Would Azithan know what Jayell knew about Griffin? Had Azithan—and the emperor—discovered that the boy was much more than a fire mage? Would he know that he was descended from the Deshazl, which meant that he had some power of the dragons within him?
And would Azithan know that Fes shared that same power?
“Tell me about your daggers,” Azithan said instead.
“Why?”
“I didn’t realize that they were quite so intriguing,” he said. “When you mourned the loss of one of them, I didn’t understand. I do now.”
“They’re made of dragonglass. That’s why I was upset when I lost one.”
“Upset. It seems that you should have been devastated with daggers that have the potential that they do.”
“And what potential is that?” Fes asked, wishing that Azithan didn’t know anything about him or the daggers. He didn’t want to have to reveal that part of himself, preferring to keep it quiet. Maybe it was always going to be discovered by Azithan. Fes had taken so many jobs from him over the last year that would have revealed what Fes was. And maybe his greed had been his downfall. Were it not for his greed, he might have been able to remain hidden.
“I saw the way that you use them to cut through the dragon spell,” Azithan said. Heat burst from him, and he focused it through his hand toward the daggers.
As the spell struck the dagger, it dissipated.
“As I thought,” Azithan said.
“If you try to take them from me—”
Azithan smiled and shook his head. “And why would I take them from you, Fezarn? They suit you so well.”
“You will take them because you think that I will keep you from harming this boy.”
“You will do no such thing.”
Azithan breathed out, and as he did, Fes noticed a stirring of heat. There was a mixture of scents, similar to the cinnamon that he smelled when he visited Azithan in his rooms in the palace, but this was mixed with other aromas, exotic and spiced.
Fes felt his vision began to swim.
He reached for his daggers. If Azithan was using a spell on him, he was determined to cut through it. He brought the dagger up, slicing through the space between himself and Azithan, and with a sudden jolt, the strange headiness faded.
Azithan stared at him, smiling. “Interesting. That is not at all what I was expecting.”
“Were you expecting just to enchant me and have me do nothing?” Fes asked. “I thought you said that I could trust you.”
“And that was when I thought I knew who you were. Or what you were.”
“Take him with you, Jayell,” Fes said, motioning to Griffin.
She stood fixed in place.
“Jayell?”
He looked at her and saw a blank expression on her face.
As he did, he realized that whatever enchantment Azithan had thrown his way had not been fully intended for him.
Jayell had been the target.
He looked down at Griffin, but the boy looked no different than he had before. He didn’t wear the same blank expression as Jayell. He didn’t speak, but he hadn’t ever spoken since Fes had met him.
“What did you do to her?”
“I have given us the opportunity to speak freely.”
“You’re not going to hurt him. Or her.”
“Even if I offered you a hundred gold coins?” Azithan watched him and arched his brow when Fes didn’t say anything. “Five hundred? A thousand?”
Fes tried to ignore the beating of his heart, the way that it raced in his chest. A thousand gold coins was an incredible wealth. It was the kind of money that he had never thought that he would be able to see. And he didn’t doubt that Azithan had access to it. As connected to the emperor as he was, Azithan would have access to that kind of money.
“No.”
“Oh, Fezarn, you disappoint me.”
“Why do I disappoint you? Because I won’t do what you want?”
“Because you are not as predictable as I had thought.”
“I’d hate to be predictable,” Fes said.
“Yes. It makes you much more interesting. When you were a collector, interested in taking jobs simply for the profit, you were predictable and someone that I could use. You were skilled, and now I begin to understand why you were so skilled.”
“And why is that?”
“How is it that you have avoided detection all these years?” Azithan asked.
“Avoided detection from what?” Fes glanced at Jayell, but she still hadn’t moved. He didn’t even know if she had blinked. “It’s not as if I’ve been operating secretly.”
“No, that is correct. You have been quite open with how you function within the city. But, how is it that you have hidden your true heritage?”
“And what heritage is that?”
Azithan circled around him. As he did, a surge of heat burst from him. Fes flinched and Azithan smiled widely. “Yes. There it is. You can feel what it is that I’m doing, can’t you?”
“What are you getting on about?”
“Is that how you managed to overpower Reina?” He frowned. “When I heard that she was with Carter, I had thought that perhaps she had been overpowered by the rebellion, even though that should not have been possible. Now that I see it, I think that I understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Deshazl,” he said. Azithan fixed Fes with a lingering stare. “And you don’t even react at the mention of that term. You already knew.”
“If you’re wondering whether I’ve heard the term before, I have.”
“And do you know that the Deshazl have been exterminated?”
“Apparently not.”
Azithan grinned widely. “No. Apparently not. Have we talked about history before?”
Fes glanced down at Griffin. The boy seemed to be listening, but he couldn’t tell. “Is now the time to talk about history?”
“Would you have us do something else?”
“Seeing as how we are surrounded by fallen soldiers, and it’s the middle of the night, I think it is an unusual time to speak of history.”
“On the contrary, when a person out of history reappears is the ideal time to speak of history.” He looked down at Griffin. “And perhaps more than one.” Azithan finished his circle of Fes.
Fes nodded toward Jayell. “Does she have to stay like that?”
“Would you like her to reawaken and listen? There may be things that you learn that you don’t necessarily want others to know.”
“Such as what?”
“Such as the Deshazl. When the war was won, when the last of the dragons had fallen, the emperor sent fire mages sweeping through the empire to destroy all the Deshazl who remained. He didn’t want anyone with the potential to threaten his reign.”
Fes met Azithan’s gaze. “What are you getting at, Azithan?”
Azithan took a seat near the fire, looking far more comfortable than Fes felt. “I get at nothing,” Azithan said. “I merely thought that I could share with you some of history. Are you not interested?”
“Fine,” Fes said. “Tell me about the Deshazl.”
Azithan glanced from Fes to the boy. “There has long been a time when the empire has believed the Deshazl destroyed. Most believe the war was all about removing the threat of the dragons, and that was a great part of it, but that was not all. There was another purpose, and it was one that few really understood. The emperor of that time, Kronal the First, recognized another threat. It was not the dragons. It was those who had the power to command them.”
Fes smiled at Azithan. “First you want me to believe that there is something mystical about my heritage, and then you want me to believe that my ancestors were somehow able to command the dragons?”
“You can believe whatever it is you wish. What I tell you is the truth. The Deshazl were the reason the empire struggled to vanquish the dragons in the first place. Were it not for the Deshazl, the empire would have succeeded long before they did.”
Fes looked away. The way that Azithan stared at him left him feeling uncomfortable. There was an accusation in that look, almost as if Azithan believed that Fes himself was responsible for making it difficult for the empire to succeed. Almost as if Azithan believed that Fes had some control over the dragons.
“I thought it was only the Settlers who had a connection to the dragon fields,” Fes said.
“The Settlers are more distantly related. They have some of the traits of the Deshazl, which allows them to handle dragon relics and use the power stored within them. I thought that why you were so useful to me.”
Fes looked over at Azithan. “So the fire mages and the priests are both related to the Settlers?”
“There are similarities, but time has made it so that we are not quite the same. And I think were the empire to believe that there were such similarities, those who carried those traits would be in danger.”
“But if the traits of the Settlers are required for the ability to handle dragon relics…”
“As I said, there are similarities, but they are not the same.”
“The emperor is a fire mage,” Fes said.
“That is the rumor.”
“It’s more than a rumor, though. When I saw him, there were things that he was doing that were things that only a fire mage could do.”
“I would question whether you were truly aware of what a fire mage can do, but as you are one of the Deshazl, it is likely that you would know.”
“How would the emperor be able to handle dragon relics unless he was one of the Settlers?”
“That is a very different question,” Azithan said.
Fes met Azithan’s gaze. The fire mage pressed heat out from himself, and Fes wondered whether Azithan was using a relic or whether there was something more to it. He had made no effort to attack Fes, and Fes still wasn’t certain what he intended with the boy, or even why he was taking him northward.
“Where were you going?” Fes asked.
Azithan smiled tightly. “Now you begin to ask the appropriate questions.”
“If you wanted to capture the boy, you would have taken him back to the capital. The fact that you were heading north means something else.”
“It does.”
“Where were you going with him?”
“There is much that you still can learn, Fezarn. I had thought that you were related to the Settlers, and that was the reason for your success with reclaiming relics. I had never imagined that you could be one of the Deshazl.”
“Azithan?”
“And here you are. That fits why you were able to defeat Reina. She had grown powerful, possibly powerful enough that I wouldn’t have been able to defeat her.”
“About that. I thought all of the fire mages worked together on behalf of the empire?”
“The fire mages serve the empire, but we do so in our own ways. Not everyone views their responsibility the same.”
“And how do you view your responsibility?”
“Mine is… unique.”
Fes looked over at Jayell. She still hadn’t moved, and the immobility made him uncomfortable. How long could she remain like that before something happened? And what of Griffin? The boy watched Fes, but he didn’t seem to be making much of a reaction otherwise. Either he was completely muted as it seemed or he had simply chosen not to speak.
“Why would yours be unique?”
Azithan studied Fes for a long moment. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters. It matters where you planned to take this boy. It matters with what you plan to do now that you believe that I am one of the Deshazl.”
“It’s more than a belief that you are one of the Deshazl, Fezarn. Seeing you, seeing what you can do, tells me that you are one of the Deshazl.”
“Even if I am, it doesn’t change anything.”
“On the contrary. It changes everything.”
Fes met Azithan’s gaze. The thin fire mage stared at him, heat building off him. How many dragon relics did Azithan have on him to generate that kind of heat? How much power was he pulling in order to demonstrate that?
“You still haven’t answered what you intend to do with this boy.”
“If you fear that I might harm him, let me put your mind at ease.”
“I doubt that you can.”
“Have I lied to you?”
Fes stared at Azithan. “No. I suppose you haven’t.”
“Then know that I have no interest in harming this boy.”
“That still doesn’t explain what you intend to do with him.”
“I intend for him to find a measure of peace.”
Fes touched the hilt of one of his daggers. His mind raced through what Azithan had said and he tried to puzzle through everything else that he’d heard, but he found it difficult to understand exactly what was taking place. There was more to what Azithan planned than what he had shared. Then again, that wasn’t surprising. Azithan had always planned far more than what he had shared with Fes. Most of his assignments had been a mere part of the rest of the work that Azithan did. Fes would have once believed that Azithan collected and requested artifacts from people like himself so that he could help secure the empire. What if that wasn’t quite all that Azithan was after?
“How do you intend for him to find a measure of peace?”
Azithan fixed him with a heated stare. “I have answered your questions, Fezarn. We are at the limits of what answers I am willing to provide. And now it is time for you to continue on your way, to complete the tasks that have been assigned to you.”
The suddenness surprised him. “Who is Elizabeth to you?”
“She is dangerous. And if she controls a golem, she is dangerous not only to me but to a great many others. If you are one of the Deshazl, you might be the only one capable of stopping her.”
“I have faced her already. And the golem. I don’t think there’s much I can do.”
“Ah, Fezarn. You are far more capable than you give yourself credit for.”
“It’s not a matter of how much credit I give myself,” Fes said. He thought of the way his daggers bounced off the golem. There wasn’t anything that Fes had been able to do. He didn’t understand why Azithan thought him capable of defeating the golem, but it was not something he thought he could do.
“That is exactly what it has to do with,” Azithan said.
“Do you intend to tell me where you are going?”
“No. And as you have an assignment, it is all that you need to know.”
“That’s not all I need to know.”
Azithan studied him, his mouth drawn and a frown pinching his lips. “I will not harm this child if that is your concern.”
Heat pressed off Azithan, and Fes didn’t think that he would be able to counter the fire mage if it were to come to that. He didn’t think that Azithan would harm the boy—not really—but he didn’t like the idea of leaving Griffin with the fire mage, as he had no idea just what the fire mage might do to him.
“You expect me just to leave him with you.”
“I expect you to do what you were hired to do, Fezarn. Do not fail in another task.”
Fes tensed. “And what of her?”
He looked at Jayell, and Azithan smiled tightly. “Are you concerned about this one?”
“She only wanted to see the boy to safety. She doesn’t deserve…” Fes didn’t really know what she deserved. He didn’t know her well enough to know whether or not she was innocent, or whether or not she intended to use Griffin. Maybe she was no better than Azithan.
“She will go with you,” Azithan said. “I think it is best that she not remain here.”
“You don’t want her with you.”
“I think it is unsafe for her to remain with me.”
“Unsafe for her or for you?”
“It is unsafe,” Azithan said.
Fes breathed out. How would Jayell react to having Griffin disappear? Fes imagined that she wouldn’t take it well, consid
ering everything she’d gone through to get him to this point.
“This is not a discussion,” Azithan said.
He stood and, with the blast of heat, created a barrier around himself and Griffin. It happened so fast that Fes could barely react. He attempted to slash at the barrier, but Azithan simply held it in place.
“Finish your job, and then you can find me. Perhaps then we can have a different conversation,” Azithan said.
Fes stared at him, debating whether he would press the point or whether he should simply do as Azithan asked.
There came a coughing near him, and he turned to see Jayell coming out of her stupor. When he glanced back at Azithan, the fire mage was gone.
Chapter Thirteen
Fes stared into the distance. The stallion was fast and sleek, a much better horse than the one he had ridden out of the capital, and though it didn’t seem to mind him, there was a certain tension to the horse. Almost as if it were aware that Fes was not supposed to be riding.
When he looked over at Jayell, he saw the same pensive expression on her face that he had seen for the last few days. Ever since losing Griffin to Azithan, Fes had not been able to get Jayell to shake it.
“I don’t see anything,” she said.
“There was movement. I’m sure of it,” Fes said. It had been a trail of dust, nothing more than that, and certainly not enough for him to feel confident with what he saw, but it was more than what they had seen for the last few days.
“Movement could mean anything,” she said. “It could mean that you came across some animal, or—”
Fes shook his head. “It was movement. Let’s at least go take a look?”
Jayell nodded.
Fes hadn’t been confident she would even agree to go with him. She had no obligation to him, and without the priest, there was no reason for her to remain. When he had shared with her what Azithan had said, she had decided to stay. He suspected her desire was to see if she might find him again, but Fes was heading in a different direction than Azithan, and his goal was now to find Indra and rescue her.
They set the horses at a gallop and made good time cutting across the ground. The landscape here was gently rolling hillside, the grass barely above the horse's knees, and an occasional flower grew, giving fragrance to the air. Fes looked for signs of others coming through and found nothing. It could be that the grasses recovered quickly, or it could be that he was mistaken and there wasn’t anything in the distance.
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