Page 15 of Dragon Gods

“Please,” she said, voice soft and eyes low. She hated herself for the deference.

“Get on your knees and beg properly like a good little dragon-filth.”

Sofia moved jerkily, her body fighting against her even as she slowly went to her knees. She looked back up at the boy, eyes burning with tears, and bit out the word. “Please.”

“I don’t listen to filthy, disgusting, dragon-filth,” he said, shoving her where she kneeled.

She tried to remind herself that there were four of them and one of her, but her vision went red and the blood rushed in her ears, singing loudly. She came back to her feet, body trembling.

“Don’t push me.”

The ringleader gave a laugh, launching forward. He pulled back his arm, ready to punch her. Sofia ducked to the side, easily avoiding his fist, but a moment later a set of small hands grabbed her from behind. The other three boys had joined the fight. The next punch landed, and even with his thin arms it made her head ring. She hissed and kicked like a wild animal, her foot making contact with the soft flesh of one boy’s stomach and her head hitting against something hard. She heard their grunts of pain, but still she ended up facedown, a small boot in her side.

But she never stopped fighting. She didn’t even notice when the hand that picked her up and dragged her to standing was that of an adult. She lashed out, smacking them across the face, only stopping when she heard Ms. Garcia’s gravelly voice cursing in a way she’d only heard in the dirtiest alleys of the slums.

Her body went slack and she looked around. The boys were all gone and Mina stood nearby, the slightest hint of a bruise forming across her cheek.

“I swear to the old kings, you’re more trouble than you’re worth, Girl. What were you thinking starting a fight with those boys?”

She didn’t have an answer, and Ms. Garcia didn’t wait for one. There was nothing she could have said to defend herself.

Even the next day, when the boys came back with one of their fathers and she was given five lashes from each of them in punishment, she didn’t defend herself. It didn’t matter that they had started the fight. It didn’t matter that the most she’d managed was to give one boy a split lip. They only cared that she dared to fight back.

Still she didn’t cry. She didn’t show them her weakness, and she never regretted her choice. At least she walked away with more bruises and cuts than Mina.

CHAPTERSEVEN

SOFIA

Sofia was packed before they had to leave for the midday gathering. It didn’t take long. She only owned three outfits and lived out of her small pack most days anyway. Anything of true value was back at the cenote, tucked away for safe keeping. When she walked out of the inn, following the wave of others moving toward the main square, she didn’t look back, refusing to feel the loss of the place. No matter how many nights she’d slept in the inn, it wasn’t her home. The cenote was. The resistance was.

Flor walked beside her, at one point reaching over to stop Sofia from picking at her fingers.

“Breathe,” Flor said, voice low.

“I know,” Sofia said, probably more aggressively than necessary. The meeting could be anything. Last cycle, they’d called a meeting so that the king could announce a new initiative in providing gas lamps to line the outer wall. Something Sofia was sure that the entire city did not need to know about.

As they turned the corner to the main square, it became clear this wasn’t a meeting about gas lamps. The square was pressed against the inner wall that divided the outer city from the inner city where the wealthiest Dereyans lived. A tall platform stood at the far end, overlooking the outer city, judging each and every Dragonborn as they went about their lives. The blood from the executed permanently stained the wood and stones, always the reminder of what stepping a toe out of line might mean.

Today, four figures stood on the platform, their hands tied behind their backs, lined up in front of the execution block. Chief Commander Harlow oversaw the crowd from the front of the platform while the king and prince sat on the wall behind him, their golden thrones gleaming in the sunlight of midday, shined to perfection for the occasion.

They were too far from the platform to make out faces, but Sofia still tried, needing to know who stood for execution—needing to know if Dia or Sari were among them. Flor seemed to be thinking the same thing because as the crowd around them began to come to a stop, content to stand back and watch the proceedings, she pushed forward, shouldering her way between others. She grabbed on to Sofia’s hand and pulled her through the crowd. A few grunted in annoyance, but no one stopped them as they snaked closer.

And then they were in the center of the square, close enough to see Sari’s gaunt face and wide eyes as she looked out over the crowd from her place between two other Dragonborn.

“No,” Flor whispered, just loud enough for Sofia to hear.

Sofia’s head spun as the chief commander stepped forward, his voice rising above the cacophony of the crowd. His voice thundered through the large bronze funnel that adorned the stage.

“The resistance claims to fight for freedom and peace. Yet at every turn they prove themselves to be nothing more than bloodthirsty savages out for revenge. They plant bombs around the city and kill the innocent without regret. They ignore the calls from their own pleading for them to stop. And now, they kidnap and threaten one of the king’s men. A man who has devoted his life to protecting this city and all who reside here.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd and Sofia clenched her fists, digging her nails deep into her palms. She focused on the pain and kept her face blank.

“The resistance, once more, proves themselves untrustworthy and weak. They do not want peace. They do not fight for the Dragonborn. If they did, they would not continue to force our hand. We enforce our laws out of necessity, not hatred. But we must continue to enforce them, as long as chaos thrives in the outskirts.

“I know that even as I speak to the loyal of Suvi, there are rebels among you, hiding in the shadows, too afraid to show your faces and admit your crimes. I speak to you now, the snakes and the rats that feed off the system even as you try to destroy it. You cannot win. We will not bow to your demands.”

Flor’s hand found Sofia’s where it was still tucked in her pockets, prying it open before clenching it in her own.

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