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of the giant flying steeds. The Sky Knights dismounted and gave their wyverns an affectionate pat on the neck before heading off the deck, unbuckling their armor as they walked stiffly toward the barracks built into the sides of the giant chamber.
    The handlers went to work quickly. They removed the tack and saddles and gave each wyvern the hindquarter from some large beast. The wyverns ate their snacks in one bite but didn’t seem to pose a threat to the handlers. They behaved much the way a well-trained horse does with a familiar stable master.
    Until now Isabel had never thought about the graceful beauty of the beasts. When they were trying to kill her, she saw them as monsters. Now, they were nothing short of magnificent. They had long powerful necks that met their bodies where their broad, leathery wings extended from the shoulder. Their rear legs were powerful and ended in talons that could grasp prey much like a raptor. They were easily big enough to snatch a full-grown horse from a field and carry it off without ever touching the ground. Their tails were long and powerful, ending with a flat-bladed bone spike. From nose to tail each beast was at least eighty feet long, with wings spanning over fifty feet when fully extended.
    As the two wyverns returned to their stables, another two were led out of the interior of the fortress and calmly allowed a team of handlers to saddle and harness them. Once they were ready for their patrol, two Sky Knights dressed in armor came out of the barracks area and carefully checked all of the buckles and clasps. Once they were satisfied, they mounted up and strapped themselves in place. It looked like their armor was designed to strap into the saddle so they couldn’t fall off even if they were knocked unconscious. Given how high they flew, it seemed like a reasonable precaution to Isabel.
    The departing patrol waited patiently until a horn blew from a position at the edge of the opening. Once the launch signal was given, the wyverns thrust up their wings, lifting themselves and their riders thirty or more feet off the deck. The second flap of their mighty wings sent them forward toward the edge of the launch deck and a fall of a thousand of feet to the ocean below. They locked their wings into a soaring position and slipped out into the sky not ten feet off the deck where they passed the edge.
    It all seemed so routine and yet so breathtakingly awesome at the same time.
    “How many wyverns live here?” Isabel asked with just a hint of awe in her voice.
    “Last count was four hundred and thirty-eight, but there’s a brood of eggs that should hatch any day now,” Wren said. “There are five Sky Knights who’ve lost their steeds in the past several weeks. They’ll get the first chance to bond with a newborn. After that, the senior trainees will vie for the rest. Those selected by the remaining newborns will be promoted to the rank of Sky Knight. Those who are not selected will be given another chance with the next brood.”
    “How many trainees are there?” Abigail asked.
    “Right now there are twenty-eight,” Wren said. “But the triumvirate just announced an expansion of the training academy and ordered the breeders to increase the number of wyverns allowed to mate. Our biggest constraint is space. The wyverns can breed more quickly than the academy can train new Sky Knights, especially since we have a limited population to choose from. Aside from that, we only have space for five hundred wyverns at the most.”
    “They’re impressive creatures,” Abigail said. “It must be a thrilling experience to ride one.”
    Wren nodded with excitement. “During festival, the Sky Knights give people rides just so we can see what it’s like. Last summer I got to go up. It was amazing. I’ve never felt so free in all my life.”
    They heard boots on the stairs behind them and turned to see three Sky Knights approaching. They looked angry.

 
     
     
     
     
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