“When I saw the first group of dragons, then the fires, I thought that was why they lit Karn’s Keep.”

“Peter, a few escaped dragons isn’t a big enough deal to light the flares,” his brother answered, “even if they did set some houses on fire.”

“Did either of you recognize where the soldiers were from?” I interjected. They shook their heads. “I can’t imagine they were from this land. Why did they let us pass?”

“I thought we would be stopped, maybe even held captive.” Ben shuddered, gripping the steering wheel. The wind whipped our hair.

“Dragons, gates open, beacons lit…” Peter listed off under his breath, “None of this makes sense.”

“Siege engines.” Ben added.

I found myself wishing I had paid more attention to politics lately. “Let’s start at the beginning. Dragons. They’re only really used for the postal service now. There are activists who want dragon riding banned, saying they’re too dangerous and costly. They’ve been causing trouble recently.”

“The dragons?”

“No, the activists.”

“I dunno…”