Finn swallowed the lump in her throat, able to picture the scene in her mind. She knew the dragons were sentient beasts, but hadn’t realized they were wise enough to not attack where they might be defeated. Perhaps that was the reason Garenoch had not suffered another attack since the first two dragons were put down. “And what the dragon did to you, this is why you’ll . . . die?”
He nodded. “As ye know, me daughter crippled me long ago. I began to age more hastily after that, but this, this will end me in short order.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand. You’re not immortal. Why did you not age before?”
“Me daughter and I aren’t like the mages runnin’ all over the place. She’s a sorceress, for lack of a better term. Legends call me a conjurer, but I’m more of a sorcerer. I don’t conjure spirits, but both of us, we walk with one foot in other realms. That type of power gives us unnaturally long lives. Without it, all me years are catching up with me.”
His gaze had dropped to his lap. She reached out and placed her hand gently on his bony arm. “But Keiren, she can help you? Is that why you want to find her?”
He laughed, but it was choked with tears. “Nay, lass. I want to say me goodbyes.”
She resisted the urge to squeeze his arm, to shake him, anything to convince him to not give up so easily.
As if reading her thoughts, he turned to her. “It’s me time, lass. I’ve no desire to live forever, and you and Keiren can take care of yerselves. Now that I’ve brought Bedelia back to ye, I know she’ll be looked after as well. Ye need to let me go.”
Though tears stung her eyes, she refused to let them fall. If he could face death so bravely, the least she could do was hear him out. She took a shaky breath, then forced her voice steady. “I understand. We’ll try to find her, but we’ve been searching for a while already, so I fear I can make no promises.”
“Trying is enough, lass. I know ye’ve got bigger problems to worry about. Iseult told me about yer dreams.”
She leaned back, surprised. “I hadn’t realized he was worried about them. He insists they are merely dreams, and not portents.”
“It’s ye we’re talkin’ about, lass. Surely they are nae just dreams. What ye did to save yer white dragon, it changed ye. Even with little magic left to me, I can see that.”
She hunched forward, bracing elbows on knees. “Even if that is so, there is not much I can do about it.”
“Not much we can do about a lot of things, lass. Best we can do is keep fightin’.”
She nodded, then leaned her shoulder against his. Her thoughts wandered to the arguments soon to come. She would go after the Dearg Due to test her new magic. It would be dangerous, and would perhaps end in disaster, but she had no other plan for defeating Belenus. It had to be done.
Àed patted her hand, seeming to read her dread, though he did not speak. They sat like that for a long while, with her hand resting lightly on his arm. For the moment, it was enough. The rest—she’d deal with it when the time came.
Iseult
The clang of Bedelia’s blade against his sent a thrill up Iseult’s arm. It had been ages since he’d sparred with a worthy opponent. Maarav was strong and agile, but he preferred to spar with daggers, and Iseult’s weapon of choice was the sword.
Their feet kicked up bits of soil scented heavily with moisture, flinging dying grass, slick and difficult to gain steady purchase upon.
Bedelia struck again, and Iseult met her smoothly with a parry.
She lowered her blade and stepped back, wiping the sweat from her brow with her sleeve. Her breath fogged the air.
He lowered his sword. “You should rest. You’ve had a long journey.”
She shook her head, swiping sweaty locks of hair from her face. “Rest? With gods and dragons running amok? Now is no time to be resting on our laurels.”
Her mention of dragons stiffened his spine. He’d been so concerned over Finn, he hadn’t taken the time to ask of Bedelia and Àed’s travels. He didn’t even know why they were traveling together in the first place. His discussion with Àed had revolved around Finn.
She seemed to read his expression. “Yes,” she answered his silent question, “we’ve seen the dragons. Though not up close until that little red one attacked Àed. It went for him like it knew he was special.”
He sheathed his blade, now having more interest in Bedelia’s story than her swordsmanship. “Where?”
She smirked. “A man of few words, I see little has changed in my absence.” She sheathed her blade down her back, then walked by his side toward the path bisecting the front courtyard. “We encountered the dragon a day’s ride south of Port Ainfean. We had been living at the port, working as we could.”
Her answer surprised him enough that he blurted, “Living together?”
Bedelia shrugged, keeping a casual pace at his side. “It worked well for us. Originally we’d both simply intended to travel to the port together, then go our separate ways. Àed’s journeys had depleted much of his coin, and I was in even worse shape, really. Once we arrived, we paid a local inn for use of a storeroom as lodgings.” She shrugged again. “Then we just never left. We both prefer to be left alone, so the arrangement was comfortable, only paying for half a space with none of the hassle of communal living.”
Thinking of the hassle of living within the large estate, he could understand her motives. He’d much prefer a small home for just him and Finn to live out their lives, to perhaps have children.
He pushed away his thoughts. That was not a life for him, and it was a life Finn had already lived once.
Bedelia’s eyes were on him as if trying to interpret his thoughts. He was confident she could not, for those who knew him would never guess he considered such things.
He felt his expression shutting down as they reached the main estate. He held open the door for her. They’d go through the main hall then back toward the kitchens to find her something to eat.
As the inner warmth of the estate enveloped them, he stopped and turned toward her. “The dragon, it’s the reason Àed will die?”
“Figured that out already?” She continued walking, knowing the estate from her previous time there. “Yes, it’s the reason. He says it ate what little magic was left to him. It was what sustained his unnaturally long life, and without it, he will soon perish. Keiren maintained contact with us for a while, but we haven’t seen her in months. He wants to find her again before he dies. We’d hoped she’d be here.”
Iseult matched her confident gait. “We don’t know where she is, and Ealasaid has searched as much as she is able. Scouts sent west don’t return, and those sent north rarely fare much better.”
The smell of fresh-baked bread hit them, drawing them across the burgundy rugs of the back corridor the rest of the way to the kitchens.
Bedelia stopped before they could make it inside. “Iseult, our lives are in shambles, what are we going to do?”
Her blatant honestly gave him pause, almost as much as the hint of dread in her voice. “We will wait for Finn and Àed to finish their discussion, then we will learn what happened to her at the inn.”
The corner of her mouth ticked up, a phantom of a smile. “One step at a time, eh?”
“I’m glad you’ve returned,” he said as he walked past her, leaving her shocked and blinking after him.
Her voice carried through the doorway. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
Finn
A heavy pall hung over the evening meal, a direct effect of the preceding discussion. A discussion Finn had been right to dread.
After she met with Àed, she’d told everyone else what had happened in that other realm, and what needed to be done. She’d told Iseult privately, knowing he’d not react in a positive way. She’d expected anger, or at least an argument, but in the end, he’d hardly reacted at all. He’d been as stony-faced as ever since.
Yes, arguments had been made, but in the end it was Finn’s c
hoice. She would venture into the woods at sunrise, and would not turn back until she found the Dearg Due. As expected, she would not be going alone.
Now, around a long wooden table within the main estate, she sat with Iseult, Kai, Anna, Àed, Bedelia, and Maarav. Eywen, Ealasaid, and her general Sage would join them soon. Maarav cradled his son, Elias, who slept soundly in his arms. Finn hadn’t let herself focus on the small child. He left too many questions in her mind of what she might want if things were different.
Finn scraped her fork across her plate, avoiding the hunk of roast grouse and the small boiled potatoes—thinking about others in the outer burgh who would have only potatoes, if that. The depressing thought was almost preferable than the stony-faced man at her side. He’d argued least of all, which had come as a surprise.
Perhaps he’d been unable to form a reasonable argument against her plan. She needed to find the Dearg Due and see if she could steal their magic and bring them to heel. Perhaps it was not a wise plan, and she was betting too heavily on being able to eat magic like a dragon, but what other plan did she have?
Iseult leaned near her shoulder. “You should eat.”
Were his words clipped, or was that just her imagination? He couldn’t be happy she wanted to run off again, to take the weight of the land on her shoulders, but what other choice was there? She was the only one who could set things right, and Kai’s family was running out of time. She wondered if she was simply trying to justify it to herself.
Tuning out the hushed conversations of her companions, her mind looped back yet again to her talk with Iseult, bringing her gaze involuntarily to his cheek, then his shoulder. With her fork in her right hand, she reached the left under the table and took his hand.
His grip was limp for a moment, then he gave her fingers a squeeze. He’d help, as always, but he didn’t have to like it.
Feeling slightly better, she stuck her fork into a potato and took a bite. She could not afford to place Iseult’s feelings above the fate of so many others. She couldn’t even afford to consider her own. Maybe if she were able to eat magic, and ate enough magic, she could bring Kai’s family home, and even Loinnir.
She realized Kai was watching her, while Bedelia spoke softly to Anna, and Àed stared at his plate. Maarav dragged Iseult into conversation, distracting him.
She often felt like Kai knew her every thought. Maybe he did. He did, after all, seem to know her better than anyone else. He had supported her arguments fully, always seeming to be on her side.
She met his unwavering gaze. She’d given him the option, whether he wanted to face the Dearg Due with her, or stay behind. He’d chosen to come. She hadn’t doubted for a moment that he would.
The sound of voices echoed through the distant hall a moment before Ealasaid, Sage, and Eywen joined them. Ealasaid’s shoulders were slumped with fatigue, her finely woven lilac dress seeming out of place with the puffy blue skin beneath her gray eyes, and the grim set of her mouth. Finn would do well to remember the weight of the land was not on her shoulders alone. Ealasaid had many mouths to feed, mouths that would soon be without food if the faie weren’t pushed back from the surrounding farms, and if the trade-ban with Sormyr weren’t put to an end.
The trio would be staying behind to deal with Garenoch’s more pressing needs. Only Finn, Iseult, Kai, Anna, and Bedelia would go to face the faie. She could only hope what she was about to do would draw Keiren and Oighear in from wherever they were hiding. Keiren, to say goodbye to her father, and Oighear—Finn was reluctant to admit—because she could really use her knowledge, and her help.
What conversation took place during the rest of their meal, Finn could not recall. Her mind was focused on what was to come. On knowing that in leaving Garenoch, even just for a night or two, she took the risk of never returning from the faie-ridden forests, or more frightening still, of returning only to find nothing but a ruined city littered with corpses and ash.
Anna
Anna tied shut her satchel, then set it aside on her dresser. Candles flickered in the night-darkened room, stirred by the cool air coming in through the open shutters. Her hair was damp from her bath, already pulled back in a tight braid. “It’s late, I need to rest if we’re to leave at first light.”
Tension sang through her at Eywen’s light touch on her shoulder. “I’ll come with you. All you need do is ask.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him. His black hair was back in a clasp, revealing his pointed ears, the same pallid color as the rest of his skin. He looked anything but human, especially with those deep sapphire eyes, but the more Anna was around him, the less faie he seemed. While he’d been alive in one state or another for centuries, he still felt love, grief, joy . . .
She shook her head, forcing her expression to soften. He’d done nothing but what she’d asked of him. He’d given her space to come to terms with her thoughts. To decide if she truly wanted to be with him, or if it was just the chaos of her life that drew her toward someone safe and strong. “Ealasaid needs you here. You know more about the faie than most others. You can keep Garenoch safe.”
He reached out as if to touch her hair, then dropped his hand, giving her that cursed space.
She felt such a fool. She took his hand, enjoying the hint of surprise in the slight widening of his eyes. “Kai doesn’t have anyone to watch his back. Not like Finn has in Iseult.” She gritted her teeth, then relaxed her jaw. “And not like I have in you,” she finished. “I must face this with him. He is more traumatized by his time with the Dearg Due than he will admit.”
Eywen’s fingers laced with hers. His hand, impossibly smooth for a swordsman’s, was warm and real in her own. “You are a good friend.”
She laughed half-heartedly. “That’s about all I’m good for, it seems.”
His expression remained serious. “Listen to your instincts. You may try to ignore your gifts, but you see more than others do. It is a blessing. Do not hide from it.”
She was too tired to argue. Not physically tired, but tired of everything else. She missed traveling the countryside with Kai in a time before the faie had returned. Before gods and dragons. Before Finn. She had an odd sort of love for the tree-brained woman, but there was no arguing that Finn had changed her life forever. She’d also saved it a time or two, so she supposed she couldn’t continue being sour about it all.
Eywen watched her closely, looking for some hint of her mood. He was profoundly skilled at noticing the slightest change of expression, the barest sag of the shoulders, or straightening of the spine.
She turned to fully face him, stepped forward, and leaned her forehead against his chest.
He didn’t move. She wasn’t even sure if he was breathing.
“Don’t get any strange ideas. It’s just that I’m venturing into the forests from which most do not return. Kai and I will be with Finn, and Naoki will be nearby, but I’m a realist at heart. You and I . . . may never see each other again.”
His hand cradled the back of her head, the other lowered to her back. “We will see each other again. Fate did not bring me to you, just to see us part.”
“I don’t believe in fate.”
“I have enough belief for the both of us.”
Remaining close, she turned her gaze up to him. “You’ll grow tired of waiting eventually.”
He stroked her hair. “Anna, I was a prisoner to the Snow Queen for centuries. I was locked in an eternal slumber with nothing to do but wait.”
She smirked. “So what are you trying to say?”
“That I’m very good at waiting.”
Their eyes locked, and she wasn’t sure what else to say.
“May I have a kiss, since we must part?”
His words startled her. She wanted to look away to hide her blush, but couldn’t quite manage. She was utterly confident in other areas of her life. She could venture into battle without fear—she’d stolen from nobles, escaped the hangman’s noose, faced faie and dragons—so why did Eywen make h
er so humiliatingly nervous?
At her expression, he stepped back. “I should not have asked.”
Her heart lurched. She did not want him to step back. Perhaps he was not as adept at reading people as she thought. She closed the space between them, then tilted her head upward. It was the most she could manage.
He hesitated for a moment, then gently pulled her close, and lowered his lips to hers.
As their lips met, lightning crackled through her. Not her first love, Yaric, nor any man or woman who’d flitted through her life in between, had ever made her feel like that.
It was absolutely terrifying.
Eywen was the first to pull away. His sapphire eyes sparkled, and she wasn’t positive, given his skin tone, but she was quite sure he was flushed.
It made her smile. He might fluster her to no end, but perhaps she flustered him more than he let on.
His palms slid from her waist to take both her hands in his. “May I see you off in the morning?”
Her words felt oddly distant. “I’m sure you’ll be there no matter what I say.”
He raised one hand to his lips, dusting her knuckles with kisses.
Alright, she was wrong. She was the only one flustered. She tried to be brave, but soon had to avert her gaze.
Eywen lowered her hand, then stepped away. “I’ll see you at first light.” His words were cheerful, almost as if he found her amusing.
Dawn of Magic: Sea of Flames Page 3