to the heavily padded suits that they carried between them. “If riders have a disagreement, we can’t let

them fight to the death—their dragons would be lost with them.”

Karina nodded, then gestured to the suits. “And those . . . ?”

“They are heavily padded,” Fiona told her, adding with a smile, “and very restricting.”

The two riders were being helped to drag on the thick trousers and tunic, then were engulfed in fluffy

helmets and huge, balled gloves.

“I’ve only seen one other fight myself,” Fiona said, shaking her head. “There is something about being

back in time, by the First Egg, that makes riders more irritable.”

“Queen riders, too?” Karina asked softly.

Fiona nodded bleakly. “Queen riders, too.”

“So who knocks the stuffing out of you when you need it?” Karina wondered.

“Usually, I do,” Fiona admitted sourly.

“Hmm,” Karina murmured, her expression neutral.

“They’ll be exhausted before too long,” Fiona predicted as the two riders stood opposite each other

and began the formal salute.

“How long will you let them fight?” Terin demanded from behind. Fiona turned to the younger woman

and pursed her lips before answering, “Until one of them can’t fight anymore.”

“Won’t or can’t?” Terin persisted.

“Can’t,” Fiona told her firmly.

F’jian delivered the first blow, rocking J’gerd back on his heels. The brown rider kept his hands at his

sides.

“You wanted this fight!” Fiona shouted at J’gerd angrily. J’gerd looked at her entreatingly, but Fiona

shook her head, her anger growing. “You fight, brown rider.”

Reluctantly, J’gerd raised his hands to block F’jian’s blows, but the wiry bronze rider ducked around

him and started pummeling the brown rider on his side, harmlessly.

“If you don’t fight now, J’gerd,” Fiona called to him, “I’ll have you fight again tomorrow and the next

day until you do fight.”

“Why are you forcing him?” Terin demanded in horror.

“So that he will never want to fight again.”

“That’s stupid!”

“Yes, it is,” T’mar agreed as he crossed to Fiona’s side. “But it is the only way to get them to stop.”

F’jian landed a good blow on J’gerd’s face, bloodying the brown rider’s nose and suddenly J’gerd

was fighting. He lunged into F’jian and landed one solid blow, but then the bronze rider dodged,

slammed both gloved hands into J’gerd’s back, and sent the brown rider stumbling away.

When J’gerd turned back, F’jian caught him another doublefisted blow in the face, sending J’gerd

reeling backward until he stumbled and fell down.

“Enough.” Fiona said the word quietly, but it traveled throughout the circle with a weight of its own.

She rushed over to kneel beside J’gerd, eyeing his bruised face with muted sympathy before glancing up