In the old tales, Verald was the jewel kingdom within the Draecon Empire. Known for its fertile fields, the inhabitants of Verald produced the agriculture for the two other kingdoms in Emperor Draedyn’s realm. But Verald’s fertile fields were myths, like the legends of the Phaetyn, who could heal anything living. If there ever was truth to either story, it was long gone now.

Each household in the Penny Wheel, the slums of Verald, was allowed a small piece of dirt, a garden of their own, to do with as they wished. Ours did particularly well. Mum’d sit outside and talk to the plants after I’d pulled weeds or watered the garden or shifted dirt to new spots like I was born for it. Somehow, she coaxed the plants to grow with a wildness that could’ve made the neighbors jealous but instead motivated them to keep the abundant harvest a secret—probably because Mum shared her talent, helping others with their gardens throughout the entire Verald kingdom. Mum’s green thumb was probably why Seven wasn’t as skinny as the rest of the Harvest Zones.

I crept along the alley on my way home from The Crane’s Nest, placing my feet carefully as I hugged the lovely shadows of the buildings in the Inbetween, pausing at intervals to listen for anything concealing itself in the night. The temperature was the energy sucking kind, unseasonably warm for mid-solstice. Something about the night kissed my skin, and I welcomed the black tendrils with open arms. If the dark were a person, I’d latch onto him and never let go. This pull to be in the night was a recent thing. Mum said it was a cheap thrill to make up for the monotonous routine of daily life. But for me, when the twin moons were up, the mystery of the shadows provided this spark I craved. The dark could take me away from this wasteland. The dark made me believe I was more than just a girl stuck in a life with no future but marriage and potato stew.

I crept through the shadows until fire lit the black sky in a sudden blazing inferno. I jumped and pressed my back to the wall, heart in my mouth, flashing danger searing my insides. Mistress Moons. Please tell me that was a series of meteors.

Making sure to keep concealed, I tilted my head to peer upward. The roaring streaks of red-and-orange flame were a brilliant beacon, painting an image of deadly beauty across the velvet of night.

The fire was no meteor shower. It was Lord Irrik.

I inhaled sharply and receded deeper into the shadows.

Lord Irrik, the king’s pet Drae, was right there, in front of my eyes. The outline of his wings and body, and even his serpent-like tail, blotted out the stars. I’d grown up on stories of how the king had bound a powerful Drae to him. The Drae was invincible, and because he was fiercely loyal, his power protected the king.

The Drae circled the skies over the Money Coil and the Inbetween, making no effort to conceal his massive dragon form. He was far too close for comfort. The Drae breathed bolts of fire that extended as long as the main laneway in Zone Seven. My mouth hung ajar as I stared at the streak of lethal heat illuminating the sky.

Several moments passed as I debated my predicament. I couldn’t stay here all night— eventually a patrol would pass by—but moving now could alert the Drae to my presence. Of course, if Lord Irrik could really hear someone breathing from a mile away, I was screwed anyway. I glanced back at the sky, and judging by scorching fire, he’d passed into zone eight. I could make it home if I was careful.

I ran to the next corner on my right and ducked behind an empty refuse bin and then took a deep breath as I plotted my route home. This far out from the Money Coil meant the streets would be empty. No one here could afford to bribe a patrol. I had two choices, and neither was very good. But before I could make my next move, the heavy powerful beating of wings and an inhuman roar came from much closer than before. Like, overhead close.

He couldn’t be hunting me, though. I was absolutely secure in that conclusion. The king’s Drae had more important things to do than hunt a seventeen-year-old. I stilled as I glanced back the way I’d come.

A seventeen-year-old who’d just left a rebel meeting.

Dyter said the Drae had been circling the skies the last few nights. He also said no one would suspect the meetings were at The Crane’s Nest.

This had to be coincidence, nothing more. There was no way the Drae was bothering with me. Uneasiness tickled the inside of my rib cage as I connected his presence here as something more for the first time. What if the king had sent Irrik to find out about the rebel meetings? What if they knew? Was there more to his presence than general intimidation and keeping the starving peasants in check?

Despite the heat, chills danced across my skin. If Lord Irrik wasn’t patrolling, he was hunting rebels.

And half-arsed rebel though I was, I’d just left the meeting point for all the full-arsed rebels.

My heart raced, a quick scurrying of beats, like a lizard running over hot sand. I stared up at the night to try to make out the black-winged and horned dragon above, but millions of stars winked back from the darkness, revealing nothing of what shared their space. My mother’s hushed whisper from when I was young rose in my memory: The tendrils of midnight can cling to him, taking him in as one of their own, keeping him invisible in their midst.

Seemed like that part was true. Sweat broke out on my forehead.

There was something distinctly different between the story my mind told as I snuggled under a blanket and the reality of the night and heat surrounded me, the fear pulsing from deep within. Yet, I didn’t feel full of terror. Scared, yes, but his presence had nothing to do with me. It couldn’t. I’d never ever had anything to do with the powerful Drae—thank the Moons.

The fire in the sky was gone, and with the sudden darkness, silence fell. On soft feet, I darted to the next corner, through the abandoned buildings, and across the road into the area where the rich lived. Their stone buildings were neatly arranged, and nestled in the middle of their rows was a dry, square space with a grand fountain where a beautiful garden used to grow. Only a couple of the buildings bordering the large square were occupied nowadays, but in times gone by, Mum said it used to be a bustling and happy place, full of people and goods—back when the land healers were still alive. Stupid king. Killing the Phaetyn seemed a moronic thing to do, even if you did want to live forever.

I took three, theoretically calming, breaths and studied the dark, shadowed area with the fountain in the middle. Right now, with the invisible monster of my childhood overhead, the uncovered space only meant one thing.

Open-expanse-where-powerful-Drae-could-eat-me-in-one-bite.

“Al’righty,” I croaked. I probably wouldn’t be the pep talk queen of Harvest Zone Seven either.

Maybe I should go all the way around. It put me at greater risk of encountering a patrol, but. . .

Flame erupted in the black sky far to my right. He’d moved.

Good time to go, good time to go, good time to go. Leaving my protective shadows, I sprinted across the barren garden.

A primal force urged me to go faster, faster than I’d ever run before.

Clearing the area, I pressed against the stone wall of the House of Tals’ residence, attuned to every tiny piece of my surroundings, and attempted to regulate my breathing. The chirping of crickets was only interrupted by the mournful whinny of a screech owl. That seemed normal-ish.

An unbearable tickle attacked my throat. I worked to suppress the sneeze protesting the lack of moisture. I brushed my tongue over the roof of my mouth until the sensation passed. Drak, imagine that. Making it across the fountain garden just to sneeze.

Thirty minutes later, I’d wound my way back out past the Inbetween to our section of housing.

Peasant homes used to be built from wood, but with the barren land in Verald, that wasn’t an option anymore. The wealthy built their homes from stone mined in the Gemond Kingdom. But the quarries and mines there, much like our land in Verald, were barely making quota. Long before I was born, King Irdelron ordered large sections of houses demolished, thinking the land beneath had lain fallow and would produce crops. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. However, most of the demolished housing materials were useable after, and the peasants of Verald erected hodgepodge houses from stone, wood, and metal.

Our houses in the Wheel were in narrow, parallel rows, with a wide strip of shared dirt between every second row for personal gardens. Our garden spilled into the one behind, belonging to Celyst, and I often cut through from her house to avoid going in our front door.

Our three-room dwelling consisted of a living space with a kitchen and eating area as well as a daybed that also served as a couch. There was a washroom, too, and a bedroom Mum had insisted was mine a year ago.

I scampered past Celyst’s house, through her lush garden, thanks to Mum, and into ours. The growth became increasingly thick the closer I got to our house. I stepped over potato plants, squash vines, and then pushed through the rows of corn, behind which was my window. A year ago, plants reached all the way to the wall of our house, but I’d been trampling the ground beneath the window to my room when climbing in and out, and now a small patch of dirt lay trodden and infertile at my feet.

Gripping the sill, I made quick work of pulling myself up and through my bedroom window onto my bed.

As my heart rate returned to normal, I laughed to the empty room. I was in the safety of our four walls now, not just alive but unharmed and undetected. Tomorrow, I was totally telling Arnik I escaped Lord Irrik—with embellishments. Huge embellishments.

—Girl from Harvest Zone Seven Escapes Invincible Drae—

—Lord Irrik and the Skill-less Peasant Who Outsmarted Him—

—Soap Queen Defeats Drae in the Realm’s Most Epic Battle of Wits—

I’d work on it.

My bedroom door swung open, and my meticulous mother stood before me. With a sigh of relief, her shoulders sagged as she greeted me. “Ryn.”

“Hey, Mum.” I smiled and waved at her, trying to look nonchalant. Drak, my hands still shook. I tucked them behind me. I might want to gloat to Arnik about my escape from Lord Irrik, but my mother was so earnest with her warnings I didn’t want to risk her wrath.

Her face, illuminated by a lantern, swung into view. Her eyes were wide. “I was worried.”

I pulled up short and said, “You don’t worry.”

She gave a tight smile. “Lord Irrik is patrolling. You shouldn’t be out when he is, Ryn. No one should. I’ll have to remind Dyter to keep you if the Drae is about.”

Dyter was in trrrrouble. “Do you think the king’s Drae is here for more than patrolling?”

She shifted her eyes to the window, saying slowly, “Whatever the reason, they’ve tripled the king’s presence in Zone Seven. It isn’t good.” She frowned and continued, “I’m not sure I want you going back to Dyter’s until they’re gone. Not with him having those meetings there.”

“But they could be here for months,” I protested. “Besides, I’m skill-less Ryn. Everyone knows that.” And the rebel leader is coming tomorrow night. I was smart enough not to tell her that.

My quip made her smile, but she pursed her lips and shook her head. She placed the lantern down and came to sit next to me. “You’re anything but skill-less, baby.”

“Young lady,” I corrected. “We agreed.”

“My young lady-baby,” she replied.

We smiled at each other.

Her gaze dropped to where my feet were pulled up tight against my body on the bed. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” I replied quickly.

Everyone knew Lord Irrik could hide under beds at night, or anywhere else that was dark, and if my feet were off the bed, he would drag me underneath and I’d die a slow, horrible death.

“The Drae were once our saviors. They kept us safe from invasion. They were a loyal and honorable race.”

Mum had told me stories of the Drae since I was a baby. But they were myths, bedtime stories with lessons mixed in. The Drae were supposedly peacekeepers, self-sacrificing, generous with their skills, and did their best to serve humanity. But the emperor, who was also Drae, was greedy and tried to force them to join his war. He betrayed his own kind, having them slaughtered for their refusal to help him rule the world.

“Don’t forget the Drae boy,” she said with a quirk of her lips, referencing one such story of self-sacrifice. She then smoothed her expression and said, “We should go work some of the gardens in Harvest Zone Two.”

The opposite side of the kingdom. We’d be gone for at least two weeks. “Right,” I drew out. I did not want to miss my only chance to meet Cal. “And I’m coming?”

“I got a message from Bratrik. Their crops are failing. They need our help.”

I shook my head. “Your help, not mine.”

“Fourteen children died last week. There are dozens of gardens to visit. You know I can’t do it all on my own. Who else would haul dirt?” she asked with a smirk.

The tension in the room dissipated, and just like that, mother erased my disappointment. I’d help the children. Of course, I would.

“Funny,” I chirped, resigned to my fate. “We’ll see who’s laughing when I’m soap queen of Verald. I won’t be hauling your dirt then.”

She laughed, and the sound was my absolute favorite. It was delighted and youthful and carefree, and it lifted my mood to match hers. Another talent of my mother’s.

“When will we leave for Zone Two?” I yawned.

“I’ll need a day to make ready, so two days. Why?”

Yes! Thank the moons she was such a planner. “I need to ready my entourage; that’s why.”

“Al’right, soap queen,” she said with a grin. “It’s time for bed.” She swept up her lantern and blew me a kiss. “Goodnight, lady-baby.”

“Night, Mum.”

I kicked off my boots and held my breath as they fell into the danger zone off the bed. Faster than your eyes can track, with talons that can fell a tree in one swoop. I didn’t dare change into my nightclothes and leave the safety of bed island. Snuggling under the quilt, the adrenaline of the day waned and my eyes grew heavy. I was hovering just barely on the edges of consciousness when my mother’s next words drifted to me from the doorway. “I checked under the bed earlier. You’ll always be safe.”