Page 123

Iryana looked around, relieved to find that no one was paying attention to what had just transpired between her and her sister. She dropped the falchion to her side, let it blend into her skirt and trousers, and rushed to hide it inside.

When she had recovered enough to rejoin the festival, Iryana threw herself into the dancing with abandon. Anything to make her stop thinking. She danced, with her aunts and uncles, with her cousins, with villagers, and with Hadima. She danced until her feet were sore and she had to drop out to walk around the courtyard, enjoying the sight of everyone being merry.

A strange, out-of-place sound made Iryana pause, trying to place it. The sound was deep and heavy, a rhythmic whoosh. She thought it was getting louder.

It almost sounded like…

Iryana tilted her head back, searching the sky.

Over the ridge to their east flew a winged beast. The glowing auroras cast the great form as a mere shadow, as if it were not truly real. But the sound of the wings beating was unmistakable. All around her, people were looking up.

Then they started screaming.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The closest name she had for the creature above her was dragon.

It was huge, larger than their house, with a wingspan that eclipsed much of the sky. There were depictions of dragons in their tapestries and drawn into the tales they read to children. But there was no evidence they had ever actually existed, that they weren’t just fantastical creatures from mythical tales. And a creature that size couldn’t live in Istri secretly.

Iryana knew immediately and completely that a god made the dragon.

She briefly considered calling her bow, but what would one small arrow do against a beast that large, forged or not. And it wasn’t flying toward them; it didn’t seem interested in them at all, even though they had to be clearly visible with the giant bonfire. It was headed for the center of Istri, for what purpose Iryana did not know. But it wasn’t a threat to them, not yet.

There was logic to her steadiness, but in truth, she wasn’t panicking because she was in shock.

“Get the children in the house!” Aunt Emadya was shouting, herding the smaller Kleesolds and villagers.

Others were definitely panicking, rushing for shelter or weapons, mostly the villagers. Glancing around her, Iryana realized she wasn’t the only person just standing there, watching it. Most of the guardians were doing the same. Watching. Internalizing. Readying themselves for a new world.

Because their world had irrevocably changed. Again.

The creature kept flying until it was impossible to pick out among the jewel-colored ribbons dancing in the sky. Until the sound of its great wings beating faded.

“A dragon,” someone said nearby.

“We need to inform the duchess,” Uncle Dinhal said.

“It came from the northeast,” Iryana told him, looking back at the crowd of people in the courtyard. “The duchess already knows.”

The many farms and villages in the Sky Valley would have seen it, would get messages to Lake Vrasho sooner than they could. The high city in the peaks may have even seen the creature themselves.

Iryana took a shuddering breath.

Did the dragon belong to Noshtiz? How many gods were awake now?

“We’re gathering in the hall. Everyone,” the First ordered, staring straight at Iryana as she addressed them all. “It’s time we had a talk.”

Her clan was all pale faces and haunted looks, but unlike the villagers, they bore it with the stoicism expected of guardians. Of a clan that had been barely surviving for years. Many looked distant. Like they were reliving the last time strange new beasts had been discovered in Istri. Like that trauma was fresh in their hearts again.

Iryana found her eyes drawn to her sisters, wishing she could stand beside them instead of with the First, but she had a duty to her clan. She had thought her sisters would be taking that night’s surprise easier than the others, given they already knew everything else. Had thought Misha especially would let it bounce right off her, like she had before. But Misha did not look well.

It was like Iryana had ripped Misha’s shields away. Torn away her ability to be brave, and now Misha was defenseless. Her heart-shaped face was stark and wan. Those hazel eyes were wide, detached from the world around them.

Iryana blamed herself even more.

“Third, share your updates from the other groups,” the First ordered after she’d finished outlining the timeline of what they had discovered so far.

Iryana hid her shaking hands behind her back as she stood to face them all.