“His determination to complete it,” Natania said, “drove him like a stallion before the whip. He would not rest until it was complete. Do you know why?”
“To stop Hades,” she said flatly, wishing she could avoid Natania’s word games—but the woman was holding all the cards. “He wanted a weapon that Hades wouldn’t dare challenge.”
“No,” Natania said softly, gliding to a bookshelf and tidying a stack of thick leather books. “Maahes sought to advance his vendetta against Hades, and Nyr was pleased to encourage such a venture, but his true motivation lay elsewhere.”
Piper frowned, curious despite herself. “Where then?”
“He confessed to me, one night not long before …” Natania compressed her lips until they paled. “Perhaps he felt guilty for what they already planned to do to me, and he wished me to know that he was not driven purely by his hunger for power.”
Her eyes rose to Piper, silver glimmering in the blue depths.
“My moon was fearless, an unflinching warrior against any enemy. But there was one foe he feared—truly feared.” She lifted her chin, raising one eyebrow. “A foe he could not fight, a foe who could destroy him: a dragon.”
Piper snapped straight in her seat; so Natania wasn’t just rambling. Nyrtaroth had feared the great dragons too?
Natania picked up a strange metal dial, brushing away a fine layer of dust to reveal its shining surface. “I laughed when he told me. ‘A dragon?’ I scoffed, thinking of the larger form of his dragonet. But the creature he described sent a shiver down my spine. A great ebony beast larger than anything I had ever seen, with massive wings to blot out the very sky. A beast, he told me, that had taken his grandfather from him when he was a small child. His grandfather had died hours later, consumed by the fire of the dragon within him, and my moon had shed tears of relief—relief that the dragon would not have his soul.”
She replaced the dial and faced Piper. “The great dragon would take no more of his family, he told me, once he had completed his limitless weapon.”
Piper sucked in a breath. “Nyrtaroth wanted to create the Sahar to defend against the great dragons? Did Maahes know that?”
“No. My moon bid me never to speak of it.”
Piper shook her head, blown away. Lifting her eyes to Natania, she focused again. “What happens to a draconian if he survives like Ash?”
“He is lost. I know nothing more, only that Nyr preferred death for his grandfather as the better fate.”
Piper bit down hard on her bottom lip as tears formed in her eyes. “So there’s no hope for Ash?”
“Well,” Natania murmured with a slight shrug. She settled gracefully in her chair across from Piper. “My moon created the Sahar to defeat a dragon. And you now wield it.”
“I can’t fight the great dragon’s power. I could barely shield against one blast.”
“The Sahar is limitless, but your body is not. A more powerful daemon could wield enough of my power to challenge a dragon.”
Piper stiffened in her seat. “No way. You know perfectly well what the Sahar—what you—do to daemons who try to use it. I can’t let anyone else have access to its magic.”
“Just because you cannot control your bloodlust does not mean other daemons are similarly weak.”
Piper flinched at the reminder of her uncontrollable savagery while shaded—though it had been surprisingly absent from her most recent experiences.
“Ash has the best control of any daemon I’ve met but even he couldn’t hold it together while channeling power from the Sahar. I’ll find another way.” She rubbed a hand over her face. “This is all pointless anyway, because there’s no way to find Ash.”
The spark of petulant anger in Natania’s eyes cleared. “Oh, I imagine he will find you again eventually.”
Piper pressed her hands to the tabletop, stifling a surge of wary hope. “What do you mean?”
“Or, I should say, the dragon will find you. You defied his power. He will return to destroy you.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know well how the mind of a powerful, prideful male works.”
Piper grunted, unimpressed. “I don’t think the dragon will take the chance that Lyre or I might manage to kill Ash. The dragon might be invulnerable, but Ash isn’t.” She stood. “Send me back. I need to finish my conversation with Eliada.”
Natania leaned back in her seat, a dangerous gleam in her eyes as she smiled sweetly. “As you command.”
Piper’s vision blurred.
“Piper?”
A hand waved in front of her face and she looked over to discover Lyre beside her. Eliada still stood in front of her, her brow furrowed above her teal eyes. Nothing else had changed while she was spaced out.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “Uh, what—what were you saying?”
Eliada’s expression softened just slightly. “You did not understand the fate that awaited Ashtaroth or why his death would have been a kindness. I cannot fault you for protecting him. If the gods smile upon us, perhaps the dragon will never return and we will not have to face the full wrath of the beast.”
The old woman’s eyes moved from Piper to the cluster of women and children behind Raum.
“I hope you can understand that we had hoped to spare Ashtaroth and protect all lives from the dragon. We hold no hatred for him—or any of you.” She glanced again at the children. “We can offer you aid for the time being. Your supplies have been destroyed and you will need food and shelter.”
Piper backed away and Raum moved forward to take her place, Mahala and Shona following him. Seiya stood a few feet away, gazing lifelessly at nothing, looking exactly how Piper felt. Exhausted and broken inside, she retreated as Raum and Eliada spoke. She didn’t care what they said or what arrangements they made. She didn’t care about any of it.
Lyre followed her away from the others, hovering close to her side.
“What was that space out?” he whispered. “You zoned out completely for a minute there.”
“I’ll explain later,” she mumbled. Lyre didn’t know about her dreams with Natania, and she would need to outline that first. She was too tired to even begin explaining it all.
“Do you still have the Sahar?” he asked, his voice dropping even further.
Piper’s hand clenched around the cool stone. “Yes.”
His eyes narrowed to golden slits. He held out a hand. “Give it to me.”
She slid her fist behind her back, moving it away from him. “It’s better if I have it at the ready. The dragon could come back any time.”
He didn’t lower his hand. “It’s not safe for you to use it. You shouldn’t even be holding it.”
“I controlled it just fine this time.”
“And the time before that, you went mad and killed a lot of people.”
She flinched, taking half a step back from his acid tone and cutting words.
“I gave it to you because we were all going to die anyway,” he continued harshly. “That’s no longer the case. Give it to me.”
She squeezed the stone, staring at his hard eyes.
Seiya appeared beside them, fury rolling off her. She snapped her wings open and closed while shooting a vicious glare over her shoulder at Raum, who was still talking with Eliada. Zwi, hanging off Seiya’s shoulder opposite Zala, whined quietly, her golden eyes dull.
“How can he even be talking to them after they tried to kill Ash?” Seiya said venomously. “How can he even consider trusting them?” She focused on Piper. “What now? You’re not giving up on him, are you?”
Rubbing her temple with two fingers, Piper puzzled out that Seiya was talking about giving up on Ash, not Raum. She wished futilely that Seiya would talk a little slower and be clear about which male they were discussing.
“Of course not,” she replied tiredly. “As long as he’s alive, I’m not giving up.”
“So what’s the plan?”
Piper rubbed her temple a little more forcefully. Sin
ce when did Seiya look to her for directions?
“I’m going to the Overworld. The draconian legends seem to reference the water dragons, so I want to see if the ryujin know anything about great dragons.”
A spark of hope lit Seiya’s eyes. “Yes, that’s a good idea. I’ll come with you.”
Piper hesitated. “Seiya … I think you should stay here.” She lowered her voice and spoke quickly before Seiya could get angry. “Someone needs to stay here with Zwi in case the dragon brings Ash close enough for her to sense him. On top of that, I’m not sure if Eliada is still hiding information or what the other draconians might know. If Raum is taking the others with Eliada back to wherever they live, you might be able to find out more.”
Seiya frowned, her jaw flexing. Her shoulders slumped. “I guess you’re right.”
“Lyre, can you make one of those distress signals for her? So she can call us back if Zwi senses Ash?”
“Already have one.” He stuck a hand in his pocket and withdrew a gray gemstone. “It’s a two-way signal and I have the matching stone. We’ll be able to summon you when we come back from the Overworld. It won’t work between worlds though.”
Seiya nodded toward the brand new ley line behind Piper. “I can use that to jump through to the Overworld if I need to signal you.”
“Then we’ll see you when we get back from meeting with the ryujin.”
They walked over to the new ley line. Despite her exhaustion, she hurried her steps. She wanted to get going before Eliada and the other warriors started wondering about her impressive display of power while defending against Ash’s attack. The possibility that she had wielded the Sahar might not occur to them, but she didn’t want to chance it.
With the rippling light casting strange green shadows across them, Piper turned back to Seiya. She hesitated, then reached out. Surprise flashed across the girl’s face but she didn’t hesitate to return the hug.
“I won’t give up,” Piper promised.
They separated, and Seiya gave her a small smile. “I know you won’t.”
Piper stroked Zwi’s mane. “You keep Seiya out of trouble now, okay, Zwi?”
Zwi chirped, the sound much smaller and sadder than usual.
“Are you leaving, Piper?”
She jumped, whirling to find Kiev behind her. He smiled at her jitteriness. For a second, she wondered how he knew, then realized her deliberate walk to the ley line had been as obvious as holding up a sign.
“Yeah,” she said. “I’m going to see what I can find out about great dragons.”
He held out his arms. “Good luck.”
She hugged him tight. “Watch your back with these draconians,” she muttered in his ear.
As he stepped back, Piper was shocked to see Coby, Mahala, and Ivria behind him. Shona, Denna, Raisa, and even little Yana waited nearby.
“You weren’t planning to leave without saying goodbye, were you?” Coby asked tartly.
“Of—of course not,” Piper stammered.
Coby reached for a hug, and the next thing Piper knew, she was being passed from one pair of arms to another to give everyone a farewell embrace. Lyre said his goodbyes as well, giving his own share of hugs to the women.
Raum appeared in the midst of the group, surprising Piper. He and Lyre clasped forearms before he turned to Piper.
“So you’re going with Eliada?” she asked.
He nodded. “To their outpost first, then we’ll see. They have a settlement of some kind in the nearby mountains.”
A settlement. That suggested more than just a handful of draconians living in hiding.
“Take care of yourself,” he rumbled.
“I will. And you take care of the others.”
He nodded again.
Together, she and Lyre walked to the ley line. The ancient power washed over her like a warm breeze. She could feel the others watching her, waiting for them to vanish into the line. Even with the prospect of a new, brighter future waiting for them—a chance, however slim, that they could join an existing draconian community—they were waiting to see her and Lyre off. Tears pricked her eyes. If not for the dragon, Ash would have been there too, cautiously excited for this new opportunity, and she wouldn’t be leaving at all.
She blinked away the tears and focused on the line.
“You know the spot?” she asked Lyre.
“Yep.” His brow wrinkled. “Are you up for this?”
She wondered how exhausted she looked. Extremely, she would bet. “I can handle it.”
She closed her eyes. As she summoned the last of her magic and stepped forward into the line, a part of her was terrified to leave the Underworld—to leave Ash behind. Another part of her couldn’t be more relieved to depart this cursed land of darkness.
Chapter Fourteen
Taking a deep breath, Piper held the air in her lungs, letting the essence of the Overworld soak into her body from the inside out. The breeze tasted sweet and complex, layered with a thousand touches of all the plants, animals, and daemons that lived here. After so long in the bitter air of the Underworld, the Overworld was almost too rich.
She blinked, adjusting to the change in color scheme: from dark stone and red foliage to the overwhelming overlay of blue—blue-streaked mountains, blue-tinted forests, ocean-like blue rivers. Despite her exhaustion and aching heart, a small smile stretched her lips. It felt good to be back.
Beside her, Lyre rolled his shoulders, his discomfort at odds with her newfound ease. The Overworld wasn’t his home, but it was hers.
The thought surprised her. Wasn’t Earth her home? Her eyes travelled across the mountain peaks to the gloriously blue sky, lit by the light of two suns. The heat caressed her face, luxuriously pleasant after so much time in extended darkness. In a way she couldn’t explain, the very planet welcomed her presence.
She walked forward a few steps and leaned over the edge of the cliff. A hundred feet below, the river rushed past. She pointed.
“The river will carry us directly to the ryujin,” she said.
Lyre looked from her to the canyon and back again. He didn’t step closer. “You want to jump?”
She shrugged. “It would be fastest. I did it before just fine. Barely hurt at all.”
His eyebrows shot toward his hairline. “Are you serious?”
“Um. Yes?”
“Are you even thinking straight at this point?” he asked, concern mingling with amusement in his voice. “I am not jumping off the cliff, even if it only ‘barely’ hurts.”
She glanced back at the hundred-foot drop. It was really high. “I guess we can find a lower spot …”
He shook his head. “You look like the walking dead, Piper. Maybe we should rest for a bit first.”
“We can rest in the ryujin city. They’ll have food. And blankets. It’s not that far.”
Sighing in resignation, he slid his arm through hers, and together they started along the path. It sloped gradually downward, following the edge of the mountain. Eventually, the path would end where another mountain rose, blocking the way forward, the same spot where the river disappeared into a cave system beneath the mountains. And in those caves, the ryujin’s hidden city awaited.
The last time she’d walked this path, Ash had followed behind her while Miysis led the way. The thought of Ash crushed the shattered pieces of her heart all over again. She shoved the pain away, refusing to think about it. She couldn’t handle it, not right now. Not until she’d gotten some sleep. How long since she’d slept? She’d napped for a few hours after Hedya had found her and Ash in the abandoned draconian city, but since then, she’d argued with the elders, lost a ton of blood, escaped with Ash, made the long flight back to the camp, been healed, packed the camp, then battled the dragon with the Sahar. Just thinking about it all made her want to cry. She was running on pure stubbornness, ignoring the achy shakiness in her legs with each step. She could rest soon. Soon …
Since she refused to think about Ash, she forced her tho
ughts onto something else. Was Miysis here in the Overworld too, somewhere in the Ra territory? She hadn’t seen him since she’d almost killed him on the cliff’s edge just a hundred yards or so back the way they’d come, after he’d had his men attempt to kill Ash. Even though she’d never totally trusted the Ra prince, she’d always liked him. His smooth charm and easy confidence had won her over early on, and she’d come to respect him soon after. Not anymore though. She would never forgive him. But part of her grieved the loss of their odd friendship.
“So,” Lyre drawled, breaking into her thoughts, “you were going to tell me about your weird space out while you were talking to Eliada.”
She tensed, her hand unconsciously moving to her pocket where she’d tucked the Sahar. Together, they walked off the path to avoid an overhanging tree, the long tendrils of the blue pod swaying innocently among its branches. She wouldn’t make that mistake twice.
“Right,” she mumbled as they returned to the path. She glanced toward the river, but the canyon was still too high to jump. “Well, do you remember how I was able to communicate with Natania, the soul in the Sahar, the last time we were here?”
“Yes, of course. She tipped you off about unlocking your daemon glamour using the Void.”
“Well, after that, I started … dreaming about her.”
“Dreaming?”
“Yeah, but not actual dreams. While I was sleeping, I could talk to her the same way I did the first time.”
He frowned. “How often did this happen?”
“Just a few times, and not since you and Ash took the Stone away. When I was talking to Eliada, though, I thought that maybe Natania would know something about what had happened to Ash”—she flinched when she said his name, holding her despair at bay—“and all of the sudden, it was like I was dreaming again. We talked for a few minutes, then I … zoned back in.”
Lyre walked silently for a moment. “So you’re saying that this soul in the Sahar knows what you’re thinking, since she responded to your thought about speaking with her, and she can affect your mind while you’re sleeping and while you’re fully conscious?”
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