1. Tahlia

In the wide expanse of the sunset, wind blasted across Tahlia’s face and her braid whipped against her back. Her cyan-hued Seabreak dragon tucked her four dragonfly-like wings and dove through a cloud bank before transitioning into a roll. The dragon’s right eye was sore from a scratch received in training yesterday, and an echo of that irritation made Tahlia blink repeatedly. As the dragon completed the roll, Tahlia’s stomach tightened, and she whooped, the thrill too much to keep inside. As her dragon zipped by the floating target, Tahlia reached out a hand and smacked the red circle. They had won the day’s last training contest. The victory lifted her heart.

“We did it! You’re amazing, you know that?” she said, leaning over her dragon’s neck and peering through the scattered spikes that defended the creature’s spine against attack.

Horns sparkling in the last glow of the day, the Seabreak trilled and blew a puff of smoke. To say that Tahlia loved the dragon would be a severe understatement. When the dragon had a sore leg, a ghost of that pain echoed in Tahlia’s body. In the air, they seemed to share a mind. Tahlia had fallen off a few times during difficult spins and sudden turns, but it was only a lack of physical training that had caused the errors. She had known the Seabreak’s coming moves. After more practice, they would be as one, and the dragon wouldn’t have to worry about making a dangerous catch with her talons when Tahlia slipped off the saddle.

Titus and his pale blue Spikeback caught up. The Fae male shook a fist and grinned, pretending to be angry that Tahlia had beaten him to the floating target.

Maiwenn and her Seabreak—a male dragon larger than Tahlia’s female—soared overhead. Maiwenn’s glare wasn’t visible at this distance, but still, it burned like a brand.

Ah, well, she’d win Maiwenn over eventually. It had only been fourteen days since Tahlia had earned her place in the Order of the Mist Knights and some of the other dragon riders had yet to truly accept her, mostly because she was half-human.

Tahlia leaned on the dragon’s neck. “How about a quick inverted spin?”

With a grunt of approval, the Seabreak spun and flew in a tight coil of movement that had Tahlia holding on with legs and hands both. Her blood sang with the joy of being alive.

“Enough playing around,” High Captain Marius Leos Valentius called out, his voice carrying above the wind and the flap of dragon wings.

Tahlia’s dragon evened out among the wispy clouds while Tahlia kept staring at Marius.

Gods, he was glorious.

He’d tied back his moon-white hair, showing off his proud nose and jaw. His ears were fully pointed because he was wholly Fae, and his dramatically slitted pupils also spoke to the powerful blood in his veins. He had eyes like a true predator—dangerous, flashing, and altogether impossible to look away from.

And he was hers. Or he would be. They’d had one wild night together, then he’d been called up by the commander to go on a mission for six days. During that time, Tahlia had been thrown to Maiwenn for beginner training. Tahlia already knew a good bit about Marius from the tournament and from the time since he’d returned from his mission, but she wanted to learn everything. And she was more than ready for some one-on-one time with the High Captain.

Biting back a sigh at his beauty, she tapped her dragon’s neck and prompted her to land.

All that gorgeous muscle beneath Marius’s pale leathers was delectable, and every ounce of that ferocious passion, as well as his lightning-like presence, lured her like the best bait—yes, she had completely fallen for him. Who could blame her?

Tahlia smiled at him and wiggled her eyebrows, knowing his full Fae blood made his vision astoundingly fantastic.

He tilted his head and gave her a good scowl, but she was close enough to see his hand flexing on his reins. It was a tell he had, a movement that meant he was torn between one feeling and another. After hours together in the sky—in the time between her awful training with Maiwenn—she’d seen that particular tick several times.

Her gaze snagged on his hand again and a memory of their night together wrapped around her mind. The heat of that hand of his between her legs. His scent of cloves. The weight of him over her. Whispers of what their future might be…

She shook off those lovely thoughts and prepared for landing, focusing on the job she had to do. The Seabreak spread her four ocean-blue wings wide and caught the wind. They dropped gracefully into the arena. Titus and his Spikeback landed beside them, and then Marius and his Heartsworn dragon alighted in front of the three gathered units of knights.

Marius dismounted his dragon, a handsome scarlet fellow named Ragewing, and he regarded the knights. His gaze barely snagged on Tahlia, but it did indeed snag. She smiled. He might have been quite the stern warrior, but she knew he was falling for her too. Had to be. It was too early to call it anything, but he had stood with her during her struggle to join the knights, and the sparks between them were undeniable.

“Good work up there today, units one and three. Two, you need to keep a tighter line when in the triangle formation. Maiwenn, you still feel up to the position, yes?”

He had named the other Seabreak rider the new captain of unit two after the old captain retired. Maiwenn was a powerful rider, very skilled. Maiwenn and Titus were the best riders after Marius.

Marius served as High Captain of all three units and particularly led unit one, the one Tahlia was in. She was determined to be the best rider in the skies by the end of the summer.

“More training at that level and we will be sure to smoke the northern pirates come autumn,” Marius said, almost smiling.

A cheer rose from the knights and Tahlia joined in.

Raising his arms to quiet the gathered knights, Marius said, “Let’s celebrate today’s training at The Brass Lantern. We can toast our progress with our new recruit.” He glanced Tahlia’s way, his eyes sparkling with praise that made her stomach flip. “And strengthen our bonds with one another. A tight-knit community is key in times of danger. We must rely on and trust one another despite any differences.”

“Aye, High Captain,” Titus called out, several echoing him.

Everyone began dismounting and leading their dragons to the water troughs near the public stands of the arena.

“We have to come up with a name for you, darling,” Tahlia said to the Seabreak.

The first stars of the early evening glittered across the dragon’s ocean-colored scales. Their light cast a veil of silver across her four folded wings, making them sparkle like jewels. As the dragon drank beside Titus’s Spikeback, Tahlia splashed water over the Seabreak’s head. The dragon eyed her, love shining in the depths of those fire-hued beauties. Tahlia would never stop being amazed that such a massive and dangerous creature could be gentle with her, a tiny half-human, half-Fae female.

Trilling with satisfaction, the Seabreak extended one wing to nudge Tahlia, a show of affection.

“No name yet, hmm?” Titus glanced at Tahlia as he wiped his dragon down with a cloth.

“Nope.” And until she and the Seabreak agreed on a name, the bonding wasn’t fully formed. Dragon magic was a subtle and prickly thing. Names were as important to them as to their Fae riders. Each dragon had a name that their bonded rider used as well as a name that only belonged to them. How riders knew that second fact was a mystery. Most believed dragons imbued their riders with knowledge through their magic somehow.

“It’ll come to you,” Titus said. “I have no doubts about your bond.” He studied the Seabreak and nodded. “She cares for you already. It’s obvious in the way she doesn’t shield the underside of her chin from you.”

Titus was Marius’s second in unit one, the rider who gave orders when Marius was elsewhere or when he was working with another unit. A meaty hunk of a fellow who was quick to laugh, Titus felt like the older brother Tahlia had always wished she’d had. Her real older brother had been borderline abusive. She was glad she’d never lay eyes on him again.

“How about Gertrude?” Tahlia whispered to the Seabreak. The dragon snorted and Tahlia laughed. “Just kidding. Not that. How about Stormwave?” With a growl, the dragon wiggled her snout until Tahlia’s arm was slung over the back of the Seabreak’s head. “Really? I liked that one. It was Fara’s idea.” Fara was Tahlia’s dearest friend. She served as Tahlia’s squire, though she had no plans of working her way into the Order of Mist Knights. “Maybe Coral?” Tahlia suggested. She and the dragon sighed in unison. “Right. Too basic. Well, we will think of something.”

“Lady Tahlia.” Marius’s deep voice startled Tahlia and she spun with fists raised. He lifted an eyebrow at her stance. “That could be construed as an offense to your High Captain, rider.”

Tahlia felt light enough to fly without a dragon beneath her. She fought a grin and lowered her arms. “You can’t just pop up behind me like that.”

Moving toward her, Marius nearly closed the distance between them, and Tahlia looked up at him, craning her neck to do so. The breath of space spreading from his body to hers filled with a simmering tension. He leaned close to whisper in her ear.

“I thought you liked me behind you, my lady.”

Heat shot through her and she swallowed, forcing herself not to climb the male here in front of all three dragon-riding units. She met his smoldering gaze and she could almost taste the salt of his skin on her tongue.

“I’ll be at the tavern early,” he said. “If you’d like to talk before the others arrive, I’d enjoy that.”

Her face hurt from the massive smile spreading over her lips. “Of course. I’ll clean up and be right over.”