House of Dragons

by K. A. Linde

  A small flame will do.

  She sighed and then snapped her fingers. He had already seen her do it, but she would oblige him. Nothing happened. She snapped again. Her eyes grew wide and fingers frantic.

  “What is happening?”

  Gelryn had his eyes closed. He wasn’t even watching her. He was just swaying slightly, as if to music.

  “Gelryn?”

  Now, air.

  “But nothing happened.”

  You do not have control of your magic on the spiritual plane. You only have access to spirit here. It is the energy that moves between us. And when you attempt your magic, you are pulling from the energy to create flame. As you will pull from the energy to create water and air and earth. The energy is still there, being manipulated. I can sense it even if the flame does not actually ignite.

  “That is… okay,” she muttered.

  She didn’t have words for it. No magic in the spiritual realm. She suddenly felt very exposed. There was energy here that she couldn’t see or feel or use, but it was still there. She didn’t like it.

  Air, he repeated.

  Fire was her easiest by far. Her chosen element, as they expressed in the House of Dragons. Few had fire as their chosen. But it suited her.

  Air, however, was what she chose to fight with in the ring. Fire was too flashy and too destructive. Plus, it would pinpoint her as a target if she had that much affinity for the element.

  Kerrigan had watched the air Fae train for years by hiding in an alcove in the mountain. She’d hidden the true might of her powers for so long that she had taken to learning in secret, so no one else could judge her strength.

  She brought her hand up like a blade at hip height. She scooped it inward, as if sweeping the air in a current. Then, she pivoted, flipped her palm, and shot her hand at an upward diagonal. Nothing happened. She almost laughed. It was ridiculous. That move would have slashed through a competitor’s skin with ease in the ring. It did nothing here.

  Strong in fire and air, Gelryn noted. Earth next.

  “Is it normal for me to feel nothing?”

  You are not attuned to the spiritual. I would not expect you to be able to feel the energy through the workings. Now, earth.

  Kerrigan sighed and then continued. Earth was tricky. She had to be grounded to feel the earth beneath her. And she was currently floating.

  Still, it didn’t seem like Gelryn was going to tell her how to get out of here until she finished. So, she widened her stance in the sky. She dropped into a low squat with her hands between her legs. Then, with a strain that she didn’t actually feel but forced into her limbs, she heaved her arms upward, as if she were pulling rock straight out of the ground. Her arms shook with the exertion. Even though she was simply fighting against air. It was bizarre.

  Good, Gelryn said after a moment. Now, water.

  Kerrigan swallowed and nodded. Water was the opposite of fire. It was smooth and clear and healing. The opposite of who Kerrigan was—erratic, wild, and destructive. It was the element that she always struggled with. Most people had issues with their opposite element. But she had to prove herself here.

  Kerrigan reined in her fear. She swiped both of her hands down in a wave stroke. A common move that let a person cup water through their hands and manipulate it like a wave in the ocean. To complete the move, she had to bring the water back up in a figure eight. But her hands were stuck. She buffeted against the energy holding her. She couldn’t draw her hands back. She couldn’t complete the wave. The energy felt as it were drawing taut.

  She gasped and released it instantly. Her breathing was labored, and her fingers tingled.

  “What was that?” she panted.

  That was the energy of the spiritual plane.

  Kerrigan shivered. “It was fighting me.”

  Teaching you. He tilted his head, assessing her. There is more than meets the eye. Show me your spiritual attunement.

  “I don’t even know what that means.”

  The spirit will guide you. Reach out with your soul.

  Oh, sure. Like that was so easy.

  Kerrigan closed her eyes and centered herself, as she had in meditations under the mountain. She didn’t know how to reach for her soul. But she let her mind go blank. Then, she reached out anyway.

  And something shifted.

  Something… broke.

  Suddenly, Kerrigan was tipped upward with her body hovering flat in the air. Something hammered against her skull. A pounding, wrenching darkness.

  She screamed. And screamed. And screamed.

  She couldn’t stop. The pain was endless.

  She was going to die here in the clouds on a spiritual plane. She couldn’t feel or think or do anything. Just lay there, face up, enduring the endless spasms against her mind and body.

  Then, it all shifted.

  One minute, she was screaming. The next, she was thrust downward through the endless sea, and she crashed back into her body.

  She released one more shout of terror, but it came from her own lungs. She crumpled on the floor in the testing room. Gelryn stood mighty and proud before her. And she was a mess. Her body hurt in every place imaginable. Her limbs felt like jelly. Her mind felt as if it had been beaten and returned to her. Sweat coated her body. She couldn’t even speak.

  Can you explain what just happened?

  She shook her head. Tears welled at the corners of her eyes. She could barely lift her hand to brush them aside.

  Nor can I.

  There he went, sounding worried again.

  She coughed and cleared her throat. “What did I just open myself up to?”

  You should have revealed the depths of your spiritual magic. You have it or else you would not have been able to bring us up to the spiritual plane. But it should not have attacked you. Is there anything you know about your powers that could explain this?

  Kerrigan shifted uneasily with a wince.

  Yes. The answer was yes. But she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone else about her visions. Helly had made that clear. Very clear. If anyone else found out, she would be in danger. People would want to use her.

  But Gelryn had seen her magic and energy laid bare. He knew there was something more. She couldn’t hide from him.

  Tell me, he commanded.

  “I have visions,” she got out. “About five years ago, I had my first one. It showed me the future.”

  You’re a harbinger. His voice was one of awe.

  She personally hated the word. She wasn’t some prophet. She was just… Kerrigan.

  Have you had more than that one?

  She nodded. “One a year ago. And one… last night.”

  He tilted his head. What did it show you, child?

  She shivered at the memory. “Fordham entering the tournament. And… and…” She stumbled over her words as realization hit.

  Yes?

  “A girl suspended in the clouds, screaming.”

  So, your visions have already come to pass.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “I also saw a hooded figure in a red mask in front of a crowd.”

  You believe this will come to pass as well?

  She pushed her hands into her eyes. “I hope not. I wasn’t even supposed to tell anyone about this,” she said anxiously. “Helly said that it would put my life in danger.”

  And she was right. I would advise you listen to Mistress Hellina of the House of Stoirm, first of her line. She is wise. I see that your threads are entangled. I would not want to see harm come to you, child. But if this is revealed, everyone you know could be in danger.

  “I… I’ll be careful,” she said.

  He bowed his head formally. You have passed testing.

  She almost laughed. “What does that mean?”

  You have my permission to continue to the tournament.

  “I can’t,” she said with a sigh. “No one will let me. And I don’t want to enter anyway.”

  Do you not want a dragon?

  She shook
her head and touched her aching neck. With a shove, she slowly rose to her feet. “I think you all should be free to do what you please.”

  Then, with a sad smile, she bowed to Gelryn the Destroyer and stumbled out of the testing room.

  7

  The Recovery

  Kerrigan knew that she should go back to the arena. That she should stand with the other Dragon Blessed and watch the contestants be announced. She knew that if she didn’t… she’d likely suffer another punishment. But she couldn’t bring herself to care.

  Every muscle in her body ached like it had been beaten into submission. Her head had a dull throb that wouldn’t go away. And hunger gnawed at her so fiercely, she felt like she would never be satisfied.

  She needed to fix that first. She knew the competitors were brought to a room with a buffet after completing testing. For the first time, she understood why.

  She found the room mercifully empty and collapsed into a seat before the table of food. Her hands moved without prompting and grasped a dozen different items to put on a tray. Hearty foods to boost her fatigue and restore her magic. Because right now, she couldn’t feel a single drop of the stuff. It was like the feeling after her visions hit her. All of her energy completely tapped. She wondered how close she was to blacking out.

  Probably too close.

  Kerrigan ate and she ate and she ate.

  She ate until her stomach hurt for a whole new reason and the enormous water jug was nearly empty. It still didn’t sate her thirst, but it was better than nothing. By the time she finished, she felt as if she could fall asleep right there on the table.

  She folded her arms over one another and rested her head on them. What in the gods’ name had happened in that training room? Why had she been so curious that she had to walk inside? Had she even been able to ignore the curiosity? It’d felt like something truly was drawing her steps forward. She didn’t know what it meant, but she didn’t like it. She didn’t want to be a puppet on strings.

  She had visions about other people. She wasn’t supposed to have them about herself. Her thread wasn’t supposed to entangle with anyone.

  “There you are!” Darby cried. “Hadrian, I found her!”

  Kerrigan lifted her head and saw spots before her eyes. She blinked them away and saw her friends rushing into the banquet room.

  “Where have you been?” Darby gasped, rushing around to Kerrigan’s side of the table.

  Kerrigan gestured to the feast before her. “Here.”

  “You should have been at the tournament. They let Prince Fordham through, Ker. It’s a nightmare.”

  “I know,” she said. “Helly made me escort him to testing.”

  Darby shrank back. “You met him?”

  “Yeah, he’s a jerk.”

  Hadrian laughed softly as he approached the table. “Hilarious, coming from you, Ker.”

  “Hey, I’m a lovable jerk!” she said, amazed she could feel this normal after her ordeal.

  “You are,” Darby said, patting her hand.

  “He… has a giant chip on his shoulder. And he was mean about me being half-Fae,” she said in a whisper.

  “That’s not surprising,” Hadrian said. “Considering the history of the House of Shadows.”

  “You know the history of the House of Shadows?”

  “I don’t fall asleep during our history tutor,” Hadrian said pointedly.

  “It’s all just numbers and dates and wars,” Kerrigan mumbled.

  “I’d rather dance,” Darby agreed. “Much more enjoyable.”

  “What do you know of their history?” Kerrigan prodded.

  “I’ll tell you if you come with us and get dressed for tonight.”

  “Tonight?”

  Darby sighed. “You do remember that we’re going to Sonali’s ball, right?”

  “I…”

  No. She’d forgotten. It felt like a lifetime ago when she’d agreed. Sonali was the Second of Stoirm, directly under Helly in Bryonica tribe. She was also Darby’s tribe patron. Sonali was a talented healer, and Darby shared those interests. That Darby had been invited to this party at all made it relatively clear that Sonali was going to choose her for patronage next week at the Dragon Blessed ceremony.

  It was a real honor.

  But Kerrigan had no interest in attending. Not after… all of this.

  “You are coming, right?” Darby asked. Her midnight eyes were wide with the request.

  And Kerrigan could deny Darby nothing.

  “Of course I am,” she said.

  She struggled to straighten to her feet, and a groan escaped her lips.

  “What happened to you?” Hadrian asked as Darby rushed to get an arm underneath her.

  “Just tired.”

  Hadrian and Darby exchanged a look.

  “Fine,” she grumbled. “I did something that I wasn’t supposed to do, and it backfired on me. No one is surprised. Just help me back to our rooms.”

  Hadrian chuckled, and Darby just shook her head. But they each got an arm under her. They walked back like a ridiculous-looking trio and dumped her onto the bed.

  “Ugh! Everything hurts. Maybe I can’t go.”

  Darby sighed. “Don’t move. Give me a minute.”

  She vanished, and Hadrian sank down on the bed. “You’re a mess.”

  “Don’t I know it.” She reached forward and tousled his blue hair. It was her favorite thing about her straitlaced friend. “Tell me about the House of Shadows.”

  Hadrian sighed dramatically. “The House of Shadows are a dark Fae group called the Dark Court. A terrorist sect of people that wants to enslave anyone they deem lesser.”

  Kerrigan pointed at herself. “Like me.”

  He winced. “Yes. But you’re not lesser, Ker.”

  “I know that. But that’s what he thinks.”

  “It seems likely that he despises all humans and half-Fae.”

  She nodded. “He said that they meant insult by sending me to escort him.” She bit her lip. “Do you think they actually meant to insult him?”

  “That doesn’t seem like Helly’s style,” Hadrian said just as Darby walked back into Kerrigan’s room with a bowl of water and her pouch of herbs.

  Darby sank onto the floor before Kerrigan and got to work to try to speed up her recovery.

  “Well, the tribes and the Society were tired of how the House of Shadows treated the humans and half-Fae. They were keeping slaves and torturing people. So, they turned against the House of Shadows. A thousand years ago, the Great War occurred, and in the end, the Society won, casting them out forever.”

  Kerrigan shivered as Darby set her right hand into the bowl of water. This must be what Fordham meant when he said they owed them a debt. He must think he deserved reparations after a thousand years apart from society.

  “If they were cast out, how is Fordham here?”

  “That’s the real problem. It should have been impossible for him to leave,” Hadrian said, his features growing dark.

  “Where exactly is the House of Shadows anyway?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. The whereabouts were struck from the record.”

  “But somebody must know,” Kerrigan said.

  She could feel whatever Darby was doing was working. Strength was returning to her muscles. Her headache dimmed. She didn’t feel like a barren wasteland any longer.

  “Surely, somebody knows,” Hadrian agreed.

  Kerrigan shrugged. “Isn’t it weird that there’s a place on Alandria that we don’t know about?”

  “Maybe it’s not on the island then,” he suggested.

  “Then, how did he get here? There isn’t another continent within four months by boat.”

  “I don’t know. I’m not an expert.”

  “As much as it pains you,” she interjected.

  Darby shushed her. “Leave him be.”

  Hadrian flashed her an irritated look. She liked to push him to the point that he dropped the studious little scholar
act and the street urchin came back out. Hadrian had survived on the back streets of Kinkadia for years—pickpocketing, stealing food, and squatting. Until, one day, a Society member had caught him, and instead of handing him over for punishment, he’d been brought in to the House of Dragons. Underneath his newfound class was the scrappy boy she’d known on sight would be her friend.

  “How does that feel?” Darby asked.

  Kerrigan tested out her limbs. She still couldn’t touch her magic, which made her distinctly uncomfortable, but otherwise, she felt hale. “Better. Thanks, Darbs.”

  Darby tucked her chin and nodded. “Of course. Let’s get dressed so that we can go. And leave the work talk here, hmm?”

  “Sure,” Kerrigan agreed easily.

  Hadrian stood then. “I’ll meet you at the entrance in a half hour.”

  “Hour,” Darby called after him.

  “Fine,” he said with an eye roll. “An hour.”

  And an hour they needed. Kerrigan felt better, but she still wasn’t at a hundred percent.

  Darby had forced her into a bath to scrub her skin until it was pink. Then, she’d woven her hair up into an intricate series of braids. Curls fell in precise positions, framing her face. Kerrigan didn’t think it was worth the trouble, considering by the end of the night, the humidity would make her hair go poof. And suddenly, it would be twice as big as when they’d started.

  But she couldn’t help but love the style and wish it could last the night.

  “Oh, hand me that gold shimmer powder,” Kerrigan said eagerly.

  Darby huffed, “I paid a small fortune for this.”

  “Then, we’d better use it, huh?”

  Kerrigan saw the hesitation in Darby’s eyes. “Never mind,” Kerrigan said at once.

  Darby was the youngest of seven siblings. Her parents were farmers, north of the valley. And at the end of the day, they just hadn’t been able to afford a seventh mouth to feed. Her father had packed her up, taken the donkey into the big city, and deposited her on the steps to Draco Mountain. He’d done it out of love. She’d have a much better life here than where she had come from, but that didn’t make it any easier.