The Danger with Allies

by Meagan Hurst

  “She took me on because she saw potential despite all my gender-related biases.” Ryedrin offered her another attempt at his disarming smile. She raised a brow, which caused him to laugh before his eyes narrowed. “I thought you had blue eyes,” he murmured.

  “Oh. That,” she said in a dismissive tone as she waved a hand to mimic some of his actions. “I became immortal last year, nothing too exciting.” Turning away from him, she began to walk away.

  “You—Wait—What?!” Ryedrin demanded as he sprinted to catch up to her. He did not, she noted, attempt to touch her. “You became an immortal? A real immortal?”

  “As opposed to…?” Nivaradros drawled. Z cringed. Nivaradros was holding a grudge.

  “Well…I don’t know, Midestol isn’t a true immortal, right?” Ryedrin pointed out.

  “Until he’s dead, I think it counts,” Sabaias observed. “Can we go?”

  “Go where?” Ryedrin chimed in.

  “Home—Yes we can, and no he is not coming,” Z said as she headed out.

  Chapter 19

  “You had a student?” Nivaradros asked for what felt like the thousandth time once they were back inside her house.

  “It was either take him or have him executed, and he’s much too talented to simply kill—or so I thought at the time. It depends on how long I’ve been around him now,” she grumbled as she went through the motions of cooking. Since she was out of practice, and it was not one of her strong points, Sabaias kept adding helpful suggestions that soured her already short temper.

  “It wasn’t your idea?” Nivaradros pressed, interested for only magic knew why.

  “Not really, but he had already been through Kitra and Aliassya—no one else would touch him, and he was talented. Just short focused and biased.”

  “I think you want to add the meat before the potatoes,” Sabaias chimed in at the same time.

  “Do you want to do this?” she snapped at him.

  “May I?” was his calm reply. “As fascinating as this is to watch, I’m a little concerned that you might decide to attack something violently with that spoon, and I shudder at the thought of the results.”

  “I ought to attack you with the spoon,” she growled but struggled not to be offended since her failure in the kitchen had distracted Sabaias from Kitra’s death. Then again, she was still terrified that Nivaradros would bring up the idea of her sleeping with Sabaias in front of him.

  “So, you ended up with a student,” Nivaradros continued once Sabaias had taken over cooking their evening meal—a meal Nivaradros was already complaining about. “And then what?” he asked as he steered her away from the kitchen.

  Z expected him to take her to the dining room, but instead the Dragon led her up the stairs and into the room that was supposed to be a study but had never become one since she hadn’t bothered to have it furnished. He also, to her alarm, shut the door behind them.

  “He took his tests to become considered a Warrior,” Z finished with a shrug. “He passed,” she added when Nivaradros’s brow rose. “Oh, what do you want me to say? I trained him, yes, and he became a Ranger. In theory that means I did an okay job at training him. Either that or I couldn’t mess him up enough to make him fail.”

  Nivaradros snorted. “How did the Tenian-bred adolescent end up with the Rangers?” he asked.

  “His parents were killed in a raid—a retaliation for his father’s success in beating one of Midestol’s ‘hunting’ squads,” Z explained. “His grandmother lives here. When she took him in, she demanded he come to Tyresani. Since she was his only living relative, he agreed, but he made his opinions of us, and Rangers in general, quite clear when he arrived.”

  “How old was he?”

  “Fourteen,” Z said as she tried to hide her exhaustion. “His father had given him a decent amount of training. He was good, Nivaradros, but he loathed female fighters.”

  “Typical Tenian,” Nivaradros muttered. “After he arrived, how did you end up with him? I know he went through Aliassya and Kitra, but that doesn’t explain everything.”

  “I volunteered. He was too talented, Nivaradros, and for all his annoyances he reminded me of myself in a way, and he was a link—”

  “To Tenia,” Nivaradros murmured.

  “I was sixteen, Nivaradros,” she reminded him. “I’m not saying it was my best choice, but Ryedrin was a solid candidate for the Rangers, and I saw something of myself in him. They had allowed me a chance to heal and grow; I wanted to offer him the same.”

  “But you were scarred and damaged,” Nivaradros argued. “I doubt he was. Stop stalling.”

  “I fought with the Council every day for three weeks to gain permission to train him. I then agreed to meet with the Council daily for another several weeks to brief them on how things were going; it turned into forty days of arguments of me protecting him.”

  “And his assassination attempt against you?”

  “There was actually more than one, but only the last came close to being successful, so I do not count the others. He allied with Midestol; it was a set up. What he didn’t realize was Midestol doesn’t let anyone walk. By the time Ryedrin realized that, he was desperate enough to want to hold on to his own life. He realized he could either go down with me or survive with me, and it forced him to see me as a fighter. He also realized I would get out no matter what, and I was taking him with me.”

  “He trusted you.”

  “When his life was on the line he had no other option. After that, his training was simple.”

  “A perfect student,” Nivaradros snorted. “Well, can’t say I am too surprised, your history suggests you prefer challenges.”

  Z smiled but began to pace as her thoughts turned back to Crilyne. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she needed to do something about him, but she wasn’t sure what, and she couldn’t ask anyone. Sighing again, she closed her eyes and felt the Dragon’s stare. Opening her eyes as she growled in annoyance, she didn’t let him speak. “Yes. No. No. Yes. No. Yes.”

  “We’ve been working together too long,” Nivaradros grumbled. “Why not?” She hesitated, and he marked it. “You know the leak,” he said in disbelief. “And lying isn’t really your thing.” He held her eyes and then hissed. “The Shade…”

  “Nivaradros!” she barked as he took a step back—a step away from her.

  “You are protecting the Shade!” he snapped. “Again!”

  “Not protecting—I just don’t know what to do,” she whispered the last of it and sat down on the floor. “Nivaradros, it’s easier for all of you. I never wanted any of this, and now every foundation is being shattered and I don’t know what to do anymore. There have been too many betrayals.”

  She expected his anger, but she had also expected the Dragon would leave and, yet, he stood before her. Watching her struggle. Holding his eyes for a minute, she sighed and let her head hit the wall behind her. “I don’t want to confront him, but if you’re going to attack him…”

  “I will withhold any attack against the Shade until he makes a larger move against you, or until you give me permission to. However, I am furious you didn’t tell me. How did you find out?”

  Grinding her teeth, Z sighed with a groan and handed over the tiny piece of information Kitra had left her. The Dragon took it without question. She watched as he accessed the recollection and processed what he saw. She was angry, but her anger cooled when his surfaced. It was fascinating to watch him squash his anger, but it simmered beneath his surface. Whatever he saw that she hadn’t was upsetting him, but he still didn’t react the way she expected him to. He handed her the fragmented piece of magic and began to pace the room with care.

  “That bastard,” he growled. “How far did you watch this?”

  She shook her head. “Long enough. I just…don’t know how to confront him.”

  “Don’t confront him. I will speak with Midestol,” Nivaradros added. “To try and find out who the Shade is speaking with. He seems to think I am out to kill
you.” Neon green eyes met hers. “I promise you,” he declared, “that I am not.”

  “I know,” Z assured him. “I wish, however, that you would tell in full me what you are after!”

  The Dragon’s hidden scales rippled. “I don’t want to upset you,” he told her in a low tone.

  “Not knowing is upsetting me,” she countered.

  His smile was tense. “Point,” he agreed, but he was still pacing, and she could tell he was concerned that anything he told her would upset her to the point she would leave. “Alright,” he sighed. “Alright…”

  His eyes were at their brightest when he at last paused in his movements and watched her. “I want you to rule,” he began. “But I want you to rule the world as an empire of the old. It is not because of my personal ties to the old Dragon empire; it is because you are meant to rule. I also want to see you establish trade between worlds. It was something we had in the past until it was deemed unsafe—as you likely know.”

  She stared at him. “That’s not all.”

  He growled for a minute, but gave in. “No, it’s not. I want you, but since you’re still skittish whenever I bring it up, I am justified in my unease over speaking about it. We’re having sex, yet you still shy away from discussing our relationship and you act embarrassed when anyone brings it up. I want to see you step up to your power more, you’re getting there, but it’s not enough, Z. I understand why you hold back, but I want to see you move past that. You are a power, please start acting like it.”

  “When the kingdoms are officially under my command,” Z told him, “I will.” She was uneasy about what he had admitted, but he still wasn’t telling her everything. Unwilling to learn more tonight, she stopped pushing. “Besides, Nivaradros, I’m just not the person to be in power.”

  “You are possibly the only being meant to have power,” the Dragon argued. “You’ve managed it with ease, and in all of my years I’ve rarely met a being more accepting of the diversity in other beings. You lack confidence, but that comes with time. There is not a single entity anywhere that could have accomplished all you have in any amount of time. It’s you. Trust me,” he continued as she began to argue with him. “I wouldn’t be this way—in this form—for anyone else. I have had interests, friendships even, but they pale in comparison to this. It’s you; learn to accept it.”

  She laughed, but it was coated in bitterness. “I am trying,” she told him as he began to calm down. “Believe me when I say I am trying. I just can’t change overnight; I wish I could. And now with the latest developments…” she closed her eyes.

  “The Shade is not going to make a move against you directly, yet. He is, however, foolish to go to Midestol, and he risks much in doing so. He’d lose you not to death, but to his own maneuvers, and while I wouldn’t mind his loss of favor in your eyes, the scar it would leave will affect me.” The Dragon crossed his arms and eyed her with a strange look from the depths of his green gaze. “You should discuss this with the Mithane.”

  “Are you out of your mind? I do not want to start a war, Nivaradros. Best case we all die—worst case we all die, the world is lost, and Midestol has a free rein to take over others. I do not want the Mithane attacking Crilyne, nor do I want to risk anyone else getting the bright idea to attack Crilyne.”

  “Then destroy him,” Nivaradros advised, but his gaze didn’t waver from hers, and she knew he didn’t expect her to agree.

  “I can’t,” she whispered. “Nivaradros…Crilyne’s been an ally for over a decade. It’s just because of you that he’s decided he doesn’t want to play by my rules. It’s a weakness of mine, but I cannot overcome it as suddenly as you want me to.”

  “You’re forgetting he’s destroyed far more lives than I ever have,” Nivaradros pointed out. “Half of my destruction came from studying what he did. There is a reason he was the Shade most seldom awoken of his kind; he had a habit of annihilating whole races. And you have no idea what his true intentions for you are. I may have been the catalyst, but if you had fallen for someone else, they could have been as well.”

  “I know that, Nivaradros. I know well what everyone has and has not done during their time here; hells I even know many of the histories that occurred before some of the races arrived. Your race included,” she added as her thoughts began to wander.

  “It still alarms me how thorough you are when you set your mind to it,” Nivaradros remarked. He closed the distance between them and grabbed her with care. Pulling her toward him until her back was against his chest, he refused to let her go even when she shifted. “But it’s you. Thorough seems to be your general plan. It is irritating at times, but useful—minus when you decide you have enough information to risk running an attack I believe is ill-advised. Like rescuing the Mithani.”

  She couldn’t argue that. Relaxing against Nivaradros’s warmth, she closed her eyes and just let some of her tension fade away. The Dragon had discovered Crilyne’s treachery and was still here; the knowledge the Shade had endangered her hadn’t caused him to seek out the Shade, nor had he his fury caused him to abandon her. His support meant more to her than she could tell him.

  With one hurdle out of the way, Z knew she still needed to decide how to approach the Shade. Alone was in the cards, but she still wasn’t past her anger enough to agree to a meeting with him. Nivaradros, she knew, would request permission to attend that meeting as well, and her refusal would upset him far more than the initial information had. He had never trusted the Shade.

  It was possible the deep-rooted distrust between the two had nothing to do with her. Dragons and Shades were both wielders of magic at a level few others could handle. Shades were gifted amplified talents after their ‘deaths’ while Dragons were born with theirs. Though it was true the Shades had to start with significant magic to make their transformation, there were added perks to their magic if they succeeded; their inability to be killed was just one of the better known and despised reasons. Dragons, however, couldn’t become Shades; their native form prevented it. Z was uncertain why. But it made Shades a natural enemy to Dragons, and Dragons had never handled potential threats well.

  “You’re thinking deeply again,” Nivaradros sighed from above her. It was times like this that she noticed the height difference between her and the Dragon, and she wasn’t short. His voice vibrated though his form, and the sensation made her hide a smile.

  “It happens. Even immortality can’t fix everything,” she breathed as she opened her eyes. Knowing she needed to view things in-depth, she blinked and shifted her vision to its natural state.

  Having not used this particular talent for some time, Z tensed over all the colors the world possessed. Life, energy, elemental, and world overlays all were in play here and once Z had figured out how to turn it off, she only turned it back on when she needed to use it—say to get out of Midestol’s trapped escapes from his dungeons—or at times like this when she needed a reminder of what she had already overcome. Her natural vision had almost driven her mad when it had started appearing. Worse was whenever she had asked anyone, she had been told she was just seeing things and being troublesome. Overwhelmed and alone, it had taken her months to sort what she saw into something she could mentally accept; years to learn how to control it and use it.

  “Nivaradros, do you see the world in layers?” she ventured without thinking.

  “When I call the shadows,” was the very curious and cautious reply. “Why?”

  She didn’t answer with words. Turning, she reached up toward his eyes and called her magic. “Look again,” she whispered as the Dragon’s pupils switched into the slit of their natural design.

  “You asked me this once before,” he murmured as he viewed the room through her talent. “A very long time ago, by human years,” he added as he walked around the room. He reached out often to touch things, reaching sometimes for things he could only see. “I pressed you for an answer, but you refused to clarify. I see why; this is not something one can describe. How did you learn
to share it?”

  “An acquaintance from another world.” Fascinated by his concentration, Z fell silent and continued to watch him. She was pleased to see him so enthralled with something, even more pleased she had managed to offer it to him.

  “One day I want to travel with you to these other worlds,” Nivaradros mentioned as he continued another circle of the room. “If, that is, you would be willing to allow me to accompany you.”

  “They normally aren’t planned visits,” she pointed out. “But if you promised not to take offense at anything said to you—and by offense, I mean attempting to kill them—I don’t see why you couldn’t come with me. It would be interesting,” she added. “And sometimes it would be nice to have someone else who knows some of the things I do. Occasionally my suggestions are met with blank stares that also carry a hefty amount of suspicion in them.”

  “You do tend to blurt out things rather suddenly,” Nivaradros teased as he returned to her side. She called the magic away and leaned back against him once more. “About the Shade…”

  “No. I don’t want to speak on the matter further. I don’t want to even think of it,” she informed him icily. “As long as I don’t have to see him for a week or two, I can think this through with care; I don’t want to have to contemplate in a rush how I am going to address this.”

  She felt his sigh. “As you wish,” Nivaradros agreed at long last. “But I feel putting it off is only going to make it worse on you. He holds something that we do not; something that drove him to this.”

  “If it’s a glimpse of the future, he didn’t go through the Mithane,” she mused. “The Mithane would have told me, and he is likely to have acted with more suspicion around you. I’ll run a list of beings he could have gone to tomorrow.”

  “After the funeral?” Nivaradros inquired.

  “After the funeral,” Z agreed. “Thank goodness they had already planned most of it out, I just threw in some money to cover my part. If I’d had to go through and take a more active part than I did I am not sure what I would have done.”