Chosen: Book 1 in the Dragon Queen series

My steps thudded as we started back down the mountain. This was cause for celebration, I told myself. I’d left home to find a cure for Pa, and now I had one. I should be singing with joy, but I felt more like weeping. I’d lost Dragon, I was miles from home, and coming to the mountains had wasted days. I could already be home if I hadn’t trusted the shifter and his silly stories that a Muirland girl could be companion to a dragon queen.

When the path was wide enough Brunna walked beside me, pushing her arm through mine. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to see Dragon again.”

I wanted to weep, but I was too angry for that, furious with myself for all the wrong decisions I’d made. “Don’t you be sorry. She belongs in the mountains, and I belong in Besserton.” I squeezed her arm. “I just wish I’d known the scale would cure Pa. We could have gone straight back home.” I glanced aside at my friend. “I’m sorry I dragged you along on a wild goose chase.”

“I don’t mind, Alliss. It’s more fun than staying at home.” She sighed. “I do wish we could have met the dragons, though.”

“The baby Dragon will have to be enough to tell your grandchildren about. Sorry.” I bit my tongue – that wasn’t the most sensitive thing to say to Brunna, whose husband-to-be might be waiting when we arrived back in Besserton.

She squeezed my arm. “I’ll tell them very quietly so the mages don’t overhear.”

I smiled, glad she’d misinterpreted my words.

We walked all day and slept under a bush close to a brook that night. Brunna brought down a brown grouse so we had full bellies. And slept easily. I was shaking out the blanket the next morning when the sound of barking broke through the trees.

“Here.” Brunna grabbed my sleeve and dragged me to one side. We tried to hide, but it was impossible to hide from dogs that could track our scent.

Two beasts reached us, standing sentry either side and barking to call their masters. I tried to sidle away but the one closest growled at me, forcing us close together.

“Good dog, we’re not going to hurt you.” I was far more worried about the opposite, relieved when the dog sat down, showing its teeth but not attempting to bite either of us.

The dogs’ owners came into sight, two Muirlanders with bows on their backs and knives at their belts. I should have been relieved to see my countrymen, but my throat dried while my feet itched to run. They were far into the forest, too far to be woodsmen. With the dogs, they had to be hunters, like the fae had described. I wasn’t sure of his truthfulness in much of what he’d said, but I didn’t doubt his story now. But if the hunters wanted dragons, why had they stopped us?

“Your dogs have mistaken us for rabbits,” Brunna called, more optimistic than I was. “If you could call them off we’ll be on our way.”

The broadest hunter jerked a finger at the man beside him, ignoring my friend. “Bind them.” They both stepped towards us.

We tried to dodge, but we were too slow. While the dogs stood guard, one of the men grabbed my arm, twisting me around to tie my arms behind me. “This is a mistake,” I called. “We’re travellers, from Besserton.”

“We’re sorry if we got in your way,” Brunna added. She struggled against the other hunter and was cuffed around the head for her pains. “Hey!”

“Cause trouble and we’ll break something,” the leader snarled. “The mages won’t care if we drag you to them with a few broken bones. They might prefer it.”

Nausea twisted my insides. The hunters had been sent by the mages, seeking to recapture the dragon they’d lost – or find a new one. But why did they want us? They couldn’t possibly know about the dragon and the dragon-shifter we’d been in contact with.

“Let us go. We’re Muirlanders. This is against the law.” The hunter made no reply. He pushed me towards the leader. I stumbled, unbalanced by my bound hands. He made no attempt to help me. I found my footing beside Brunna. “Please, just let us go.”

“If we can’t get a dragon, the mages will take a shifter instead.”

I blinked. “A shifter?” I glanced towards Brunna.

“We aren’t shifters,” she pointed out.

“We’re Muirlanders, not fae,” I added.

“A likely story. Why would a Muirlander be this high up the mountain?”

That I couldn’t safely answer. “We don’t look anything like the fae.” I tucked my hair back, showing off my ear, round and smooth; nothing like what they were looking for.

The leader sniffed. “Masters of disguise. We were warned.” He jerked his head and they prodded us onwards. “Don’t even think about escaping. Those ropes have been enchanted. You won’t be able to shift now.”

“We couldn’t shift anyway,” I told him. “We’re Muirlanders, I swear it.”

I didn’t think he’d pay any attention, so I wasn’t too disappointed when he simply aimed a kick at my ankle. “Keep moving,” the leader instructed. “Sooner we get back to the city, sooner we get our reward.”

I tried to keep my face blank, but my thoughts flew like startled birds. It was bad enough that the hunters had mistaken us for fae. Letting the mages get a look at us would be a catastrophe. These men thought we were fae shifters, and they were wrong about that. But at least one of the mages knew we’d escaped the tower in the company of a dragon shifter. I couldn’t imagine the torture he’d devise for helping Gollan find freedom. I tried to catch Brunna’s eye. We had to escape.

They made us walk at a rapid pace for most of the day. Hunger clawed at my stomach and fatigue made me stumble. The hunters made sure we kept moving, but ignored us otherwise. Our repeated statements that we were neither fae nor shifters got us nowhere, and after a while we saved our breath.

We only stopped when it became too dark to walk safely and the hunters themselves began to trip on hidden roots and stones. They found a clearing and from their packs one of them brought out a canvas shelter while the other tied us to a tree.

For the first time since we’d been captured, hope jolted in my chest. They’d tied us to the same tree, and I was sure between us we’d be able to deal with the knots that bound us, just as soon as the hunters left us alone.

As a final step, they pulled a rope net from the second pack and threw it over the pair of us. “That will stop you shifting,” the hunter declared.

I wriggled, trying to move the heavy links of rope to a more comfortable spot. I glanced at Brunna as the hunter strode away to help the other one set a fire. “Is it having any effect on you?” I muttered to my friend.

“Nothing.”

“Good.” It was a small spot of hope, but the hunters were so sure we were shifters that the magic in the rope was targeted to affect fae, but it wouldn’t prevent Brunna and I from doing everything we could to get away. I kept my voice low, making sure the hunters were out of earshot. “When they go to sleep we’ll escape.” My fingers itched to get started on the knots that bound us to the tree’s trunk, but I had to wait. The hunters thought we were no threat now we were tied up and netted. We needed them to continue to think that way.

Brunna nodded, and rested her head back against the trunk of the tree, eyes closed. I was tempted to do likewise, but I couldn’t risk falling asleep. Instead, I tucked my legs against my chest and worked a finger into my boot, pressing against my stocking until I found the dragon scale, the one that would cure Pa. I had to get home for his sake.

The scale was hard and smooth through the fabric of my stocking. I breathed a sigh of relief and tried to forget the expression on the fae’s face when he’d told me to rub it against Pa’s skin to effect a cure. He’d been so mean and unhelpful I knew he didn’t want to assist me – but I hoped he hadn’t been lying. The scale was Pa’s last hope.

And mine.

The hunters took forever to settle to sleep. The fire burned high while they sat either side and shared stories. The dogs paced and occasionally growled, but after a while they lay down beside the fire and slept. Eventually, the hunters ducked into the shelter to sleep and we were finally alone.

I nudged Brunna. “Time to go,” I hissed.

Two lengths of rope bound us to the tree. Working together, we slid them around the trunk until the knots were within reach. I unfastened one and Brunna the other, then we moved closer so we could undo the knots binding our wrists. Poor Brunna’s wrists were still sore from being cut, and then from being broken out of the manacles and her gasps made me pause, even though I tried to be as gentle as I could.

Finally, we were both free to shrug off the net and stand up. I was tempted to throw the net over the sleeping dogs to stop them following us, but I didn’t want to waken them. Even if they couldn’t escape the net, the noise they would make would alert the hunters. Better to be sneaky.

We crept away from the fire with light steps. My steps sidled slowly while I kept an eye on the dogs.

I should have known to keep my eyes on the path. In the darkness, I trod on a dead twig, a loud crack snapping the still air. One of the dogs sat up, sniffing the air. He growled. I watched, willing the creature to shut up and lie back down.

Instead, he began to bark. “Wretched mutt!” Came from the tent.

“Run!” I told Brunna, breaking into a sprint.

Brunna panted beside me, our footsteps crunching in the dried leaves and twigs that covered the ground. Chaos broke out behind us as the hunters began their pursuit. I dodged one way around a broad oak while Brunna went the other. I kept going, a headlong flight that I hoped would end in safety.

A crash sounded, followed by a scream. A female scream. I swung behind a tree and stopped. “Brunna?” I hissed. The noise of the hunters had stopped. If they’d gone in the wrong direction, that was good, and yet… “Brunna?”

I heard growling and cursed inwardly, peering around the tree I was using for cover. I wasn’t sure where my friend was.

My eyes raked the darkness. No sign. I heard footsteps, and the barking dogs grew louder. I took a deep breath, hiding in the shadows, hoping the steps belonged to Brunna.

Brunna came into sight and my heart nearly burst with fear. She stumbled across the rough terrain, gripped by the broader hunter. Their movements were jerky and stumbling. Moonlight glinted on metal and I understood.

The hunter wasn’t relying on enchanted ropes and nets this time. He was making sure of his prisoner by holding a dagger to Brunna’s neck.