The Dragon Thief

**A special thank you to my Delta, Angela, for writing the poem that you'll see throughout this novel.

Let this be read in whispered halls,

Where shadows linger and embers call.

A tale of fire, of sky, of strife,

Of stolen eggs and secret life.

Skylar

I look at myself in the mirror as my maids put the finishing touches on my hair while adding the royal jewels to my neck, wrists, and ears. Being a princess has its privileges.

It also has its struggles.

My father, King Augustus, is returning home tonight. He's been away for a week, so the entire kingdom will be celebrating his return. Since I am an only child and my mother died when I was very young, I was in charge of making sure that everything was ready for this evening.

My father was out hunting dragon eggs again. I hope, like the last three times he went out, that he comes home without an egg.

There are six colors of dragons – the rarest are the golden queens. They are the most powerful of all dragons. Their mates are primarily the formidable silver dragons, known for their speed, agility, and power. But there are also bronze dragons, always males, who, in rare instances, are strong enough to mate with a queen. Then there are green dragons who are also male and red and blue dragons, which are always females, and usually mate with green or bronze dragons.

I hate the practice of hunting dragon eggs. Dragon riders are rare, exceptionally rare. However, those who become dragon riders have the power and strength of the dragon in their control. Every king in every kingdom wants that kind of power, and my father is no exception.

Being a royal, I understand the safety that a dragon provides to your kingdom. What kingdom would attack yours if you had a dragon? Since no kingdom currently has a dragon or rider, the answer is none. But that doesn't mean that I agree with hunting the nesting dragons and stealing their eggs.

The royals also have to be very careful when they steal an egg. You certainly wouldn't want just anyone bonding with a dragon. It would mean that person would become the strongest in the land and they could very easily overtake the king, usurping his power and taking over his kingdom. So, in the past, when my father found a dragon egg, it was kept in a very hidden and well-guarded location.

I hear the trumpets outside, just as a maid comes rushing in.

"Princess Skylar, Prince Kenneth has arrived."

"Excellent. Show him to his room. I'll greet him shortly."

Kenneth and I have been betrothed since we were children. It was a calculated move by our parents to solidify the alliance between our kingdoms. It's very common for royals to have arranged marriages and I've always accepted that this was my path in life. Thankfully, Kenneth is a good prince and a good man. If there is anything that I could say I don't like about him, it's that he agrees with this horrific practice of stealing dragon eggs.

I dismiss my maids and look at myself in the mirror again.

I have a secret, a big one. Every time my father finds an egg, I do everything in my power to steal it and return it to its mother. I've become adept at it. It's not easy and I can't always find the mother. But when I'm out in the wild trying to find a nest, the dragons find me. It's as if they can sense their missing eggs and they come for them.

At first, I was terrified. Dragons are large, powerful creatures and when their young are taken, they become very, very angry. It isn't just the mother who hunts for her egg. Multiple dragons will search, fighting to get their baby dragon back. More than one kingdom has been scorched by an angry dragon. It's why we have harpoons on the towers of our castle. If dragons attack, we're ready.

But again, I don't agree. Why shouldn't a mother, father, or maybe a sister or brother, fight to get their baby dragon back? It's what we, as humans, would do. Why would we expect the dragons to be any different?

This is why I secretly fight against my father, Kenneth, and all the other royals. In the past, I've been lucky enough to find a place that had dragons, then left the egg for them to find. I waited, making sure the egg wasn't attacked by a sneak-snake, an animal that loves eating dragon eggs. Once the dragons find the egg they always take it back to its nest.

I'm just about to go welcome Kenneth when the trumpets announce another arrival. I hear one of my maid racing to my room.

"Princess! Your father has returned home! He's back!"

"He's early!" I say, rushing out of the room. I have no time to see Kenneth. I have to go greet my father.

I race down the stairs. Since my room is in the back of the castle, I have a long way to run. I rush past my father's people so I can be there to greet him when he arrives.

As I step out of the castle, I slow my pace, not wanting to embarrass my father by looking like I haven't been trained in how to act like a princess.

Kenneth is already standing outside, standing like the regal prince he is, waiting to greet my father. I walk up to stand beside him.

"Princess, nice of you to join us," he says, grinning at me.

"My Prince, I'm sorry I wasn't able to greet you properly. My father is home early. I wasn't expecting him until later."

"Have you not heard?" he asks me.

"Heard what?" I ask.

He turns and looks at me with excitement in his eyes.

"I understand your father found a golden egg. A queen egg, Skylar. Do you know how incredible this is?" he asks.

I smile and nod, turning away from him toward where my father and his men are coming in on horseback.

My stomach sinks. Only a queen dragon can produce a queen egg. If this is true, it means that my father has not only found a very rare egg, but it also means that the queen and potentially the entire Thunder of dragons will be raining fury down on our kingdom soon.

As the trumpets continue to blare, welcoming my father home, I watch, seeing the smug look on his face. In front of him, he's holding something against his body.

The wind blows, just enough for the silken wrap to shift, giving me a look at the glimmering egg in front of him, the glimmering of a golden egg.

My father found a queen.

In elder days when flame met air,

And dragons ruled the heavens fair,

Where once they soared on wings of grace,

Now storm and sorrow take their place.

Ryuki

"Seriously? You're hungry again?" I ask.

'I am a dragon. I'm always hungry. Just be glad I don't eat you,' Bynjym, my dragon says.

I love my dragon. Ever since I bonded with him a year ago, my life has changed for the better.

It was an accident. I stumbled across him while he was eating. Imagine that. My dragon was eating.

I smile, remembering that day. I had been running from a group of people I'd stolen food from. I was starving, not just in the 'really hungry' way, but in the 'I won't survive much longer without food' way. I can find water, but food is scarce in winter. It was just a small loaf of bread, something small enough that a normal person would eat it in one sitting, but I would have made it last for days.

I'd had my head turned, looking behind me, watching to see how close they were to catching me, when I'd run into a clearing and slammed into the huge carcass that Bynjym was eating.

I hadn't immediately understood the predicament I was in. My heart was racing and I saw the enemy as the people behind me. Then I'd felt his slick saliva drip onto my shoulder, smelled the blood of the flesh he was eating in his mouth, and felt the heat of his breath as he'd breathed in my scent.

When I looked up, I'd been equally terrified and mesmerized by the beautiful silver dragon. He lowered his head and looked deep into my eyes. I thought I'd fallen into an ocean of blue. It felt like I was drowning and being rescued at the same time. I've asked the other dragon riders about it since then, but none of them can really explain it either. It feels like you're giving up everything you are while also becoming everything you were meant to be all at once.

'Who are you?" I'd heard him ask me in his deep, baritone voice.

I didn't know at the time that when a dragon bonds with you, you can hear them, speak with them in your mind. All I knew was a huge, magnificently beautiful dragon had asked me a question.

"I'm Ryuki," I said, just as my pursuers raced up behind me.

Bynjym had growled low in his chest.

'Are they friend or foe?' he asked.

"Uh, they're chasing me because I stole some bread," I said truthfully. Technically, they weren't friend or foe, they were just angry merchants.

I learned at that moment to be very careful how you answer a dragon. With three snaps of his teeth, the merchants were gone, devoured by my dragon.

"You ATE them?" I asked, mortified and disgusted.

"I'm a dragon," he said, unperturbed as he returned to the large animal he was stripping of meat. He pulled a piece of meat and dropped it in front of me. "Eat."

I stared at the strip of raw meat that was half my size.

'Too much?' he asks, snapping it up quickly before dropping a smaller amount of meat in front of me.

I didn't want to be rude and, in truth, I was starving, but I'd never eaten raw meat before.

'Human, what is the problem? I can hear your stomach. You're obviously hungry.'

'Uh, you're right. I am hungry. I just need to find a way to cook this ..."

That was as far as I got before Bynjym sent a small burst of flame at the meat, cooking it through.

"Thank you. Do you want some bread?" I'd asked.

He'd given me a look of blatant disgust. 'No.'

So, I sat in front of this dragon, not realizing that he had bonded to me, while I ate.

"Hey, thanks for helping me and thanks for the food," I said when I was done.

'Where do you think you're going?' he's asked me.

"Well, I was going to let you go about your business," I'd said.

He'd lowered his giant head and put his eye in front of me.

'You look like someone who should know something about dragons. Do you not?' he asked, as if I'd offended him.

"I know some things."

'What do you know?' he asked.

"I know that you, as a silver dragon, are one of the strongest dragons there are. Only the golden queens are stronger than you. I know that there are bronze, green, red, and blue dragons as well," I said proudly.

He'd blinked at me as if unimpressed. Now, I'd say he was on the verge of rolling his eyes at me. My dragon has an attitude.

'I do not,' he grumbles, listening to my thoughts like he always does. At first, I found it intrusive. Now, I don't know how I'd go an hour of my day without Bynjym in my mind. His constant presence is soothing, reminding me that I'm never alone.

I hear his rumbling happiness at my thoughts as I return to my memory of that day. Bynjym had explained how dragons choose their riders and I was now bonded to him.

'Not anyone can hear a dragon, human. Only a rider.'

"What does that mean? I'm a rider? I'm YOUR rider?"

'Yes, my human. You are now a dragon rider.'

"Why? Why was I given such a gift?" I asked, awed by such a gift.

He had lowered his head again, looking at me with that eye that made me feel like I was drowning in the depths of the ocean.

'Because I have looked into your soul and I have seen the truth of who you are. You are now the rider of Bynjym, the silver dragon.' And that's how I learned my dragon's name.

'That's a good memory, but I like the memory of our first flight better,' Bynjym says, giving me his dragon's version of a laugh.

I mentioned my dragon has an attitude. He also has a very sarcastic sense of humor.

'You like it because you enjoyed terrifying me,' I huff.

I was terrified. I'd never flown before and whether he was showing off, giving me a taste of what being a dragon rider was all about, or just being Bynjym, he'd had me get on his back and we'd lifted up in the air.

I'd been sliding all over his back, trying to figure out what to hold onto and where to sit that was comfortable when he'd banked hard right. I slid right off his back, free-falling into the air and screaming in terror, my arms wind-milling as if I would suddenly sprout wings and fly.

'You needed to learn to trust me. I thought that lesson taught you very well. You've never forgotten it, have you?' he asks drolly.

No, indeed. I have not, nor will I ever forget THAT particular lesson. As much as it scared me at the moment, I did learn that Bynjym would never let me fall.

'What kind of a dragon would I be if I let me rider fall to his death?' he asks offended. 'What am I, a green?'

I grin. Even among dragons there is a hierarchy. Unlike most patriarchal societies, the dragons are ruled by their queens. Even the reds and blues, the lower ranked females, are given a status that is relatively equal to a bronze dragon.

'Without them, we no longer exist. They are our future. Why wouldn't we treat them with the respect they deserve?' he asks diplomatically.

'Not all animals think like you do, Byn.'

'Not all animals are as wise as dragons.'

Very true.

I've just gotten on Bynjym's back so he can go hunting for food, when his head snaps to west. He roars angrily as he lifts into the air.

'What is it?" I ask, feeling Bynjym's fury.

'Another egg has been stolen. Tymyr is dead.'

'Tymyr? They killed a queen?' I ask, my own fury blending with my dragon's.

'Yes. Ylys is calling the Thunder to attack.'

Ylys is another golden dragon. With Tymyr dead, Ylys is one of two remaining queens.

The other was just stolen by the royals.

Dragons of old, with eyes like stars,

Held truths more vast than mortal scars.

Their eggs, like jewels of breath and flame,

Now fall to hands that know not shame.

Skylar

I watch as my father and his soldiers enter the castle walls. My father looks smug and proud.

"My people, we have done it," he says, uncovering the golden egg and lifting it above his head.

Everyone around me gasps, then applauds, as if stealing a dragon egg from its mother is something to be celebrated. I ignore my own aversion to the practice and clap along with everyone else.

"Call everyone in and lower the portcullis! The dragons will be coming for this one." My father's voice booms through the courtyard.

He gets off his horse, carefully holding the egg, as one of the stable hands comes to get his horse.

"Get the horses secured quickly," he says, turning to his soldiers. "Get the torches lit and the harpoons manned! Hurry," he says, before striding quickly in my direction. "Prince Kenneth, Skylar, come with me."

Kenneth falls into step beside my father. "Where did you find it?" my betrothed asks quietly.

"High up in the mountains. I'll show you once the dragons are gone," my father murmurs. "I need to secure the egg, then I'll be back to fight."

"Where do you want my men?" Kenneth asks.

"Put your men in the turrets. They can protect my harpoon launchers."

Kenneth turns, stopping quickly to pull me into a kiss. "Be careful, Princess," he says before striding away.

I only watch him for a moment before turning to catch up to my father.

"Where are you putting this one?" I ask.

I need to know so I can steal it and return it to its mother. Each time I've stolen one of these eggs, my father has found a new hiding spot for it.

"This time, I've made sure the thief can't get it," my father growls.

He has no idea that I am his dragon thief. I am his worst enemy when it comes to these dragon eggs. Not only does it put our kingdom at risk every time he steals one, but in my heart, I know it's not right. Dragons were not meant to be tamed and used as weapons, which is exactly what my father intends to do with the dragons he's found. I have no doubt he would try to beat the poor beast into submission if it didn't submit to his will, and I refuse to stand by and watch that.

The first time my father found a dragon egg, I was too young and naïve to know what to do. Thankfully, that egg never hatched. It was a green, the most common of the dragons.

The next egg was a red, a female. I was sixteen years old. I was terrified, but I'd managed to get the egg out in the middle of the night, then sneak back into the castle while my father and his soldiers were out searching for the thief in the hopes of regaining the egg.

A year later, my father found a bronze egg. That one was heavier and larger than the first two and it had taken a lot for me to get it out of the castle unseen. By the time I'd heard the steady beat of dragon wings, telling me that the dragons were coming for their egg, my arms had been burning like fire from carrying the heavy egg.

It really isn't the size of the egg though. The eggs are deceptively small. It's the animal inside of it that gives the egg its weight. I have no doubt that the queen egg will be even heavier. Based on my father shifting the egg back and forth in his arms, I know I'm right.

"I'm glad I made special arrangements this time. Who would have thought I'd find a queen, Skylar! A queen!" he says, excitedly as he leads me down a narrow hallway.

He turns, looking to make sure we're not being followed, then continues.

Our castle is huge and there are many places to hide a dragon egg here. However, my father learned after the first egg didn't hatch, that dragon eggs need to be kept warm, just like most animals who are hatched from an egg.

The deeper we walk into the castle the warmer it gets. This is new. The castle is made of stone, it's not usually warm except in summer. Since it's spring and late afternoon, this part of the castle should be cold.

When we get to a door with a key in the lock, my father turns.

"Here, hold this. It's heavier than it looks, Skylar, so be careful."

I take the egg and, yes, it's definitely heavier than it looks. It's at least twice the weight of the bronze I stole last year. My mind begins reeling with how I'm going to get this heavy egg out of the castle without dropping it. I won't be able to move fast with this thing in my arms. I'm stronger than I was last year, having realized that I needed to strengthen my arms in case my father got another egg, but I wasn't anticipating this weight. This egg easily weighs a hundred pounds, maybe more. Since I have a slight frame, only weighing one hundred and fifteen pounds myself, this egg is nearly doubling my weight.

As my father opens the door, two things happen at once. I get a blast of hot air from inside the room, and I swear I feel the dragon move inside the egg.

I look down, half expecting the queen to begin hatching.

"Skylar! Hurry up," my father urges, drawing my attention back to him.

In the center of the room is what looks like a large nest. Underneath and around the edges of the nest, there are glowing embers, hot coals that will keep the egg warm. The nest itself has been filled with some sort of nesting material that looks a lot like sheep's fur.

My father goes to the wall and throws a switch that's hidden in between the cracks of stone.

"What is that?" I ask, as he comes to take the egg from me.

"That is a trigger. Once I place the egg on its nest, if the weight is removed, that flamethrower will burn our thief alive," he says, pointing up at the corner of the room, where a flamethrower is pointed directly at the nest.

"Shouldn't you have waited to set the trigger until after you put the egg on it?" I ask, not wanting to watch my father get burned alive in front of me.

"I'll be fine," he says distractedly, carefully setting the egg in the nest. I hear the click as the trigger sets and my father pulls his hands away and steps back slowly.

When he turns, he has a haughty smile on his face.

"Let the thief get past that," he says.

We're just about to walk out of the stifling hot room, when we hear the roar. The walls of the castle rumble, sending dust and debris cascading around us.

The dragons have arrived.

"Find someplace to hide, Skylar!" my father says racing from the room.

As I rush after him I realize that, in his haste, he forgot to lock the door behind him. That will make it easier for me to get the egg and get out of here.