Blood of the Dragon

by Sarina Langer

  “Leave it to us.” Cale nodded to his Sparrows. “We’ll have it ready within a few hours.”

  Kiana took a big bite out of her dried beef. “I’ve missed working with you.” She glanced at Reeve. “Even you. Did you know nothing at all gets done when you’re imprisoned?”

  “Let’s not waste time,” Rachael said. “I want to be off Kaethe before tomorrow night.”

  She wasn’t convinced what lurked in Malia’s shadows was any better, but getting away from Cephy had to be worth the effort.

  She just hoped her family wouldn’t get eaten once they reached the shore.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Kleon stared at the scrolls Lon’s Sparrow had rescued from the home he’d grown up in, and blinked. Twice. Three times. Ran his hands over the words and blinked again, just in case this was the strangest dream he’d ever had. It was quiet in the palace’s reading room—everyone was busy rebuilding or supporting those that did—and Kleon was tempted to pinch himself to prove he was awake.

  Kleon didn’t remember much of the language—he’d only been a child, after all, and he hadn’t received any lessons in the long-dead language—but what he had known was coming back to him. It also helped that another Sparrow Lon had recommended had created an alphabet within an hour, like it was the simplest thing in the world. Kleon had compared what he remembered to the list the Sparrow had given him to validate it, but his real wonder came from the letter itself. It had taken him a moment to translate it, but once he had he couldn’t tear his eyes away from it.

  I wish you could see Sanciond. Some of the sorcerers are elitist, but overall, I feel welcome and I can research anything I want. You should see the Library—it’s every bit as incredible as we imagined.

  I watched the Sparrows train yesterday. The way they combine the gift with regular weapons is amazing. I don’t mean they enchant them—they use both together. It’s a marvel to watch. I forgot my research for a moment, if you can believe it.

  Oh, and I met someone. Don’t get excited, it’s only been a few weeks, but I like him. He’s a sorcerer and important enough to live in the tower I told you about. I think you’d like him. If he can put up with me and my constant research, you should visit so you can meet him, or maybe we’ll visit together one day?

  From there, the letter focussed more on family questions, especially his ancestor’s—Mavis, from her signature—sister who had got married and hoped for a child with the gift.

  The letter was such a short thing, but it changed everything—or rather, it showed him that everything had changed a long time ago.

  Tramura hadn’t always hated magic. In fact, this Mavis had gone to study it, fallen in love with a sorcerer, and wasn’t afraid to tell her family, which meant her family hadn’t minded.

  It was near impossible to imagine the same love in his family today. It was hard enough to picture this kind of warmth from his father, but he couldn’t see this acceptance of the gift anywhere in Tramura.

  No wonder he hadn’t been taught the language. No wonder he’d found the letters stashed away like a dirty secret—in Tramura, that’s exactly what they were. It was a miracle his father hadn’t burnt them all. Had his mother found and hidden them? He’d never know. It didn’t matter how they’d survived, it only mattered that they had and what he’d learned from them. Maybe Tramura could embrace magic again. It would take a long time, but maybe, with patience and a lot of work, he could remind them of what they’d lost, show them that magic could do good too.

  But that would take years, maybe centuries. He needed to focus on more immediate solutions.

  The door opened and Oren entered. “Find anything?” The Sparrow had helped him since Lon had joined Cale and flown to Kaethe, and Kleon was grateful for his help. Oren tripped over his feet at least ten times a day, but he was one of Cale’s original Sparrows and knew them better than Kleon did.

  Kleon blinked again. “So much. I don’t know where to start.” He looked up at Oren, who sat next to him and peered at the letter. “Thank you for lending me your Sparrows for this.”

  How much so remained to be seen, but Kleon was patient. He didn’t have much time where Rachael was concerned, but in the long-term…

  “Are you all right?” Oren frowned. “Did you find anything bad for your family?”

  Kleon began to nod, then shook his head and immediately wondered if he should have nodded after all. Was this bad for his family? Right now, yes, but he couldn’t stop thinking about what could be. Tramura had embraced magic once. He couldn’t shake that revelation, as much as he tried to focus on their current problems.

  When he was four, his mother had rescued a kitten. She’d seen children kick it and throw rocks at it, and she had intervened, brought it into their home, and nursed it back to health. His father had been away on the king’s orders at the time—Kleon didn’t remember why or where to—so his mother had had time to look after the tiny thing. She had healed its broken body with her gift and its terrified mind with her love. The kitten had been terrified of people when she had taken it in and would have run had it been healthy enough, but after only a few weeks it hadn’t cowered when Kleon had stroked its back.

  Then his father had returned and kicked the kitten back out. To this day, Kleon was grateful his father hadn’t killed it.

  Tramura’s hatred for the gift ran much deeper, but maybe, with time and enough proof… Was it possible to heal a country? Rachael was bringing Rifarne around to magic, but Rifarne didn’t have the centuries of pure hatred behind it. And maybe, as his father had shown him that day with the kitten and many times afterwards, it was Tramura’s nature to destroy and betray.

  But it hasn’t always been like that.

  “Kleon?”

  His head jerked back, and he looked at Oren. “There’s something here about the first Sparrows using the gift and weapons together. I wonder if we can do something like that here.” The very idea made him uncomfortable—a lifetime of being told that magic was evil wouldn’t just go away, but a lifetime of his mother showing him the opposite was there too. He couldn’t think of one good reason why he shouldn’t try it.

  Oren tilted his head in thought. “But not all of us have magic, like they did in the old days.”

  “That just makes teamwork more important.” He was good at assigning roles and creating formations, but he didn’t know enough about the gifted amongst the Sparrows or how their talents worked. If they showed him what they could do…

  He expected convincing the gifted to show a Tramuran soldier their magic would be a challenge on another level. He’d need Oren’s help. Maybe there was an opportunity for involving the White Guard too.

  But he wouldn’t act just yet. Assumptions were dangerous, as was acting without thinking. Being excited wasn’t a substitute for a plan, and it would take time to form this one. If he—if they—went through with this, it would be a huge step for everyone. He couldn’t go in unprepared.

  But it was a start, and something told Kleon he was moving in the right direction.

  Chapter Thirty

  Rachael struggled to fall asleep. She used her hands as a pillow, resting her head in her palms and watching the stars. There were only a few hours left before dawn. Everyone was exhausted. Kiana and Kaida needed the rest more than anyone, but Rachael knew she needed to rest too. Every time she closed her eyes, Cephy’s cold eyes stared back at her. When it wasn’t her old friend, she saw a snake as large as the trees bare its venom-dripping fangs at her. How could she sleep when the forest was watching her? With the leaves rustling overhead and branches cracking outside their little camp, Rachael became more certain that going to Malia was the right decision. She’d rather face a snake, no matter how big, than Cephy.

  Chances were it wasn’t as bad as Kiana and Reeve made it sound, if the beast existed at all. The snake was gigantic, perhaps, but stories often exaggerated the truth. If it really was that big, they’d at least hear it coming, whereas Cephy had always been good at
being invisible. Rachael doubted a large snake would be as stealthy.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw Cale turn his head to look at her. “Can’t sleep?”

  She rolled her head in her palms to meet his eyes. “I keep thinking the demons will rush us at any moment.”

  “Lon and Ludo are keeping an eye out. They won’t take us by surprise.”

  It didn’t ease her worries.

  Cale got up. “Come on. Let’s sit over there so we don’t wake the others.”

  Rachael was glad to stretch her legs. She felt less vulnerable when she was standing.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “Not far, just over here.” Cale turned around and smiled at her, leaning against a tree in a way that allowed him to keep an eye on the camp. She returned the smile; even now, in a private moment with her, he watched over his Sparrows. “They’ve earned a rest.”

  “And we haven’t?”

  He chuckled. “Don’t blame me, you were already awake.”

  Rachael leaned against the tree next to him.

  “So, this gift of yours,” Cale said. “Do you think you can call it again?”

  Rachael reached inside herself, searched, and found nothing. “I don’t know. I haven’t tried again since we escaped. It’s possible it only worked because I was scared.”

  Something flashed behind Cale’s eyes. “I can’t work with that, Rachael. I don’t want to have to scare you every time we need answers.”

  Rachael intertwined her fingers behind her back against the rough bark. “You really think it might be that useful?”

  He shrugged. “You said yourself you talked to someone in the past. If you could talk to someone who knows more about what we’re facing now… Someone who faced the same thing…”

  “One of the sorcerers responsible, you mean?” Cale nodded, and excitement rushed through her. She’d never thought to use her gift like that, but then she hadn’t been able to control it before. “I don’t know if I can direct it like that, but it’s worth a try.” Rachael remembered Vail at the ruins of Archos and froze. She shuffled closer to Cale and lowered her voice. “I don’t think I need a sorcerer. Vail told me what we need.”

  He moved closer. “What did he say?”

  She’d forgotten all about it. Mothers had assaulted the ruins shortly after, then Kiana had been injured, Ludo had tried to kill Rachael, and then the White Palace had been under attack. She hadn’t had the time until the prison to sit back and reflect, and then she’d focussed on finding a way out rather than ending the war.

  Her eyes flashed to Kaida, and her stomach flipped backwards.

  “Vail said we need a dragon.”

  Cale paled. “Did he say what we’re supposed to do with one?”

  “No. He told me to shut up and let him work.”

  “And we can’t ask him now. Your gift might be the only way to get answers, but I’m not willing to sacrifice your mind or your life for it.”

  Rachael’s heart hardened. Her mind steeled itself. “If it ends this madness and sends the Dark One back into the Mists… What’s one life in exchange for peace?”

  “It’s not any life, Rachael, it’s your life.”

  “Exactly. I’m their queen and prophesied Sparrow. This is what leaders do, isn’t it?”

  Cale stepped in front of her.

  “No. I won’t let you die.”

  “We don’t know it will even come to that. Kaida didn’t seem sure. We only know there’s a chance I’ll lose my mind or my life if I continue to use my gift, but it could take years. I’m probably in no danger just yet.”

  “But there’s a chance, Rachael. It’s too much to ask.”

  “Wouldn’t you sacrifice the same if it meant saving the Sparrows?”

  He grimaced, and she knew she was right.

  “There’s nothing we can do about it right now,” she said. “We can call for a meeting once we’re on Malia, but let’s change the topic.” She wanted to talk about anything but this. It’d do her good to not focus on the war and her role in it for a moment.

  Cale sighed. “One more thing, before I forget.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I brought your books—the Tome of Ar’Zac Dar and the one Vail gave you. Maybe we can find something in them.”

  “I can’t even read them, Cale, never mind understand them.”

  “The tome led you to the Halls of Reflection, didn’t it? Maybe one of them can help again. Vail and Kaida wouldn’t have given them to you if they weren’t important.”

  “I guess. I just don’t want to base all our hopes in writing I can’t make sense of.” People expected too many miracles of her as it was.

  “Not all hopes, just some,” Cale said. “There must be a reason we have these books. Maybe what we need is illustrated.”

  He had a point. Kaida had recognised the Halls of Reflection from a picture the book led her to. It was better than doing nothing. “I’ll go through them. You’re right, there must be something valuable in those old pages. But right now, let’s talk about something else?”

  Cale didn’t look happy about it. “What do you have in mind?”

  Their conversation had reminded her of something Kiana had said back in the Halls of Reflection. Something that hadn’t really left her mind since.

  “Kiana mentioned something when we went to Temple Isle. I’ve been meaning to ask, but there wasn’t a good time.”

  Cale raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What’s she saying about me?”

  “She told me about a Sparrow you lost. Evelyn. Kiana said you took her loss personally.”

  The moment she said Evelyn’s name, a shadow fell over Cale’s face.

  “I take every loss personally.”

  “I know, but you and Evelyn were… You blamed yourself, and Kiana thinks it’s why you’re protective of me.”

  Cale struggled for words. Rachael didn’t rush him.

  “What happened between me and Evelyn, I—” He sighed. “It was a long time ago. It doesn’t affect how I treat you. You’re our Sparrow and queen, I’d be protective of you anyway.”

  “Because you’ve sworn to protect me?”

  Their eyes met. They held her tighter than any time he’d taken her hands.

  “Because I care about you.”

  Rachael couldn’t breathe. She’d wanted to hear it, but she didn’t know how to react now he’d said it. The streets raised rats like her to survive, not to have conversations like this one. Only people who didn’t have to worry about a thing had conversations like this.

  “Cale, I—”

  He took her hands into his, and she melted. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Not tonight. This isn’t how I wanted to do this.”

  She saw the stars overhead, felt the breeze on her skin, and saw her friends sleeping not far away.

  “Nonsense. Now is perfect.”

  He smiled and stepped closer until their bodies almost touched.

  “If anything, I’m sorry,” Rachael said. She blushed. “I don’t know how—”

  Cale touched his forehead to hers.

  His breath on her lips.

  His warmth against her skin.

  It was too much to think clearly.

  “Then don’t say anything.”

  She tilted her head back just a little. Just enough for his lips to be so very close to hers. What would it feel like if they met?

  “Rachael, I—”

  “Cale, what are you doing up?”

  He sighed and stepped away from her to glare at Lon. She hoped it was still dark enough despite the rising dawn that Lon wouldn’t see the heat on her cheeks.

  “Oh.” Lon cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, I—” His grin belied his words. “I’m about to wake Reeve for the next watch. When I saw you over here, I thought I’d make sure you were all right.” He waved at her. “Morning, Rachael. Didn’t see you there, hidden behind Cale. Sorry to interrupt.” He cleared his throat again. “I’ll go now.”r />
  Lon returned to camp without looking back at them.

  Rachael sought Cale’s eyes.

  “Still think I picked the right moment?” he asked.

  She laughed.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “Thank you for assembling so quickly.” Rachael’s words sounded hollow as she addressed their little group. It wasn’t like they had anywhere else to be. “I wanted to go over my plan before we head to the shore to build a raft and go to Malia.”

  Kiana ripped a strip of dried beef in half. “Has anything changed?”

  After Lon had interrupted her and Cale, she hadn’t been able to get back to sleep. Instead, she had rethought everything and come up with a new strategy.

  “Not directly, but I wanted to plan ahead. We won’t be on Malia for long, only until Kaida has recovered enough to fly us back to the White City. Only, I don’t think we should go back to Rifarne.”

  Everyone’s eyes were on her now.

  “Where else would we go?” Ludo asked.

  “Cephy is angry,” Rachael said, “but she needs to recover after Kaida’s explosion. She might even be injured, but she won’t sit back to heal for long. Sooner or later, she’ll come after us. I don’t want to be anywhere near a populated area when she does, or any kind of civilisation.”

  Cale met her eyes. “You mean the Red Wastes.”

  “Exactly. From everything you told me, it’s a dead land. If Cephy unleashes her full power there, we’ll be the only ones at risk.”

  Kiana grinned. “I like it. The old sorcerers banished the Dark One there once before. Ending him in the same place is almost poetic.”

  Reeve snorted. “Not how I’d describe it, but I agree that it’s a good plan. Except we’ll have no resources there, and we’ll run low soon on what we brought here.”

  “We’ll also be hopelessly outnumbered,” Lon said.

  Rachael looked at Kaida. “I have a plan for that, but I need more time to figure out the details before I can say more. Right now, my priority is to keep civilians safe.” The White City was still under repair from the last time Cephy had unleashed her fire, and she hadn’t even been a host to the Dark One’s power then. Rachael didn’t want to think how much damage the city and its people would take if she led Cephy there. “Enough people have died.”