Tressa would follow her?
The grass stopped moving. A flash of green light shot into the air. Tressa cursed under her breath. What was the girl doing now? Before she could call out and ask, a small green dragon burst from the grass. It circled over Tressa's head.
After flying in two loops, a small burst of fire popped from its mouth. A small pouch hung from its ankle.
"Great. More dragons," Tressa muttered. She marveled at the control the little girl had over her dragon form. Henry had been a few years older but couldn't control his changing well at all. In the end, his inexperience had gotten him killed. She hadn't been afraid of him then, and she wasn't going to let herself fear this child. "Come down here."
The dragon's head shook.
"Please?" Tressa asked.
The green dragon hovered over her. Then it dove to the ground at a frightening pace. Tressa reached out to catch the dragon before it hit the ground, but it stopped just a breath above her palms, then hovered carefully until its feet were on the ground. In a flash, the dragon was gone, and the girl was in front of her, fully clothed.
"How?" Tressa asked, stunned. Henry had come out of his dragon form naked. But this girl was wearing the same clothes she'd had on when she met Tressa on the beach.
The girl stuck her tongue out at Tressa. "You're not afraid of my dragon."
"I'm not," Tressa admitted. "I've seen bigger, scarier dragons than you."
"You're not going to stop bothering me, are you?"
"No, I'm not. I need help, and you're the only person I've seen. Please, just get me to the outskirts of a town. That's all I'm asking. If you're afraid to let others see you as a dragon, I swear I won't tell anyone."
"You've never been here before, have you?" she asked, her hands on her hips. "Everyone here is a dragon. You're the one who should be afraid, lady."
Tressa's hand instinctively went to her padded breastplate, making sure the small knife was hidden within it still. "Everyone here is a dragon? How is that possible?"
The girl rolled her brown eyes. "The other lands take it upon themselves to control the dragon essence. Here we share it with everyone. If a baby is born without the ability to change, we give it to them. We're all equals."
Tressa's eyes widened. A land full of possibly psychotic dragons? She wanted out, fast. "What's your name?" she asked the girl.
"Margret." The girl twirled in the grass, her fingertips skimming the tops of the blades.
"Margret, can you get me some food and water? Please? I cannot pay you in gold now, but I can have it sent to you later." Once she found Jarrett she'd ask him to pay the debt. He would in a heartbeat.
"Maybe." She curtsied.
Tressa tried not to stare while she waited for the little girl to make up her mind. "Please?"
Margret held up a hand. "Stop. I'm thinking." She grabbed Tressa's chin, pulling her down until they were eye-to-eye. Margret gazed unflinchingly into Tressa's eyes. Abruptly she let go. "Okay. Wait right here. I'll be back soon."
The green light flashed again, and before Tressa was Margret's dragon form. She took wing and flew off to the north.
Tressa sighed and sank into the grass, hoping it wouldn't take Margret too long. Every moment she was away from Jarrett was a moment when her people were still lost. She had to help them. Despite everything, she could still save the people of Hutton's Bridge.
The sun rose higher into the sky, nearly cresting before Margret flew back, a bucket clasped in each set of front claws. Slowly she descended, until Tressa could reach the buckets.
Water sloshed out of them as she carefully set them both on the ground.
"I brought you a wineskin. For water," Margret said, skipping up to Tressa. She'd changed so quickly Tressa hadn't even noticed the flash of light. "And there's plenty of food. Enough to get you through the next two days."
"Thank you so much," Tressa said as she sunk her teeth into a green apple. Tart juices sloshed in her mouth. She closed her eyes, lost in the heavenly taste of the food. Lifting the bucket to her lips, she took a long drink.
"I brought you something else," Margret said, an impish smile on her face.
"What's that?" Tressa asked.
"My brothers. They were dying to meet you."
A screech echoed in the sky as two dragons dived toward her, their claws bared.
Chapter Forty-Five
Tressa dropped