by Zora Marie
“This should be interesting,” Zelia said.
One of Yalif’s assistants was talking to Skylar when they entered the study, and they all took a moment to explain to him what had happened.
“I should go. We told Alrindel we would let him know what happened before sunset. He is likely sick with worry. And Kafthry and Saria are probably wondering what’s going on,” Skylar said.
“What about Orvi and Raven?” Linithion asked.
“They may come here until you finish your training, so long as they do not go about burning the town down,” Zivu said, causing them all to turn as they hadn’t noticed that she had followed them.
“Really?” Linithion asked, bouncing lightly on her toes. Zivu nodded, and Linithion wrapped her in a hug. “Thank you.”
Zivu seemed taken aback by the sudden embrace, but Zelia only shrugged. She was growing used to just how different she and Linithion were.
“I’ll let you know when the dragons are ready,” Skylar said and headed for the bridge.
“Wait,” Zelia said. “Raven may not be willing to leave Dragon Island. She said she wouldn’t go with me until I worked things out, but…”
“I thought the two of you were bonded,” Linithion said.
“The bond is incomplete. She said I was too broken on the inside to accept the bond and when I left her, I drove a wedge between us. Now I’m not sure how to fix it or accept the bond.” She stared down at her thin, knobby fingers.
“I’ll talk with her,” Skylar said. “Though it’ll be a one-sided conversation and I may appear crazy...” He cracked a slight grin.
“Just don’t make it sound as though I’m not willing to work for our connection and her trust, I just need help.”
Skylar nodded and then ruffled their hair. “Take care of each other.” With that, he left.
Zelia stared after him, and longed to go with him, but she knew her place was here for now.
Etched in Runes
A Phoenix of Hope Novel
1
A Hyperian warrior stood with his back to a tree as he chanted, his golden armor and the snow around him were stained with blood and it was then that she noticed the three other warriors who lay motionless around him. Two strange beings stood at the edge of a ring in the snow that vibrated with the same energy of the forcefield that had held her captive for so many years. Their skin was a pearly shade of blue and their fingers glowed white as they drew symbols in the air. Zelia couldn’t help but stare as their fingers left little trails of white light lingering as they passed.
Then they connected their drawings and the tree shook as the shield buckled and the warrior collapsed to his knees, where he sat face-to-face with the open eyes of his deceased friend. He didn’t move as the beings circled to his side and yanked him to his feet. The motion snapped him from his daze and he lashed out with a dagger, but it just glanced off the being’s skin. He looked to the edge of the clearing where a rune-covered sword lay beneath a clump of brush, the snow around it was undisturbed. The look in his eyes screamed that he was resigned to his fate, it was a look Zelia had seen in The Cave just before one of Asenten’s victims would lunge for a weapon and he would make her kill them. She forced herself to focus on the warrior’s surroundings, on where he was as he lunged and took his last ragged breath.
A warm hand brushed against her forehead and Zelia woke to Linithion’s piercing green eyes staring down at her.
“What is it?” Linithion asked.
“Sorry if I woke you.”
“Don’t be. What was the dream about? You started shaking.”
“It was—I think it is something that is going to happen. I saw a group of warriors from here and they seem to have been attacked by beings I’ve never heard of before. Their skin was a pale blue and it could not be cut with a dagger.”
“Did they have slits for a nose and a tail?”
“Um, yes. You know of them?”
Linithion nodded. “They are a species that has attacked other realms for their resources, they take everything but the bodies. When the power of a guild wizard is passed down, the recipient is shown visions of them, Father told me about them when he started teaching me to read his spell book. If you saw them, we should go tell Zivu.”
Linithion slid from the bed. When Zelia moved to follow, her joints screamed in protest and her muscles stiffened. She froze, only half propped up in the bed. She’d pushed herself too much the day before. Her new body was too weak and thin to even walk for any period of time. She tried not to let her frustration and pain show as she sank back into the bed. She gritted her teeth then silently chided herself. This is better than spending eternity with shrapnel in my heart. At least this is only temporary.
“What’s wrong?” Linithion rushed back to her side.
“Um. Nothing. The dream can wait until morning, there’s no need to wake everyone up.”
“Zelia,” Linithion said with a warning tone. “Do I need to go get Yalif?”
“No. I’m just stiff from all the walking.”
Linithion studied her, as though debating going to get Yalif anyway.
“Really, I’m fine. I’m just exhausted.”
“Well, we’re still telling Zivu tonight. I’ll go find her.” Linithion gave Zelia’s hand a light squeeze and with a cloak wrapped around herself she left the room.
She could hear Linithion talking with a guard in the hallway before a set of footsteps receded down the hall, Zivu must have been in her chambers judging by the direction they went. When Linithion didn’t come back in, Zelia knew she had gone with the guard. Starlight shone in through the open balcony and she stared down at her thin, knobby fingers while she waited. Even they were stiff from the day’s activities. How am I supposed to help any of them like this? How am I to protect Linithion when I can’t even hold a spoon properly?
“Zelia.” Linithion wrapped her in a hug as she sat on the bed and Zelia melted into her embrace. “It’s okay, we’ll get through this.”
Part of Zelia wanted to point out the flaw in Linithion’s statement. What they were being trained to do had no end. Mineria would always need their protection. They would endure the task for as long as they lived, because there would always be another threat. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it, so instead she breathed in Linithion’s pine forest scent and sighed.
Zivu’s steps were light as she came into the room. “Linithion says you had a dream, like before?”
“Yes,” Zelia said and told Zivu every detail she could recall from the dream. When she finished she asked, “I’ve been able to change the outcome before, do you think I can this time?” Though part of her wanted nothing more than to be done with all of this, she couldn’t just stand by knowing these men would die.
“Neither of you is in any condition to help right now. Even once you’ve healed, I’m not sending you home until you’re both trained. That said, this forewarning may allow me to change the outcome. If the dream recurs let me know immediately.” At Zelia’s nod, Zivu continued, “Now both of you should go back to sleep.”
“We will. Thank you Zivu,” Linithion said. Once Zivu had gone from the room, Linithion crawled back under the covers with a yawn. “Goodnight,” she whispered, her eyes already closed.
“Goodnight.” For a while, Zelia lay on her side, watching Linithion’s features soften as she drifted off to sleep.
Her mind wandered to what Zivu had said. They had so much to learn before either of them could do what Yargo and Zivu asked. If it weren’t for Linithion, she might have refused. She never asked to shoulder the weight of protecting Mineria, but she couldn’t let Linithion take on this task alone. Then again, she wasn’t sure she could sit by and watch the world go by around her either.
She shook herself from the path her thoughts were taking and refocused on Linithion. She knew then she would follow her no matter where she went. Zelia just hoped she could protect the princess because she wasn’t sure she could carry on down this path without her.
&
nbsp; “You need to sleep, too,” Linithion whispered and snuggled closer to her.
Zelia couldn’t help but smile a little as she had told Alrindel that not all that long ago. “I know.” Zelia took Linithion’s hand in hers. We’ll get through this, together.
Zelia sat alone in her room after she’d all but collapsed in Yalif’s office. She wanted to train and be with Linithion, but Yalif was right. She was in no condition to be training. She was studying the spell books one of the warriors had loaned to her. Tregar was never talkative at dinner like the other warriors. She liked that about him and felt more comfortable asking for his help. He left her a portal to the pocket dimension where he stored his library.
When she began going cross-eyed from reading line after line of tiny Hyperian writing, she stared at what little of the winter landscape she could see past the balcony from her bed. She couldn’t do any of the spells mentioned in the book without a power stone, so as boredom set in, she began creating sculptures of ice like the little wolf Linithion had made her the first night they’d met.
They were similar to what Zelia had made for Rogath when she had first been freed, but Linithion’s sculptures were far more detailed. I wonder if I can make them move. Zelia used the water in the glass by the bed to make little creatures. I can move in my ice form, so why can’t they. Little by little, the tiny figures began to move and walk, but their movements were stiff and slow.
By the time Linithion came in carrying a small tray of food, Zelia had melted the ice. Making ice creatures move took too much concentration to be practical.
“I thought we could have lunch together.” Linithion slid the tray on the bed. A tray with much the same fare as that morning, mainly nuts, cheese, and fruits.
“Yalif told you about the restrictions, didn’t he?”
“Yep.”
Zelia sighed and picked a slice of apple from the tray. It wasn’t until she finished it that she noticed Linithion studying her. “What is it?”
“Do you feel up to a walk to Lumid’s?”
“Um…” Zelia trailed off. She wanted to say yes, but Yalif had warned her against pushing herself. She wanted to get better for Linithion if nothing else. “I hardly made it to Yalif’s office earlier. I don’t think I should try to walk that far today.”
“Oh.” Concern darkened Linithion’s features. “We could ask one of the guards to carry you out there.”
“Why?” She didn’t want to go outside, where everyone could see her being carried. She shouldn’t have cared. Everyone needed help from time to time, but she did care.
“Lumid came and spoke with Zivu earlier. He’s going to bring Raven and Orvi here later.”
“Already? I figured it would take Raven longer. She wouldn’t leave the other dragons until she’s sure they won’t get into too much trouble without her there.”
“I’m sure Stardust can handle the others. Besides you know they’ll run out of food on the island before the end of winter if everyone stays too long.”
“I know. It’s just that Stardust is still a young dragon and so many of the riders haven’t formed a real bond yet. Plus, they’re not exactly out of the Fenari’s reach there either.”
“I’m sure they can handle it. So, will you come with me to greet them? They’ll want to see you.”
Zelia fidgeted and ran a finger over the cover of the book Tregar had loaned her. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go with Linithion, but she dreaded facing Raven again. They’d never made up over Zelia leaving Raven, and she didn’t want to face her now. Not like this. Not when she could hardly stand. “Will Alrindel be coming?” She missed her brother, even if he doted on her a bit too much while she was hurt.
“Probably not. We all promised to return Father’s ship.”
“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if that waited until all of this blows over.”
“The ships are one of Father’s back up plans for if something goes terribly wrong. That’s why Father and Grandfather kept them all these years.”
Zelia nodded. As much as she hated to admit it, Linithion was right. Alrindel and the others would have to take the ship back sooner rather than later. Her mind turned back to her relationship with Raven. They had been close before, but ever since she returned to Dragon Island there had been this void between them.
“What’s wrong?” Linithion asked.
“It’s just… Raven is upset with me. I understand why, it’s just, I don’t know how to fix it.”
“It’s because you left her, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Zelia stared down at the plate of food Linithion had brought for her. Part of her wanted to curl up and hide rather than face the problem she had created. Raven had waited her entire life for Zelia to show up and she had just left her, with no promise of returning. Then she came back with another dragon in tow, proving that she could have made it work if she had brought Raven with her. Then again, the Dwarves had tried to kill Orvi. And she didn’t have the support of anyone like she did now. She’d been alone then, even with Kafthry and Keller by her side.
“I’m sure you two will work it out. You just need to talk to Raven and give her time.”
“You’re right,” Zelia conceded and continued eating her lunch. She cleaned her plate, as she knew Linithion wouldn’t let her leave until she did. Still, she felt lost, stranded on an island of uncertainty.
“You ready to go?”
Zelia shrugged. “I guess.”
“I’ll be right back then,” a bit of worry laced Linithion’s tone.
As Linithion left, Zelia tried to readjust her mindset for her meeting with Raven. Tried to will herself to be happy, so Linithion could enjoy her reunion with Orvi. But within a few seconds, Linithion returned with Tregar.
Zelia looked up at Tregar as he lifted her from the bed. “I take it your post has been changed.”
Tregar nodded. Once they passed the palace gates and were out of earshot of the other guards he continued, “Zivu seems to think you have a trust issue. Since you approached me, she asked that I be your guard while you heal.”
There was a catch in Linithion’s stride as Tregar spoke. She seemed to have something to say, but held her tongue.
“Good evening girls. Tregar,” Lumid greeted them, appraising Zelia’s state as Tregar set her on her feet.
“Hello Lumid. Are they ready?” Linithion bounced on her toes, her Elven glow brighter than Zelia had seen in weeks.
Zelia judged how much space Raven and Orvi would take up. While the room was not small by any means, and Raven was a smaller species of dragon, bringing them here would certainly make the space feel small. Her legs shook as she chose a spot to sit where she wouldn’t be in the way but could still greet Raven. She could feel Lumid’s gaze on her back and she looked over her shoulder at him.
“Almost,” Lumid finally answered Linithion’s question. “Skylar is explaining how using the bridge feels. Are you ready for this, Zelia? I could send a message that we need a bit more time to prepare housing for them.”
“No. Waiting will only make things worse. Besides, I made Tregar tote me all the way down here, we best make it worth his time.” Zelia sighed as she stared out at the stars. She tried to focus on different stars in the distance that she had seen when she sat here with Lumid before, but she couldn’t. A sinking feeling settled within her at the realization that more was different with this body than they had realized.
“What is it?” Lumid asked.
“I can’t see as far as I could before. I didn’t realize it until now.” What else is different?
“We can talk to Yalif about that tonight. It could be a side effect of how malnourished your body is.” Linithion took Zelia’s hand in hers as she sat beside her.
Zelia could feel Linithion’s excitement vanish, like a star snuffed out before her eyes. “It’s fine. I can still see as well as most Elves.” She leaned into Linithion and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. “Please don’t hold back your excitement for my sake. I
know you’ve missed Orvi.”
“They’re ready,” Lumid said.
Zelia gave Linithion a light push. “Go, give them a proper greeting for both of us.”
A rainbow of light exploded as Lumid initiated the bridge and energy hummed through the room.
“Not without you.”
Linithion pulled Zelia to her feet. By the time Zelia got her feet beneath her, the light of the bridge had faded and Linithion was nearly tackled by Orvi. The young dragon was almost as big as Raven now, her shoulders well above Zelia’s head.
“Raven?”
The night black dragon watched Linithion hug Orvi’s neck. The young dragon nuzzled the princess like a giant horse, and a purr reverberated through the room.
Zelia tugged on the tenuous bond that strung between her and Raven and took a step forward. The dragon’s gaze shifted to her. Concern pulsed through their bond and then a wall of anger slammed into Zelia so hard that she sank to her knees. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, and her eyes burned with the tears that threatened to spill.
“No. Zelia, my anger is not at you.” Raven lowered her head as she skirted around Orvi. “My anger is at the circumstances that have left you like this.”
Zelia could feel that Raven told the truth, but there was an undercurrent that told her there was far more to it than that. And the tightness in her chest wouldn’t go away. “But you’re still upset with me. Because the bond is still incomplete.”
Raven stopped short of nuzzling her cheek. “It is, but bonds are not always as easy to form as Linithion and Orvi’s. I made a mistake in pressuring you.”
“No, you’re right. I am the one keeping the bond from being whole, I just—”
“Would you please let me finish?” When Zelia didn’t respond, Raven continued, “When you arrived back at Dragon Island you felt more healed than you really were. The last few days have been enlightening. Alrindel and Skylar told me a lot. I was a little surprised when they asked to speak with me alone, but I’m glad they did.”