Found by Sarah Prineas Page A

toward me and my tree. “Argent told me what he did,” she said, taking off her gloves. “He thought it was funny. I sent him on to Torrent to get supplies. I suppose I should have expected it.”
    Never mind stupid Argent. “Did you see it?” I asked, staring up at the sky.
    Rowan frowned. “No. See what?” She pulled her sword from its sheath, to cut the ropes, I guessed.
    The spell-line hum-shrieked again, making me squeeze my eyes shut and hunch my head into my shoulders.
    When I opened my eyes, something huge and winged, blazing with flames and heat, hurtled across the sky. Then it turned.
    Down it swooped. Coming for me.

CHAPTER 16
    I t roared down over the forest, snapping off the tops of the pine trees as it flew, banking on huge golden wings.

    With a crash that shook the ground, it landed in the middle of the road. Its fourtaloned feet gouged deep ruts into the dirt.
    I knew what it was. Nevery’d told me they were extinct, but I’d seen pictures.
    Dragon.
    It was as if the sun had fallen down from the sky. The spell-line keened a high song. The dragon was as big as a house, with red-gold, liquid-looking scales covering its broad back and muscled legs and tail, smoothing out over its chest and belly. Its head was mostly muzzle and long teeth; it had horns and a spiked crest that ran in a double row down its back to the end of its tail, which ended in a bristle of spikes.
    It folded its golden wings and turned its head, glaring around the clearing with flame-bright eyes.
    Across from me, Mud-brown the horse was jerking at its tether and making a high whinnying sound, almost like screaming; so was Rowan’s gray horse. The dragon cocked its head to look closer, and Mud-brown shrieked and tore loose its reins, then galloped off into the woods followed by Rowan’shorse, its tail flying like a flag.
    The dragon let them go.
    “Conn, is that a dragon?” Rowan whispered. She stood ten paces away from me, gripping her sword, her face white, her eyes wide.
    Trying to move slowly, I got to my feet. If the dragon wanted to eat me, I couldn’t do anything about it, not with my arms tied behind the tree. Not with them free, either, even with my sword in my hand.
    As soon as I moved, the dragon’s big head swiveled around and it stared at me, lowering its head, moving closer. I stared back. Its eyes were the deep red-gold of embers in a banked fire. It shifted to the side, its scaled tail sliding over the ground, and raised one of its taloned feet, then brought it toward me. The talon was a curved knife.
    Closing my eyes, I pressed myself against the tree, then felt the heat of the talon getting closer.
    “No!” Rowan shouted.
    My eyes popped open again.
    Rowan leaped between me and the dragon, her sword drawn. Her hair had come loose and floated around her head like long, flickering flames. With a quick, silver flash, her sword leaped out and hacked at the dragon’s talon. The dragon loomed over her; its claw flinched back. She jumped back, closer to me, and raised her sword again.
    “Leave him!” she shouted.
    The dragon shifted, then its claw came swooping down to brush her out of the way. Rowan leaped aside, her sword slashing. The blade cut through the dragon’s scales, but they healed up again, like water flowing over the wound. She whirled and slashed again. The claw drew back; Rowan watched it, breathing hard, her sword ready. The dragon shifted; I saw it bringing its tail ’round.
    “Ro— watch out !” I shouted. Too late.
    The dragon’s tail slithered from behind, knocking Rowan to the ground, then pinning her there, lying across her chest like a heavy log. Her sword lay a pace away from her hand.
    She stretched her arm, reaching for the sword. “Conn,” she gasped. “Stay still. Don’t draw its attention to you.”
    But the dragon swung its head back to me and raised its claw. It brought the talon forward again. My heart pounded so hard, it was making my whole body shake. The talon went