Page 42 of Lightningborn

“What is that?” he whispered.

“You said you like dragons.” Mary took a step back, watching him intensely. “Well, meet Cloud.”

An enormous pale creature slid around a stack of barrels and came right at him. Remy’s heart leaped up and lodged in his throat, a moment before he realized it was a dragon. An adult dragon, many times larger than Storm. Its scales were pure white, its horns tinged with blue, and a pair of glowing sapphire eyes peered down at him from a narrow, reptilian head.

Remy sucked in a breath. The dragon paused a few feet away. Not close, but close enough that it could reach out and bite him if it wanted. Or blast him with fire from where it stood. It loomed over him, wings partially open, head tilted as if deciding whether or not he was a threat. Remy looked up and saw no alarm, anger, or aggression in the dragon’s gaze. Just surprise and a wary curiosity.

“Hey,” he breathed, and the dragon cocked his head the other way. It wasn’t like Storm, Remy realized. Storm was impatient, headstrong, stubborn, and very opinionated for a hatchling. This dragon was much more even-tempered, almost docile. Remembering what he had seen Bart do when he first met Storm, Remy raised a hand, palm up, and eased forward a step.

The dragon’s nostrils flared. Stretching its neck out, it sniffed the proffered fingers a few times, then seemed to lose interest in Remy entirely. Stepping around him, the dragon went to the girl, trilling happily and shoving its nose under her arm. She looked annoyed for a moment, then scratched the scaly head with a sigh. Remy grinned.

“Did I pass your dragon test?” he asked. “Were you hoping it was going to eat me?”

“Cloud is ahe,” Mary said stiffly. “And no, I just wanted to see what he would do. Remember, we’re both going to be riding him when we go to rescue Bart. If he didn’t like you, that would be a problem.”

“He’s a really pretty dragon,” Remy offered, and he meant it. Not that he’d seen many, but there was no argument that the white dragonwasnice to look at. Personally, he thought Storm’s silver lightning bolt stripes over his dark blue scales were more striking, but he wasn’t going to mention that.

Mary glared at him a moment more, then sighed. “He was the runt of the nest,” she admitted. “Apparently, he was too small to be a battle dragon, so his stable gifted him to me. He never had the battle dragon temperament, either. They’re supposed to be aggressive and stubborn, even to their partners, but he’s never been anything but sweet.”

“Huh.” Remy crossed his arms, thinking of his own dragon. “Maybe Storm has some battle dragon blood in him somewhere,” he muttered. “He’s stubborn enough for it.”

Thinking of his dragon made his stomach churn, and he bit his lip to keep the emotions in check. He would see Storm again. He wouldn’t stop until he found him.

“I’ve had Cloud since I was six,” Mary went on, stroking her dragon’s nose. “We sort of grew up together. He knows all my secrets, and I consider him my best friend.” She raised her head, staring at Remy again with a somber look. “But I’ve never had any sort of bond where I can just feel where he is,” she said. “I’ve never heard of anyone having that sort of connection with their dragon, not even the sky knights, whose lives depend on their partner. If what you’re saying is true, why doyouhave one, with a wild dragon hatchling? How is that even possible?”

“I don’t know,” Remy said, making her lips tighten. “Not exactly. But…” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It probably has something to do with Cutthroat Wedge’s storm crystals,” he admitted.

Mary went very still at that. “What do you mean?” she whispered.

“Storm and I found this cave with these massive bluish-purple crystals,” Remy went on. “They were huge; they had to be the island’s storm crystals. When I touched one, I felt this jolt, like I had been magically shocked. And, for a second, I thought I could feel…what Storm was feeling.”

Mary was gazing at him with wide eyes, her expression slightly dazed. Remy shrugged. “Just for a few seconds, though,” he added. “It faded right after, and I thought I had imagined it. Until Jhaeros came and took Storm away.”

“The storm crystals,” Mary whispered. She seemed to have forgotten all about the dragons. “Did you notice anything strange about them?” she went on. “Like, were they cracked, or damaged in any way?”

“Not at that time,” Remy said. “Though they did crack when Jhaeros shot Bart’s house to pieces with cannon fire.”

Mary’s face went ashen. She looked like she was ready to faint, but before Remy could ask what was wrong, a shout came from above.

“Oy, kid! Boy, are you down there?”

Remy looked back, seeing Jack’s lanky silhouette at the top of the steps. “I’m here,” he called back.

“Get up here!” the pirate ordered. “Right now. There’s a storm coming, and based on your directions, we’re sailing right for it.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-TWO

Amassive wall of black clouds loomed across the sky as Gem scrambled onto the upper deck with Remy behind her. A blast of cold wind snapped at her cloak, and she tugged her hood down to make sure it wouldn’t blow off.

The captain was standing at the helm with Jack and the first mate. She gave both Gem and Remy stern looks as they approached, then gazed back at the swirling wall of clouds in the distance. Purple lightning flickered in its depths, and Gem’s stomach went cold.

“That is a spell storm coming,” Captain Cutlass said, sounding far calmer than Gem would’ve thought. “It would, of course, be preferable to go around, or even hug the edges. Going straight through it is something I would like to avoid, but that depends on what our compass says.” Here she looked directly at Remy. “So, boy, where are theWindsharkand your dragon now?”

Remy swallowed. Stepping to the helm, he closed his eyes for a moment, facing the wind. His arm lifted, and he pointed a finger at the sky.

Directly into the storm.

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