Avian (The Dragonrider Chronicles) (32 page)

Lyon snickered as he watched me choke. “You’re the only dragonrider I know who hates parties.”

“Probably because I’m the only halfbreed you know.” I shot him a glare.

He nodded in agreement. “You need to dance at least once, though. Want me to pull a bait and switch for you?”

“And what is that, exactly?” I couldn’t help but sound suspicious.

“You know, ask a girl to dance, then come up with an excuse to leave, and suggest you dance with her instead. That way she can’t say no, and you get some face time with at least one girl tonight.” Lyon shrugged like this was a completely normal tactic.

I frowned as I glanced around the room again. I looked at all the noble girls in their expensive dresses, hanging on the arms of men who were probably better worth their time and effort. Men who had something to offer, and who didn’t have to explain why they had pointed ears. As much as I hated feeling sorry for myself, this was getting depressing.

“No, don’t worry about it.” I sighed. “I think I’ll go sit outside and get some air. Have fun.”

I smiled at Lyon and punched his arm the way Felix and I always did to one another. He didn’t seem to get it, though. I left him standing in one of the ballrooms as I moved through the crowds, looking for the doorway that led out onto a balcony.

When I finally found one that wasn’t as crowded, I took a seat on a marble bench and let the cool night air wash over me. The balcony had an impressive view of some of the estate’s gardens. There were little pathways leading away into the dark, lit by candles inside glass globes. Beautiful fountains filled the silence with the sound of burbling water.

I leaned forward to let my elbows rest on my knees, and stared down at the floor. Underneath all my fine clothes and polished armor, I was still a halfbreed. I was still a coward, and I felt like an idiot for thinking this might go differently. What had I really been expecting, anyway? I couldn’t even answer that question for my own peace of mind.

“It doesn’t look like you’re having very much fun,” someone spoke to me. It startled me because it was a girl’s voice, but what I saw when I looked up left me at a loss for words.

Beckah was standing only a few feet away, looking more beautiful than I’d ever dreamed. She was wearing a long black and gold dress with sleeves that dragged the ground. Her hair was fixed up in a gold pin shaped like a bird’s wing, and her sea green eyes were outlined with something like charcoal that made them stand out even more. I’d never seen anything like that, even on the other girls.

She must have noticed me staring because she started to blush and look away. “It’s called kohl,” she said. “Momma says it’s all the rage in the eastern courts. She thinks I’ll start some kind of fashion craze by wearing it here. What do you think?”

I was still having a hard time remembering how to talk. It was definitely Beckah. It was her voice, her smile, and her mannerisms. But the girl in front of me looked so different. She was a little taller, more slender, and seemed so elegant without even trying. It made me acutely aware of how awkward I was as I stumbled to my feet.

Her brow crinkled slightly, and she looked worried. “You don’t like it?”

“I do!” I finally forced out words. They came out way too loud, though, and a few people standing nearby stared at us. I was so embarrassed.

Beckah giggled. “Why are you sitting out here all by yourself? Where’s Felix?”

It was hard enough just to look at her when she smiled at me like that. But when she reached out to touch my arm, I almost jerked away from her for fear I’d do something to mess up how great she looked.

“He’s… somewhere.” I tried to explain. “You know how he is. This is his paradise.”

She nodded, and slipped her arm through mine. When she looked up at me again, she was standing so close I could smell her perfume. It made my head spin. “Well, I’ve found you now. So don’t leave me. I’m so nervous I’m going to trip on my stupid dress. I told Momma it was way too flashy, but she never listens.”

“Y-you look really pretty,” I managed to croak.

She flashed me a disbelieving glance. “What’s the matter with you?”

I could have written her a complete textbook full of answers to that question. But the simplest explanation was the truest. “I didn’t think you were coming.”

“So you sat out here moping by yourself? Don’t be ridiculous. This is supposed to be your debut.” She arched a brow. “Besides, I promised you last year we would dance together, didn’t I? Did you think I forgot?”

I swallowed hard. “I thought a lot of things.”

She slid her hand down to grasp mine tightly. “Don’t doubt me, silly knight. I hope you haven’t promised to dance with anyone else because now you’re all mine.”

Beckah had held my hand plenty of times before. Usually, it made me feel more courageous. This time wasn’t like that at all. My palms were sweaty and clammy. I didn’t know what to say to her, or how to look at her, or what I should do next. This time, I realized that I was crazy, insanely, and completely in love with her.

“Let’s dance,” she said excitedly.

I would have agreed to anything she said at that point. She could have suggested we go walking barefoot over red hot coals, and I would have tripped all over myself to get my boots off. Ballroom dancing wasn’t much different, though. Or at least, that’s how it seemed to me.

As I led Beckah to the dance floor, I started noticing how the other men were looking at her. Infantrymen and nobles started grinning after they glanced her up and down. I didn’t like the glint I saw in their eyes one bit. Other dragonriders, even some of my avian peers, got that same hungry look on their faces, too. It made me squeeze her hand tighter, and pull on her slightly so that we walked close together. I didn’t want anyone else getting any ideas about talking to her.

I wanted them all to know that she belonged to me.

The instant the dance started, panic made me forget almost everything I had learned with Felix and Lyon. Fortunately, Beckah was well acquainted with my sad attempts at dancing. She eased me into it, and smiled like she was having the time of her life. The more she grinned, the more confident I got, and the better my dancing became. I forgot about everyone else there. It was just me and her, and no one else mattered. By the end of the dance, I was trying the more daring steps that were a lot more complicated.

“You’ve been practicing, haven’t you? Who else have you been dancing with?” she teased as the song finally ended and we left the dance floor.

I was happy to go to my grave without ever answering that question.

Beckah squeezed my arm a little and leaned in close to whisper, “Look, everyone’s staring at us!”

She was right about that, but I knew better than to think any of them were actually looking at me. Well, at least not for the same reason they were looking at her. They were all wondering what we were doing together, a beautiful girl and a halfbreed.

“Let’s go for a walk in the gardens,” she suggested as we made our way back outside.

I started to suggest I get her something to drink first, since Felix had advised me that this was a charming thing to do, when someone I didn’t recognize stepped into our path.

They were infantrymen. I did know that much. Their matching uniforms were telling enough, and they were looking at Beckah with expressions that reminded me of the wolves I had fought in the mountain pass. It was a predatory look that put me on guard immediately.

“If you’re finished with her, how about letting someone else take a turn?” The one standing at the front of their group spoke to me without ever looking my way. He seemed older than me, and he had a lot of medals pinned to his uniform that probably meant he had been in combat multiple times.

I was immediately at war with myself. I didn’t want to share her with anyone. But Felix had advised me about this kind of situation. The chivalrous thing to do was to step aside, and let it go, even if I outranked them—which I did, since I was a dragonrider. It was good manners.

I cleared my throat so that he was forced to look at me. For the first time, I felt thoroughly pleased that I was a lot taller than someone else. It made me feel more powerful for some reason. “I’ll allow it.” I kept my tone as dry as possible. “So long as you remember to address me as sir next time, soldier.”

That stung him. I could feel it in the air, like a fog of anger rolling off the infantryman’s back. I knew it had to be embarrassing for him to be talked down to by a dragonrider in front of his buddies, let alone a halfbreed. For an instant, I saw wrath in his eyes. I wondered if he would actually try to fight me, and I was actually kind of hoping for it.

Thankfully, he didn’t. He clenched his teeth, and managed a “Yes, sir” before offering Beckah his arm. She took it, but I could tell she was reluctant about it. She glanced at me with a worried expression, and I tried to reassure her with as much of a smile as I could manage.

“I’ll be waiting right here,” I promised.

They walked back toward the dance floor together, and it took everything I had to stand there and watch. Felix hadn’t mentioned anything about how angry it would make me to see her dancing with someone else. The longer they danced, the more frustrated I got. I had to stop myself from stepping in and stopping it. After the song was half over, I decided I was going to need another glass of wine if I was going to survive the second half without punching anyone. I went to grab one off a servant’s tray, and returned to my spot immediately.

But when I got there, I didn’t see them anymore. In fact, I didn’t see them on the dance floor at all.

They were gone.

My blood started boiling. I was seeing red as I shoved my glass into the hands of the nearest stranger without ever taking a sip. I started combing the crowds, looking through every ballroom for Beckah. The more I looked, the more desperate I got, and the more I started to panic. She was gone. There wasn’t any sign of her or that scheming infantryman anywhere.

Lyon caught me by the arm as I flew into the last of the three ballrooms. “Hey, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

I didn’t know where to begin. There wasn’t time to explain it all. All I could do was look at him and growl, “He took her. I can’t find her anywhere.”

Lyon’s eyes widened. “Who?”

I was too angry to speak. I shook my head and stormed off to start searching again. Lyon fell in step beside me, abandoning the group of noble girls he had been talking to. “You need to calm down, Jae.” He warned. “You’re going to lose it and this is the worst possible place for that. She’s got to be here. She didn’t just vanish. Have you checked the gardens?”

Lyon was right. As soon as we started searching the candle-lit paths that led into the gardens, I could hear Beckah’s voice screaming. The sound of the music and roar of the crowds in the ballrooms had drowned it out while I was inside. But in the quiet of the outside air, I heard her right away. My pulse raced even faster, and I started running and calling her name.

Lyon hesitated to leave the ballroom. He shouted about going to find Felix, but I wasn’t going to wait for reinforcements. I knew he was worried I might lose it again and launch headlong into battle fever. At that point, though, I actually wanted to. I wanted to hurt these soldiers for ever thinking they could lay a hand on Beckah. I wanted to do a lot worse than break a few arms.

But I started noticing something strange the closer we got to the sound of her voice. Beckah wasn’t screaming in terror or pain. She was screaming in rage. In fact, the only sounds of panic I heard were coming from men.

When I burst through a line of hedges, the last thing I expected to see was Beckah pinning a guy to the ground in a complex choke hold—but that’s exactly what was happening. The three other infantrymen who had been following their ringleader when he asked to dance with her were lying nearby, groaning in pain.

“Say it! Say it you piece of filth!” Beckah screamed again, tightening her choke hold on the soldier who was struggling to get free. “You think you can force yourself on any girl you want? Well, you picked the wrong girl this time! Now, say it!”

“U-u-uncle!” He managed to gasp.

She let him go, and he sucked in a desperate breath. He started clawing at the ground, frantically trying to get away from her. I was the last thing he expected to see when he finally got to his feet. He turned to run from her and smacked right into my chest. The infantryman bounced off me, completely stunned, and I took that opportunity to get a little revenge of my own.

I hit him. I punched him across the face as hard as I could. I felt his nose break as it met my knuckles, and he crumpled to the ground to join the rest of his buddies.

For a few seconds, Beckah and I just sat there looking at each other. Her hair was falling out of the gold pin, and there was dirt smudged on her cheek. Her dress was rumpled and her eyes were wild. But in that moment, I had never seen her look more beautiful.

Lyon ruined my moment of awe. He and Felix broke through the hedges behind me, and skidded to a halt to stare in awe at the mess.

“What did you do?” Lyon gasped as he surveyed the damage. “How did you beat them all so fast?”

I didn’t know what to say. But before I could think of anything, Beckah interrupted. She got up and ran toward me, throwing her arms around my waist and beginning to make desperate crying noises.

“He saved me! He beat them all!” She sobbed.

I was stunned.

Lyon and Felix were, too, but for a completely different reason. They seemed to actually believe her.

“We need to get out of here before they wake up. Is she all right?” Felix grabbed my shoulder and started pulling me away.

Beckah laid her head against my chest and trembled. “I was so scared,” she sniffled. “They ruined my hair. And my dress.”

While Felix started checking the infantrymen to make sure I hadn’t hurt anyone important, I unclipped my cloak and put it around her shoulders. Our eyes met for a moment, and I knew without a doubt that she was just acting. I could read it in her face, even if she had the others fooled. She might have been upset, but she wasn’t really crying. In fact, she looked more embarrassed than anything else.