The Dragon Gods Box Set

by Resa Nelson

  Empress Ti spoke as if she believed only she could see the obvious and that it needed to be explained to Jojen. “Njall only pretended to be Frayka’s servant. He’s not. He is her husband!” The empress smiled, appearing to be extremely pleased with her own cleverness.

  Jojen didn’t mention that he’d figured out that Njall and Frayka were married when he met them in court months ago.

  “Njall appears to be fond of Frayka.” The empress paused. She looked as if she were solving a puzzle in her head. “Not like the men here.”

  Jojen had made a habit of keeping his mouth shut, and in this moment, he was glad of it. Many generations in his family had served the Po Dynasty, and he took pride in being a guard.

  Jojen also took pride in being a man who loved his wife and children, and he took offense when people lumped him into the category of Far Eastern men who took advantage of the law because they happened to be the right gender.

  “Therefore,” Empress Ti said in triumph, “Njall is searching for Frayka. She’s succeeded in slipping away from my royal guards and Asu. I think it will be much easier to find Njall than Frayka—she’s too cunning. And when we find Njall, we’ll follow him until he finds Frayka.”

  Jojen felt relief that Empress Ti had no idea that he had been the one to allow Njall to escape from the Hall of Concubines. Neither did she know that Frayka had saved Jojen’s life and that he’d helped Njall to repay what he considered to be a debt to Frayka.

  Now, Jojen had to make sure that no one caught up with Njall. Jojen couldn’t take the risk that Njall would tell who set him free. That act broke several laws, each of which carried a punishment more severe than the last.

  If Empress Ti ever learned what Jojen had done behind her back, he would be tortured and killed. Even worse, his family would be turned out of their home and forced to wander the streets in search of food every day. No one would be safe offering any help, which meant Jojen’s family would face death by starvation at best.

  While their boat sailed through the wide seaway that led to the ocean, Empress Ti leaned on the railing and pointed at the bank and a tributary slicing through it. “Such a shame we can’t take that route.”

  “If we did, we would be stranded sooner than you can imagine,” Jojen said. Relieved to tell the truth, he said, “Those streams are so shallow that only the smallest of boats can handle them.” It was why he’d drawn a map and given it to Njall. Jojen knew that any man travelling alone needed a small boat. He also knew the Northlander’s own boat remained docked in the harbor, and it made the most sense that the Northlander would reclaim his property.

  Taking the tributary would give Njall a head start. Months ago, Jojen had led Frayka, Luan Lu, and several guards to the mountains where Lu lived in response to her request for help in killing the serpent dragon to which her sister had been sacrificed. The size of that expedition required a ship—slightly larger than the one on which he now sailed with the empress—that had to use this seaway to the ocean and then sail south.

  Asu Chu scrambled to his feet and joined them at the railing. Acting as if Jojen didn’t exist, Asu said, “The blood moon is tonight.”

  Empress Ti’s face paled in surprise and then she glared at Asu Chu.

  Did the boy spill a secret?

  Jojen decided to test the waters. “The blood moon? How can anyone know when the next blood moon will be?”

  Asu Chu began to answer, but the empress interrupted him. “Come now, Jojen,” Empress Ti said with a smile. “You know better than to underestimate the power of the royal magician.”

  Jojen returned her smile. “Of course, my empress.”

  But Jojen knew better. He’d served the Po Dynasty for longer than the empress had been alive. Simply by being at the beck and call of the emperor, Jojen had overheard many conversations and developed a well-rounded knowledge of everyone who lived in the royal complex. He knew the royal magician had no ability to predict a blood moon.

  Why does Asu think we’ll have a blood moon tonight? And why does he tell the empress about it?

  Jojen wondered if the question showed on his face, because Empress Ti addressed it. “I’ve been advised to bathe in the blood moon. Wherever the ship docks tonight, I’ll need a private place on land where I can be alone with the moon.”

  The empress’s willingness to confide such a personal thing astonished Jojen, although he made sure to show no surprise. But his thoughts turned to Njall.

  This ship could reach the base of the mountain where the Lu family lives by the end of day. Even if we stay at the base, Njall would be only a short distance ahead of us. Short enough for us to catch up with him. I have to delay our progress.

  Jojen thought of an obvious argument. “We could do that, my empress, but I don’t see how you will benefit.”

  “What do you know of it?” Asu Chu said.

  Empress Ti beckoned to Asu to be still as if she were training a dog to behave. “I don’t understand.”

  “If my empress needs to bathe in the light of the moon, there will be little chance once we’re on land.” Jojen thought about the fact that Empress Ti had spent her entire life inside the royal complex and knew nothing about the world outside its walls. “The mountains are different from anything you’ve seen before. Their slopes are crowded with trees. Even at this time of day there are shadows everywhere. There is so little room for the sunlight to land because it’s blocked from so many directions. The moonlight will be the same.”

  Empress Ti wrung her hands. “That won’t be good for me.”

  “There is a simple solution,” Jojen said. He swept one hand toward their ship. “We will stay at sea and take down the sails. When the moon turns to blood tonight, you can bathe here on the deck. Nothing will prevent any of the moon’s light from reaching you.”

  Empress Ti lowered her voice to a whisper. “But when I bathe, the moonlight needs to touch my skin. I must be naked!”

  “I see,” Jojen said. “But that poses no problem. I can blindfold every member of the crew and tie his hands to the rail so that he faces the ocean. If you like, Asu Chu can do the same to me. That way, you will have complete privacy.”

  Empress Ti sighed with relief. “That is a fine solution. But I would like to make one change. I want you to secure Asu in the same way you secure the crew. And then I expect you to be a decent man and stare at the ocean until I tell you to stop.”

  Asu Chu looked at her in shock. “What?”

  Again, Jojen made sure he didn’t show the surprise he felt.

  The empress trusts me more than her closest friend!

  Awash with relief and pride, Jojen said, “Of course, my empress.”

  But he wondered what must have happened to make Empress Ti shift her highest loyalty from Asu Chu to Jojen. More than ever, he had to make sure the empress failed to find Njall.

  * * *

  That night, the ship drifted by the coast of the mountains in the southern region of the Far East. Although Ti stood by the rail, the gentle rocking motion made her sleepy.

  She pinched herself to stay awake and stared at the night sky above, thankful for its clarity.

  The stars dazzled white, and the moon glowed pale yellow. Ti had seen blood moons before, and she reminded herself that this one would take time to develop.

  Be patient. The blood moon will come in time.

  As the hours progressed, the color of the moon deepened to dark yellow and then orange and finally blood red. Ti called out to Jojen, “It’s time.”

  True to his word, Jojen blindfolded and tied the hands of every crew member to the rail, forcing him to face the water. Although Asu Chu protested, he allowed Jojen to blindfold and tie him, too.

  Ti beamed with appreciation when she saw Jojen tie a cloth belt across his own eyes and turn his back to her.

  Confident that she now enjoyed total privacy, Empress Ti removed her clothing and stood on the ship’s deck with her arms spread to the side and her face lifted toward the blood moon.r />
  Jojen was right. There’s nothing to block the light from shining on me.

  Ti shivered in the chilly night air, grateful that today’s earlier wind had died down. She wondered how long she could bear having no clothes to keep her warm.

  But in a short while, Ti felt the effects of the moonlight. First, her arms tingled as if someone were rubbing warmth into them. She stared at her arms to make sure she still stood alone.

  Everyone else remained at the rail in place.

  Empress Ti marveled at the prickling sensation that spread across all of her skin, from head to toe. Unlike the warmth from the sun she felt on her skin during the day, the light from the blood moon stirred her skin and penetrated every pore to fill her entire body with a new sense of strength.

  Her teeth and her bones snapped firmly into place, making it difficult for Ti to remember when they had been wobbly. Her heart beat like a fierce and steady drum.

  She shivered again, but this time because she felt powerful, not cold.

  It’s working! The light is making me stronger.

  Ti raised her face to the moonlight again. Keeping her arms stretched out to the side, she walked in circles around the deck of the ship to make sure the light reached all of her skin in equal strength.

  With each step, her muscles moved smoothly. Her gait felt even and steady.

  For the first time since Ti drank water from the Fountain of Immortality, she felt whole and complete. Secure and sturdy.

  Empress Ti felt invincible.

  CHAPTER 16

  That night, after feeding Dagby and securing her for a good night’s sleep, Frayka stood in the open doorway of the new home she shared with GranGran and TeaTree. The dark yellow color of the moon startled her. She knew what that color meant. “A blood moon is coming tonight.”

  TeaTree snoozed on a corner mat near Dagby, while GranGran watched the baby sleep. “A blood moon is an especially good time for portents,” GranGran said.

  By force of habit, Frayka began to complain that her portents had abandoned her but then thought better of it. Instead, she thought about her conversation with Ling Lu today.

  Frayka turned to look at GranGran. “I asked Fiera to help me find the god of water today. She won’t. I asked the same thing of Kikita and Wendill, but I don’t think they heard me.” She sighed. “I don’t even know where Wendill is these days.”

  “He’s a god,” GranGran said. “Not your companion.”

  She’s right. I spent so many months with Wendill that sometimes I forget he’s not mortal.

  “I don’t like the laws in this country,” Frayka said. “I don’t like what the Po Dynasty has done. I don’t like the way the dynasty treats its people. It’s cruel and barbaric.”

  GranGran gave a slight shrug as if choosing not to argue.

  “But I’m part Far Eastern,” Frayka said. “Part of me is a member of the Po Dynasty.”

  This time GranGran answered. “As am I.”

  “If I didn’t have any Far Eastern blood, I never would have had my portents.” Frayka felt the sting of tears in her eyes. She steadied herself, determined not to cry. “My baby and my husband mean the world to me. But I wouldn’t be who I am without my portents. They mean everything to me.”

  GranGran said, “As do mine.”

  “It’s confusing. I want to hate the Far East because it’s so horrible to its people, but those horrible things happen because of the decisions that the Po Dynasty makes. If I’m part of that dynasty, is part of the blame mine? If I hate the Far East, do I hate myself? And what about Dagby? She has my blood—if I hate the Far East, does that include the child I love?”

  “Good questions,” GranGran said.

  Frayka bit her lip. “I get my Far Eastern blood from you, but I don’t hate you. I can’t.” She fidgeted. “And what about my portents? I love them, but the portents are Far Eastern, too. I’ve never heard of a Northlander having portents. Mine would never have come to me if I weren’t Far Eastern. How can I have such love and hate for the same thing at the same time?”

  “This world is not an easy place.” GranGran stood and joined Frayka at the open door. Placing a gnarled hand on Frayka’s shoulders, GranGran said, “But tonight is a good night for a walk in the moonlight. Perhaps later when the moon turns to blood. As I mentioned before, the blood moon is an especially good time for portents.”

  She knows something.

  Catching her breath, Frayka said, “You’re saying the portents will come back to me tonight?”

  GranGran’s expression stayed neutral. “It’s possible, although not necessarily in the way in which you’re accustomed to receiving the portents. They might test your sincerity in wanting them to return.”

  “Test me? How?”

  “It is their choice, not mine.” GranGran shrugged. Her hand trailed away from Frayka’s shoulder. “My bedtime has come. I suggest you delay yours.”

  Frayka watched GranGran ease her body to the sleeping pallet next to a snoring TeaTree. Dagby slept nearby, protected by the barrier created by the other pallets.

  Dagby is safe here. No one on Seahorse Island would harm her.

  Taking her great-grandmother’s advice, Frayka stayed awake to watch the color of the moon change. When it turned blood red, she strolled out into its light.

  * * *

  Later that night, Frayka went to sleep and dreamed.

  Frayka dreamed she swam in the ocean. A short distance away, a ship made of ice sank below the ocean’s surface. Swimming closer, she looked down and saw a cracked, gleaming tower suspended in the water below.

  Light spilled from the top of the tower. Its golden surface caught and reflected beams of light in all directions. Piles of rubble suspended like clouds around the tower as if by magic.

  Drawn to it, Frayka took a deep breath and dived toward the tower. Its bright light illuminated a school of silver fish darting past. Swimming deeper, she felt the pain of changing pressure in her ears.

  Nearing the tower, Frayka saw an image made of iron attached to its top. That image looked like a woman holding a sword high above her head. Startled, Frayka recognized the image.

  I’ve been here before.

  Frayka swam to the base of the tower and then through an open doorway. Once inside, she discovered that the tilt of the suspended tower had trapped so much air that she could stand on the edge of its spiral stairway and breathe easily. Ocean water lapped around her ankles.

  One side of the tower formed the ceiling above her. The spiral stairway stretched to her right and left.

  This is what’s left of Tower Island.

  Frayka knew of Tower Island because of the stories her father told about the old days in the Northlands. He had once known a woman blacksmith who came from there.

  Bad things happened here.

  The shallow water in front of Frayka turned into mist and formed the shape of a transparent man. “Why do you trouble me?”

  Frayka reached for her dagger out of habit, happy to find it tucked under her belt. She withdrew the dagger and aimed its point at the man made of mist. “Who are you?”

  The mist transformed into a dragon. The mist dragon sighed, and fog poured out of its mouth. Instead of answering Frayka’s question he said, “You are a Far East girl.” The mist dragon stepped close enough to sniff Frayka’s hair. “Not all Far East blood but enough to matter.”

  “I look like my great-grandmother,” Frayka said. She held perfectly still. Although she still pointed her dagger at the mist dragon, she didn’t know what good it could do.

  “But why do you trouble me?” the mist dragon said. “I command you to leave me be.”

  Frayka assessed her situation.

  The last thing I remember is walking in the light of the blood moon. I must be dreaming. This isn’t a portent, but it feels like one.

  Maybe I should treat it like a portent.

  “I’m looking for the Gate of Water.”

  “Aiy yah!” The mist dragon scof
fed. “That gate is gone.”

  “I have to find it!” Frayka insisted. “I have to find the god of water. I need his help.”

  “Help? There is no help. Not for mortals. Not anymore.” The mist dragon turned and lumbered away from Frayka.

  Deciding her dagger would do no good, Frayka put it back under her belt. She hurried after the mist dragon, sloshing through the water on the precarious edge of the spiral staircase. “Wait! I’ve been sent by the Northlander gods.”

  The mist dragon hesitated.

  Encouraged, Frayka hastened to catch up with it. “The Northlander gods told me to find all the dragon gods. They want the dragon gods to make amends.”

  “Amends!” the mist dragon roared. “Who are the Northlander gods to make demands of us?”

  Startled by the mist dragon’s response, Frayka took a closer look at him. She remembered what GranGran had told her about the dragon gods residing inside their own elements. “You’re the dragon god of water.”

  The mist dragon whipped its tail back and forth, but instead of harming Frayka it only flung water droplets on her. “The days of walking among mortals are gone. Go back to your own realm. Leave me be!”

  “Please!” Frayka said. “I need your help!”

  “Give up,” the mist dragon said. “What you want is useless and impossible.”

  The mist dragon opened its wide mouth. Instead of fire, a mighty wave of water poured out of its mouth and pushed Frayka through the tower door and back up to the surface of the ocean.

  After Frayka broke through the surface and gasped for air, she looked down into the ocean water again. Now dark and murky, she found it impossible to see into its depths.

  Frayka realized the god of water had been within her grasp inside this dream, but now he was lost forever.

  CHAPTER 17

  Trekking through the mountains in an effort to follow Frayka’s footsteps and find her, Njall often had to pause for breath. His legs ached so much that he worried they would go numb. His back hurt as if he had been carrying something heavy for miles on end. His lungs ached for air. Chagrined at feeling so weak at such a young age, Njall realized why he struggled.