Age of Valor: Dragon Song

by D. E. Morris

  “Be with Misuzu,” Cailin continued quietly. “Giver, you know how deeply she is struggling right now. Keep her mind clear and her temper under control when she starts to feel trapped in her own body. Though she isn't in her true Elemental form, she is so used to switching shapes far more often, and the effects of it are beginning to wear on her. Remind her You are with her, and give her peace. Amen.”

  “Amen,” echoed the men. Connor spared not even a second before he began loading up his plate, bringing laughter to Jaryn's lips. “What's got you in such a hurry tonight? Did you forget to stop for the noon meal?”

  Since there was already food in his mouth, the boy shook his head and chewed quickly so he could speak. Once he swallowed, he leaned forward and put his hands, palms down, on the table. “There's a clutch of fire dragons that Gia thinks might show a hatching tonight. She said I can watch!” His excitement dimmed slightly with a tilt of his head. “I'm not allowed to imprint on any of them, but still, I get to watch baby dragons being born!” He shoved some carrots in his mouth and held up a finger to keep the other two silent until he was finished chewing. “I'll probably sleep in the rookery tonight.”

  “I'm stealing your bed, then,” Jaryn announced happily. “I don't think my back can take much more sleeping on the floor.” He grimaced. “Every day we spend here only highlights exactly how used to the high life I've become.”

  Cailin swallowed a sip of her beer to wash down the salty pork she'd cooked. “I told you that we could switch on and off when you said the chairs weren't working. I don't mind, really.”

  “What kind of man takes a comfy bed and lets a woman sleep on the ground?”

  She looked at him smartly. “An injured one. You're still healing.”

  “Well, you don't have to argue about it tonight,” offered Connor, already through with half of his meal. “I don't know when I'll be back.” With his plate in hand, he rose and dumped the rest of his meat into some cheesecloth to wrap and stick in his pocket. “I want to get back as soon as I can.” Anxious to go, he kissed Cailin's cheek as any son would his mother, not even realizing what he'd done until the moment passed and shocked them both. Color flooded his cheeks and he looked at her with widened eyes. “I'm sorry.”

  “It's all right,” she replied, affection in her quiet response. “Go on, get to where you need to be. Make sure you listen to Gia.”

  “I will.” The embarrassment passed quickly and the boy ran to his room, grabbing his notebook and tossing Cailin and Jaryn a grin before rushing out the door.

  They ate in silence for a time, Cailin's faraway gaze out the window to watch the sky darkening around them. At length she gave a soft sigh and shook her head. “This is the kind of life a boy should have, one where he can be free to play, work, and get dirty, and have real friends, not shut away inside castle walls with tutors that smell as though they're ten days from the grave.”

  “Most boys do get that,” Jaryn told her, sitting back with a full stomach. “We need some boys in those castle walls, though. They are the ones who will grow up to lead nations.”

  Cailin was unconvinced. “I think Connor will be a better man and a better high king for his experiences here. He will know what it is to be a commoner, what struggles are faced day to day, and even in that, he has been shielded from that for the most part. Ironedge has its own cattle and gardens, they are completely self sustained and haven't had to wonder where their next meal is coming from. Still, this is a far cry for the pomp and propriety he is used to. It will do him well. It already has. With no stress of running a kingdom on his shoulders, I have seen him more spirited than even when he was younger.”

  With a quiet sigh, Jaryn gave Cailin a small smile and changed the subject. “How is Misuzu? You get to speak with her with far more ease than Connor or I.”

  Cailin grimaced. “Her temperament gets worse as the days go on. Luckily she is still in the breeding barracks so she has chances to shift into her human form or whatever else she wants from time to time, but it is quickly becoming not enough.” Rising, Cailin took the empty plates to the wash basin. “I try to go outside every time I see her flying. When she's close enough, we can speak through telepathy.” She paused in her cleaning to look over her shoulder at Jaryn. “Though she and I have become quite close because of this, she's terribly lonely. It breaks my heart.” Returning to her cleaning, she frowned to herself. “We have to find a way off this island, Jaryn. I know how much Connor loves it here...and I can see how much you enjoy it at times as well. I understand. Up until a few years ago, this was the kind of life you were used to...but we can't stay here.”

  Jaryn looked down, a frown on his lips. “I know. We've already been here too long. Maybe this is the life I used to lead, but it isn't my life anymore. It's not what is meant for any of us, no matter how it may feel sometimes.”

  Turning, Cailin grabbed a towel to dry her hands and leaned back against the counter. “Misuzu mentioned using fyre to travel back to Siness and tell them where we are or at least let everyone know we're still alive, but I think that would be tempting fate a little too much. Even if she's in a different form when she's alone here, she's still here and can quickly shift back. What would happen if she was gone and someone came to check on her?” She scratched her cheek. “I've been thinking about shifting in the middle of the night sometime and trying to fly away on my own before anyone spots me, to get to Ibays without shifting for a break from my dragon form if I can. I could bring back reinforcements before anyone even knew I'd gone.”

  “It all sounds well and good,” Jaryn admitted, carrying the rest of the plates to the counter to help clean as well, “but patrols are just as strict as they are during the day. There is no way you would get away without some sort of distraction being caused, and I can't see how our little family would avoid suspicion if something like that did happen.” He poured himself more beer and took a long pull of it, leaning on the counter beside Cailin. “I thought of trying to get to Misuzu and coordinate a blitz attack with her, where she could just come swooping down to grab us all when she was allowed to fly free.”

  “Except we're on an island of highly trained dragons who will do anything they're commanded to by those pipes.” Frustrated, she crossed her arms. “I've managed to make some friends among the women here and they like to talk. I swear they spread gossip here faster than at court. Lucky for me, I know how to ask questions without seeming too suspicious.”

  Jaryn quirked a brow. “And what did you learn?”

  “Nothing that made any sense.” She grabbed her own mug of beer and went into the front room with Jaryn close behind. He lit the fireplace for warmth and light before sitting, while Cailin brought wood over to keep it going before taking up her own chair. “What do you know about the attack on Dragonspire Mountains?”

  “Only that it was home to hundreds of natural born dragons and that Tadhg organized a hunting holiday to have them all slaughtered. I was always told none of the dragons survived.”

  “Four,” Cailin corrected. “Four dragons survived and one of them was brought here. Apparently natural born dragons communicate with each other all the time by 'singing' to one another, something Gia learned from this dragon. She's the one who figured out how to train them using music and conditioned them to respond only to the pan flute and occasionally even a simple whistle.”

  He nodded, taking the information in. “But why does it affect you every time you hear it?”

  “Supposedly because I'm a Gael. Remember when we were coming in, how I told you I felt when I heard the music? Everything in me wanted to shift and join the others because the draconic blood in me was responding to what I was hearing.”

  “That doesn't make sense, though.” Jaryn leaned forward to put his mug on the floor before stretching his hands out to the fire. “Misuzu isn't bothered by it, but she's technically a Gael.”

  “She's an Elemental.”

  “So is my wife.”

  Cailin deflated. “I know. Be
sides that, if it was only a Gaelic thing, Elas and Mairead would be bothered, but they're not. Neither is Rowan, but Kenayde was.”

  Jaryn shook his head. “None of it makes sense.”

  “No,” agreed Cailin, irritation in her voice, “it doesn't. I can't say that to anyone, though. They all truly believe that only unshifted Gaels feel the power surge and the energy drain. What could I say to argue that wouldn't give us away?”

  Jaryn didn't have to say anything. They both knew that the less they said about their lives off of Ironedge, the better. Each day they spent there was one they had to be careful about giving too much of themselves away. If it was discovered that they were not who they claimed to be, the consequences could be dire. He recalled what he had learned about Gianara only that day; it wasn't hard to picture the scene that had been painted for him, and he wouldn't have been ashamed to admit that the island's casual approach to violence worried him.

  “It's going to take a miracle to get all of us out of here alive,” Jaryn muttered. “I don't doubt that we'd all be killed before we were allowed to leave.”

  Cailin massaged her temples. “I want to trust Gia.”

  “We can't trust anyone. Never forget that. Besides that, even if we could trust Gia, she's not as in charge of this place as she would have us believe, not if she went running as soon as Hideo called - and not if she awaits orders from Merrik. Whether she knows of his dark intent or not matters little when it is clear they are the masters here, and not her.” Sitting back in his chair, Jaryn groaned and stretched out his legs to let his feet be warmed by the fire. “I know I say it at least three times a day, but I miss my wife.”

  “It's alright,” Cailin chuckled. “I understand. I...miss Ashlynn, too.”

  Catching the hesitation, Jaryn slid Cailin a sidelong glance. She took great care not to meet his curious gaze but concentrated on the fire. Only when he said nothing did she chance a quick look at him. The smile that promised an interrogation brought color to her cheeks. She stared even harder at the fire.

  “While I wouldn't dream of suggesting you don't look forward to keeping Ashlynn's company again, I'm not dim enough to let what you just said pass at face value.” Suddenly very interested, he leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his knees. “Well who is it, then? I don't see you ever talking to anyone but the guards and the knights.” His brows shot up and he gasped. “It's one of the men, is it? Which one? I have about...” He looked up in thought. “...six different men who come to mind. Give me a name and I'll tell you all I know about him.”

  “Stop,” Cailin laughed. “It doesn't matter what his name is or even who it is. It's just a silly infatuation that will never go anywhere.”

  “And why not?”

  She shook her head, shrugging her shoulders in embarrassment. “Because it isn't worth pursuing. I am far below his station and certainly not a woman he would ever look at in any sort of romantic way.”

  Jaryn snorted. “What has station got to do with anything? Do you forget that I was a bard when I met Ashlynn?”

  “Yes, and the Nations were in shambles with no clear end in sight. Societal propriety was not so strictly upheld then as it has been since Tadhg was killed and Luella took the throne.” Cailin's shoulders sagged. “Though life was harder and much more complicated back then, matters of the heart were so much easier.”

  With a sympathetic smile, Jaryn linked his fingers together before him. “I'm sorry, Cailin. Below his station or not, he'd be a fool to overlook you. You're a strong, capable woman who manages to look as brilliant in trousers as she does in court gowns.”

  Cailin's head dropped as she laughed. “Thank you.”

  “I speak only truth.”

  For a while they sat in comfortable silence, sometimes chatting about what might have been going on back home or on the island, but often not speaking at all. They'd spent so much time together the past few days that their relationship had bloomed into that of a close friendship. For Jaryn, in fact, she had become like another younger sister to him, which was why he couldn't stop thinking about her feeling of inadequacy to whoever it was who had her heart. Even after she rose to get ready for bed, Jaryn sat and stared at the fire, his legs stretched out before him and his chin in his hand. In truth, he hardly saw her in the company of any male that was not in his employ. Though Cailin didn't have an official title at court, it was no secret that she was a favorite of Ashlynn's which would have gone quite a long way in gaining her favor with any man she might see on a day to day basis.

  Suddenly, a thought struck him. There was another at court who he often saw her strolling with, almost always deep in conversation. In fact, he had even seen them dancing together at Elas and Kenayde's wedding. It made him sit bolt upright in his chair just as Cailin was coming back into the room, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders to cover the top of her night dress, her long brown hair hanging in a loose braid over her shoulder. His reaction to her entrance made her stop short and blink her surprise at him. “What? I'm covered.”

  “It's Wessely.”

  All the color drained from Cailin's face, though she tried her best to hide her shock. “I...what is? I don't know what you're talking about.”

  “The man who you think is above your station. It can only be Wessely. I see the two of you talking all the time.” He made a face of disappointment. “Why didn't I see it sooner?”

  Defeated, Cailin sank into her chair. “What does it matter? If he sees me as anything other than the girl who used to clean his fireplaces and between the goblets, then it would be something closer to a daughter.”

  “I highly doubt that.”

  She shrugged. “I know...wishful thinking.”

  A frown creased Jaryn's brow. “That's not what I meant.”

  Her eyes turning to the fire, Cailin's expression softened. “He's always been so kind to me, ever since I was a child. For several months after I'd arrived at Oceana, he would check on me to see how I was settling in or if I would speak to him. I swear he knew when Ashlynn was teaching me how to read and spending time with me like I was a real friend.”

  The frown Jaryn wore deepened. “You were - are. Cailin, you've spoken of how much Ashlynn's friendship meant to you when you were children, but I don't think you realize how much yours meant to her. You kept her sane many days when castle life would have otherwise driven her mad.”

  “I appreciate that.” Yet there was still sadness in her voice. “That entire family meant so much to me. Though I could never truly participate as one of them, I was privileged enough to see what a family looked like by watching them. Wessely was so involved in the lives of his daughters, much more than any ruler I had heard about or have known since, and he loved Emiline so deeply. I loved her, too, and sometimes pretended she was my own mother. When I found out she had been killed during the battle at Altaine, my heart broke for all of them. The girls had already lost one mother, then they had to suffer losing another. I knew, too, how it would effect their father.” She took a slow breath. “Losing the love of their lives would have broken most men, and maybe it did for a little while, but Wessely is stronger than most, and he has shown that since Oceana was destroyed.”

  Jaryn gave her a small half-smile. “I think that's the first time I've heard you call him only by his name.” She chuckled quietly, but there was no humor to it. Empathetic, Jaryn reached out and squeezed her forearm. “Don't lose hope, Cai. You know how unpredictable this world we live in can be. Anything can happen.”

  “Thanks, Jaryn.” She laid her hand over his to return the squeeze. “I'm glad I got stranded here with you. It's been nice getting to know the man who, against all odds, captured the heart of the rebel princess I have always considered my very best friend.” He winked, making her grin even as a yawn forced its way past her lips. “And on that note,” she laughed, “I am going to bed. Sunrise comes early.”

  “Much too early,” Jaryn agreed. “Rest well.” As she disappeared into the bedroom, Jaryn rose to ex
tinguish the fire. Smoke filled the room and he quickly opened the windows to air the house out. It was already quite late by the dark navy color of the sky. Every now and then a dragon or two would fly overhead, silhouetted against the light of the moon high above, waning and covered by clouds. He stood, leaning on the sill to watch them only until the air in the room evened out, and he could stand the chill no longer. Latching the windows closed, he disappeared into Connor's room to sleep in a real bed for the first time in over a week.

  Just as he settled between the blankets, however, and was about to extinguish his lantern, Connor came bursting in. He was out of breath as though he'd run all the way up the mountain, his eyes wide and his face red. “Hurry!” he panted, grabbing Jaryn's arm. “Get into bed with Cai. Pretend you're asleep.”

  “What's going on?”

  Connor extinguished the lantern, flooding the room in darkness. “Go! Quickly, before they're here!” With no further explanation, Connor shoved Jaryn out of his room and into the bedroom with Cailin, slamming the door closed behind him before he could even hear Cailin question what was happening. As quickly as he could, the boy tore his work clothes off and changed into his night shirt, throwing himself into bed just as the first pounding knock came to the front door. No movement came from within, everyone staying right where they were, holding their breath. Soon enough, another demanding pound came, followed quickly by the sound of the door being thrown open. All at once, Connor's room was invaded by people with torches. In the hallway, he could see others rush past to storm into the other bedroom.

  “Get up!” Gianara commanded, bathing Jaryn and Cailin's confused faces in the light of her torch. “Where is she?”

  Jaryn rubbed his eyes, squinting up at her from beside Cailin in bed. “What are you doing here? What's going on?”

  “Where is she?” Gianara repeated. With her free hand, she grabbed the neck of Jaryn's night shirt and hauled him out of bed. Cailin reached for him in protest, but a sword was drawn by a man standing behind Gianara and pointed directly at her throat, rendering her immobile.