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She didn’t see Rania again nor Isvan. There was no opportunity to sneak even a single final instruction their way before Bisset dragged her slumped body by her hair, although she did her best to try to spot them among the screaming people of the fast-scattering crowd. All chaos, all fury, all terror—it was so overwhelming even Netra’s first-ever display of dragon magic went largely missed: she let out a terrible, ear-piercing screech that rent the air and ejected a stream of white fog straight at Bisset’s back. White crystals solidified and formed over his shoulders and the back of his arm, coating the upper right half of his body and locking his neck so the couldn’t move his head.
But the only thing he had done was grunt, tense, and wrench free of the ice, sending broken, sparkling shards down to the ground where they evaporated into misty plumes. And that was that. Netra tried again several more times, but he hardly seemed to notice. When she gave up
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Called by the Dragon 58
“You did great this morning,” she murmured to Netra. “I’m proud of you for not flying off the handle.” The dragonet let out a sound like a cross between a purr and a snarl before lowering her serpentine neck and sunning herself on the broad rock by the water. “I see you’re still not talking to me. Considering that I know for a fact now that you can talk, that’s hurtful.” Anzi ripped up several grass blades and tossed them in the reptile’s direction. “You talked to that piscin girl instead. So either I’m just a chump, or she’s extra special. Either way, it means you don’t like me very much, huh?” She should have known better than to try to play the pity card with Netra. Not only was she terrible at it in the first place, the dragonet had no pity to spare. She only opened one scaly lid to give Anzi a contemptuous glance then rolled away again. “Fine. But…I mean it. You and I are going to have to fig
Called by the Dragon 59
Anzi! She pushed out all of Kai’s emotions. She couldn’t handle them. Too intense, too heavy, too much. The way his mind tried to swamp hers the instant she stepped into his mind—she wasn’t going to deal with it. Anzi, what’s happened to you? Why are you- “Hurt? Because that’s part of my job. If you keep asking me why I’m hurt every time you see me, I’m going to start wondering if you know what a soldier actually does.” Don’t do this now, he snapped, startling her. He sounded terrible. She didn’t know how an inner voice could sound as fatigued as a physical one—but no, it wasn’t mere fatigue. It was rough and hollow like a boulder chiseled out from the inside, full of crags and brittle spikes. I’m coming to you. And you won’t stop me this time. I’m coming for you. “Careful, sounds like a threat,” she said, light and sardonic. Could she calm hi
Called by the Dragon 60
The entire way back up to her room, all Anzi could think about was what Kai would do if he appeared this very second. She didn’t know why. She was still jarred by what he had done to her last night, and her skin crawled at the memory of being trapped under the strength of his presence. She didn’t know if she would have died if he’d held on any longer, but it had certainly felt that way. Even now, her heartbeat quickened, and her pulse throbbed in her neck with remembered fear. Maybe he hadn’t meant to, but the damage was done. She couldn’t even fall asleep again lest she accidentally transport herself to him and end up imprisoned once more. So why was she still thinking about him now? If she could drive a hammer into her skull to knock out her wandering thoughts, she would. She’d promised herself she would stay away from him no matter what, regardless of the suspicion she had that he hadn’t been in his right mind when it had happened. If anythi
Called by the Dragon 61 - Trapped
Was-Serqet was her name. This time, it wasn’t a whisper of a suggestion from an unknowable, outside force. The name came from inside her, welling up like a spring breaking through the earth for the first time to bubble out in a stream flowing downhill. It was there, it was alive, it had power. Snakebite-quick. Strength. Resilience. This was Was-Serqet. From her bed, Anzi watched as Netra raised her spines and crept around the new hatchling on the floor. Serqet followed her progress, turning in place with slow shuffles as her wide claws clicked against the wood. Dark red, compact, covered in segmented armor from behind the frill all the way down her flanks and rump. An also-segmented tail that unmistakably resembled a scorpion’s, right down to the coiled curl and what could only be the nub of a growing stinger at its tip. It twitched and hovered over her back, staying pointed at Netra as the latter circled the younger dragon with a gro
Called by the Dragon 62 - Waiting
He shouldn’t be here. Not so soon. Oscar had told her only this past evening that the chieftain was still a day’s flight out. Then again, he had also admitted to the general ignorance surrounding the average flight speed of a dragon, so perhaps she should have been prepared well ahead of time. Because that was Anzi’s most pressing problem. Unreadiness. Unreadiness for the shadow of terror washing through her and the lightning-hot thrill that ran over the entirety of her body like a wave of static at the same time. Unreadiness for both the simmering, fast-rising anger that made her clench her fists, and the sheer, inexplicable relief of seeing him standing in front of her unharmed all at once. She wasn’t ready at all. She had thought she would have more time. “Anzi,” he said. “I’m sorry.” Under the light of the flickering torches along the hallway outside, his dark, shaggy hair seemed to glow with a yellow-orange hal
Called by the Dragon 63 - Return
How to explain what she knew? How to convince him her information was good? How to make him see that bringing the dragons here had been a terrible idea no matter what his reasons? Anzi was still scrambling to put together proper responses for when he inevitably demanded answers and explanations. She didn’t want to give everything away, a conditioned cautiousness that she saw no reason to do away with, but in order to persuade him to go along with her wild plans, Kai needed at least some justification to cling to. But he said nothing. The silence stretched on as she waited for him to explode in either anger, outrage, or fear, but all he did was stare at her with a—what was that, a secretive expression? Slowly, her hackles rose as her gaze turned from stern to suspicious, and it wasn’t long before she pieced together what he wasn’t saying. “You know already,” she said. “You knew before I told you. You know that Tet’s going to do somethi
Called by the Dragon 64 - Fate
When Anzi at last convinced Letti to leave before someone noticed she was missing, the harem girl shot the chieftain a sharp glare before stepping out through the doorway. It was an expression Anzi had never seen before, like she was a breath away from running right past her and clawing Kai in the face. Not even when she had been slapped by Noemi in the street—twice—had she looked so vindictive. One final encouraging push and shutting of the door later, Anzi and Kai were alone again. That is, save for Netra, who was now sulking in the corner, and Serqet, who was flipped over onto her armored back on the floor close by, tiny legs wheeling as she struggled to right herself. “Netra! Do that to her again, and I will swing you around by your tail! Understand?” Anzi hurried over to pick the hatchling up while Netra hissed at her from the wall. “Don’t talk back to me!” The dragonet lay her head down, still glaring.
Called by the Dragon 65 - Plotting
Netra didn’t like crowds. She barely tolerated company. So with the presence of the four strange men in the room, it was a miracle she hadn’t yet leaped out at them and left her claws in their bare chests. Anzi kept her eyes glued to the dragonet whose spines were already raised and bristling with undisguised hostility. And since when had her teeth become so jagged? There had been a few strewn about here and there over the past several weeks, but Anzi hadn’t noticed the new ones growing in. They looked too big for her maw and certainly big enough to sink and crush bone, too. She gave her a baleful glare, a wordless warning to behave, and was answered with a rebellious, wider display of those fierce dragon teeth. Was this what it was like to take care of a child? Constant disobedience and attitude? She would never have any of her own, she swore it. Then again, it was too late. Netra was all but her child anyway. “I really have to order you to leave,” she
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