by Zoey Ellis
Turning, Oshali continued on down the road. Tyomar’s growl echoed behind her, but she ignored him. And for once, it was a little thrilling to outright defy him like that. His controlling an overbearing attitude needed to be challenged. He needed to know that he couldn’t simply order her around because he decided that he was going to escort her like she was a child. As she trudged along, she couldn’t hear his footsteps, but she refused to look around. Hopefully he will go a different way and left her alone, but it seemed unlikely.
She hoped he’d finally gotten bored and gone to hunt something. It was unlikely that he would be able to stay away from his dragon for as long as the journey was going to take anyway. The dragorai were notorious for never wanting to be too far from their dragons at any time. She didn’t blame them. If she had a dragon, she would never leave its side.
Magic rose up from the ground and rotated around her, swirling close to her body. Oshali gasped pulling her arms close to her to make sure she didn’t touch it, but before she could defend herself, the magic closed in, securing itself firmly around her torso, then began to pull her off the dusty road and into the barren forest.
Oshali began to cast, desperately trying to remove the magic from her body, but everything she tried had no impact. What happened to the Gowns? They were supposed to protect her from magic. Unless… She looked up, scanning the forest in the direction that the magic was taking her.
Tyomar stood with his arms crossed, his feet planted wide apart like how used to on the ledge, watching her as she stumbled towards him.
Oshali let out a thunderous yell at the man’s pure, controlling arrogance. She wouldn’t agree to go with him into the barren forest and so he simply drags her with magic? That was unacceptable!
She began to cast again, now knowing that she needed to use much more complicated incantations, but nothing she tried could break it. Finally she came to a stop by in front of Tyomar and she yelled at him to let her go.
“No,” he said simply. “We’re going this way.”
“You said you wouldn’t interfere!” Oshali shouted at him. “This is my assignment—my first assignment. You are ruining it.”
“I am helping you,” Tyomar bellowed back. “Being anywhere near ember is too dangerous for you. And what are the Mheyu guardians going to think if you return because you couldn’t get past it? Especially when you chose not to take the advice of a local?”
“A local?” Oshali said incredulously. “You are not a local!”
Tyomar raised his brows. “I fly over here all the time,” he said simply. “Much more recently than the ancient maps you’re using.”
Oshali growled and tried with all her might, every single ounce of her energy to fight against the magic, while Tyomar simply stood there and watched her. She twisted herself in ridiculous positions and cast any and every incantation she could think of that might effect it, her voice echoing through the dead trees. Nothing worked. Panting, she went limp, finally exhausted and completely embarrassed. “Fine,” she muttered, shooting him a murderous glace. “We will go your way.”
Annoyingly, Tyomar grinned, the dimple by the corner of his mouth appearing. “I’m glad that you agree, Guardian.”
He turned and began walking deeper into the forest, and the magic dragged Oshali along behind him.
“I have agreed!” Oshali called from behind. “Remove this magic.”
“We need to gain back the time we wasted arguing,” Tyomar called over his shoulder.
Oshali cursed under her breath, the bitter injustice of this burning in her mind. Why was this suddenly feeling like his journey and she was just along for the ride? As though she wasn’t allowed to any decisions whatsoever? For some reason, he had decided to insert himself into her life outside the sanctum, and the whole point of her taking this assignment was to get away from him.
There was nothing she could do at that very moment, but she couldn’t let it stand.
She trudged after him, the magic humming around her torso as her anger smoldered into a bitter, deep resentment. And yet, her stomach still fluttered at the sight of his grin. It was so frustrating having to deal with him, and yet those smiles almost made it all worth it.
Still, she had to focus on the fact that he shouldn’t be here. He was destroying her an experience she’d looked forward to for years. She would not be ruled by him, just because he’s wanted to play protector.
Evening fell quickly and Tyomar decided to stop the camp in a small clearing.
“This is where you will sleep,” he said, gesturing to the space around them.
Oshali clenched her teeth hard, but didn’t bother to answer. She simply nodded and took off her pouch. “Are you going to remove this magic?” She couldn’t help but snap at him, but he was lucky that was all she said.
Tyomar observed her for a moment, amusement on his face, muttered under his breath. The magic surged outward, swirling around her, and then faded into nothing.
Oshali glared at him, and then placed her pouch in the middle of the clearing and the knelt down next to it, resting on her heels. Closing her eyes, she cast an incantation that was relatively new to her, taking care that her pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm were accurate.
A ripple vibrated through her Gowns, and magic ballooned out from where she was, making a half dome around her on the ground. As she continued the incantation, the magic solidified to a thin smooth type of material, creating a small see-through tent.
When she had finished, she looked around. It was a cozy space. She looked around for the dragorai. He was standing on one side of the clearing facing her, his arms crossed, his face turned again to the skies. Oshali searched for entrance to the tent which and climbed out. When she turned to look at the tent, it was completely invisible. There was no indication of anything being there at all, which was its whole purpose.
She looked over at Tyomar. “Can you see it?”
“I suggest you get some sleep,” Tyomar replied. “Night will be on us soon.”
“This wasn’t the best place for us to camp,” she said to him. “If anyone comes into this clearing they might interfere with the tent.”
“They won’t be able to see it,” Tyomar said. “And the magic will redirect people who try to walk close to it.”
“In our training we were told not to even put the tent in a place where it has to do that.” Oshali explained. “That way, if the magic fails, or if something happens, like if I’m trying to exit the tent but there are people who have made camp right next to me, then is not something I have to worry about. The Mheyu recommend finding places that tucked away, behind something, or using spaces are truly out of the way that no traveler would go.”
Tyomar nodded thoughtfully. “I will make note of that next time.
Oshali’s brows lifted, slightly surprised that he took the criticism so easily. Most dragorai hated being corrected or hated being wrong. But it also did not escape her noticed that he expected there to be a next time.
“Where are you planning on sleeping,” she asked tentatively.
“I will be here,” Tyomar said.
“All night?”
At that, he didn’t respond. His eyes simply lowered and bore into hers.
Oshali shook her head and searched for the opening back into the tent.
Once inside, she ate more of her food and undressed, using the gown to lie on and the cloak to cover herself with. She remained in her undergarments, which were an all in one fitted tunic with buttons down the front. She was not permitted to remove her undergarments any time, which she was thankful for. Because she wanted a reason to never be in the same situation as she found herself in before with Tyomar.
She lay down to sleep, shuffling a few times to find the right position, but it was too odd. Being able to see everything around her made her feel like she could be seen too, even though she couldn’t. It would certainly take some getting used to.
She wriggled around her stomach, and then onto her other side,
and stilled as her eyes landed on Tyomar. He was still studying in his strange guard position, his eyes flicking through the forest, as well as dipping down to her every so often.
She watched him, standing like a rock, and was comforted by the sight of him. Of course, he didn’t need to know that. But it didn’t escape her that the journey would have been incredibly lonely without him. It wasn’t as if she had Silette or Joren to travel with, like she had always planned. And she wasn’t sure that she would be able to cope with being alone for the whole journey.
She yawned as her body began to relax in the new environment, keeping her eyes on Tyomar. His eyes drifted to her tent. She wasn’t sure he could see it since it was made from significantly complex magic, but his eyes slid over it so maybe was too complicated for even him. Either way, the tent seemed to work.
As she lay there, drifting to sleep, she planned what she was going to do the next day to ensure her journey could get back on track and she could maintain the level of freedom that she had always had. Drastic action had to be taken.
Tyomar would not know what hit him. And she planned to hit him hard.
5
Tyomar stood watch all night while his little cloak slept.
It wasn’t that much of a hardship; he didn’t need as much sleep as she did anyway, but there was no way he could sleep while she was traveling in such a place. He was furious that she was even on this journey, but he had to respect her duties as a Mheyu. And that was the problem. If she hadn’t been a Mheyu Guardian, even if she was still a novice in her adorable grey cloak, the moment he experienced her nipple in his mouth he would have dragged her back to his lair and kept her there. He had no idea how satisfying it would be to hold her, to have her nuzzle into his chest, to hear her moan while he suckled that hard nipple. He’d held off doing anything for so long, and now he fucking regretted it.
Oshali was truly exquisite in every way. Her beautiful scent had a heady, almost peach-like sweetness to it, laced with an intoxicating tang when she was aroused. He couldn’t get enough. In fact, he could have bit on those perfect breasts all day if there was the chance to be close to enough to scent her. And the sexy rasp in her voice when she moaned had kept him hard for two days. Tyomar had never been so enthralled by an experience. But she was a Mheyu. If she had been anyone else, any other being, it wouldn’t matter, but the Mheyu mattered.
It was considered a violation of all that was sacred to the Seven to disrupt Mheyu Guardians from their duties. The Goddesses had anointed them the keepers of their history and accomplishments, and every dragorai knew that interfering would inspire their wrath. And yet, Tyomar could not leave Oshali alone. He just couldn’t. Especially while she was traveling across dangerous lands. It also didn’t help that she was so stunningly beautiful. All this time he had been talking to her, wondering what she looked like under her veil and admiring her brown eyes, while all along completely ignorant that she was so gorgeous. He wanted no other man to even look at what he was denied for so long. It almost felt as though he’d been deceived by the Mheyu, that they had been keeping her a secret, which of course ridiculous because they hadn’t. It was the Mheyu that chosen her to be his contact in the first place.
Throughout the night he patrolled the clearing, watching and listening for anyone who may be approaching. Thankfully, he had advanced senses, not only because he was a dragorai but also because he hunted regularly. The barren forest had been a good idea. No one seemed to travel through it at night, and there was minimal animal activity. Oshali’s criticism of his choice of camping ground was a good one, which he would take into account for tomorrow night.
He was impressed with the magic used to create her tent. It was an ancient magic that pulled on pure energy, which was why she was able to cast even though magic was not abundant in the war-torn lands. It was so impressive that he could feel the magic and incantations as strongly as if he had cast it himself. He had always known the Mheyu and their Gowns were significantly skilled in magic, having come from an older time, but he was not sure now if he really knew how much. Especially considering that they were able to teach Oshali these Thrakondarian incantations that allowed her to actually soar through the air, aided only by magic. That had shocked him immensely. And, if he was honest, frightened him to the point that he wanted to keep her flush against him until he was sure she wouldn’t do anything stupid again. The only good thing about the incident was that he experienced her scent and her gorgeous body. He would never regret that.
It had been all seven hells trying to explain it to his brothers. After his last time with her on the ledge, he told them he was going to accompany her, and all of them looked at him like he was insane.
“I thought she was a Mheyu,” Zendyor asked, puzzled. “Isn’t this what they do? Go and collect artifacts and testimonies all over the realm?”
“She’s a new Mheyu,” Tyomar muttered. “And she is… reckless.”
“I’m not sure why this is a concern,” Sethorn said stiffly. “We have more important things to focus on.” Tyomar and Sethorn were not on good terms at a moment. In the last meeting, they had come to blows after Sethorn had jested that Oshali had almost sat on his lap to show him under her face. Of course, Tyomar had interrogated the fuck out of that exaggeration, and when Sethorn became surly and unwilling to answer, both of them got aggressive. He was still furious at Sethorn for speaking to her that way, but was even more furious that Oshali was there in the first place. He still had to address that again with her at some point.
“I’ve been liaising with her for seven years,” Tyomar said, just as stiffly back. “I care about her safety.”
“Enough to travel to the South?” Nyro asked, making a face. “On foot? You are aware you cannot travel like that all over the realm unless you’re on Ryndross? And even then it’s risky without the rest of us near.”
Tyomar growled. “I am aware.”
“So you’re planning on traveling on Ryn with the Mheyu?” Zendyor asked, still puzzled.
Tyomar wanted to say yes, but he knew he couldn’t. Firstly, it was very personal for a dragorai-alpha to have someone on the back of their dan askha, and although he wanted to invite Oshali at some point, because he knew she would love it, it would be an extremely unusual thing for his brothers understand. He couldn’t even explain himself. Secondly, he couldn’t put himself, Ryndross, and Oshali in danger by having Ryndross around while they were traveling. He would alert others that there was a dragorai in the vicinity and their dragons were still being targeted. They had to do it the slow way, and not draw too much attention. “I’m not planning on bringing Ryndross with me.”
Nyro’s nose wrinkled. “I don’t know why anybody would want to travel that way on purpose.”
“Good luck keeping him away from you,” Sethorn remarked. “That will be difficult to do.”
Tyomar nodded. It would indeed be very difficult, but he had to find a way to make it work.
Khyros leaned forward, speaking for the first time since the meeting began. “Tyomar, explain to me about this Mheyu.”
Tyomar tensed. “What do you mean?”
“You seem very taken with her.”
The whole table quietened, realization dawning in the eyes of the other three brothers’.
“That’s true,” Nyro murmured, peering at Tyomar.
“Don’t fuck with the Mheyu, Ty,” Zendyor warned. “If the Goddesses decide to punish you—”
“No… it’s not…” Tyomar wasn’t able to explain what was happening with Oshali right now—he didn’t even know himself.
“Of course it isn’t,” Nyro agreed, leaning back in his chair. “If it was, she’d be back at his lair getting her kon pounded. Not walking for days across ember-filled lands.”
Tyomar almost barked at him for talking about her like that, but surprisingly Zendyor berated him first. “Not all of us fuck anything that walks, Nyro,” he snapped.
“Neither do I anymore,” Nyro grinned.
; “Explain to me,” Khyros said again to Tyomar.
Tyomar took a breath. It was time to tell them. “Twenty-five years ago, I rescued a baby from certain death and I took her to the Mheyu temple to be raised.”
“And this Mheyu is that child?” Khyros asked.
Tyomar nodded. “Yes, but that’s not the only thing. Up until recently, she was trained specifically and solely to be our contact. She’s studied centuries of information about us, about our clan, and about the dragorai in general. She knows things about out history that I’m sure we don’t even know.” He glanced at Nyro. “She talked about the Battle on Blood Sea when San caught you mid air after you killed an entire platoon. And when you, Zendyor, led six clans to victory on the border.”
Zendyor made a quiet noise in the back of his throat. “That was so long ago.”
He braced his elbows on the table as he looked at Khyros. “And she asked about Sorthel.”
The table became quiet again, although this time tense, as the brothers looked at Khyros
“What did she say?” Khyros asked.
“She asked if it was really true that a Goddess rode on his back once.”
A moment of silence filled the temple.
“Khyros,” Zendyor exclaimed in surprise.
Khyros simply shook his head.
“Do the Mheyu really have all that information from that long ago?” Sethorn asked.
“Yes.” Tyomar said. “And I’m sure they have the information that could explain about I’mya. They probably just don’t know it.”
“And it’s not really a priority for them to find out,” Sethorn reasoned. “They don’t focus on speculations, just the facts.”
Tyomar realized that Sethorn was probably the best person to piece together any information Oshali knew. Unfortunately, he was never going near her again while Tyomar was breathing.
“I still don’t see why you need to go with her to the South,” Nyro said..