Chapter 17
Esme and Daniel wound their way through the palace’s manicured gardens. It was the following day, and they were on their way to the Merle Fountain, where Lillian had arranged to meet them after seeing her mother at work.
The gravelled path took them past several draconic shapes, fixed in flight. The trees had been clipped in preparation for the upcoming festival, becoming leafy green imitators of the real dragons looping in the skies above.
Esme stopped by one of the topiaries, and brushed a hand against the scribble of leaves that formed a dragon’s outstretched wing. Daniel was in the middle of yet another long soliloquy about dragons, but Esme’s mind was elsewhere.
‘The Rows have asked for me again this year,’ said Daniel. ‘Rowana always bring a contingent of dragons to th
