Embrace the Fire

by Tamara Shoemaker

  Greyham grunted, took a slow step backward, his face stunned and disbelieving.

  Sebastian followed through. He pulled back and thrust again, and the point of his sword found the hole he'd just opened.

  Greyham's fist slowly loosened, and his sword fell from his grasp, thudding against the earth. He coughed, and blood spattered his beard.

  Distantly, Sebastian saw his men swarm around him, shields upraised to protect him from a well-aimed arrow. He spied the panicked looks on the faces of the lesser Commanders of Nicholas Erlane's army, the bannermen as they scrambled to change the flags. From a long way away, he heard the trumpets sound the retreat, saw Greyham's face as it registered that he'd lost not only the battle, but his own life. Disbelief spread through his dark gaze, then defeat. He fell to his knees, his gaze slowly lowering to the sword that still impaled him. “Well done, Your Grace,” he slurred. “I didn't think you had it in you.”

  He keeled sideways as his gaze fixed on nothing. Sebastian stepped forward and slid his sword from the man, wiping the blood from the blade on the trampled grass.

  Around him, Sebastian's army roared in victory as they gave chase to Nicholas Erlane's soldiers and Dimn, who moved in a massive hoard toward the distant hills, beyond which lay the Channel of Lise. Their creatures moved first, beasts from every group, and a horde of Dimn drove them backward, swinging maces, their shouts increasing confusion as they went.

  Sebastian looked to the hills. Along the eastern edges of the Plains, an Ember roared in a cage pulled by eight Mammoths. The Ember's fire singed their fur coats, but while they bellowed, they couldn't free themselves from their harnesses.

  “Lanier,” Sebastian murmured. “Do you see what I see?”

  Lanier approached Sebastian, his gaze following the King's. “An Ember, Your Grace.”

  Sebastian shook his head, fury building inside him, pulsing through his temples. “Not just any Ember. That is the Ember that won the devotion of my nephew a few months ago. That broken fin on his head snapped in one of the training sessions I watched. Nicholas Erlane has one of my Dragons!”

  Lanier seemed unmoved. “Did your nephew achieve psuche with the Ember, Your Grace?”

  “Nay.” A deep pit of dread opened up inside Sebastian. “Not yet. But I have no doubt that he will if he is put together with the Dragon. Think, Lanier, how valuable psuche and that Ember could be within the walls of Nicholas Erlane's castle. What if Nicholas Erlane were to gain access to Cedric? There would be nothing to stop him achieving psuche with the Ember and uniting with Erlane against West Ashwynd! We must increase our guard on him when we draw closer to Erlane's stronghold.”

  Lanier said nothing, but his expression was somber, and Sebastian knew his Commander understood what was at stake.

  “Lanier, if Erlane were to gain access to Cedric—Cedric cannot reach the Lismarian throne. He can never reach it. It is mine and mine alone, the inheritance of the Andrachen bloodline.”

  “Aye, Your Grace.”

  Sebastian gritted his teeth. “And I am blood of the Dragon.”

  Lanier inclined his head. “You fought Greyham well, Your Grace. You've won our battle. They're returning to their homeland.” He nodded at the teeming cloud of forces that fled through the distant hills.

  Sebastian raised his hand and rubbed it over his chapped lips. He was dismayed to find his knees trembling. “Well then. Let's give chase,” he said.

  Lismaria lay open for the taking.

  Chapter Nine

  Kinna

  Kinna stalked the tree-covered slopes and ridges of the Rues, digging through underbrush, tearing her leather breeches from thorns as she picked her way through them. Her lips were numb where she pressed them together, and her mind was dark with thoughts of Cedric. Where are you? Her only clue to his whereabouts was that Lianna had evidently helped him escape. If she had, it was likely she would return with him to Lismaria. Now Kinna felt torn. Half of her wanted to take the fastest possible route to the neighboring country, but the other half refused to leave without Chennuh.

  Her loyalty to her psuche partner won. As the trees began to thin and the cool breeze from the Camaran Sea penetrated the thick tree cover, Kinna's mind searched constantly for Chennuh's. Now and then, she felt a strong pull in a certain direction, but wherever the Mirage was, he was out of range. When she said as much to Lincoln, he grunted, “I didn't even know psuche came with limits.”

  “Well, now we know,” Kinna answered, swatting branches out of the way as she shoved through the underbrush. “I can feel his presence ... um ... that way,” she pointed, “but I can't access his thoughts yet. I assume that means he's still a long way. Before, I kept seeing images of the sea, so I'm going to guess he's headed for the shore?”

  “Sounds logical,” Lincoln agreed, “but since when have Dragons ever been known to use logic?”

  “They use logic all the time. They're skilled hunters and fighters; it's rare that they don't figure out their enemy's strategy before he implements it.”

  “And you've learned all this from Chennuh?”

  “From his thoughts, yes.” A branch snagged Kinna's hair, and she stopped short, yanking her braid free before continuing on. “We can't carry on a conversation like you and I do, but I probably know more about him than I do you.”

  “I'm sure you do,” Lincoln snorted. “I don't have fancy thought-sharing powers like you do with Chennuh.”

  “Doesn't mean I don't know you, though.”

  “When's my birthday?”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “You don't know someone until you know their birthday, so ... when is it?”

  Kinna stopped and stared at the orange-haired Pixie.

  He went on, “What is my favorite position to sleep in? Who are my parents? Have I ever been married? Do I have children? What's my favorite color? How long have I lived in West Ashwynd?” The Pixie's normal cajoling voice was gone, and the corners of his mouth tilted downward.

  Silence filled the forest around them. “Linc, am—are you all right?” Kinna asked at last.

  Lincoln didn't answer right away. After a moment, he nodded. Sadness creased his face. “Yes, I'm fine, Kinna. But sometimes, I worry so much for you, wrap myself so much in your situation, that I feel like I forget where I come from.” He was more serious than Kinna had ever seen him. “I ... wonder if I'm losing myself.”

  Kinna didn't know what to say. “Linc, I'm sorry—”

  Lincoln shook his head. “It's not your fault. I have a responsibility by right of who I am, a Pixie, in the line of the Seer Fey, and our responsibility set down by the ancient treaty is to guard the line of Aarkan. It is who I am.”

  Kinna shook her head. “It's a part of who you are, Linc. All those other things you listed, you are those things, too. All of them wrap together to make up the wonderful Pixie named Lincoln. Don't lose that.”

  Lincoln's cheeks tinged pink. He threw her a lopsided grin. “I knew there was a sweet bone beneath the spitfire personality. Thank you,” he said, sincerely. “Let's keep moving, or we'll never find Chennuh, and then I might be in danger of dancing in Dragon-free jollity.” His lithe form moved past her through the underbrush.

  Kinna hurried to keep up. “So how long have you lived in West Ashwynd, Linc?”

  “For as long as it's been a country—nearly two decades. Before that, I lived almost a hundred and thirty years in Lismaria.”

  Kinna blinked. She had a hard time remembering Lincoln's age; he looked and moved like a human in his prime.

  “In which part of Lismaria did you live?”

  “The Marron Mountains of Lismaria with the rest of the Seer Fey. I'm not a Seer Fey; my Seer Fey mother married a human man, so my sister and I are only Pixies. My wife was a Seer Fey, too.”

  Kinna's breath left her in a rush. “Your w—wife?”

  “Aye.” Lincoln turned around, amusement glinting in his eyes, and perhaps a shadow of pain. “I had a wife.”r />
  “Wh—what happened to her? Where is she?” Kinna demanded.

  “She lived to the ripe young age of a hundred and thirteen. She died before Sebastian's coup and flight to West Ashwynd, long before your birth from the Ember's egg.”

  “Anything else you want to tell me?”

  “Oh, there's lots, but I'll save it for later. You're looking a bit pale. Best save your strength for the hike.” He smirked.

  Kinna flushed. She did not look pale; if anything her cheeks were heated with exertion, but the Pixie did love to pluck her nerves. She followed behind Lincoln in silence for a few moments, thinking. “Linc?”

  “M'lady?”

  “I'm sorry I haven't asked before now about the things important to you.”

  “I didn't bring it up to make you feel guilty, Kinna.” He stopped, his expression serious. “I suppose, when you've lived as long as I have, you have moments where it all hits you, and you wish that you could go relive some parts of the life that you've paid less attention to.” He smiled. “It means a lot to me to know that you care about the stories of the Pixies or any creature, really. I've watched you for the last year, Kinna, and I have been aware of you since you were born. You're rare in that you don't follow along with the idea that humans are superior to the creatures that inhabit this world.” He shrugged. “I'd like you to know that I appreciate that.”

  He turned to duck beneath a tree, and Kinna followed slowly, her mind churning. She'd felt from the beginning that Sebastian's system of Dimn training wasn't right, but until now, she'd been unable to fight it. With West Ashwynd and Lismaria at war, however, more upheaval loomed on the horizon, and the beginnings of a plan sparked in Kinna's head. She drew even with Lincoln as she absorbed her thoughts, and he stopped, an orange eyebrow raised. “Should I be worried?”

  “About what?”

  “You look like you've just swallowed a Dragon egg.”

  “How does one look after swallowing a Dragon egg?”

  “About to burst. Come on, out with it.”

  Kinna shook her head. “No, I need to let it simmer for a while, I think. I'll tell you about it soon enough.”

  Lincoln narrowed his eyes, but Kinna ignored him and pressed on.

  * * *

  Deafening surf slammed against stone cliffs ahead of them as the sun spread a warm streak of light across the eastern sky. They'd hiked all night. Kinna drew to a stop. “Now I know why he felt so drawn here,” she muttered to Lincoln as she slid down the steep boulder-strewn hill toward the dark crevices of rock and cave.

  “You found him?” Lincoln glanced around nervously. “Where is he?”

  Kinna slipped, landing on her shoulder, rolling against a rock. She stopped with an oof and then pushed to a sitting position as Lincoln slid down next to her. “Are you all right?”

  “Fine,” she snapped, dusting off her hands. “We'll have to wait until we have more light. I can't see much. Chennuh's down there, but I don't think he's alone.”

  “Can't you see his thoughts?”

  “Not very clearly—”

  “He was answering nature's most primal call.” Ayden's voice emerged from the shadowed boulders to Kinna's left.

  Kinna whipped her head around. “Ayden?” Her breath emptied from her lungs, and her stomach plunged into an abyss.

  He emerged from the shadows, the early residue of dawn glinting off his ash-blond hair. Even at this distance, his silver eyes burned into Kinna. His chest and arms were bare. Of course he's lost his tunic was the only coherent thought that presented itself to Kinna.

  “Kinna.” His voice sounded shredded. He cleared his throat. “I—it's good to see you.”

  Kinna couldn't speak. She couldn't think of anything to say. Anger over his departure warred with relief that he was alive and apparently well, and beneath it all was a flood of emotion she didn't want to touch.

  Lincoln interrupted a lengthy silence. “Since this isn't at all awkward, I'll just meander on down to see Chennuh again.” He leaped lightly to a lower rock. “Because we have such a great relationship and all.” He slid off the other side.

  “Hold up, Linc,” Ayden called. “You have to give him time.”

  “Why?” Kinna asked. “He knows me; we've achieved psuche, by the Stars.”

  “He's with the she-Dragon,” Ayden said, as if that explained everything.

  “So? Doesn't mean he doesn't know who I am.”

  Ayden raised one eyebrow, a lopsided smile curving his lips. “He's ... beyond the power of reason at the moment, Kinna.”

  “What?” Kinna threw her mind toward Chennuh's. To her surprise, all she could see were vivid, intense colors, no order or reason to anything. “What's he doing?”

  Ayden actually laughed aloud, and Lincoln's soft chuckle sounded behind Kinna. She had her answer, and heat surged furiously to her face. “Never mind.”

  Ayden sank onto on the rocks and pulled his knees to his chest. Kinna's cheeks crackled with new warmth as she yanked her gaze away from the cut muscles of his arms and back. Her hands fisted into her gown as shifting silence settled over them again. It frustrated Kinna. So much had happened in the four months since they'd last spoken. Anger spiked when she thought of the kiss that had accompanied that conversation, followed by Ayden's disappearance.

  Kinna sank down beside him and pulled her knees up as well, playing with the leather lacing on her knee-high moccasins. Lincoln skipped across the rocks toward the ledge that overlooked the sea. His form grew smaller against the strengthening light of day as he climbed higher.

  Kinna searched for words to break the silence. Ayden had never seemed uncomfortable with stillness, but Kinna felt awkward. Where have you been the last four months? What have you been doing? Have you thought of me, even a little? She settled for simple. “I'm glad to see you again, Ayden.”

  He lowered his gaze from the horizon to his knees, a muscle jumping in his jaw.

  Maybe it wasn't so simple after all.

  “What have you been doing with yourself?” Kinna asked, her voice rather higher than normal.

  He shrugged. “There's not a lot to tell. I wandered around for a long time until I decided to join Sebastian's army. Got assigned as a Deputy Officer to a contingent of ElvenDimn—”

  “You fought for Sebastian?” Outrage threaded the fibers of her voice. She knew, after all, the bone-crushing hatred Ayden carried for the man. Her own hatred for the King was nearly as strong.

  Ayden shrugged. “I had to eat, Kinna. I did some scouting under Officer Quinn, which brought me here where I found a she-Dragon.” He nodded to the valley below them. The sun peeped over the horizon and bathed it in morning brilliance.

  Kinna glanced around. “How under the Stars did you end up a Deputy Officer for Elvendimn? Didn't they know you were Dragondimn?”

  He shrugged again. “Officer Quinn is an Elvendimn I met in the Dryad Clan. He offered me a spot when he saw me fight, making me Deputy Officer to his company. And aye, there were challenges leading men from another Clan. But I did it. After I found the she-Dragon, I decided I would try to train her a little, see where it would go. I sent the others back.”

  “Won't they come looking for you?”

  “Eventually. I'll think of a better story for next time, but I'm not leaving without Luasa.” He set his jaw stubbornly.

  Kinna's eyebrows arched. “Luasa?”

  “Speed of the wind.”

  Kinna was silent for a moment. “I thought you didn't believe in giving creatures names.”

  Ayden pushed to his feet, his arms hanging loosely as he scanned the canyon. “Things change.”

  Kinna searched his profile, but he refused to look at her, and disappointment bubbled, hot and painful, inside her. She shoved it aside. “Ayden, what happened before, when we—when you left—”

  “Chennuh might be ready for you now.” He jumped down to the next rock, stepping into some loose gravel and sliding nimbly down the hill.

  Kinna's lips tighte
ned, but she accepted his avoidance—for now. She searched for Chennuh's mind and gasped. “Luasa's a Mirage?” The shimmering, reflective scales refracted through her mind's eye as Chennuh rested contentedly beside his new mate. As yet, he was unaware of Kinna's presence.

  “Aye.” Ayden was far below her now. He'd stopped about a hundred spans outside of a cave where the rising sun couldn't touch. Kinna glanced to the ridge where Lincoln still walked before following Ayden's path downward.

  “I wonder how a Mirage got here?” She reached Ayden and promptly tripped, landing hard against the rock.

  Ayden steadied her with too-warm hands. Her gaze winged to his face. “Are you running a fever?”

  He dropped his hand as if he'd been burned. “No.” He moved to the far side of the rock, centering his gaze on the cave. “Call Chennuh out, Kinna. You can see Luasa.”

  Kinna edged around the other side of the rock, squinting at the cave's entrance. Glistening movement parted the blackness. Chennuh, I'm here. Her mind met Chennuh's with enough force that the Dragon immediately moved for the entrance.

  She saw him a moment later, his huge shimmering form barely visible at the cave opening. He huffed, smoke whiffing through his nostrils, and a low rumble sketched the rock edges where she stood. He lowered his head and lumbered into the morning sun.

  Behind him, Luasa followed. She was more sure-footed than Chennuh, her movements quicker and more certain. The she-Dragon exited the cave like a giant, shy lizard, rigidity and nervousness stiffening her body before she dove back inside. As Chennuh continued across the opening, Luasa tried again, staying close to her mate's tail.

  When Chennuh had reached the halfway point to Kinna's location, Ayden stepped into the open.

  Immediately, Kinna, who had been monitoring Chennuh's thoughts, recognized the Dragon's surprise and then delight, followed almost immediately by alarm as Luasa reared onto her haunches, clawing the air.

  Dragonfire erupted from Luasa's jaws, a torrent of heat that swirled toward them. Chennuh was faster than the fire. His armor-clad wing snapped open, and the full force of the fire hit the shimmering membranes. They glowed a dull orange when the fire died away. Chennuh turned his head. Kinna couldn't understand his communication with his mate; they had a different Dragon language all their own. Luasa settled her forelegs back on the ground. She was still nervous, shaking with intensity, but her jaws stayed shut. Flames licked across her snout.