Embers at Galdrilene

by Audra Trosper

  One young servant, her face creased with worry, almost dropped the plate of hotcakes she was setting on the table when Mckale’s eyes settled on her. The silver of Mckale’s eyes had turned iron gray. Something dangerous and threatening lurked in them.

  Vaddoc cleared his throat. “Mckale, my friend, I do not believe any of these young servants wish any harm to Maleena. Scaring them is not going to do any good.”

  Iron eyes locked on his for a moment and then his friend let out a long sigh. The tension in him seemed to flow away with his breath. “I know. Logically, I know. This connection, these feelings and emotions, are almost as powerful as those I share with Tellnox. It is difficult to sort it all out and control it.”

  “That will come in time,” Bardeck said as he walked into the room, weariness etched in the lines on his face. “You can’t expect to have complete control over all the emotions that go with bondmating in such a short time.”

  “It has been a month since our dragons hatched,” Mckale said.

  “One month is nothing in the life span of a Dragon Rider,” Bardeck replied. “Give it more time and you will have better control.”

  “Mckale worries needlessly about me,” Maleena said, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “It’s natural. You would feel the same if your roles were reversed. You are almost as much a part of each other as you are a part of your dragons.”

  Bardeck had the same tense wariness in his eyes as Mckale. Vaddoc glanced at the door and back to Bardeck. “Where is Emallya?”

  Maleena’s head snapped up as she looked quickly around the room. “Is she alright?”

  Bardeck sat and began placing eggs and hotcakes on a plate. “She is fine, just tired. She elected to stay in our lair and sleep. I had the kitchen send up a tray of food and made sure she ate before I left her to rest.”

  Maleena looked relieved and went back to picking at the food on her plate. Bardeck glanced at her plate. “You should eat, too. There is every chance there will be more black Hatchings. Although they won’t affect you as badly, you will still need your strength for them.”

  Maleena nodded but continued to push the food around. “Please eat,” Mckale said, his tone held a hint of pleading.

  She raised her eyes and sighed. “I think I have eaten as much as I can stand. I’m going to follow Emallya’s example and try to find some sleep. Nydara has finished feeding and is ready to sleep as well. It will be best for both of us if I go and sleep in the lair with her.”

  Mckale started to rise from his seat. “I will come with you.”

  Maleena pushed him back down. “No, you stay. You haven’t eaten yet. Besides, Nydara says Tellnox isn’t ready to sleep yet and he will need you.”

  Vaddoc smiled slightly to himself. She had made it so Mckale couldn’t protest. No matter how strong his bond with Maleena, the bond with Tellnox was stronger. Mckale couldn’t ignore the possibility of his dragon needing him. Only the draclet could relieve Mckale of that worry. Since Maleena could talk to Tellnox as easily as Nydara, Vaddoc wouldn’t be surprised if she had arranged for Tellnox to “need” Mckale.

  It didn’t take Maleena’s magical abilities to see Mckale had to be distracted from his worries. Vaddoc admired Maleena for not clinging to Mckale, for having the strength to handle what her magic dealt out. And for making sure, even in the midst of her own problems, Mckale got what he needed.

  Kellinar watched the exchange in silence and after Maleena left, he continued to study Mckale. Vaddoc knew Kellinar was very perceptive to the moods of the people around him. Most likely a skill developed out of self-preservation in order to gage if the person in front of him intended to place a knife in him at the first opportunity.

  Kellinar took a long drink and set his cup down. “Mckale, I know it’s been a long night, but since your Tellnox doesn’t seem in any rush to sleep, perhaps you could continue to show me how to use a sword.”

  Vaddoc said nothing as he waited for Mckale’s answer. He could do it, but that wasn’t the point. Kellinar in his ability to read people and the close attention he paid to detail knew Mckale could easily get caught up in teaching the sword.

  Mckale sighed. “Since she made it impossible for me to watch over her, I will gladly help you with your sword. Although I must admit, I have never seen anyone learn faster than you.”

  Kellinar smiled. “In the Mallay, if you don’t learn fast you die.”

  Vaddoc nodded in approval. Just turning the conversation to sword play had changed Mckale. The tension in his friend’s shoulders and face relaxed.

  Vaddoc glanced at Kirynn and she smiled across the table at him. She had as little sleep as the rest of them, but nothing in her face showed it. Nor did it show any of the worry or fear that hung like a cloud over the hold. He found her physical endurance very attractive. Maleena was strong and fragile at the same time. Kirynn reminded him of a good sword. Strong, beautiful and deadly.

  She cocked a grin at him. “Since it appears this is going to be a practice morning, would you like to try and best me again? I haven’t had the chance to thump you around the practice field in over a week.”

  Vaddoc laughed in spite of everything. By the Fates, the woman was as cocky and confident as she was fearless. “I bested you once.”

  She snorted. “Only because Syrakynn distracted me. It won’t happen again.”

  He chuckled. Burn it, she was attractive when she had that challenging light in her eyes. “Bring it on woman.”

  Serena cleared her throat. “I think I will come, too. I’m still nowhere near as good as I should be and Kellinar has truly put me to shame since we both started learning at the same time. Besides,” she glanced between Kirynn and himself, “one of you might need healing before the day is out.”

  Vaddoc laughed again and this time everyone joined in, even Mckale. The dark mood of the morning dispelled, they left the table and headed for the practice field, ribbing each other good-naturedly.

  Kirynn walked through the Great Hall on the way to her chambers. The breeze blowing through it held the sharpness of early winter. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. Outside, on the inner terrace where the sunlight still held a hint of its warmth, she hadn’t felt the chill as much. But here in the Great Hall, without the sun, it felt much colder.

  Spring flowers were blooming when they first arrived in Galdrilene. Now the trees were bare. How had time passed so quickly? The days and nights spent learning, so rhythmic and busy, blended one into the other.

  She turned at the sound of hurried footsteps to see a young Spirit mage coming toward her from the front terrace. The mage stopped in front of Kirynn, slightly out of breath and with exasperation written on her face. “Have you by chance seen Loki?”

  Kirynn chuckled. “Did he sneak away again?”

  The mage sighed. “Yes, he has. I swear that boy could sneak unnoticed across a room full of Spirit mages. Just last week we found him at a silversmith, the week before that he was found down on the docks exploring the boats. The week before that, Headmaster Po found him down at the grain mills. Loki managed to get the miller to stop what he was doing and explain, in detail, the workings of the waterwheel.”

  Kirynn understood Loki’s fascination with the waterwheel. The device intrigued her and she thought the idea of using the flow of water to turn grinding wheels to be a clever one. She didn’t say this to the frustrated mage, though. Instead she reached out for Syrakynn and found that Loki was among the dragons again. “I think if I take you down to the dragons you will find your truant.”

  The mage sighed again and started toward the open doors leading to the inner terrace. “Why do the dragons allow him to hide among them?”

  Kirynn shrugged. “They are amused by him and they enjoy his company. Emallya said she has never heard of a non-rider developing such a rapport with dragons.”

  They walked down the length of the crater to where the dragons lay sunning themselves by the lake. Fully three-quarters the size of Mern
oth now, they’d already taken their first flights. In the evenings, the six young dragons could usually be seen perched on the lip of the rim. Mernoth, though his wings were damaged, often made the short flight to the top of the rim with them. But in the afternoons they chose to sun themselves by the lake. Namir lay in golden slumber in the sunlight with the orange striped cat that had scared him as a draclet. It slept curled where his wing met his body. Syrakynn, her red scales brilliant in the light, lay near him.

  When they reached the dragons Kirynn said, “Shryden, would you do us the favor of lifting your wing?”

  The blue lifted his wing and revealed Loki. Shryden looked from the boy to the mage with a look of wide-eyed innocence as if completely surprised to find the boy there. Amused, Kirynn watched the mage pull Loki away from the dragons.

  “Why’d ya have to go and tell her?” Loki asked.

  Kirynn smiled. “Because you shouldn’t run away from the mages at the University.”

  “But I get bored.”

  The mage frowned at him. “You can’t go running off just because you get bored, young man.”

  When Loki turned pleading eyes on Kirynn, she only shook her head. “I can’t get you out of your studies, Loki.”

  He heaved a big sigh and started walking toward the Great Hall. The mage thanked her and hurried after the boy. Kirynn watched them go. She and her companion riders were like a group of older brothers and sisters to the boy. Marda had taken Loki under her ample wing. She made sure he was well supplied with sweet treats at the University and when he was at the hold, she made sure he didn’t revert to speaking like an alley rat the minute he was out of Po’s earshot. Even Emallya and Bardeck weren’t immune to Loki’s charms and they often treated him as if they were an indulgent aunt and uncle.

  “You shouldn’t allow him to hide among you when he isn’t supposed to be here,” Kirynn said to the dragons.

  “We like him,” came the simple sending from Syrakynn. Kirynn regarded the steady gaze of the red. It was obvious Syrakynn wasn’t going to offer any more explanation or an apology. She watched as the red curled her long neck around and tucked her head beneath her wing.

  Leaving them to sleep, she returned back into the hold and climbed the stairs to the upper hall and her quarters. As soon as the young dragons took their first flights they’d chosen new sleeping lairs. Syrakynn chose one of the uppermost lairs and Kirynn rather missed being able to walk into her chambers from the crater floor. But Syrakynn seemed far more content with her elevated lair.

  Namir and Vaddoc had taken a lair on the same level. Her mind wandered to Vaddoc’s broad shoulders and his form as he trained with his swords. Having him so close was a temptation she found harder to resist the older her dragon got. She couldn’t help imagining what it would be like laying with him. The only thing that held her back was a fear of pregnancy. She would have to talk to Serena or Emallya about it. Surely there was an herb she could drink that would prevent such a thing from happening. In Boromar there had always been a supply of such herbs available.

  In her quarters, she poured water from the pitcher into the large bowl on the table and washed the sweat from her practice session from her face. She’d spent the morning at the Tower of Fire where the mages put her through an exhausting test of her abilities. After the past few months of daily practice and work, her control over her magic was almost as good as the mages. Mage Councilor Draven said he’d never trained anyone who advanced so quickly. It was a phenomenon that affected her companions as well.

  Emallya and Bardeck both commented on how fast both riders and dragons advanced. The dragons were bigger and more mature at eight months than any the couple had ever seen. Not even the records held a reference to dragons and riders progressing in the way Kirynn and her companions were.

  Emallya thought the lack of dragon and rider population, coupled with the impending danger of Shadow Dragons, fueled an unusual amount of physical growth and maturity among the dragons, and the quick grasp and control of the magic abilities among the riders. Their abilities paced with the growth of their dragons and they accomplished in the last few months what took riders before them two to three years.

  Kirynn dried her face with a small, square towel and tried not to think too closely about what drove the dragons’ race to maturity. Shadow Dragons. Syrakynn rumbled in her head and Kirynn sent soothing thoughts to the red.

  Maleena felt seven more black Hatchings within weeks of the first. Although none affected her like the first, Kirynn still found it disturbing to watch. The vision of the Hatching took Maleena over until she no longer saw the hold or her friends around her. Instead, she saw the black dragon hatch and to some extent, felt the pain of the soul tearing as the twisted draclet freed itself from its shell. Not even Mckale could reach her during them.

  Kirynn admired the bondmated pair. Maleena, although extremely strong and resilient, didn’t try to stand apart and take it alone; instead she took the support offered by Mckale. And though he often shadowed her like a bodyguard, Mckale never treated her like a lesser person. They were very much equals, accepting of the power and strength of the other while stepping in to shore up any weakness.

  Kirynn had no desire to join them, though. She cared for Vaddoc and wouldn’t mind sharing a bed with him, but Syrakynn was the only other being she wanted to be bonded to. Lucky for her, Vaddoc seemed to have no interest in finding a bondmate or a wife. Like her, he appeared content to be bonded to his dragon and no one else.

  Emallya poked her head around the half closed door. “There you are. The saddle makers are here with the finished saddles. It is time to try them on.”

  Kirynn sighed; another long walk back to the crater floor. She followed the older woman out into the hall. As they walked down the stairs she turned to Emallya and asked, “Are there herbs here that prevent pregnancy?”

  Emallya nodded. “Yes, there are several, but you will have no need of them. I told you of this before you hatched Syrakynn. A dragon will only cycle if she has a bondmate and you will only cycle if your dragon does. Even then, riders are not a particularly fruitful lot. You are bonded to a Fire dragon though and Fire dragons almost never bondmate so you will likely never cycle. Once your dragon is fully mature, you will not even have a moon-cycle again.”

  “Thank you. I’ve been so busy with everything, I forgot about that.” Kirynn smiled as relief and elation rushed through her body. She would never have to worry about the possibility of children again. She wouldn’t even have to worry about bothersome moon-cycles again. “How long before the dragons are mature?”

  “They will be fully mature around three years of age. Some may mature a little before, some a little after. Well, normally that is when dragons mature. This group of dragons would not surprise me if they reached maturity within the next few months. I would say at the rate they are going, they could very well be fully mature by a year old or soon after.”

  “If I will continue to have moon-cycles until Syrakynn is mature, how is it I don’t have to worry about pregnancy?”

  “Your body still prepares for pregnancy in the way it always has, although the moon-cycles will become shorter and you may miss some altogether between now and the time Syrakynn matures. Despite your body’s preparations, you are no longer able to become pregnant. Your moon-cycles are sterile. You and Syrakynn are one, because she cannot bear young, you cannot either.”

  They walked in silence for a time before Emallya asked, “Is it Vaddoc you are interested in?”

  Kirynn nodded. “The physical attraction becomes harder to resist the older Syrakynn gets.”

  Emallya nodded. “Syrakynn matures. Although she will not feel the urge to mate until she is at least a year, possibly longer.”

  They reached the crater floor and Kirynn saw the group of saddle makers not far from the lake, surrounded by large piles of leather. The dragons had been measured several times over the last month. Now all that remained was this final fitting to see if any adjustments
needed to be made.

  The dragons had yet to carry a rider. According to Bardeck, although one could ride a dragon without a saddle, the scales were slick, and the dorsal ridge sharp and uncomfortable. He didn’t advise going bareback for the first ride. The dragons agreed and so she and her fellow riders sat waiting while their dragons took to the skies solo.

  If this fitting went well, they would finally get to ride their dragons. The thought sent a thrill of excitement fluttering through Kirynn’s stomach. Syrakynn took her along mentally a couple of times when she flew, but she couldn’t wait to experience it personally, to see the ground fall away with her own eyes.

  One by one the dragons woke and uncurled themselves. Kirynn admired them as they stretched their wings out wide. The sunlight rippled along their supple, glossy scales like multi-colored fire. The saddle makers stopped to stare at them, too. Although they saw the dragons several times during the process of making the saddles, they never seemed to tire of watching them.

  Kirynn tore her gaze away from the spectacle of the stretching dragons and greeted the saddle makers. She may not have Maleena’s gift, but even she could read their reluctance to turn away from them. Neda, the gray-haired Guildmaster of Crafts, redirected the group back to their task and apologized to Kirynn and Emallya for becoming so distracted. Kirynn only laughed and said, “I was just as distracted as you for a moment. They do tend to command attention.”

  “Yes well, at my age I should be past such things,” Neda replied. Kirynn shook her head, the woman worried too much. She had never seen someone one as dedicated and single minded as Neda. It sounded like a simple guild to be master of, but in reality the Craft Guild was responsible for making just about all of life’s comforts and necessities at Galdrilene. They made everything from clothing, to saddles, to leather gauntlets, to curtains for windows. Broken up into their own little specialties within the umbrella of the guild, it was Neda who oversaw it all.

  Emallya smiled. “At your age? I am several hundred years older than you and the sight of that young group of dragons still takes my breath away.”