An hour later, exhausted with the ceaseless talk of strategy and supplies, Kaia slipped away. She felt rather than heard the Shadow Heir rise to follow her.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Kaia let her thoughts spill out. “Everard said it would be easy.”
Klaus put a hand on her shoulder, gently turning her to face him. “What do you mean?”
“The battle with Conrad.” She heaved an impatient sigh, as the anxiety that had churned within her for the last hour boiled to the surface. “It was supposed to be easy! But we only barely survived. Now, what are we going to do against the necromancer?”
“Shh… calm down, Firefly.” Klaus spoke softly, as if to calm a wild horse. “It’s going to be ok.”
“NO! It’s NOT, Klaus!” she shouted, backing away from him. “Without Jago to heal us, we tire much too quickly! We’re not going to survive the next one.” Her voice trembled. “And nor will anyone else. I can’t protect them.” She stared into his hazel eyes, unbidden memories surging into her mind. Klaus lying unmoving next to her. Felix crying piteously as he pawed at Mackie's cold corpse. Her father’s mangled body surrounded by a pool of blood.
“Nifras will kill them all.”
“Kaia!” Klaus barked, grabbing her wrists. “Calm down. You cannot panic.” He paused as he let her catch her breath. He brought his hands to her arms and locked eyes with her. “This is a terrible war, and people are going to die, but you can't just shut down again. Don't let your emotions control you. "
"Klaus, we buried the dead an hour ago." Kaia jerked away but couldn't control her voice as it pitched. "And the sun will not dawn whole tomorrow."
Klaus’s words hardened. "It's time for you to grow up, Kaia. We don't have time for these childish hysterics! The Dragon Heir has to be stronger than that."
Kaia reared back, stung.
Klaus continued, softer. "Kaia, if your grief overtakes you, I don't know if I'll be able to save you again." He tugged softly on her arms to bring her into an embrace.
Kaia's skin paled beneath her freckles. Is that what he saw? An emotional child always in need of rescue? She knocked his hands away and stepped out of his reach. "I'm sorry if I've disappointed you, Guardian Thane, but we can't all be as callous as the cold-blooded Shadow Heir."
Klaus winced as though she had flung stones instead of words. But before he could open his mouth to respond, Kaia turned away, and she stalked into the night.
✽✽✽
When the maimed sun finally crested the horizon the next morning, Kaia, Klaus, and Shad gathered to depart. Kaia watched the sun with a measure of relief. She had not been confident that it would rise at all.
As she cinched Sunflash’s saddle, she cocked her head at the dappled gray Dalteek with a tall rack of velvet antlers saddled beside her doe instead of the elegant Moonstreak.
Shad, already tucked into one of the saddlebags, answered her unspoken question. "Moonstreak was cut down in the battle, and Stormshade lost her rider." He paused. "She will be useful when we need to fly south."
Klaus didn't meet her eyes as he stepped up to the gray and stroked her neck reassuringly. Stormshade's dark eyes seemed heavy with sadness as they regarded the Shadow Heir. For a moment, Kaia thought to ask Mackie about Stormshade, then she caught herself. Kaia squeezed her eyes shut as an involuntary shudder wracked her body. With a lump in her throat and her fingers trembling, she turned to say her goodbyes to the small group that had gathered to say their farewells.
Bram nodded stiffly. "See you in the Deadlands.”
"Take care," she returned, not quite able to keep the chill from her voice.
Fiola, with Felix on her shoulder, embraced Kaia tightly with her strong arms. "Be safe, my love."
"Thanks, Fiola," Kaia whispered, giving Felix a pat. Remembering Klaus’ reproof, she struggled to keep her emotions hidden.
With a deep breath, she looked up to see Tekoa step forward. A wistful smile crossed her lips as she barreled into the Maldibor, not even bothering to hold her breath this time. His smell seemed almost comforting now.
"My dear Guardian Dashul," he rumbled. "The doubt you carry with you is heavy. If you don't leave it behind, this journey will be arduous."
Kaia looked at the great beast, "How can you...?"
He chuckled and tapped his muzzle. "This nose smells more than you would believe."
Kaia turned to Sunflash and fiddled with her saddlebags. "Everything is so different now, Tekoa."
"Yes, the world is always changing, as are the people in it. But make no mistake, Guardian Dashul, you are and have always been the Dragon Heir. It does not mean you have lost yourself."
Kaia bit her lip as she looked back at the hulking warrior. "I wish I had your certainty."
Tekoa gave her a leg up into the saddle, and Kaia grimaced as she tried to arrange her sore limbs. "It's there, dear Kaia,” he assured her. “You must only find it again."
Lastly, Kaia looked to Everard. He nodded brusquely, his coal eyes revealing nothing. "You have till the next full moon. Rendezvous on the westernmost point of the Deadlands.”
Kaia straightened, returned his nod, and turned Sunflash to the east. Klaus and Shad sat astride Stormshade just ahead of her. Kaia kept her face blank as Klaus' shrewd gaze assessed her, determined to prove she was just as strong as he.
"Ready?" she asked, her voice icy.
"After you," he clipped. With no more to be said, Kaia urged Sunflash into a canter, and they began their journey into the wounded dawn.
✽✽✽
The Heirs took to the well-traveled roads at the base of the mountains to speed their journey. With Conrad gone, they no longer had to worry about attracting the wrong sort of attention. Even so, they were surprised to find villagers and tradesmen shy away from them as they passed. The news of Ariston's fall at the hands of a merciless Dragon Heir had shot across the land like an arrow, and the Heirs could no longer go unnoticed.
Kaia watched eyes widen with fear as they spotted the monstrous ragehound and the girl he preceded. She maintained a mask of indifference as travelers left the road to avoid them or held up talismans to ward her away. Klaus observed her with careful eyes but said nothing as they kept to their brisk pace.
The reactions to their presence only grew more extreme as they arrived at the first sizeable town to the east of Gyatus. The noise and bustle ceased as their Dalteek slowed to a walk on the cobbled streets. The unnatural silence grew eerie as the villagers parted before the Heirs on their strange mounts like wheat in the wind. They kept their eyes forward as whispers rose behind them. With the Heirs' backs to the crowd, they buzzed with more boldness. Kaia began to pick out words from the hiss of the crowd.
"That's the Dragon Heir?"
"She destroyed our only hope."
"How could she?"
"They say she's a demon."
"She has no chance against Nifras."
Before Kaia realized the spectators had turned into a mob, Klaus had ridden too far ahead of her and the villagers filled in behind Stormshade, cutting her off. Before she could even blink, the first stone slammed into her head. In a flash, Kaia was five again and attending her first, and last, day of school.
A group of older children pushed her back and forth, calling her names, daring her to show them her powers. One of them tripped her, and Kaia fell to the ground, skinning her knees. Another snatched her by the hair and tried to drag her backwards, while a third a threw a rock at her head.
The sharp pain snapped Kaia’s control. Hands glowing hot, she grabbed her captor’s wrist, causing him to cry out and release her. She turned into a whirlwind of fists and feet as she rammed herself against her attackers, lashing out at whoever was near. The teacher rushed out of the schoolhouse in panic. She gathered the children in a group behind her, as if it was they who needed protection, not Kaia.
That day, they banished Kaia from Arimoke and told her never to come back.
Hot blood oozed from the wound on the
back of her head as another rock whistled by her ear. Sunflash pulled back as men grabbed for her halter.
"Let me pass!" Kaia growled, but the mob only pressed closer, grabbing at her boots. Kaia heard Gus' sharp yelp as a gangly boy grabbed the gentle dog roughly by the neck, and another pulled his tail.
"Let him go!" she thundered.
Kaia cleared her mind and held up a hand, willing heat to flow from her core to her fingertips. To her dismay, nothing happened. Sweat beaded at her temple as she tried again. Her palm remained empty. A cold knot of fear curled in her belly as Gus yelped at a rangy oaf trying to loop a chain around his furry neck.
Anxiety flooding her thoughts, she searched for Klaus, but he continued up the street, oblivious to their struggle.
"I SAID STOP!" Kaia bellowed savagely, drawing her blade. Sunflash reared with a whinny, echoing the sentiment, and her menacing hooves raked the air. The disgruntled villagers rumbled louder but backed away from the Dalteek and her lowered antlers. Kaia urged the doe towards Gus and slapped his attacker with the flat of her sword. She whistled, and Gus fell in close behind Sunflash as she galloped down the road past the stunned Shadow Heir and away from the Okarrians she was sworn to protect.
✽✽✽
The light was already ebbing when Klaus caught up with her. Shad sat up, ears pricked and alert in his saddle bag.
"What was that about?" Klaus exclaimed, almost accusingly.
Kaia touched the back of her head. Her fingers came away smeared with scarlet. She sighed.
"Oh, come now Klaus, it's like you used to tell me when you were young." She flicked her eyes to him, "No one likes the Dragon Heir."
Kaia was surprised and perversely pleased to see a hint of color rise to Klaus' cheeks. "I've never seen anything like that!"
"Lucky you, Shadow Heir," she muttered, her voice flat. "Lucky you."
"But, why didn't you frighten them away with your flames," Shad prodded from his perch. "I've seen you do it before."
Now it was Kaia's turn to blush. She cast her eyes to the dirt road. "I don't know.”
"What do you mean you don't know?" Klaus pressed, his tone still sharp.
The unfair edge to his voice grated on Kaia. "It means I don't know," she spat. "It means ‘I tried, and nothing happened,' ok!"
Her outburst was met by stunned silence from both cat and man. She looked ahead stubbornly as they walked on in the advancing dusk, insects trilling around them in the tall grass.
"It's because you're tired, of course," the cat said at last. "The battle yesterday must have drained you."
"Or perhaps you're just overwhelmed," Klaus muttered.
"I am not overwhelmed, Klaus Thane," Kaia snarled. "We lost over a hundred souls yesterday, I burned a man alive, watched you die, and the people I'm fighting to defend thanked me by throwing stones and hurting my dog." She turned to him, a challenge glinting in her hard eyes. "I think I'm managing just fine."
For once, the clever Shadow Heir was at a loss for words.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Dorinar
That night, Kaia wrapped her cloak tightly around her shoulders to ward off the late summer chill. Klaus bent over a pile of kindling and struck the pommel of his dagger against a flint stone. He blew gently on the sparks, and under his encouragement, a flame caught and grew. Shame coated Kaia’s cheeks. The vaunted Dragon Heir couldn’t even start a campfire.
As the blaze cackled to life, Shad disappeared under a blanket.
Gus cocked his head with questioning eyes from where he lay at her side. What’s wrong, my girl?
For the tenth time that evening, she held out a palm and let her mind empty. She could feel the heat deep at her center, as always, but when she tried to coax it to her waiting fingers, nothing happened. Kaia brought her clammy hand to her forehead and squeezed her temples, silently sending a prayer to Odriel to return her gift.
Klaus rose from the catching fire and leaned against the boulder next to her. "Still nothing?"
She looked up with tired eyes and shook her head, burying her fingers in Gus' thick fur.
"Maybe you should give it a rest for a few days. Give yourself some time to recover," Klaus suggested.
Kaia shrugged. This new complication had thawed the tension between the Heirs, but she was still careful to hold herself in check while his eyes were on her.
"I feel naked without it," she muttered, grinding a hole in the dirt with her boot heel.
"Well, it's a good thing you have me here to look after you, then," Klaus joked, a smirk curving his mouth.
"Am I so much like a child that I need a minder?" she snapped.
Klaus sighed as rubbed the scar in his brow. His gaze bored into the crackling fire. When he finally addressed her, his words came slowly, as if drawn out of him by force. "I spoke harshly yesterday. I’m sorry."
Kaia faced him with a raised eyebrow. A week ago, she would have thought the proud Shadow Heir incapable of apologies. Yet, here was his second in as many days.
Klaus met her eyes. "I just couldn't bear to see you torture yourself again."
His earnest words toppled the flimsy wall between them. A knot in her stomach loosened. "It wouldn't have stung so much if it hadn't hit so close to the mark," Kaia admitted. She pressed her heel into the small hole she had made in the dirt. "I'm not a master of my emotions, as you are."
"To be honest, I hope you never learn." Klaus' hazel eyes crinkled with a smile Kaia could not help but return. "When you grieve, the sun does not shine, and when your heart is light, the whole world smiles with you."
A crimson blush burned from the base of Kaia's neck to the roots of her hair. "Except for the stoic, Guardian Thane," she mumbled with a nudge.
"Ha," he scoffed and tossed his head, his eyes shining. "The Shadow Heir gives away nothing."
"I wouldn't be able to breathe if I contained myself like that."
Klaus nodded. "As it should be. The dragon and shadow—two different beasts."
Kaia yanked sharply at a loose thread on her sleeve. "Only the dragon is a beast, the shadow is just a mystery."
A silent moment stretched between them as the leaves whispered to each other in the wind above their heads. "Kaia, those villagers—"
"Are not worth talking about," Kaia interrupted as she laid back on her blanket roll. She blew air slowly out of her puffed cheeks. "I've been dealing with it as long as I can remember." She looked up at the stars glittering fiercely above them, a bright rebellion against the oppressive night. "It’s like they say, ‘The Dragon Heir walks through fire alone.’"
"Except when you walk with me," Klaus countered, the corner of his mouth quirking up again as he lay back onto his own pallet. Kaia nodded into the dark. As she slipped into slumber, Kaia was acutely aware of Klaus' sleeping form, deeply breathing only inches away, and she drifted off with the shadow of a smile still on her face.
✽✽✽
In her dreams, Kaia walked the battlefield once again. Mogens and Klaus dueled before her, but as Kaia surged towards them, her legs were sluggish. She looked down to find herself wading through a bog of blood littered with the bloated corpses of the fallen. Mogens' wicked knife plunged into Klaus again and again. Kaia screamed, trying to call her gift, but no flames appeared. Before she could inch her way to them, Klaus' lifeless body sank into the lake of red.
She sat up sharply, sweat cold on her brow. With Mogens' twisted face still burning in her mind, her frantic eyes searched the darkness around them. Fingers grazed her shoulder, and she flinched back with a small cry. Shad's triangular ears popped out of his blanket in alarm.
"Firefly, it's just me," Klaus mumbled, his voice thick with sleep. "What's the matter?"
Kaia grabbed tightly to his wrist, her knuckles turning white. "Mogens is still out there."
Klaus blinked slowly, his eyelids heavy with sleep. "He fell in the gorge," he shrugged. "There’s no way he would’ve survived that fall."
"But did we find his body?"
"The river would’ve carried it away."
Kaia locked eyes with Shad's luminescent gaze peering out from a wadded blanket across the smoldering fire, and her heart sank. "So, we don't know," she whispered.
Kaia turned away, but she didn’t go back to sleep.
✽✽✽
The days passed listlessly after that. They circumvented any villages in their path, and Kaia's flame remained untouchable. The misshapen sun continued to haunt the sky, while ghastly nightmares plagued her nights. Just the thought of Mogens still living rattled her bones. To survive the dragon fire twice, dark magic had to be behind it somehow.
Klaus tried bantering with her to keep her spirits up, but he could not break through her brooding thoughts. Though Klaus swore Mogens died in the ravine, Kaia knew that Shad felt differently. He slept through the day, but at night, while she thrashed away in a cold sweat, his luminous blue eyes kept watch. To add to the growing gloom of the trio, the midsummer rains arrived in force, making fires difficult to kindle and turning the road to a thick muck.
On the seventh day, the forest surrendered to marsh, and the road all but disappeared into a muddy, overgrown trail. The Heirs were forced to dismount from the Dalteek and pick their way through the treacherous mire. On the ninth day, the trail disappeared altogether.
"Which way now, Shad?" Kaia sighed as she tried to shift her hood to keep out the inescapable drizzle. Gus shook out his fur uselessly beside her. "I can't see the trail anymore."
Wiping the dripping water from her nose, Kaia could just barely make out Shadmundar's peevish cat eyes peering out from Klaus' saddle bag. She wondered briefly if the cat had hated the wet as a human, or if the distaste had come with the transformation.
He wiggled his whiskers. "That's because we have arrived."
"At Dorinar’s cottage?" Kaia looked around in confusion. An ankle-deep bog surrounded them.
"Where?" Klaus didn't bother to hide his annoyance as he ruffled his soaked hair.
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