Demand of the Dragon by Kristin Miller

for whatever strike she had in mind.
    “We’re gonna crush this sucker.” She held his neck closely,
jockeying her hips over him, riding him hard. “Ready...now!”
    She pulled back on Caleb’s neck, rocketing him vertical. The
beast followed, swiping at Caleb’s tail and wings. But with Lucy on his back,
tugging him this way and that, the beast missed. They climbed up, up, up toward
the domed ceiling. They swerved between hanging pillars, in and out of the
cavern’s rocky ceiling maze. The beast matched their speed, move for move, inch
for inch.
    As Lucy and Caleb weaved around the upside-down columns in
figure-eight patterns, Caleb’s anxiety slowed his roll. They shouldn’t be
predictable at a time like this, when the beast was hot on their tail and
gaining ground with each swerve. Caleb had to know it; his body twitched to veer
another direction. But predictability was going to save their asses tonight.
    “Don’t give up on me now, Caleb.” The portal was just beneath
them. “Slow. Steady. Wait for it.”
    The beast swiped at Caleb’s tail, only this time his talons
sunk into leathery flesh. Caleb roared, jerking upright. She only hoped it
didn’t hurt too much. They weren’t out of it yet.
    “Lucy!” Tristan hollered from below, frantically waving his
arms over his head. “No!”
    But Lucy was too committed to her plan to listen now. The beast
was too close. If she didn’t follow through, it’d kill them both.
    Lucy dug her fingers into Caleb’s neck for better handling.
Squeezed her thighs around him for control. And yanked him hard to the right,
weaving around another rocky mast. Except when she should’ve continued the
figure-eight pattern, when she should’ve veered left around the largest,
bulkiest column in the cavern, she dove. Straight down. Toward the portal.
    The beast didn’t have time to react. It’d anticipated going
left and had already banked. Trying to match her, it dived...but the abrupt
change in movement caused it to be off balance and wonky on its own wings. It
crashed into the rock with a horrendous grunt and spun off kilter, down toward
the portal.
    Lucy wrenched Caleb out of the way and guided him to the ground
as the beast plummeted into the portal, disappearing with plumes of smoke and
ear-splitting hisses.
    It wasn’t over.
    The ceiling rumbled and moaned from the beast’s collision with
the pillar. Chunks broke off, dropping into the portal like stones. Large
sections of rock dislodged from their columns and crashed to the ground in a
dirt and stone avalanche. The entire ceiling was going to come down on their
heads.
    “Let’s get out of here!” Tristan screamed, leading the way down
the tunnel.
    The last thing Lucy saw before riding Caleb out of the
crumbling cavern was the entire weight of the mountain smashing into the wide
mouth of portal, closing it for good.

Chapter Eight
    24 hours later
    “My God, you’re beautiful, sis.” Tristan entered the
pre-claiming dressing chamber with Emerly at his side. They were a perfect pair,
and acted as if they’d been together their whole lives. Maybe because they
pretty much had.
    Turning toward the full-length mirror Queen Elixa had set up,
Lucy checked her appearance for the hundredth time. Her hair had been pinned up,
with a few tendrils falling down her face, and her makeup was simple, clean and
fresh. She pressed her hands down the front of her dress and tugged down the
sleeves. Everything had to be just right. She tried to clasp the last button
near her collar, but her fingers fumbled.
    “I’m just glad you’re here to see this,” she said.
    “Thanks to you, the portal is closed, squashed beneath the
Drakein Cliffs. There’s nothing that could keep me away from your claiming
ceremony now.” Tristan turned Lucy around. “You’re my favorite sister, you
know.”
    Lucy’s lips pulled into a smile. “I’m your only sister.”
    He buttoned the final button of Lucy’s dress as Emerly smiled
sweetly over his