Page 30 of Lightningborn

“He’s a valuable animal,” the captain replied. “Anything of value on Cutthroat Wedge is in danger of being stolen.Especiallynow, thanks to Jhaeros stirring the island into a frenzy over a missing hatchling. From what I’ve heard, the whole island has gone sky-mad looking for it.” The captain snorted, shaking her mane of red hair. “Trust me, it isnota good time to bring a dragon into Cutthroat Wedge.

“So this is my proposal, Princess,” the pirate captain said. “My crew and I will take you to Cutthroat Wedge, and we’ll accompany you while you do whatever you need to do. You’ll have our protection, something that you’re going to need while you’re in the Fringe. Your dragon can stay here, on the ship, as long as it doesn’t set the cargo hold on fire. That way, it stays safe, and you don’t get a knife in your back from an overambitious thief.”

“Okay.” Gem crossed her arms. She could agree that having a crew of pirates watching out for her in a pirate town was not the worst of ideas. If she could trust them. “And what do you get out of this arrangement?”

“You’re the princess,” Captain Cutlass said, smiling. “Surely helping the princess of Gallecia carries some sort of reward. Your father is the king; I’m certain we can work something out.”

“Like what?” Gem wanted to know.

“What indeed.” The captain snapped her fingers. “How about this: When you return to the capital, put in a good word for me and theQueen’s Bladewith King Gallus. Let him know that this particular ship is off-limits, and the sky knights should…look the other way if they ever encounter it. You do that, and we’ll make sure you find who you’re looking for and not get your throat cut in the process.” Captain Cutlass swung her boots off the desk and leaned forward with a smile. “So what do you say, Princess?” she asked. “Do we have a deal?”

Gem thought about it. She’d be putting her trust in pirates, of course, but from what the captain had said, Cutthroat Wedge was a bad place to take a dragon. If something happened to Cloud, if he was hurt or stolen, she would never forgive herself.

“Yes,” she said, glancing up at the pirate captain. “We have a deal.”

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

Remy woke up to the ground shaking beneath him.

Bolting upright on the hard cavern floor, he gazed blearily around the cave. The entire room was vibrating, pebbles bouncing over the floor and dust falling from the ceiling. Storm was still curled up on the blanket they shared, unaware of the cavern trembling around them. The hatchling was pretty much dead to the world right after he’d eaten, especially a large meal. He did not seem to feel the tremors going through the ground, but Remy leaped to his feet, heart pounding, ready to snatch up Storm and bolt out the door if the ceiling started to collapse.

Faint voices sounded through the door, making his heart lurch. He spun, bent down, and wrenched Storm from the blanket, pressing him to his chest. The hatchling did wake up then, giving an irritated chirp as he was yanked off the ground. He was a lot bigger than he had been when Remy first found him, the size of a small dog instead of a cat. Heavier, too. Considering how much he ate, it wasn’t surprising.

The voices outside sounded closer. Gritting his teeth, Remy bolted for the back of the room, toward the only hiding place he knew of: the small tunnel that led to the chamber that contained the storm crystals.

“Sorry, buddy,” Remy whispered, falling to his knees in front of the hole. Placing Storm down, he gave the dragon a push toward the entrance. The dragon hissed at him, still looking annoyed, and Remy winced. “Get in there—hurry! People are coming! Go!”

A shout echoed right outside the door, and Storm finally seemed to realize the danger. The hatchling vanished into the tunnel, wings and tail sliding through the hole in an eyeblink. Remy followed, but he went in backward since there was no room to turn around in the tunnel. Scraping knees and elbows against the rocky floor, he wriggled his way back, grabbing a large stone at the entrance and heaving it across the opening.

Just in time. The door that led to Bart’s shack burst open, slamming against the wall and breaking into pieces. A group of five rough-looking pirates spilled into the room, swords in hand, gazing around the hidden chamber. Remy held his breath, watching them through the crack between the rocks, as the pirates stalked around the cavern. His heart pounded against the hard floor, and he could feel Storm shaking against him.

“Well, there is a cave,” one of the pirates said, sounding annoyed, “but no dragon.”

Another kicked a pebble and spat on the floor. “Think that little weasel at the tavern lied to us?”

“If he did, Jhaeros will string him up by his thumbs before peeling the skin from his bones.” The pirate paused, gazing down at Remy’s discarded blanket, then bent to snatch something next to it from the ground.

A third pirate prodded a toe at something near the wall, a piece of bone left over from one of Storm’s many meals. As it clinked over the stones, the pirate frowned. “Looks likesomethinghas been here,” he muttered. “But it’s gone now. Boss isn’t going to be happy.”

“What am I not going to be happy with?”

A shiver went through the air, and Jhaeros himself stepped into the cavern. Remy’s heart nearly stopped beating as the pirate mage sauntered into the middle of the room, gazing around with cold eyes.

“The dragon ain’t here, boss.” The pirate who had spoken last gave a shrug and nudged the bone again with his boot. “Looks like it might’ve been, at one point. But the cave is empty now.”

“It cannot be far.” Jhaeros continued to observe the room carefully, hard blue eyes sweeping over every corner. His boots thumped against the ground as he walked. Storm trembled and pressed his nose into Remy’s side as the pirate mage drew close. “It is a hatchling. It won’t be able to fly for another month at least. It is somewhere on this island, and after all this time, we should have found it. Unlesssomeonehas been hiding it from me. Which would beveryannoying.”

He spun, gesturing sharply, and lightning shot from his hands, slamming into the wall. Storm squeaked, and Remy bit his lip as rocks rained down from the ceiling and smoke curled into the air. Fortunately, the lightning had struck the wall opposite the tunnel, though Remy still felt the ground beneath him tremble, and pebbles fell onto his head. The smoke cleared, leaving behind a charred, blackened circle in the center of the wall and the pirates gazing around fearfully.

Jhaeros inhaled deeply, then smiled. “I think we need to pay a visit to the tavern,” he stated, causing Remy’s stomach to drop. “That old storyteller has obviously been hiding something from us. I think it is time to…put some pressure on him.” Raising an arm, he clenched a fist, and lightning sparked from his fingers again, crawling over his hand. “I have been patient long enough, and my goodwill is at an end. If he won’t give me my dragon, things are going to go poorly for him.”

Lowering his arm, he glanced at his men, who stood rigidly around him as if afraid to move. “Well, why are you fools just standing there with your mouths open? Let’s go.”

“What about the cave, boss?” one of the pirates asked. “If the dragon was here before, do you think it could come back?”

Jhaeros gave an evil smile that made Remy’s skin crawl. “Oh, don’t worry,” he crooned. “We’ll make sure it doesn’t have anything to come back to.”

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