by K. E. Young
Eventually, the party broke up and Mero's carry chair arrived to take him back to his rooms. Geran embarrassed both of us by yelling out as we left that we were to sleep in our own rooms this time. Separately. "No more misbehaving until the wedding!" The remaining dragonlords thought this was hilarious. The last die-hard court members just looked shocked. Evidently, sex was a taboo subject at parties.
The men hauling the carry chair continued their heckling of Mero from before but were amusedly silent when he gifted me with a toe-curling kiss at my doorway.
"Don't bother going to the office tomorrow. You have a lesson with Hanat in the morning and at some point tomorrow, we'll determine if you are a dragonlord. Sleep well, my love."
I went into my room and took off my shoes. There was a tray with another cup of Zaki's tea and a snack. I wasn't hungry, but I ate a little fruit anyway. It cleared the taste of the tea out of my mouth. I undressed, brushed my teeth, and tucked myself into bed. I wished Mero could have joined me but it was only a few more days. Surely, we could sneak some privacy before then.
I drifted off with the thought that my life had changed a lot in the past five days, with more change to come tomorrow.
Chapter 10
Day 7: 45th Day of Sanctuary, 3866
The day dawned cold and gloomy with the threat of worse to come. From what I had heard, the weather the past week and a half had been remarkably warm for late winter and they weren't sure if it heralded an early spring or a disastrous freeze that would kill the buds that were forming early. The dragonlords were sure that a freeze was coming because the magic that surged in the spring hadn't started yet and it always did when spring was coming, even if it was early.
I hadn't slept well, haunted by dreams where I searched in vain for something important, and I felt brittle and unsettled. After dressing, I traipsed down to the dining hall. Today would be nerve wracking at the very least and I needed the energy despite my lack of appetite.
When I got to the dining hall, I found that either I had beaten Mero to breakfast or missed him. Since there were more people trailing in rather than out, I decided it was the former. I hadn't yet adjusted to my new schedule. The days were a little longer than I was familiar with, then again, maybe my days had been so full they seemed longer.
I was halfway through when Koris showed up.
I looked at his baggy eyes dubiously. "So why are you looking so tired?"
He blew out an irritated sigh. "I was waiting up for Mero so I could help him get into bed. He's taking breakfast in his rooms this morning. Grouchy bastard. Said he misses you. He just saw you last night!"
Sebas' words about Mero's behavior echoed in my mind. "I'll head up when I'm done here, see if I can make him less grouchy."
"I would appreciate it. He has a way of making everyone around him as miserable as he is when he's unhappy."
I wolfed down my cereal and trotted up to Mero's quarters. I knocked and walked in without waiting for a response. Mero was swearing at the servant trying to settle him on the couch. From the servant's expression, it was not working out.
"Mero quit tormenting the poor boy. It's not his fault you're in pain. Do you want me to massage your knee? It might make you more comfortable."
I motioned the servant to leave and he flashed me a grateful expression as he turned to go.
Mero reached out towards me. "Kendra, my love, I need you!" He looked tired and far more upset than he should be if his knee were the only issue, so I just sat down beside him and cuddled into his arms. He wrapped himself tightly around me and just petted my hair for a long while. Eventually, he loosened his hold, laid his cheek against my hair, and said, "I missed you. I tried to sleep but you weren't there. My dragon just kept pacing around in my head calling for his mate and he wouldn't shut up. He was as bad as those court ladies."
The image made me chuckle, but my thoughts turned towards my own disturbed sleep. Was Mero the important thing I had been looking for? It felt right. These few moments in his arms had made me feel more settled than I had been all morning. "Well, we should do something about that. Do we have time for a nap? I didn't sleep well myself. Do you think Hanat would be willing to delay a few hours?"
"I think he would. Hanat rarely has much to do in the mornings. Aside from council meetings, all of his official duties are in the afternoon. I was going to have you finish the reports after your lesson but I like your idea much better. The reports can damned well wait."
I rang for Anis and with her help, we got him up and back into bed. After she left to give Hanat my apologies, I stripped and snuggled back into his arms. He fell asleep in mere moments. I followed not long after.
My sleep was dreamless this time and I felt happier and more rested when Anis woke us two hours later. Mero looked better too and smiled sleepily as I nudged him to let go. "I have to get dressed. Lessons with Hanat."
He kissed me gently. "We should get out of bed then. Pity."
I laughed as I swung out of bed and padded into the dressing room to get dressed and put my hair back in order. Anis was pouring Mero a cup of Zaki's tea when I came out. I collected a cup for myself since my ribs hurt from sleeping on my side during our nap and turned my mind to the day's tasks. The second my mind diverted from living in the moment, I was in trouble.
During my nap, everything had caught up with me. Too much had changed for me in the past few days and I feared that I had hit my limit somehow. My mind was balking at the volume of changes. It wasn't just my situation, but changes to my self, to the person I had always been.
Yes, I liked to fight, but my inner demon had never been so out of control. Men had been interesting enough, but it had never been so overwhelming that the lack of one disturbed my sleep. I had always been an oddball who made people nervous. Now, I'm something else. I just wasn't sure what that was.
Meanwhile, Mero explained about how dragon magic differed from human type magic. As interesting as the subject might normally be, the storm in my head had me too preoccupied to listen.
I knew Mero was sympathetic. He understood it was a big change for me and that I was struggling to learn a lot in a short time. He was explaining things he wouldn't have to explain to a child of Drakken. I imagine it was frustrating to him, and I appreciated his efforts to help. Despite all that, I felt a flash of panic as it all seemed to overwhelm me for a minute.
Mero's voice cut through the deluge, his hands clamping tight on my shoulders and giving me a little shake. "It's all right, Kendra. I know it's a lot to get used to but you can lean on me. I'll do all I can to help. You aren't alone. I'm here for you. We are one."
Still shaking in the aftermath of my short-lived panic attack, I took a deep breath and tried to get a grip. I've never had a panic attack before in my life! Mero's eyes bore into mine and I could feel his determination.
Wait, what? It wasn't just my imagination. I could feel it! The shock snapped me out of the whirlpool.
His eyes widened and he gasped in surprise. "Oh. Well, this is a little unexpected. This doesn't happen until the bonding."
"Huh? What do you mean by bonding?" The mind picture I had of that word wasn't good.
His smile was reassuring if confused. "It's not bad. It's part of the wedding ceremony. With an exchange of blood and magic, we bind our souls together. The dragons insist on it. It allows us to know our mate's mind and feelings. It allows me to know where you are and if you are well, whether you are angry, upset, or sad. You will know the same of me. It's not mind-speaking but it's more useful in many ways."
I calmed a little. It did sound handy. I could also see that it could prevent a few misunderstandings. The privacy issue bothered me though. "Are you sure that's what's happening? We haven't done any ceremony so how?"
Mero brushed hair out of my eyes, "The bites I presume. I didn't even consider it until now."
"And the magic?"
Mero looked lost and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe Hanat can explain it. You have a lesson with him,
don't you? Maybe it would be best to ask him. I'll see if Geran has heard of this happening before."
The reminder of the outside world was like a dash of cold water. Priorities, Kendra! "No. We can ask him later. You need to talk to Sebas. He had some very interesting things to say last night. You are the spymaster. You need to know." His expression was both surprised and alarmed as I gave him the summary of my interaction with Sebas and my conclusions.
He nodded as I finished. "You're right. I'll have a chat with Sebas and look into it." He smiled and kissed me. "Meanwhile, I think Hanat has been patient enough. We'll talk at lunch."
I sighed and toddled off to my lesson. Damned distracting man.
Hanat tried to look stern but couldn't stop his shy grin and chuckle when I swept into his workroom and breathlessly explained about Mero's dragon keeping him up all night.
"I understand, my lady. It appears Lord Cassettis' dragon has imprinted on you. When that happens, they don't like being separated from their mates for very long. Under normal circumstances, it takes a few weeks for the imprinting to happen but it can happen faster. Freshly imprinted dragons cling for a few weeks. You are lucky to have a true mating. I was not so blessed myself.
"My mate and I don't get along that well. She's a wonderful woman but she was not pleased when her mother chose me. I'm fond of her and want what's best for her and for her to be happy but it seems that means keeping my distance.
"We have both a daughter and a son so she no longer welcomes me. That is why I am here rather than there. Fortunately, my dragon never imprinted on her so the distance is bearable. I think that if she had welcomed me, he would have. You don't have that problem though." He waved me to a seat at a small round table off to one side.
The room was windowless but brightly lit. Despite the lack of windows, the air was fresh and cooler than I liked. The whitewashed walls and pale grey stone floor were so clean you could perform surgery. Odd-looking bookshelves with latches and hinges along the edges lined one wall, travel cases for the library. Other than the shelves, there was a tidy desk, an even tidier workbench with tools and small bins, and the round table with mismatched chairs. One corner of the room housed a large cylindrical metal framework that ran from floor to ceiling.
Hanat settled himself in the chair across from me and cleared his throat. "As a Nakairu you will need to learn control of your magic rapidly so I'm sorry, but I'm going to push you rather hard in practice. I'll focus on teaching you control and information pertaining to earth mages first. Once you've mastered the most important aspects, I'll expand your lessons to more general magic theory and the specifics of the other elements. Things our children learn even before their magic grows into the need to learn control.
"In addition, I think it would serve you well if you learned the combat magics taught to the soldiers. Lord Dantalion, or Prince Geran might be the best choice for those lessons since they are far more skilled at them than I am. I excel in other areas of less use to you right now."
I folded my hands on the table in front of me. "That sounds fair. I'm playing catch-up with everything else so it's not too surprising I have to with magic. So what's first?"
His eyes twinkled even though his expression was solemn. "More practice with drawing and draining magic. We can't move on to anything more complicated until you master that. You did very well when I tested you, but you must do better before we get to 'the good stuff' as Lady Sara called it."
My lesson was unremarkable. It consisted of control exercises sprinkled with explanations about how magic worked. It was interesting but didn't quite blank out the development of the morning. If I focused, I could feel Mero in the back of my mind and I found he was right. I could feel him moving around the palace. His pain was a nagging ache until about halfway through my lesson when it abruptly faded. It confused me until I remembered Tomba was supposed to look at his knee this morning.
I asked Hanat what he thought and he agreed that a soul bond had formed, but he was clueless about how. An exchange of blood wasn't enough it seemed.
Mero and I met up again at lunch
I sighed as I took a seat and served up some of the soup and fixings for a sandwich. The lesson had been more tiring than I had thought it would be. "Magic is giving me a headache."
Mero nodded. "It's like that at first. Think of it like combat practice. Until you develop the muscles and the endurance, it will hurt."
"Well, we know what kind of mage I am. What kind of mage are you?"
His expression was sheepish. "I am a mid-level water mage. I didn't have interest in mind or healing magic so I learned shadow and illusion from Lord Shalatu Kaio instead. He's spymaster of Therys. I spent two years as his assistant. It's how I eventually became Geran's spymaster. It's useful when you're trying to sneak around unnoticed. I can also produce light at pretty much any level I want."
"The sneaking bit would be a useful for a spy and the light makes a useful weapon."
He dropped the piece of bread he had picked up back onto his plate. "You know, you're the first one to say that. Most don't see it as a weapon at all."
"Maybe they never thought about it. My people can use very bright light in warfare. If you focus the light tightly enough it can burn through metal and stone. Can you smother light in an area?"
Mero looked intrigued. "I don't know, I've never tried. Focused enough?"
I nodded around a spoonful of soup. After I swallowed I elaborated. "Most of the time, light is scattered, but if you focus it all tightly so it's all going in the same direction without scattering or interfering with itself it can be quite powerful. You must be careful though. There are…" I fumbled for a word that would work, "elements of the light that aren't visible to the human eye that can cause substantial damage in large amounts."
"Elements." I could feel his confusion.
How do you explain the wavelengths of light? "Okay. You know that if you set a prism in a ray of light it will split into a rainbow?" He nodded understanding. "Well, what the prism is doing is spreading out the light so you can see the various elements separately ranked by their energy level. Each of those elements of light has an intrinsic energy, just like the stuff of the world. Red is lower in energy, while violet is higher. However, there's more out there than what you can see. Human eyes are limited. There are energy levels above violet and below red that you can't see.
"The energy level closest to violet that you can't see we call ultra-violet. When you get a sunburn, it's because you got too much exposure to that ultra-violet part. The levels above ultra-violet are even more dangerous. Below red is infra-red and we perceive that as heat, but it's not the same as heat. My Uncle Todd could have explained the difference if he were here, but I can't because I don't understand it. Physics wasn't my favorite subject in school.
I paused. I still hadn't gotten to why light could cause damage, had I? "Light of any kind can cause damage if you send a focused beam of just that kind of light but the higher the inherent energy of the light, the greater the damage it can cause. If you tighten down your light to just that bit of ultra-violet, you can blind your target without them ever knowing you did it without having to produce a huge amount of that type of light. You would have to be careful not to blind yourself though. If they can't see it then neither can you, and reflective surfaces don't care what they're reflecting."
Mero was thinking hard. "So fire puts out a lot of this infrared light?" I nodded. "I think I have much practicing to do. Fortunately, illusions require some of what you speak of so I at least have something to start with." His lips twisted in humor. "We haven't added to the range of combat magics in a very long time. I've never heard of anyone using light as a weapon. It's a distraction on the battlefield, but not an actual weapon."
Crap, what have I done now? What was that saying about the road to hell? Something about good intentions. It was too late to back up so I might as well go whole hog. "You can do the same thing with sound. Loud focused tones of sound can cause extr
eme pain, deafness, disorientation, and nausea."
Mero stared at me for a few moments in silence. "I'm not sure I want to know how you know that. Your people's facility with war is disturbing."
"Yup." I wasn't even going to try to argue that one.
He sighed as turned back to his meal. I hoped that he didn't regret choosing me. "So the fact I'm an earth mage is a big deal?"
He laughed and readjusted the cushion he was leaning against. "If I understand what you mean by 'big deal', then yes, it's important. There just aren't very many earth mages anywhere anymore. The number of high-level mages has declined everywhere, decimated by the wars a thousand years ago and the repeated occurrences of valbore. We've seen more new earth mages in the last thirty years in the form of Nakairi and their children than usual." He took a sip of his tea.
"That was the whole problem. When the Mage-Kings fell, few earth mages could pass their talents on to a next generation. The descendants of those Mage Kings still have magic, but they're rarely more than mid water level anymore. We cherish those earth mages among the Drakkeni due to their rarity. A large portion of Drakken's export income comes from memory stones our earth mages create for use by other mages."
I ran a hand over my scalp. "Memory stones?" There were too many things I wanted to ask questions about but not enough time. Well, I had already known I would be drinking from a firehose for a while.
Mero gave me a look. It was as if he once again knew what I was thinking and offered a sympathetic smile. "Memory stones are one of the few bits of Atlani artistry we managed to keep. They are particularly pure crystals primed by the earth mages to record images. Many use them to record images of family members or important documents. It only takes a little magical talent to trigger the capture of the image or the replay of that image. There are memory stones dating from the Mage kings themselves in the Drakkeni archive collected after the Mad King's Purge."
"Okay… I'll want to know more about all of that… later." I wiped my face in thought. Technology based on magic. This rabbit hole was a lot deeper than it first appeared. "What did Geran mean when he said female dragonkin were rare?"