The Dragon Mistress 3

by R. A. Steffan

  Losing people is a fact of life, I reminded myself. You’ve been losing people since your mother died on the day you were born.

  I wasn’t sure at what point over the past few weeks I’d stopped believing in the unavoidable reality of loss, when it had been the foundational tenet of my life for so long. Maybe it was after the battle in the valley, when we’d all somehow managed to survive against near-impossible odds. Or perhaps it was when the others came for me, saving me from Oblisii’s dungeon and whisking me away to safety on dragonback.

  Aristede was gone, and I hadn’t been prepared for it. I might lose the others, and I wasn’t prepared for that, either. My whole life, I’d prided myself on being strong enough to survive any loss… and now, suddenly, I wasn’t.

  I wasn’t strong enough anymore. I couldn’t do this.

  Movement caught my eye. Rayth was gesturing to our left. I blinked against the grit that seemed to be lodged inside my eyelids and tried to follow his pointing arm. A thick lump lodged in my throat as I made out the distant grayish-brown expanse barely poking out of the sea.

  Eburos. My home.

  Suddenly, I needed to be there desperately. The dragons arced in a shallow turn, bearing us toward our haven on exhausted wings. I pressed cracked lips together, feeling as though a solid length of rope ran between that jagged coastline and my heart, reeling me in toward the place where I’d been born.

  I’d sketched a map of the southern edge of the island for the others, outlining the location of the massive port city of Rhyth, and the ancient stone megaliths perhaps half a day’s travel from it by wagon. That stone monument would be our destination. Even as bone-weary as they were, the dragons covered the distance in a fraction of the time that any other means of transportation would have required.

  Before I knew it, Rhyth’s marble buildings became visible in the distance. We glided past them, following the coast as it transitioned from a protected seaport to sheer, rocky cliffs. And there, on a deserted plain, stood the Old Stones. It was a place of magic. A place of the ancestors. And it was our salvation. Nyx and Lisha would not be joining Aristede and Shantha in the unforgiving waters of the Southern Sea after all.

  Not today.

  The stones grew bigger… and bigger… and suddenly, we were there. Coming in for a landing on the hallowed ground where I’d so often visited my brother after he left our home village of Draebard to live with his bondmates in the south. This close to the autumnal equinox, there was every possibility that Favian would be here attending the holy site, staying with the Sisters of Avlan at the temple that had been constructed nearby.

  So much had happened since I last saw him that I could barely wrap my mind around the idea of seeing him again.

  My body was weak with exhaustion and shock. I was unprepared for the roughness of the white dragon’s landing, and even less prepared when he gave an angry screech and bucked like a disgruntled horse, tipping me neatly over his right shoulder. I hit the ground hard, barely having the presence of mind to tuck my shoulder and roll.

  The impact jarred the breath from my lungs, leaving me wheezing—my vision swimming in and out. A blast of flame seared the damp grass a few feet away from me as the creature I’d been riding registered his opinion of my presumption.

  “Frella!” Nyx’s voice was hoarse. He slid down from Lisha’s saddle, only to go down on one knee when his legs failed to hold him. He half-stumbled and half-crawled to me, giving the white dragon a wary look as he supported me into a sitting position.

  Cheen and Iyabo landed a short distance away, their riders appearing slightly less worse for wear than Nyx and I seemed to be. I caught my breath in a harsh gasp as Eldris flung himself off Iyabo and lunged at Rayth, grabbing him by the front of his cloak and smashing a fist into his jaw.

  “Damn you! Damn you, Rayth!” he shouted. “We should never have listened to your fucking message two years ago! We never should have come when you asked! His life was worth more than this!”

  Rayth reeled under the blow, making no attempt to return it in kind. Nyx looked at me, wide-eyed. I waved him off as I sucked in wheezing breaths, trying to convey that I wasn’t seriously injured. At least, I didn’t think I was. I couldn’t actually feel much of anything beyond the tightness around my chest and the pain radiating from my half-healed back after hitting the ground.

  Nyx managed to get his feet under him and stagger toward the others. To my distant surprise, he shoved bodily between the other two, facing Eldris and flattening his palms over the larger man’s chest.

  “Don’t,” I heard him say in a wrecked voice. “Please, just… don’t.”

  Eldris shoved against him for the space of a couple of heartbeats, as though he’d go right through Nyx to get at Rayth again. Then, somehow, Nyx’s arms were around him and Eldris was sobbing—great, wracking hitches of pain and grief that nearly doubled him over. And Nyx was leading him to where I still sat on the damp ground.

  Eldris collapsed to his knees next to me.

  Part of me wanted to fall against him and join him in his grief, but when I looked inside to where my tears should have lived, there was only an empty void staring back at me. My eyes slid to where Rayth now leaned against Cheen’s side, facing away from us, his shoulders held stiffly and his body unmoving. Nyx sat next to Eldris with a lost look on his face, forming the third point of a triangle along with Eldris and me.

  No one spoke. The only sound was the wind whistling through the stones and Eldris’ heavy, ragged breathing. I couldn’t… seem to feel anything.

  A waterskin appeared in my line of sight as Rayth offered it to me wordlessly. A red mark decorated the side of his jaw where Eldris had hit him. It was already turning purple in the center. I took the skin and raised it to my lips with shaky fingers, swallowing the stale, lukewarm contents.

  “Aristede would have been the first to tell us not to turn back,” Rayth said quietly. “He gave his life for the dragons, just as all of us were prepared to do. We owe it to him to make certain his sacrifice was not in vain.”

  Eldris looked up at his longtime comrade with his face drawn into harsh lines of agony. “No one can owe him anything. Not now. He’s fucking dead, Rayth.”

  His normally smooth voice sounded like rocks grinding together. I managed to get my limbs to cooperate enough to set the water aside and pull his head down to rest on my shoulder. I still couldn’t feel anything… I just held him.

  Beyond our little huddle, I watched the white dragon give himself an irritated shake that rattled his scales from head to tail. His neck twisted this way and that, nostrils flaring as he scented the unfamiliar air. Eburos was chilly and damp in the throes of early autumn—so different from the weather on the continent. I wondered idly what the dragons made of it.

  The male sniffed noses with each of the three females in turn, exchanging smoky puffs of breath. His gaze moved to the edge of the cliffs, beyond which the sea crashed against the rocks, and his turquoise eyes became distant. A thread of unease wove through my numbness as he arched his neck and shook out his wings.

  “No…” I murmured, untangling myself from Eldris. With difficulty, I staggered to my feet on unsteady legs, feeling a litany of aches and pains erupt from my recent abrupt introduction to the ground. “Oh, no, no, no—”

  The others were following my gaze now, stepping forward as though they could somehow stop the white dragon as he reared back and launched into the air. Great wings flapped, the females looking on as he gained height and headed for the ocean, his huge body growing smaller and smaller as he flew southwest over the water… toward Utrea.

  All three men watched him disappear, speechless. Nyx was the first to recover.

  “Should we... try to fly after him? Stop him somehow?”

  Eldris took a moment longer to find his voice. When he did, it was heavy with bitterness. “Stop him how? Our dragons are exhausted. I don’t know that we could even catch him now, much less herd him back…”

  I thought of Li
sha struggling to reach Eburos. Of Shantha tumbling into the sea.

  “Please don’t,” I begged. “Please… don’t try. I can’t lose anyone else. I… can’t.”

  Rayth was still staring after the distant speck of white as though he’d been turned to stone. I could only imagine what thoughts must be running through his mind as he watched his dreams of saving the dragons disappear into nothingness. If I could still feel my emotions properly, no doubt I’d be in a similar state. Not only had Aristede’s death been for nothing; my personal failure in forming a bond with the lone male had been the final straw that brought everything crashing down around us.

  I wondered if Rayth had realized yet where the real blame for this disaster lay. I wondered what he would do to me when he did.

  My thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a red-robed female figure at the top of the trail leading from the area housing the temple up to the plain where the Old Stones stood. She stopped abruptly, understandably taken aback by the sudden appearance of four people and three mythical beasts amongst the megaliths.

  Before she could turn and flee back the way she came, I flung out a hand. “Wait! Don’t run away! Is Brother Favian here? At the temple?”

  She paused warily, her voice wavering a bit as she called back, “Yes… he’s here. You know him?”

  I relaxed a bit, lowering my hand. “He’s my brother. Please—tell him Frella has returned. Tell him I’ve brought dragons along.” I swallowed, licking my lips. “Dragons… and trouble.”

  Chapter 19: Blood Bonds

  Frella

  I BRACED MY WEIGHT against one of the massive stones as I waited, wishing that I could somehow draw strength from the magic that infused this place. Favian and Ithric had always said that they could sense the power of the Old Stones, but Ithric was a shape-shifter and, of the two of us, Favian had inherited all the gods’ gifts in our family.

  I wasn’t sure how much time passed before a familiar robed figure appeared at the top of the trail, his light blond hair glinting in the uncertain sunlight that peeked through the clouds. Just as the woman had done earlier, he stopped in his tracks at the sight of the dragons. But unlike the priestess, he hesitated for only a moment before striding toward us again—his eyes only for me.

  Gentle hands closed over my shoulders. “Oh, Frella,” my brother said sadly, taking in the bruising on my face and my generally battered appearance. “I’d hoped this vision was wrong, but I came here a few days early anyway, in case you showed up. At least you’re here now, and safe. I’m so sorry for your loss, baby sister.”

  This was supposed to be the part where I fell into his embrace and started crying, I thought distantly. But still, there was nothing inside me but emptiness. At least having a brother who dreamed visions of the future meant I didn’t have to explain as much to him.

  “We need asylum,” I said. “These dragons are the last ones in existence, as far as we know. They carry a bounty, and they’re soul-bound to my companions. If they’re killed, my friends will die, too—and we’ve already lost someone we cared deeply about in the process of getting here.”

  He nodded, pushing a tangled curl of my hair back from my face with a sad expression on his finely shaped features. “I formally extend the protection of the temple of Avlan,” he said, addressing the others as much as me. Then he met my eyes again. “Ithric and Kath are due to arrive tomorrow. They’ll be able to extend the protection of Rhyth’s ruling council—provisionally, at least. I give you my word that you will all be welcome here.”

  We’d failed… but we were finally safe. Those of us who’d survived, anyway.

  Rayth rallied himself and approached. “I’m sorry,” he said in Alyrion, “but I don’t know your tongue. Can you understand me like this?”

  Favian nodded. “I can, if you can forgive my appalling accent in turn.” He repeated his offer of asylum in Alyrion, though neither Nyx nor Eldris could understand him that way, either.

  Rayth nodded, though. “Your offer of protection is greatly appreciated. Frella and Leannyck are injured. The dragons are exhausted and in need of meat to replenish their strength.”

  “I’m all right,” I muttered, while silently wondering whether the gods would strike me down for blasphemy if I disappeared behind one of the stones for a piss.

  Rayth ignored me, while Favian gave me the sort of disbelieving look common to older brothers of younger sisters everywhere. He sighed and reached out a hand, grasping Rayth’s forearm to forearm in greeting.

  “Favian,” he introduced. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Rayth. That’s Eldris, and that’s Leannyck,” he said, gesturing with his free hand. “We’re in your debt.”

  Favian huffed out a breath. “Hardly that. Why don’t you come with me? The temple’s nearby. Will the dragons… be all right here, for the moment?”

  I quickly translated the gist of the conversation for the others.

  “I’ll stay,” Eldris said gruffly. He was still on the ground, as though he lacked the will to rise.

  “Eldris,” I began, but he shook his head.

  “Go. Let them take care of you. I… can’t, yet. I just need a minute.”

  I closed my mouth unhappily, comforted only a bit when Iyabo came over and nudged his shoulder gently. He wasn’t alone, I told myself.

  Favian looked between us, his pale blue eyes seeing too much, as ever. “I’ll rustle up some meat and have it brought here just as soon as I can. Tell him if he needs anything before then, the temple is just at the bottom of the path and he should come ask for help.”

  I passed it on and Eldris nodded glumly, lifting a hand to rest on Iyabo’s sapphire crest. With a pang, I thought of all the times he’d teased me about wanting to meet my brother. The gods knew, I’d never pictured the meeting as taking place under circumstances like these.

  That thought threatened to shift my focus back to the person who wasn’t here with us, and I cut it off post-haste. My heavy cloak of numbness wavered, but did not fall.

  I wasn’t sure quite what to make of it when Rayth took my arm and draped it over his shoulder, supporting me as we made our slow way down the hillside leading to the temple. Favian offered to help Nyx, but Nyx shook his head and made his own way, one arm braced around his half-healed ribs. We stopped to relieve ourselves behind some rocks that hadn’t been erected as a monument to the gods, and finished the short trek to the lower elevations.

  The temple was as I remembered it—built of local stone and incorporated into the cliffside near the local hot springs. Originally, it had been a mere cave, and the memory of the place brought a pang as it reminded me of the cave we’d left behind in the mountains of Utrea.

  The old High Priestess, Zandreen, had died not long before I left Eburos on my travels. Her replacement, Sephira, met us inside. She gave us one good look, sighed, and ushered us into a private room.

  “Favian told me about the vision he had of your arrival. I’ll send one of the novices to inform the council in Rhyth that you’re here and will need to speak with them,” she said. “Is it true there are dragons?”

  I nodded. “Yes. Three of them.”

  “I’ll go see if we can spare a goat so they can eat,” Favian murmured in Alyrion. “Once they’ve recovered from flying here, there are wild sheep living on the coastal cliffs, assuming they know how to hunt.”

  “Thank you,” Rayth told him again.

  Favian ruffled a gentle hand over my hair before leaving to see about the meat. Sephira ran a critical eye over us.

  “You all look like you’d benefit from several hours’ sleep more than anything else,” she observed. “Is anyone in need of a healer before that happens?”

  I glanced at Nyx, and asked, “Healer?” He shook his head. “No,” I told her. “Our injuries aren’t fresh. Though I do need to talk to someone about covering this up somehow.” Tugging the neckline of my tunic down, I exposed the top of the triskelion Lesimba had carved into my chest before I�
��d killed her. Its presence still engendered a sort of dull rage inside me, and I hated myself just a little bit more for being able to feel something related to the pattern of scabs marring my skin, but not for Aristede.

  Sephira had never been one for emotional displays, and right now, I appreciated that. She merely nodded. “If obscuring it is the idea, there are a couple of possibilities. I’ll talk to one of the Sisters who has a talent for such things.”

  “Thanks.”

  “For now,” Sephira continued, “there is food and wine on that table. This room and the room next to it are yours to use while you are here. Rest. I will see that you’re not disturbed.”

  Out of the blue, I realized that I’d been awake for more than a solid day. Sephira left us to our own devices with instructions to ask any of the priestesses or acolytes for assistance if we needed anything. The three of us were silent as we helped ourselves to the humble offering of food and drink. I eyed the large bed with longing.

  “Rest, both of you,” Rayth said. “I’ll make sure Eldris is all right, and send him here to join you as soon as I can be reasonably sure of doing so without getting punched again.”

  I wasn’t used to hearing the lack of an edge in his voice. Something seemed… wrong… about hearing him speak in such a flat, emotionless way. It was disconcerting. Nyx distracted me a moment later, hooking me by the arm and tugged me over to the bed before pushing me onto it.

  “We’re sleeping now,” he said in his quiet tones. “Worry about the rest of it when we wake up, all right?”

  I nodded, too sore and wrung out to even expend the effort necessary to pull my boots off. Nyx did manage to get his off with a wince as his ribs protested—and he surprised me again by removing mine as well. Once I was actually lying on the straw-stuffed leather mattress, I wondered how I could possibly be expected to sleep after everything that had happened. That lasted until Nyx lay down next to me and spooned against my back.

  I was unconscious within moments, barely aware of Rayth closing the door softly behind him as he left.