“My sister wouldn’t leave me up here!” I try to snag a finger under the cuff on my ankle, but it’s impossibly tight. “She knows as well as I do that this plan is crazy! You’re a monster for leaving me here!”

The captain’s face grows cold, and I can tell I’ve lost him. “You’re bait,” he says in a somber voice. “If a dragon approaches, try to tame it. There’s a large gold in this area. The king dragon. It’s strong enough to burn the entire city to ash, and it’s not leaving. That’s why we need you to tame the thing.”

“I can’t tame a dragon—it’s not a puppy! This is insane—”

“Insane or not, the attacks are growing again. They’re killing people now more than ever, and Fort Dallas is not equipped to deal with another year of merciless attacks. We’re doomed if we do not find a way to stop them. You’re our only hope.”

Me? “But you want me to tame a dragon! How the hell am I supposed to do that?”

“Figure it out.” His face is grave as he stares at me for a long moment, then he turns away. He takes a few steps into the stairwell, following his soldiers. A moment later, his voice floats back to me. “If you can’t, then we are all as doomed as you are.”

 

 

4

 

 

CLAUDIA

I thought it couldn’t get much worse than being abandoned in the midst of the dragon-infested Scavenge Lands. I should really, really stop daring the universe sometimes. Because you know what’s ten times worse? Being chained to a pole and abandoned in the dragon-infested Scavenge Lands.

For the hundredth time in the last few hours, I rotate my ankle, trying to squeeze my foot out of the cuff. It’s no use, though. I can’t get the metal past the bones in my heel, and the constant pushing and scraping to try to force it otherwise has made the skin on my foot blister up and swell.

Blisters are not my biggest problem, though. If I don’t figure out a way to get myself free, I’m dead.

The red banners of cloth flap in the breeze less than a hundred feet away, taunting me. So close and yet so far. Not that it matters how close they are—I’m not going anywhere. I’m chained here like a dog, waiting to be eaten. Desperation and panic make a knot form in my throat, and I choke it down. Now isn’t the time to freak out.

I need to think.

I have to get free. Somehow.

And these idiots want me to tame a dragon for them. Somehow.

It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of. It’s about as plausible as someone telling me I need to drag the moon out of the sky and park it in the street. I mean, at least the moon doesn’t want to eat me. I’m pretty sure dragons eat people regularly. To them we’re just small moving bags of meat, like a cow or a sheep. They’re not our friends. They’re not pets. No one’s getting ‘tamed.’

And I know for sure that I’m not the expert here. I’ve never even been close to a dragon, hence why I’m alive instead of being a human piece of toast. The last dragon I saw was coasting high over the city, at least a thousand feet into the air. Even that high, it had been enormous, deadly, and utterly terrifying to behold. If he’d been any closer to the ground, I bet the shadow of his wingspan would have blotted out the sun. I shiver just thinking about it.

And wouldn’t you know it, that’s when a shadow falls overhead.

My skin prickles with alarm, and I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Oh god. Please be a bird. Please be a bird. Or a cloud. A big, dark, rogue cloud. I squeeze my eyes shut, and wait. Nothing happens, so I carefully open an eye again and scan the sky. There’s a gleam of gold that’s entirely too close, and I slide down to the bottom of the pole, hugging it close as if it’ll protect me.

As I do, the shadow crosses overhead again. I watch, mouth dry, as it travels from one end of the room to the other.

A cloud, I chant to myself. A cloud. A cloud. A cloud.

It glides past again a moment later, bigger and closer…and moving far faster than any cloud should. I can’t catch my breath. Panic has set in, and I’m hyperventilating with fear. Please. Please. I grab the chains as quietly as I can, careful not to rustle the links, and give them a fierce tug. Maybe they’ll break. Please. I need a shot of luck. The chains don’t give, though, so I yank on them again—

A roar fills the skies. Trumpeting. Angry. Defiant. It’s so loud that the building shivers, and glass rains down from broken windows. On the far side of the room, an old office chair falls over. Everything trembles, including me.

It’s not a cloud. It’s a dragon. A fucking dragon.

I bite back the whimper of panic rising in my throat and let go of the chain to clamp my hands over my mouth. It’s either that or I’m going to scream and give away my location. I’m halfway hidden in the ruins of this room, and maybe the broken cubicle walls that are scattered all over the place will disguise the fact that there’s a small, vulnerable human crouching here. The walls and windows are broken memories of what they used to be, but I’m tiny, and this skyscraper is so very large. Maybe it won’t see me if I don’t make a sound.

A moment passes.

Two.

Three.

The wind is picking up, and I slide a hand over my loose hair, trying to keep it from blowing in the wind. No movement. Nothing that will cause a dragon to look in this direction—

The trumpeting returns, this time louder and far, far angrier. The flash of gold returns in the sky, not the peaceful pale gold of sunrise, but a deep, smoky amber. That strikes me as a far more dangerous shade of gold.

Suddenly, one of the red flags rips away from its moorings and flutters in the air, caught in the breeze.

My entire body freezes. I can’t move.

Oh God. Oh God. I press my fingers to the edges of my lips, pinching them together to keep from making a noise. Don’t scream, Claudia. Don’t scream. Dontscreamdontscreamdontscreamdontscream. The golden shape in the sky circles the building, and I can hear the distant flap of wings.

I close my eyes again. If I keep them open, I’m going to see the dragon circling closer, chasing after those red flags. I don’t want to look at it when it eats me. I just want to go fast. Please, please let me die fast and without too much pain. I think of my sister. Amy, I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you. I hold my breath, and as I do, the ridiculousness of the situation loops through my head, over and over again. They wanted me to tame this thing. It’s the size of an airplane, and they want me to tame it. Tame it. What the fucking fuck? Are they insane? I’m small, even by human standards, and underfed. What am I supposed to do? Ask it nicely to stop burning cities to ash? Hit its nose with a rolled-up newspaper when it misbehaves? Hysterical laughter bubbles in my throat.