Kendrian grabbed Tessen's hands and squeezed. “No. My destiny is in solitude and I'm not worthy of friendship. Now connect with Serida and trust Ara, no matter what she does.”
A series of static jolts coursed through Tessen's fingers before he could ask why Kendrian felt himself unworthy.
“Now, Tessen,” Kendrian growled. His grip on Tessen's hands tightened. “Trust me right now. Please. I won't let you fall. Connect with her.”
Without moving, Tessen reached into the moonlight and found Serida's heartbeat. Her sight became his, and through the moonlight, their perception was one.
Beneath Serida, Ara spread her wings. She took two steps toward the pond, then launched herself into the air. The cool wind rushed by Tessen's face as the forest grew small below.
“Ask her to ease her grip, Tessen. She's pulling up scales.” Kendrian's voice flowed through him, but he felt it more than heard it.
“How are you doing that?” Tessen asked aloud. He was barely aware of his own body, but he felt everything Serida did. He directed his thoughts toward her and she relaxed her taloned hands and feet.
“Thanks. You don't need to use your voice. Dragonbound who are touching during the moonlight link can communicate with each other telepathically just as they communicate with their dragons. Direct your thoughts toward me and I'll hear them.”
“And you thought empaths were invasive...”
“What you do is without consent.” Ara's scales and crests bristled as a gust of wind took them higher. “We're going to take you up to peak level, then let you glide a bit before catching you. Don't worry. You're small and Ara is fast.”
Serida's heartbeat quickened. You're okay, Tessen thought. They won't let you fall. You've been gliding for months. This is no different, so spread your wings and enjoy the view.
The mountains tapered to snow-capped peaks. Ara circled around a particularly jagged one. Mountain Home was barely visible below and ahead of them, an out-of-place stone grouping in a cleared patch of forest. Three more dragons flew along the edges of the vale, sparkling black and silver in the moonlight.
Kendrian's voice returned to Tessen's head. “Pay attention to how she does this. Mother has special flying suits you'll be able to wear once Serida is large enough to carry you. They spread out like the membranes of a flying squirrel so you can glide as she flies. Right now she's learning how to glide and be caught so she can catch you later.”
“I'm not sure if I want to do that,” Tessen replied. He was trying not to allow his racing, screaming heart to bleed into Serida's awareness. The sight below him was beautiful, but the longer he stayed up, the more anxious he became. A tickle rose from his lungs into his throat as the small muscles between his ribs tightened.
“Why not? It's bliss. Trust is the most important aspect of a dragonbind. Trust your dragon, and trust other dragons and dragonbound when you're working with them like this.”
“It's hard to trust someone who hates me.”
Ara made a sharp turn to the left to avoid oncoming Ectran. “He's going the wrong way. Human dragonbound are so arrogant. I don't know why my mother allows so many of them. I don't know why she made this one her Captain.”
“Am I arrogant?” Tessen watched Serida stroke the silver scales of Ara's back. She was at ease in the air in a way Tessen could never be.
“Are you ready? We're going to let you glide now.”
Ara dropped away before Tessen had the chance to respond. Serida fell a short distance, then thrust out her wings and caught the edge of a zephyr.
Tessen tried to close his eyes, but he couldn't blind himself to the sprawling vale as long as Serida's eyes remained open.
Faster and faster beat his heart as cold sweat beaded on his skin. Too high, too fast, much too fast. Serida swooped and dove on the swirling wind as darkness gathered at the edges of Tessen's perception.
This is fun. Don't panic. The voice in Tessen's head was not Kendrian's, but instead Serida's.
Too late. Nothing she could say would lessen this need to escape. A million tiny pinpricks stabbed beneath his skin, then stirred and undulated in time with his frantic heart.
Tessen, breathe.
“Breathe, Tessen,” Kendrian's voice echoed around him.
He couldn't. Couldn't breathe, couldn't blink, couldn't calm. Only panic.
Serida's joy turned to fear as the ground grew closer. She couldn't concentrate on her wings with Tessen's terror flowing through her.
Her wings buckled and she tumbled toward the forest.
Tessen's vision burst into black and the moonlight link shattered.
“DAMN IT. NO ONE TOLD me he was afraid of heights.” Kendrian's voice hovered above Tessen like a hornet coming in for the sting.
“He's not. He's afraid of falling.” Kemi was near. The hand touching Tessen's forehead must have been hers. “He has a fever.”
“He was winded on the way over here.” Now Iefyr spoke, his Pearl Realm brogue a comforting countermelody to Kemi and Kendrian's harsh Anthoran accents. “Whatever illness he has, it's coming on quickly. I told him he needed to rest but–”
“He's stubborn and afraid of disappointing us,” Kemi finished. The hand on Tessen's forehead shifted to his cheek. It was cold, colder than any living hand should ever be. “Is anyone else ill right now?”
“Not that I know of. I think the illness is minor, but the anxiety isn't.”
“A dragonbound who can't fly is useless,” Kendrian muttered. “Mom is still flying with that equally-useless pixie. She won't be happy when she finds out about this. He doesn't belong anywhere near the Moonlight Regiment.”
Kemi clicked her teeth. “Nearly all of the older dragonbound have trouble the first couple times. You already know this. They're not like us. They remember what it's like not to be bound. He needs to practice more, but not when he's sick and exhausted like this.”
“He's useless and I can't figure out why you l–”
“Sorry,” Tessen mumbled as he finally found control over his tongue. He coughed once, then rolled onto his side so he could cough more effectively. “Is Serida okay?”
“She's fine. Ara caught her.” Kendrian tapped his foot as he glared down at Tessen. “I should have made you release the link as soon as your heart rate rose, but I thought you'd calm down. What's wrong with you?”
“I...” Serida nudged the back of Tessen's head. He reached back and stroked her nose. “I'm not feeling well. I'm sorry. Iefyr, I should have listened to you and gone home to bed. Sorry.”
“Stop apologizing, you lout,” Iefyr said. “And yes, you should have listened to me.”
Tessen slowly sat upright. He rolled his shoulders forward, then backward. The left side of his head ached, a stabbing pulse that ran from the back of his eye into his neck. “Sorry, Serida. I ruined your soaring lesson. We should go home now.”
“Go home and stay home.” Kendrian's sneer jolted Tessen fully alert.
“Stop, Kendy.” Kemi's hand found its way onto Tessen's shoulder. “Come on. I'll walk you home.”
“You will not.”
A growl rose in the back of Kemi's throat. “I'm not a child, Kendrian.”
A small movement near the waterfall caught Tessen's attention. If he'd been standing with the others, he wouldn't have seen it at all.
“Stop,” he said, holding up a hand.
“What?” Kemi and Kendrian asked in unison.
Tessen pointed toward the waterfall. “There. Do you see them?”
“I don't see anything,” Kendrian said with a irritated sigh.
Iefyr crouched next to Tessen. He tilted his head first to the left, then the right. “I see them.”
“See what?” Kemi asked.
“Just behind the waterfall. Luminous eyes, several pairs of them.”
Tessen rose to his knees, then pressed his palms into his thighs and leaned forward. Some of the eyes blinked, others remained open and fearful. A single pair of silver irises remained fixed upo
n him. “Those are Uldru.”
9
Hael
Two of the people staring at her were large, with small eyes and dull brown skin. The other two were smaller and paler, and nearly Uldru of build and feature, but they too had dull skin and their tiny, brightly-colored eyes didn't glisten as they should.
“What sort of people are they?” Elan asked, gripping Hael's arm tightly.
“They live in The Above. They look a little like the creatures the Jarrah punished. The one with pale hair looks like that last one before they stopped coming, the male they punished with the big round-eared female and the runaway slave. Maybe they are kin. Maybe this is what Jarrah look like under their masks.” Hael gently pried Elan's fingernails out of her forearm.
“Do you think they can see with eyes so small?”
“Yes. Look at them. They're looking right back at us. What strange things. Their skin doesn't shimmer like a person's should.”
Elan pressed against Hael's side, then gestured upward. “And what do you think that is? Such a bright light, but it's cold. And look at the little bright lights all around the dark. They're like tiny glowworms but they're frozen in place and their glow isn't right. What are they?”
“I don't know.” Hael's attention was elsewhere. Beyond the four staring people sat four more, arranged in pairs and attention fixed upon each other. One was Uldru-sized but well-fed, with obsidian hair and skin like chalk. Her companion was the largest of the eight, with triangular ears and a furry, sandstone-colored tail. The third was large with a patch of hair on his face, and he somewhat resembled the darker-skinned person who stared at her, and opposite him was a young girl with shimmering argent skin. “Look. There is an Uldru here already. A child. Do you see her?”
“We are not the first in The Above.” Elan tilted his head and stared at the girl. “She is...” He gasped and yanked Hael's arm away from her side. “What is that?”
Two enormous silver creatures crept through the plants behind the staring people. They looked like nothing Hael had ever seen before and she wondered if they were stalking the people to eat them. Hael's heartbeat thundered in her ears, but she needed to remain calm for her brother's sake.
“Dragons, retreat,” said the pale-haired male. He appeared to be just beyond adolescence, and his voice was quiet and gentle. The creatures behind him huffed, then disappeared into the towering plants.
“Go make Elsin break his link. Bring Yana over.” The girl who spoke had short obsidian hair and eyes like polished sapphires. She was more Uldru of body and face than any of the others, aside from the Uldru child herself. “Tessen, don't approach them. If you're sick, you could make them sick.”
“They speak like Jarrah, but not,” Hael said, once again shaking away Elan's too-strong grip. “Their words are the same, but they form them differently.”
“Do you think they're safe?” Elan asked.
“It doesn't matter. They see us and we see them. The Uldru girl doesn't look like she's in distress. No one fears the creatures.” Hael turned her head to look back down the tunnel. Her people looked back at her, uncertain but curious. Itrek cowered against a wall, Min's knife held close to his throat. Hael let her gaze slowly return to the new world beyond the waterfall. “I am not fearless, but I am brave. We cannot return, so we step forward.”
She breathed in the cool, misty air, then descended the tumbling stones into The Above.
One of the brown people cautiously approached her. He was a strange-looking creature, with wide features and ruby-colored hair above blue eyes. He was tall with broad shoulders, but his pointed ears were shaped like an Uldru's. He appeared curious rather than threatening and Hael did not fear him.
“Hello.” His voice was rough, but kind. His teeth were blunt aside from two longer, thicker pointed ones in his lower jaw. “My name is Iefyr. What's yours?”
“Hello. I am Hael. What are you, Eye-fur? Is this The Above?”
“I . . . uh . . . I think so.” Iefyr's eyes reflected the lights in the darkness above as he smiled. There was a touch of silver in his blue eyes, and Hael found it confusing. It was a color combination that didn't exist in either Uldru or Varaku. “I'm half orc and half elf. I don't expect those words mean anything to you. You're an Uldru, aren't you? What are you doing here?”
“You're a hybrid? I don't know what your halves mean. We only have Raxan hybrids.” Hael looked beyond Iefyr at the little Uldru girl. She was freed from her trance now, and staring at Hael with a look of surprise and confusion. She was a healthy-looking child, and better fed than any Uldru Hael had ever seen aside from the younger designated breeders, who the Varaku kept nourished so they could produce more slaves without dying during birth. “We destroyed the Vetarex hive. We are free Uldru now.”
“We? How many of you are there?”
Hael glanced toward the waterfall. “I make thirty-six. We have a prisoner, too. A Varaku. He is weak. I think he'll die, but that's not a problem. He can die now if he wants.”
“Huh.” Iefyr turned toward the others. “Tessen . . . never mind, you shouldn't be running anywhere. Elsin, will you go find your sister and Daelis and bring them here? I think we're going to need their help.”
The furry-faced person who had been sitting with the Uldru girl stood and nodded. “Absolutely. They're the only ones here aside from Yana who might know what to do.”
Iefyr watched the large, obsidian-haired man leave before turning back toward Hael. “It seems the first thing to do is to welcome our guests and treat them to a proper meal. It looks like you could use one, Hael.”
“Is food common in The Above?” Hael asked. Hunger was something an Uldru learned to ignore early in life, but food since their escape had been especially scarce.
Iefyr held his hands to the side and laughed. “Food is everywhere. Hot food, cold food, spicy and sweet. I know Uldru like insects, and there are millions here.”
The small Uldru girl approached one hesitant step at a time. She took Iefyr's huge hand, then grinned at Hael. “You're like me, and now you're free, too. Don't be afraid. Everyone here is a friend. Even that one. He's angry and mean, but he would never hurt you.” She pointed at the pale-haired man, who scowled and looked away. “Some things are scary and strange, but I will help you learn and so will my family. They are my new family. They're not my Uldru family, but they saved me and brought me above ground. They are not Jarrah and they are not like Jarrah. I like it here and you will, too. My name is Yana Goldtree.”
“I am Hael.” Her pulse rose as she gazed between plants the height of twenty Uldru stacked on top of each other and distant gray shapes of a size her mind couldn't comprehend. Everything here was different, and she found very little of what she saw identifiable. “I don't know what any of this is.”
Yana pointed at the large light in the sky, then the smaller ones, then swung her hands from side to side. “Moon, stars, trees, mountains, grass, friends. The big animals that don't keep their feet on the ground are dragons and the ones in this valley are friends. Well, some dragons are big. The baby ones are small. Those ones aren't food even though they look like they could be. I know this is confusing and overwhelming. It was for me, too. Everything is new and you don't have names for anything you see. You'll learn, though.” She reached out to touch Hael's hand. Her silvery skin was warm and uncalloused. There were old scars on her arms, many thin lines that began at her wrists and disappeared beneath her clothing. “You should have your friends come out now. I want to meet more Uldru. I'm not alone here anymore.”
HAEL AND ELAN SIPPED bowls of something called chicken and dumplings while a physician examined them and a blue-eyed woman with a mess of curly obsidian hair sat nearby. She had introduced herself as 'Rin', which Hael thought sounded more like a name for an Uldru than something to call a person of The Above. There were other strange people scattered between the Uldru in the large room, and they sat upon benches that were not stone at tables covered with more food than Hael had ever seen
before.
“I don't know any of these flavors, but this is good,” Elan said, his mouth full of salty stew. The physician held a metal device to his ear, then placed it over Elan's heart.
“The food here is very different from what you're used to, but nothing we give you will make you sick,” Rin said, her arms crossed over her chest. She was one of the few recognizable things in this place called great hall. Hael had recognized her immediately upon their introduction. The woman was the last one who the Jarrah had punished in Vetarex. Hael learned that she had escaped the tunnels along with her mate Daelis, their son Shan, and the runaway slave Yana. Rin let her eyes wander from one group of Uldru to the next as she walked her fingertips across her lower belly. “These first couple months will be difficult for all of you, but we already know some things that will help. We're setting up a temporary sleeping area in the catacombs. Unfortunately, it's not particularly comfortable or spacious, but it will give you a dark place to sleep when the sun is out. We need to gradually introduce you to daylight, first at dawn and dusk, and eventually at other times. Your skin and eyes will likely never be able to tolerate full daylight, but we have protective coverings that will help with that.”
“So many words, and I don't know their meanings,” Hael said. She picked up a lump of something pale and tasty from her stew. “We can learn. What is this called? What is it made from?”
“That is a dumpling,” Rin said, a faint smile on her lips. Hael was already becoming used to the odd proportions of her face. She was of a people called human, and two of the large people Hael had first seen were her son and brother. A black-haired, pointy-eared toddler sleeping on a rectangle of lumpy fabric nearby was Rin's daughter, but Hael couldn't remember the child's name. “It's made out of barley flour. The fields . . . the gardens we walked through to get here, the ones with the brown stalks about to your waist, those were barley plants. Other places make dumplings out of wheat flour, but here we have a surplus of barley.”
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