Shadow of Flame

by Caitlyn McFarland

  She’d settled in her little sitting room with a book and a meal when the faint but distinct sound of shouting came from down the hall. Sound carried in the caves—someone was calling her from outside the gates that blocked the audience room.

  Seren pinched the bridge of her nose, noting the alien feel of skin against skin, even if it was just her own. She was so tired, but if someone needed her... “It sounds important, makuahine.”

  Iolani, who sat in a chair across from Seren with her feet up and a plate of food on her lap, glared toward the passage that led to the audience room. Some of her gray-streaked black hair had fallen from her high bun, wisping around her face. “We are eating.”

  Seren closed her book and rose, sighing. “I’ll just go and see. It might be an emergency.”

  “Pa’akiki,” Iolani muttered. Stubborn. She threw down her napkin and rose with a groan. “You will stay. I’ll see who it is and decide if it’s an emergency or not.”

  Seren started to protest, but Iolani raised a hand and started down the passage, her amethyst and shell jewelry clinking softly. Seren followed, stopping just inside the door to her rooms and straining to hear.

  A moment later, Iolani came back, Deryn trailing behind her. Seren hurried to sit back down. She hated how eager she was to get a visitor instead of a supplicant. She didn’t want Deryn to see that she was desperate for the company. She wasn’t allowed to be desperate. Only serene.

  Deryn came in, sapphires glittering in her auburn hair. Seren smiled. “Nos dda, fy chwaer.”

  “Evening.” Deryn flopped into a free chair. Even that casual movement was perfectly controlled. Deryn had the kind of awareness of her body a person only got after a lifetime of training in combat and martial arts. No matter what Seren did or how hard she tried, she’d never be as graceful and fierce as her little sister.

  Seren sat in her chair and folded her hands into her wide sleeves, waiting. After about ten seconds, Deryn began to fidget. She sat forward, then back again, then took out a thin dagger and started cleaning her nails. Clearing her throat, she raised her eyebrows at Seren and tilted her head toward Iolani.

  Seren rubbed her indicium and shook her head. She had no secrets from Iolani.

  Deryn rolled her eyes. She fidgeted for another five minutes. Finally, she spoke. “Mother is alive,” she blurted.

  Aha. So this was it. Seren folded her fingers in her lap. Serenity. Calm. “I know.”

  “Rhys told you?”

  Seren looked away. She’d known for centuries. After the pain the woman had caused, it had been a vision Seren had decided to keep to herself. “...Yes.”

  Deryn stood and paced. “She’s got a following of a couple hundred dragons.”

  Seren nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard.”

  Deryn turned, her brows drawn together, a pink flush high on her cheeks. “I think she’d support Rhys. I think it would make a difference. Help him end the war.”

  Seren gawked. “Support Rhys? Aderyn, the woman killed our father, her own heartsworn. If she wanted to help Rhys, she wouldn’t have pretended to be dead for a thousand years. She would be here, helping.”

  Deryn scowled. “Owain killed our father. Don’t you think it’s possible our mother was an innocent bystander? Collateral damage? You’ve heard what they call her. ‘Warbringer.’ She never came because she knew how she would be received. That doesn’t mean she’s guilty. She’s been the victim all this time.”

  Seren couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “The victim? Deryn, she ran away. She was seen with Owain. Everyone knows how she hated our father.”

  Deryn stopped in front of her, eyes earnest. “Just because that’s what we’ve been told doesn’t mean it’s true.”

  Seren resisted the urge to throw up her hands. Inside her sleeves, she gripped her forearms. “Owain would have needed something of hers and our father’s. A hair, a fingernail. Some blood. Only she could have provided those things. They had to have exchanged favors. Owain performed the sundering then Mair gave him information that allowed him to swoop in while Ayen was weak and murder him.”

  Deryn waved an impatient hand. “Anyone who came into contact with Mother and Father could have provided what he needed. Sundering is supposed to be the most painful thing a person can endure—some don’t live through it. Why would she risk that? It doesn’t make sense. Owain kidnapped her and forced her to go through the sundering.”

  “Owain himself has said that she came to him,” Seren said cautiously.

  “Owain lies,” Deryn spat. “Why are you acting like this? She’s our mother, and she’s alive. That should mean something to you!” Deryn stopped in front of Seren’s chair, her eyes wild. “She’s been in hiding for a thousand years—we’ve been without a mother—because she was afraid. But now she’s got rogues following her. Now she can help. Three hundred fighting dragons could tip the scales in Rhys’s favor.”

  Seren stood. “Deryn, the rogues aren’t on anyone’s side. That’s their point. Several of them want to kill Owain and Rhys and you, and get rid of the mantle forever.” As far as Seren was concerned, getting rid of the mantle would be a good thing if it didn’t also mean the death of her brother and sister. But the only artifact that would allow that to happen—the Sunrise Dragon—had been missing for generations.

  Deryn waved a dismissive hand. “Of course they don’t. We don’t know what would happen if the mantle went away. It could kill us all.”

  Seren shook her head. “That’s a myth started by the Ancients to prevent others from doing exactly what some of the rogues want to do.” She was losing Deryn, she could tell. Her sister had come here to talk to her, but she was shutting down. Seren tried again. “If Mair was going to help us, she would have done so long ago. She doesn’t love Rhys.”

  Deryn folded her arms, her body straight and tense. “You think Mother would betray Rhys? He’s her son. He’s her flesh and blood.”

  “And Father was her heartsworn.”

  Deryn spun away. “I don’t know why I came here. It’s not like you’re truly her daughter. The Seeress is born to the people and sworn to the people.” She spat the old quote with venom.

  Seren recoiled, pain and loneliness bitter in the back of her throat. “Deryn—”

  “It was good to see you. I’ll tell Rhys you’re well.”

  “Deryn, wait!”

  It was no use. Deryn swept from the room and down the passage.

  Pushing the pain of her sister’s rejection aside, Seren exchanged glances with Iolani. “Something strange is going on. Three months ago, she could barely stand the sound of Mair’s name.”

  Iolani shrugged. “Three months ago she was an abandoned child and her mother was dead. Now she has a mother again. It makes sense that she would want to renew their bond.”

  Alone with Iolani, Seren stopped pretending. She took her hands from her sleeves and started pacing the route Deryn had moments before. “Isn’t it worse that she’s been alive this whole time and never come back?”

  Iolani frowned. “Anger is often a mask for pain, kaikamahine.”

  “As you say.” Seren touched the fat, champagne-colored pearl that hung on a chain around her neck next to the tiny bottle of liquid that could be used to induce a vision—as if there was ever a reason to induce a vision. Traditions were often inexplicable. “It also leads to stupidity. Deryn is up to something.”

  Iolani considered this for a moment. “Perhaps we should tell the king.”

  Seren shook her head. Her relationship with her siblings was delicate and precious. She’d been alone so long before Rhys stood up to the Council and tried to make them a family again. She wouldn’t risk losing that. “No. I want to find out if there’s a reason behind her change of heart before I say anything to Rhys.”

  Iolani’s eyes half-closed again. “I wonder—to wh
at lengths would the princess go to reconnect with her mother?”

  “I don’t know. Deryn is a person of extremes.” Seren looked at Iolani in alarm. “You don’t think she’d actually contact Mair, do you?”

  “In fact, I do.”

  Seren straightened. “I need to talk to Angharad.”

  Iolani’s eyes widened. “The little juvenile who cleans your rooms?”

  Seren nodded. “She might know who cleans Deryn’s rooms. Or she might be able to be assigned to them herself. I need to know what Deryn is up to.”

  Iolani’s look was considering. “You want the princess followed? Spied upon?”

  “No, of course not. I just thought... I’m sure Deryn isn’t doing anything she shouldn’t. But...”

  Her peripheral vision sparked at the edges, the Sight pressing against her mind in premonition. If Deryn wasn’t stopped, something would happen. Something to bring her vision to pass.

  Lifeless amethyst eyes appeared in her mind. Cadoc. Like a brother to her brother. He couldn’t be allowed to die. Not because Seren felt anything deeper for him anymore—she didn’t, couldn’t—but for Rhys.

  Seren squared her shoulders. “Yes, I do want her followed. If she’s up to something, I need proof. We can’t let her do something she might regret.”

  * * *

  The weight of the mountain sat heavy above Kavar. He could feel every pound of dirt and stone piled between him and freedom.

  He could feel his brother, as well, moving around a quarter mile or more above his head. Like a fly buzzing and buzzing, too far away to swat. Kavar laughed, knowing the analogy would annoy Ashem. The laugh cracked his barely healed split lip. Blood dripped onto his chin. Heat blisters covered his arms and face.

  Night came again. The blisters were gone—his lip and eye had healed. A sense beyond magic touched the edge of his mind. Kavar sat up. Ashem was coming.

  As his brother descended from the heights, his presence pressed on Kavar. Their minds were like the like poles of two magnets that strained harder against each other the closer they came.

  It hadn’t always been that way.

  The door opened. Kavar didn’t look up. Instead, he studied Ashem’s boots.

  “There’s blood on your face. Who beat you?”

  Kavar smiled. “You know who beat me. After all the death we’ve seen, why would a bloody lip bother you?”

  “The day death doesn’t bother me is the day I give my soul to the Stars.”

  Kavar let his gaze drift upward. The face that frowned down at him could have been a mirror: bronze skin, strong nose, white teeth. Except the hair. Ashem kept his hair relatively short, Kavar wore his long enough to brush his shoulders.

  And the eyes. Ashem’s golden eyes.

  Kavar turned from his brother, examining his chains. “The Stars no longer wait for the Azhdahā, brother. They’ve already eaten us all.”

  Ashem snorted and kicked Kavar’s boot. “Owain isn’t coming for you.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  “The Council wants me to break your mind.”

  Kavar lifted his hands. Metal cuffs encircled his wrists, fine chains wound about his fingers and trailed down his palms. He hooked one finger around the collar at his neck and tugged. “Take this off, and we’ll see whose mind is stronger.”

  “I heard you had a visit from the king.”

  “The king is at Cadarnle.” It had always been harder to pretend he didn’t care when he was talking to Ashem. Too easy to fall back into the role of petulant little brother.

  “Don’t be tedious, Kavar. I don’t have much time.”

  Kavar let his head fall back against the wall. “Why? Does Rhys often call for you in the middle of the night?”

  Ashem glared. “I have somewhere to be.”

  “I see,” Kavar said, raising his eyebrows in innuendo. “Midnight interludes with the false king. It explains so much.”

  “They’re going to make me torture you.” Ashem’s voice was flat.

  Kavar nodded, his mouth still turned up at one corner. “And you’ll do it. Because it’s your job. You always do your job, Ashem.”

  Ashem flinched.

  Kavar poked again. “Was it part of your job to put the guards to sleep so you could sneak in here and speak with me?”

  Ashem, however, had always been like a dog gnawing at a particularly stubborn bone. “Leave Owain. Join me here. Tell us what we need to know to end this war.” He rubbed his face and sank down so they were eye to eye. “I’m tired of trying to kill you, Kavar. I’m even more tired of you trying to kill me.”

  Something in Ashem’s voice made Kavar stop and truly look at his brother. “Something happened to you. You...are changed.” Ashem stood. There was a quickness and precision to his movement that hadn’t been there before. Kavar’s eyes widened in realization. “You’ve heartsworn.”

  Ashem folded his arms across his chest and didn’t respond. He might as well have shouted “yes.”

  Kavar sat back, stunned. He and Ashem were well past the normal age for heartswearing. Genuinely curious, Kavar asked, “Who is she?”

  “None of your business.”

  His tone was closed and final, like a slap. So Kavar smiled, because he knew it drove Ashem mad. “Well. Bring her around, Ashem. Let’s see if she can tell the difference between us when the lights are off.”

  Quicker than thought, Ashem closed his hands over Kavar’s throat and squeezed. Kavar thrashed, trying to get away, but Ashem brought his face within an inch of Kavar’s, golden eyes flashing. Eyes that would have made him a king, if their clan hadn’t given up the crown to the Draig four generations before.

  “If you touch her—if you speak of her, I will rip your head from your shoulders no matter what information you’ve got in it.”

  He threw Kavar to the ground, bruising his elbows and ribs. Kavar gasped and choked, sucking in air. By the time he recovered, his brother was gone. Kavar thought back over their conversation. He hadn’t expected the comment to set Ashem off. Well, he had. But not like that. Ashem had always been so controlled.

  Alone in his cell, Kavar laughed. Next time he saw Ashem, he knew exactly which horn to tweak.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Graceful as a Drunken Elephant

  Kai was half-asleep on her feet when the pledging ceremony finally came to a close. She also suspected she might have imbibed a little too much mead, which was the dragon’s alcohol of choice. It was weird and different, but it went down fine after the first glass.

  “I’m married!” Juli hugged Kai, smiling.

  She looked stunning. Strings of black pearls crisscrossed her light blond hair. Her shimmering white dress—which draped in all the right places—was heavily embroidered with black birds and flowers that curled around the edges of her neckline and hem. Juli’s bare feet were also decorated with fine chains and the metal discs that tinkled, making music whenever she moved.

  Kai grinned. “I know. Honestly? It’s super weird. But that could be the mead.”

  Juli laughed, hitting Kai with the back of her hand. “You’re jealous.”

  “Me? Jealous of you and—what did you call him the first time you met him? ‘That man?’” Kai balled up the trailing midnight skirts of the dress Deryn had loaned her, lifting them clear of her feet and trying not to let the calluses on her fingers catch in the delicate fabric. Hastily pinned up at the hem, it was still too long, and it gaped at the shoulders and chest. No one was here but the vee, so Kai tried not to worry about how she looked. Besides—she flushed at the memory—Rhys had already seen her naked and on fire once today. “Seriously, though. I’m happy for you guys.”

  “Thank you.” Smiling dreamily, Juli touched the band she wore on her right bicep—a dragon wedding ring. Gold, with a bir
d in flight picked out in tiny, multicolored gemstones and surrounded by enameled leaves. Ashem wore an armband, as well. Solid gold, with the same bird inlaid in lines of platinum. “I’m glad you could be here.”

  “Me too.” Tears burned behind Kai’s eyes, but she refused to cry.

  The dragons had set up the pledging ceremony in a beautiful room with walls of raw crystal at the very summit of the mountain. Ashem himself had snuck her up and only members of the vee had been invited to attend—all so Kai could be there.

  Ashem came to stand at Juli’s side, indicating that he was ready to leave with a tilt of his head and a look in his eye that made Kai glance away. Today, when he’d spoken the pledging vow, the expression on his face had been heartbreakingly tender.

  I pledge you the love of my heart, the strength of my body and the whole of my faith. My soul is your soul.

  If Rhys looked at her like that, Kai was pretty sure she’d melt or die or run away.

  Kai’s gaze fell on Rhys where he stood across the room, talking to Evan. After the fire episode, she and Rhys had slept on the couch for hours, only waking when Deryn burst into the room. Her earlier argument with her brother apparently forgotten, she’d shouted for Kai to come get dressed and help Juli get ready and why was she naked and there was no time for that because Rhys had to go make sure the room was prepared and didn’t he know if they were going to fool around then he was supposed to be naked, too?

  He’d set her on her feet, made sure she could stand and then they’d both been swept into a nonstop flurry of activity to prepare for Juli and Ashem’s pledging. Kai hadn’t been alone with him since. She was hoping for the chance tonight. She needed to call her parents back—she couldn’t leave things as awful as they’d been at the end of their last conversation—and she was pretty sure Rhys had more or less agreed to be a wall for bouncing ideas. Aside from that, he was going to train her to use her magic.