Conqueror of Death

The crowd cheered when Ari circled above them on her dragon. They seemed small from this height, yet their voices echoed through the stadium. She knew that somewhere in that circle, the Queen and her noble advisors were watching. Butterflies erupted in her stomach, and she took a deep breath.

This was no time to be nervous—she was so close. Out of the twelve contestants, only three were left. She saw them flying in place across from her. One of them was a big, burly man with arms like tree-trunks called Dozer. He wore expensive-looking armor with boiled leather, the sigil of his house on the front: a fierce dragon with his jaws open, exposing rows and rows of long, sharp teeth. His visor was open, revealing two cold, blue eyes and a determined grin.

Ari'd watched him in two of his fights. She knew he had excellent aim with his crossbow and that his large, red dragon looked exactly like his sigil.

The three of them descended slowly, and Ari shifted her gaze to her other opponent: Dimitri. He was smaller, but she knew he was quick. In his fights, he'd struck with lightning speed, cutting down with his sword before his opponents even had a chance of aiming their crossbow or throwing knives. His small, green dragon finished the rest, clawing with its talons, grabbing deep in the flesh of the other dragon, and tearing at their flesh with its teeth. Dimitri had a sigil as well: a running fox.

Both men were dangerous. Both men were trained by the best dragon riders their house could afford. All for this exact moment—Veils. Death.

She was the only one of them without expensive-looking armor, without a house-sigil—she didn't have a house. She was only a servant in the royal palace. She was nobody. An underdog.

It didn't matter for Veils—anyone could enter the contest. All you needed were weapons and a dragon. Yet, most servants didn't know how to ride a dragon once they caught one. They tried to participate in the hope they could win. Winning meant a drastic change—a better life. They all perished in the first round—all except Ari.

"Contestants," a voice boomed through the stadium, "you all know the rules. Use a crossbow, throwing knives, or your sword to take down your opponents. Fire and using your dragon are also allowed. The last one standing is the champion, the Conqueror of Veils. Are you ready?"

Ari put down her visor, stroking her dragon with her other hand. Hers was a yellow dragon—a rare breed. She could feel the breaths of her dragon beneath her legs in tune with her own. "Well then, Oizealth, are you ready?"

Oizealth huffed, letting smoke out of her nostrils. Ari smiled. None of the contestants knew that her father was a dragon breeder—one of the best in the whole Kingdom. He'd taught her everything she knew, and he gave her Oizealth as an egg. She was never meant to be a servant, but it was all she could do after her father died. Women couldn't be dragon breeders.

She pushed down the thoughts of her father—now wasn't the time to get emotional.

A loud ring reverberated through the stadium. This was it.

Ari and Oizealth flew straight up while Ari grasped her first knife. From the corner of her eye, she saw Dimitri trailing her, relying on his speed to catch up. A small smile played on Ari's lips. It was exactly what she was expecting.

She let Oizealth make a sharp corner to the left and stopped. Dimitri was going too fast to adjust, and Ari threw her knife. It hit him right between his shoulder-blades, where there was an opening in his armor. She quickly threw another knife, this one hitting him in his leg. She dove forward as a bolt flew mere inches above her head. Oizealth's tail smacked against the shaft, sending it in an upward trajectory. It grazed the skin of Dimitri's dragon, barely even leaving a scratch.

Dozer was flying a few feet further and below them, notching another bolt to his crossbow. Ari gritted her teeth. She'd hoped they would target each other first, leaving her with more room to take them both out. As it turned out, they seemed more content to target her first.

Very well.

Oizealth let himself fall to the left, and they plummeted down with exceptional speed. Every trick she had, she left until this final fight. Tightening the muscles in her leg around Oizealth, she grabbed her crossbow from her back and notched the first bolt. She steered Eclipse to be level with the ground, and they zigzagged toward Dozer. A green flash appeared above her, along with a gleam of steel shimmering in the sunlight. As fast as she could, she aimed and shot her bolt.

A piercing shriek came from Dimitri's dragon, and Ari saw him plummet to the earth. She gritted her teeth. She hated hurting the dragons but didn't have time to stop and think about it. Dimitri may be done for, but Dozer was still there, ready to shoot her down.

Ari and Oizealth continued their zigzagging pattern, going as fast as they could. She needed to get close to him—it was his only weakness. From afar, he could shoot her down. But up close, his skills with a sword were no match for hers.

She heard the sound of the bolt flying toward her before she felt the pain in her shoulder. She cried out, clutching the shaft of the bolt. The pain threatened to overtake her; blackness was already creeping up from the edges of her vision. With a glance, she saw Dozer grinning at her, preparing another bolt. If she didn't reach him in time, he would shoot again. And he wouldn't miss. She would die.

She pinched her eyes shut, trying to steady her breaths. A vision of smooth, porcelain skin beneath her tanned fingers entered her mind. Dark curls framing the most beautiful face she'd ever seen, with piercing, green eyes. Lips, tasting of strawberries.

"Ari," the lips moved, "don't do it. It's not worth it if it means I'll lose you." A tear escaped from the green eyes, but Ari brushed it away with her lips.

"I won't lose," Ari placed a kiss on her collarbone, and she shuddered. "I will come back to you, Valerie, and then we can finally be together." Ari cupped her face and kissed her. For a moment, it seemed like she'd wanted to protest, but then she let herself go in the kiss, and the two of them melted together.

Ari's eyes snapped open, the vision of Valerie and their last night together disappeared. She couldn't lose. She'd promised Valerie she'd come back to her. She'd promised they could be together. Dozer had to die.

She reached for her sword and cut the shaft of the bolt. Intense, burning pain followed, but she gritted her teeth, forcing her breaths to remain steady. She had to win.

Dozer was still trying to attach his bolt to his crossbow. His grin faded when he looked at Ari, who'd gain substantial ground on him. His hands moved faster and he shouted something to his dragon.

The giant, red dragon rose his head toward Ari, opening its gigantic mouth. Ari kept flying straight to it, putting her fate in Oizealth.

Just as the flames erupted from the red dragon's mouth, Oizealth shot into the sky with a sharp 90-degree angle. Ari held on, clutching her sword in one hand as Oizealth made another sharp turn toward Dozer. He looked at her and dropped his crossbow. The utter terror in his eyes almost made Ari drop her sword. Almost.

She cut down with her sword, severing Dozer's head from his body with one, clean stroke. Ari watched as Dozer fell down, sliding from his dragon's back. The dragon shrieked, crying out for its master before diving after him. It left a dull ache in her heart.

There was a moment of absolute silence, threatening to drown her as the implications of what she'd done rushed inside her mind. She killed four people. Four. Not because there was a war, and not because she had anything against them. She killed them because she needed to win. Because she needed Valerie. Was it selfish?

Around her, the crowd erupted into cheers before she could make a decision. It didn't matter anyway—what's done is done.

"And the Conqueror of Veils is Ari McCoster," the presenter's voice boomed through the stadium once more. "Please, come to the stand to collect your prize."

A smile returned to Ari's lips. Her prize.

She swooped down with Oizealth to the stand where the Queen and her noble advisors stood. Ari landed and came down from her dragon with as much graze as she could muster.

Her heart was pounding as she walked to the Queen. Before her, Ari stopped, took off her helmet, went to one knee, and bowed. Gasps erupted around her, whispers sounding as one: "A woman? A woman won the contest? Is this even allowed?"

A soft, porcelain hand cupped Ari's cheek, forcing her to look up. She stared at those bright, green eyes, black curls, and soft lips that tasted like strawberries. The Queen held up a hand, and the whispers stopped. She smiled, and Ari's heart exploded.

The Queen motioned for Ari to stand. She looked around her, seeing the advisors staring her down with shocked expressions. Ari knew they had nothing to stand on—nowhere in the rules did it say anything about gender. They checked. There had just never before been a woman brave enough to try.

"Ari McCoster," Queen Valerie said, her voice soft and melodious, "you won the contest by taking out your competition. You're the Conqueror of Veils. Defeater of Death. You have proved to be worthy. Now, will you take your prize and rule the Kingdom by my side, as my—" she cocked her head, a crooked smile playing on her lips, "wife."

Once again, there were gasps, and the noble advisors whispered among each other, heavily gesturing with their hands. Ari didn't care. All she could see was Valerie, standing before her in her royal robes. As my wife.

"I will," Ari said, her voice shaking slightly.

"I won't lose." Ari placed a kiss on her collarbone and she shuddered. "I will come back to you, Valerie, and then we can finally be together."

Ari took a step forward until she was mere inches removed from Valerie. Ari cupped her face and kissed her. For a moment, it seemed like she'd wanted to protest, but then she let herself go in the kiss, and the two of them melted together. There was no other sound, no other people—just Ari and Valerie, Queen and Queen, together at last.