistracther nephew from his mating duties.
Since Jildarin didn’t hesitate to fly toward the newly arrived dragon, she guessed it was indeed one of his relatives—or at least an ally. Realizing she was vulnerable out in the lake, where dragons could fly without setting off the alarm pillars, Rylana shifted to the other bench, placed both oars in the rowlocks, then started navigating toward the shoreline.
When Jildarin had been rowing, the boat had made swift progress into the center of the lake. Even though she’d kept up with her fitness training and was decently strong for a woman, Rylana was no dragon. And the wind and current were against her on the way back. They pushed her little craft toward the south even as she attempted to keep it en route to the docks. Despite her efforts, she soon accepted that she would end up reaching land farther south than she wanted.
“As long as there’s a pillar nearby,” Rylana grumbled, careful not to make any movements that would spill the stockpot as she checked the sky again.
After passing over the end of the lake, Jildarin and the new dragon had flown too far away for her to see. But her instincts twanged again, and she caught herself looking to the north. Her gut lurched as another dragon came into view from that direction, another black dragon. His mother? His aunt?
Whoever it was, the dragon flew toward her rowboat.
Groaning, Rylana put her back into pulling the oars harder. She smacked something with one, and a long flash of green illuminated the water. One of the eels?
“Everyone is sensing the need to activate defenses now,” she said, “with all these dragons about.”
Too badshecouldn’t light up and attract a huge fish that would eat the predators after her. Alas, she didn’t think even the largest of sharks or whales would take on a dragon.
And this dragon was coming closer. Flying over the center of the lake, it remained on course for her boat.
Rylana glanced over her shoulder, cursing at the distance to shore. Shemightbe close enough that pillars would alarm about the time the dragon reached her, but it wasn’t as if the peacekeepers would appear instantly. The magical golems didn’t need air to breathe and might be able to walk along the bottom of the lake to come out and help, but she doubted the solid stone beings could swim.
Running out of time, Rylana started paddling in another direction—withthe current and the wind. She’d drifted far enough south that Lucky Island and the boardwalk stretching to it from the shoreline weren’t far away. There was a pillar on that island, though she doubted any peacekeepers would be nearby. Still, the landmass was treed and could offer some cover if that dragon hadn’t come for a friendly chat.
Its yellow eyes gleamed in the moonlight, and Rylana doubted thatchattingwas what it had in mind. Was whatshehad in mind? Closer now, its scales were clearly black, and those were the same color eyes that the aunt had. Lysilria had come to kill Rylana.
20
Jildarin!Rylana shouted in her mind as she rowed furiously, but humans, unfortunately, had no telepathic abilities. That didn’t keep her from adding,If there’s any chance you’re monitoring the situation and can hear me, I could use some help. Really soon!
The black dragon opened her maw as she descended toward the rowboat. Rylana rowed faster, certain the creature didn’t intend to aim at the water to stir up the bioluminescent organisms next to her.
Ahead, someone in a cloak was running across the boardwalk from the shoreline toward Lucky Island.
“Go back!” Rylana yelled, wondering why anyone would racetowardan approaching dragon instead of away. Maybe they hadn’tseenLysilria?
There wasn’t time to yell anything else. The black dragon swooped in, talons flexing toward Rylana. She lunged off the bench and flattened herself to the bottom of the boat, puddles of water soaking her clothes. The talons snatched at the air where she’d been, missing her by inches.
With momentum carrying her forward, Lysilria didn’t get asecond chance to try to grab Rylana, not on that pass. The boardwalk ahead forced the dragon to flap her wings and gain altitude lest she hit it. But the obstacle didn’t deter Lysilria for long. As the boat floated under the boardwalk, not far from the spot where Rylana had met the fisher goblin with Jildarin, his aunt banked to come around again.
Rylana lunged for a piling while hooking her feet around the bench so that the rowboat—and her precious stockpot of aquatic yeast—wouldn’t continue on without her. She managed to stop the craft under the boardwalk, but she was far from protected.
The person she’d seen running earlier threw something at the dragon.
For a bewildered moment, Rylana thought Jildarin might have turned back into his human form, but that looked like the outline of a slighter person, of someone female. Someoneelvenand female, Rylana realized, recognizing the throw—and the pinpoint accuracy of the knife wielder.
