by Lynette Noni
“Hurry, Alex, or Mother will return,” Xiraxus said, lowering his torso to the ground, stretching his wing out, and gesturing with his head for her to climb aboard.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said, unthinkingly.
Xiraxus said, “You’ve flown with me before—why is this any different?”
“Uh, maybe because I didn’t have any choice the last two times?” Alex pointed out.
“The Kyvalon isn’t on this island,” Xiraxus told her. “We can only get there by flying.”
“I’m usually okay with heights, but this is asking a lot,” Alex said, sliding closer to Xiraxus and peering out over the edge of the island to see nothing but clouds beneath them. She still couldn’t believe she was this close to what she’d call a dragon, not to mention being about to fly with him through the sky—again.
“Good thing you’re not the one keeping us in the air, then,” Xiraxus said. “Now jump on, Alex. We don’t want to keep them waiting.”
Certain she was out of her right mind, Alex reached out and grabbed hold of the rough black sinew of Xiraxus’s wing to help her balance. Even while lowered to the ground, his shoulder was still significantly higher than her head, so she had to manoeuvre herself up by first placing her foot on his forearm and stepping up to push off his elbow, jumping to grip the spiky scales at the base of his neck and pulling herself onto his back.
Panting from the surprising amount of effort it took, she said, “Is there an easier way to do that?”
“When I’m a little older, my wings will be strong enough for you to run straight up them,” Xiraxus answered as she settled herself into a somewhat secure position just in front of his wing joints. “Until then, we’ll just have to practise. But don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. The only way to get around Draekora is by air.”
“How old are you, Xira?”
“I’m still a hatchling,” he answered, rising to his feet and causing Alex to clamp her thighs around him and grab a tighter hold of the scales at his neck. “Only eighteen of your mortal years.”
“Eighteen is considered a hatchling?” Alex said, surprised. That was the age most humans were considered adults.
“Hold on, Alex,” Xiraxus said, bunching his hind legs underneath them. “It’s time to fly.”
And with that, he pushed off from his haunches and propelled them up into the air.
The moment they left the solid, stable ground—which was ironic, since it was technically a floating hunk of rock in the middle of the sky—Alex closed her eyes, figuring it was best to remain oblivious for the duration of their journey. But Xiraxus wouldn’t have any of that.
Open your eyes, Alex, he called mentally. You won’t want to miss this. Trust me.
Peeking first with one eye and then the other, Alex let out a sound of amazement at the sight before her. Xiraxus had flown them high up above the islands, affording her a view over the entirety of Draekora spread out underneath them. She looked back to see their original island was a wasteland full of craggy rocks and hidden caves, and she again marvelled at the differences in the isles.
With the sun on her face, the wind in her hair and the postcard-perfect view all around her, it was impossible for Alex not to get caught up in the wonder of the moment.
Xira, this is amazing, she called out in her mind, testing if their mental link worked both ways.
You haven’t seen anything yet, he responded, his tone laced with humour. Then his voice turned pensive. I suppose we can be a few minutes late. Hopefully no one will notice. Because you have to see this.
With no other warning, he pulled his wings in close to his body and with nothing left to keep them aloft, they plummeted through the air. Down, down, down they dropped, a scream tearing from Alex’s vocal chords, partly in terror, partly in exhilaration. Together they fell between two large islands and continued downwards until Xiraxus flung his wings out to catch an air current, thrusting them back up again.
Alex released a laugh of pure joy and threw her hands up above her head. “That was incredible!” she cried, her voice nearly lost in the wind.
The ride’s not over yet. Xiraxus sounded just as thrilled.
He dipped his body, circling once before he nosedived again towards an island almost entirely consumed by and overflowing with water but for a rocky mountain cresting the edge of it.
Hold your breath, Alex, Xiraxus told her, not pulling up despite the fact that they were falling closer and closer to the surface of the island. He stroked his wings back as if to push them faster downwards. And whatever you do, don’t let go!
Alex had only a wide-eyed moment to suck in a lungful of air and reinforce her grip on him, just as he dove them straight into the massive body of water.
This far above the clouds, she expected the water to be painfully frigid, but it was nothing of the sort. Instead it was almost warm, pleasantly so. But all this she only noted with half a mind because Xiraxus wasn’t guiding them back to the surface—he was swimming them deeper under the lake.
As beautiful as the crystal clear water was with rays of sunlight streaming into its depths, Alex began to panic when Xiraxus made no move to resurface.
Uh—I’m human, remember? Oxygen is not only important, it’s vital! Alex called out to him when they kept moving further down.
We’re almost there, he replied nonsensically. I promise, it’ll be worth it.
Not if I’m dead! Alex countered. But at that very moment, he moved his nose upwards and with a bubbly swoosh of his great wings he propelled them into an underwater tunnel. The passageway led upwards and, within a few more pushes of the draekon’s wings, they broke out of the water and flew straight up what Alex recognised as the dried magma chamber of a dormant volcano. Bright gemstones veined along the walls of the rock as they flew straight up the channel and broke through the surface of the mountaintop, surging out into the sky.
Beyond words, Alex just laughed again, whooping in delight as Xiraxus soared back downwards and then spiralled underneath the water spilling over the edge of the great island, further drenching them in the spray.
See, flying’s not so bad, is it? he said in a semi-smug tone.
It’s wonderful, Alex admitted. I had no idea what I was missing.
What you’re both missing is a very important meeting, came the irritated voice of Zaronia as she glided up alongside them, startling Alex both with her presence and her mental link.
Sorry, Mother, we—uh—we got lost, Xiraxus said feebly.
Alex watched as Zaronia’s gaze swept over their waterlogged selves and, in a deadpan tone, the older draekon repeated, You got lost.
Even I could have come up with something better than that, Alex whispered to Xiraxus, hoping only he could hear.
Bite me, he returned, startling a laugh out of Alex.
Now, now, hatchlings, Zaronia said, showing that she could hear everything between them. Play nice and follow me.
Just how much of my language did you learn? Alex asked Xiraxus as he turned on his wing to follow obediently after his mother.
Everything you know came instantly with the bond, he replied.
And the same for me in reverse, Alex said, marvelling anew that she could now understand the Meyarin language. She wondered whether her new translation skills would remain with her when she returned to her time.
Yes, he confirmed. And because my race is mentally linked like a—what would you call it? A hive mind?—because of that, you can now also understand and be understood by all draekons. The knowledge of your language flows from you through me to them.
Then why does your mother sound so much more… proper than you do?
Somehow Xiraxus managed to turn his head but remain flying on course, pinning her with a telling look. Because Mother is nearly an Ancient, Alex, and I’m the equivalent of a teenager, just like you.
Are you implying that I’m ‘uncool’, Xira? Zaronia cut in.
Alex pressed her lips together in an attempt to s
uppress her laughter. Just hearing the word ‘uncool’ from the great draekon seemed wrong somehow.
Not at all, Mother, Xiraxus said quickly. You’re not uncool, you’re…
Sensing he needed help, Alex offered, Dignified.
Yes, dignified, Xiraxus said with a nod of his head. Dignified and sophisticated.
Definitely too dignified to use phrases like ‘bite me’, Alex finished, stifling a laugh when she felt Xiraxus’s body vibrate with a grumble.
Hmm, Zaronia said, but she left it at that.
Just then they flew through a flurry of clouds and out the other side, bringing a new island to Alex’s vision. This one was like a rocky, open-air auditorium, a huge amphitheatre made out of glossy black stone. The jagged edges of the crystalline surface gave the island a foreboding feel, or perhaps it was the small group of draekons waiting restlessly upon the variously sized black outcroppings interspersed like viewing platforms around the amphitheatre.
Is that traesos? Alex asked, recognising the rock.
You know what traesos is? Zaronia asked back, sounding surprised.
Alex shook her head even though the draekon wasn’t looking at her. Just that it’s some kind of black rock.
It’s not just a rock, Alex, Xiraxus said in a familiar eye-roll tone. It’s pure darkness, pulled straight from the abrassa and solidified into crystal form.
You’re saying this stuff is basically, like, congealed black hole matter?
Pulled from one, yes, Xiraxus answered as they began to glide down into the centre of the amphitheatre. The only thing that can destroy it is pure light energy from beyond the stars, otherwise it’s completely impenetrable. To us, it symbolises the ages—those that have been, those that will be—because even when we have long since passed, it will still remain.
Struck by the poetry in his words, Alex imagined she could almost feel the power of the traesos as Xiraxus landed on a stage-like ledge right beside Zaronia.
Not entirely sure what she was supposed to do, Alex remained astride Xiraxus waiting for instruction and tried to ignore all the glowing eyes staring at her. Every single draekon around the amphitheatre was watching her intently, some of them with curiosity, others with barely suppressed hostility. It was because of the latter that Alex kept a firm grip on Xiraxus, wondering what she’d gotten herself into this time.
Zaronia took a step forward and, in a loud voice that echoed throughout the rocky auditorium, she spoke in her earlier language of clicking, scratching and rumbling sounds that Alex unconsciously translated to, “I, Zaronia, born leader of Draekora, call this Kyvalon to order.”
Your mother’s the leader of the draekons? Alex asked Xiraxus, wincing a little at the strange, almost gritty sounds of the Draekoran language. What does that make you?
One day I’ll inherit her position, he answered. But not for many ages.
When Zaronia began welcoming the different draekons in attendance, Alex asked, Can they all hear us speaking like this?
No, just me, Xiraxus answered. Mother too, since I’m of her blood, which gives her a partial linking to our vaeliana, but it requires great effort on her part to listen in so she won’t do it without cause. The others can’t hear our mind-speak.
Alex found that a small comfort. After all, she was still adjusting to having someone else in her head—she didn’t want to think about a whole herd of draekons invading her thoughts.
“This Kyvalon has been called to address the enactment of vaeliana between Xiraxus of Draekora, and his mortal, Alexandra of Freya,” Zaronia said in her harsh, guttural language.
Alex frowned at that and asked Xiraxus, What’s she talking about? What do they need to address?
“Draekoran law states that it is forbidden for a draekon to bond with a mortal,” Zaronia said before Xiraxus could answer. “Furthermore, it is equally forbidden to travel with any other race through the abrassa. It is up to this council to decide if the punishment for these crimes shall be enforced, and if so, to see it through.”
Punishment? Alex asked. What punishment?
“After their defence has been stated, we shall put it to a vote,” Zaronia said. “If the council does not rule in their favour, the mortal shall be executed. Immediately.”
Twelve
“Xiraxus, you may now state your case before the Kyvalon,” Zaronia said.
Xira, you need to tell me what’s going on, right now, Alex pleaded, digging her fingers into the ribbing of his neck.
It’ll be okay, Alex, Xiraxus told her. I won’t let anything happen to you. And neither will Mother, despite how indifferent she sounds.
His easy confidence calmed Alex enough that she loosened her frantic grip, moving with him as he stepped forward to address the crowd.
“Respected elders,” he said, also speaking the scratchy language of his race that translated effortlessly to Alex’s ears, “I ask that you would open your minds and allow me to share my memories with you. You will see why I had no choice but to enact vaeliana with Alex. Do you consent?”
Alex was surprised by how formal Xiraxus sounded while speaking to what Zaronia had referred to as the draekon council. Perhaps it was only when he spoke her tongue that he sounded like the teenager he technically was.
When the general consensus came back with those in attendance willing to share Xiraxus’s memories, the draekon whispered in her mind, This might feel strange. Just go with it.
And with that as the only warning, images assaulted her mind—images of Xiraxus flying lazily through the clouds around Draekora before being suddenly yanked upwards and into the abrassa. The memories played out as if on fast-forward, showing him being flung out the other end where everything was a blur of distressed flashes, as if he was skipping over parts of the memory. But then the images cleared again to reveal his panicked spiral to the earth, only just managing to slow his descent in time to avoid hitting the ground. It was there he saw the ‘Golden One’—Aven—waiting with a small group of Meyarins. On Aven’s order, the Garseth launched the Moxyreel net at Xiraxus, who roared in fright as he became ensnared. He was able to untangle part of his wings and fly a considerable distance away from immediate danger before his exhaustion from both the abrassa and the strangling net caused him to fall to the earth again. That’s when Alex entered his memories, and it was fascinating for her to watch their encounter from his point of view, especially given his inability to fully understand her words. Until then, his knowledge of the common tongue had been limited to the teachings of other draekons, and since none of them had spent much time amongst humans, their comprehension was basic at best.
What followed were the memories of a visibly terrified Alex freeing him and healing his injury—whereby all the draekons in attendance broke into disbelieving murmurs at the sight of A’enara—before he sensed Aven’s approach and the closing of the Void, taking to the air with Alex in his grip. As Alex lost consciousness, they entered the abrassa and were enveloped by darkness. Sometime later a blinding light lit up the darkness as Xiraxus recited a string of melodic words in another foreign language. All Alex knew was that they translated to say, ‘Heart I give you, soul to share, strength and mind, both here and there. Forever and always, vaeliana.’
Then everything went black again, to the point that Xiraxus himself must have passed out, because his next memories were of him waking up in the midst of the Silverwood, with no Alex in sight.
She then learned that their bond allowed him to find her at the base of the Golden Cliffs being rescued by a group of Meyarin Zeltora, who forced laendra nectar down her throat to heal her talon-crushed abdomen. After they took her away, he flew around the city in frustration until he saw her fall off the balcony of the Meyarin palace and swooped in to save her.
“As you just saw, Alex rescued me from the one known to her as Aven Dalmarta, currently a prince of Meya, but in her time he is disinherited after having been banished from the Great City,” Xiraxus explained to the group of now noticeably agitated draekons.
“In the future I visited, he is… very evil. If Alex hadn’t helped me, I would have been captured and unable to reopen the same space tunnel I journeyed through. I had only seconds before the original abrassa would have been lost to me. Without her help, I would have never been able to make my way back home.”
He took a gusty breath and continued, “Because of that, I panicked, and yes, I entered the abrassa with a mortal. I could not—would not—leave her there for Aven to find, not after seeing the fear on her face at my mere mention of him. I didn’t think my actions through, and when she nearly died during the trip through the Void, I truly believed the only course I could follow was to create the bond between us and share my life force.”
Relatively calm up until that moment, Alex jolted at his words. I’m sorry—can you repeat that last part? I think I must have heard you wrong.
Um… Surprise? he responded as his mother stepped forward again.
“The laws of our race dictate that no draekon shall bond with a mortal owing to the fact that, when the mortal dies, the vaeliana link is severed, meaning that the draekon dies, too,” Zaronia said, giving Alex even more unwelcome information about their bond. “With Xiraxus inheriting leadership over Draekora in the coming years, this is a concern for all of us.”
“We cannot execute the mortal,” called out a rusty-coloured male draekon with vibrant aqua eyes. “If she dies, he dies. Better to keep her alive and seek out a way to break the bond without harming Xiraxus. Just because it has never been done before doesn’t mean it cannot be. She is young—if we keep her safe up here, we will have many years to find a solution.”
Safe up here? Alex repeated. I can’t stay here, Xira! I have to get back to my time!
“Kriidon has a point,” said a ruby red female. “As far as I’m concerned, Xiraxus acted foolishly, but he did it from a noble heart. Neither of them should be punished for his actions. The mortal shall remain with us until we determine our next course of action.”
“Thank you for your opinion, Vesaphina,” Zaronia said. “Anyone else?”