Dragon Mage: Riders of Fire Dragon Masters, Book Two - A Dragons' Realm young adult epic fantasy adventure by Eileen Mueller

Author:Eileen Mueller [Mueller, Eileen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Phantom Feather Press
Published: 2021-08-25T16:00:00+00:00

Metropoli

Blue light streaked from Aquaria’s limbs as she swam south along the coast. Giddi was enveloped in a silver bubble of sathir, once again, able to breathe freely underwater.

A manta ray sped past, its coat undulating and its tail trailing a wake of luminous blue. Schools of fish darted between seaweed and dived on coral, also leaving ripples of blue. A giant turtle floated past on a current with babies swimming behind it. Everything that moved was bathed in sapphire.

“What’s all that blue light?” Giddi asked.

“Algae that light up the water when there’s movement. Everyone comes out to play when the algae abound.” Aquaria swam past a pod of frolicking dolphins, their plaintive squeals carrying through the ocean.

“What can you tell me about Metropoli?” Giddi asked.

“Humans regard it as the richest city in the realm.” Aquaria snorted. “Poor things. A life above water has limited their understanding of true riches.” She waved a foreleg. “Look at this.”

Seeing the vibrancy of underwater life lit up with streaks of sapphire, Giddi knew exactly what she meant. Coral sprawled across the ocean floor and crowded the bank along the coast in giant fans, knobbly trees, mushroom-like growths and large dishes—all purple and blue in the reflected light of the moving sea life, but Giddi knew that during the day, these formations would be all the colors of the rainbow.

“I have nothing of value, only the clothes on my back. How will I find Starrus or pay for anything in Metropoli?”

“We can fix that,” the queen chuckled.

“How?”

“Just wait and see.”

§

A breeze ruffled Starrus’ hair as Wave Runner pulled into the Metropolian harbor. The city was still as impressive as the last time he’d been here with Gideon. The market quarter and slums of Metropoli rambled along the foreshore with brightly-colored tents, ramshackle buildings and squat sandstone dwellings haphazardly crammed together. The hum of the market floated across the water—a familiar blend of vibrant music, the shrill tones of hagglers, and laughter.

The backdrop to the marketplace was the city proper, which rose in neat terraced switchbacks up the side of the orange cliffs. Fountains cascaded between the terraces, tumbling into pools with sweeping tiled areas around them. Orderly rows of sandstone buildings made of red and orange bricks stood sentry along the broad boulevards leading to the gleaming white building inlaid with golden stars that crowned the city—the emperor’s palace.

A shiver rippled down Starrus’ spine as he remembered the last time he’d dined with the emperor. His last visit to Metropoli hadn’t gone well—a secret that was better left unshared. Even the two mage councils who’d sent him and Gideon on their quest didn’t know what had happened on that journey. Or why his trainer had never returned. And now that young Giddi was dead in the desert, probably murdered at the hands of the Robandi assassins, there was no need to divulge it.

Starrus’ grin turned feral as the sailors moored Wave Runner on the broad planked pier that jutted out into the harbor.

The pier

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