“I have no intention of it. I have more relevant things to concern myself with,” I said.
Rose leaned forward and tilted her head so she could see Kai's face. “His eyes are closed. I think he's still asleep.”
Kai slowly pushed himself upright. He shook out his arms and yawned. “Sorry, did you say something?”
“Do you often talk in your sleep?”
Kai's freckled cheeks flushed. “I've been told it sometimes happens when I'm waking. Why? What did I say?”
Rose shook her head. “It's not important. Did you get enough rest?”
Kai shrugged away a shiver. “Enough for now. We'll need to stop again soon to give the horses a break and recharge the magic. I'm afraid neither Kemi nor I have the endurance to hold a swiftfoot spell for two straight days.”
“I wouldn't expect you to. We appreciate the help you are able to give us, and that has not been insignificant.”
“Why are you in the Faelands, Kai?” I asked. It was a question that had been nagging me since I met the Silverwinds, but I hadn't before had the chance to speak it.
“Our father sent us to Belise as envoys because he didn't want to deal with the Fae himself.” Kai gathered his hair into a ponytail and tied it at his nape with a length of red cord. “Trade business, nothing important. We were negotiating with a Wolverfae representative when we heard a rumor of a young human who had won an honor fight with a Foxfae champion on the steppes. The human was on the plains with six companions—an elf, a red-haired half-elf, a halfling, a Faeline, a half-Fae, and a half-elf who inconsistently hid his scarred face. We wondered if the human fighter and the scarred half-elf could be the dragonbound brothers from Jadeshire that the Crown Guard was searching for. We guessed that you'd be trying to cross the basin from west to east to escape the Faelands, so we went to Kethra since the vale there is too narrow to avoid the village. Then we waited, and we were right. Seven outsiders on six horses arrived two days later and we knew we had found Lord Shannon Goldtree and Tessen Lim. Unfortunately, Faelands Security also found you.”
“Why didn't they take me, too?” I asked.
Kai shrugged and swallowed a yawn. “Lord Goldtree has a bounty for his safe passage to Anthora. You don't. The only reason you were listed in the bounty at all was to assist in recognizing your brother since it was known you'd be traveling together. Kemi has one of the flyers in her satchel. Ask her to show it to you when she wakes.”
“I'm suspicious of the High King's interest in Shan. Do you know why we ran from Jadeshire?”
“We were told there was a coup in the realm, lead by Lord Lindaer Starbright, who the High King has now recognized as Duke of the Jade Realm. The coup was violent, and led to the death of the previous Duke, Daelon Goldtree. Daelis Goldtree fled with his human wife and younger children, likely to protect them. His elder child, Shannon, also fled, but in a different direction and he was accompanied by his half-brother and two newborn solar dragons. I have no idea where you acquired these solar dragons since the breed was believed to be extinct, so maybe you'll trust me enough someday to tell me that story.”
I twisted my back to make sure Iefyr, Nador, and Kemi were still behind us. They weren't far back, and Kemi appeared to still be asleep. I returned my attention to Kai. “I don't know who ordered the assassination, but their intent was to murder every person with Goldtree blood, including my newborn sister. Do you know anything about Daelis's whereabouts? Or where my mother and sisters might be? I hope they're with him, but I have no idea.”
Kai shook his head. “It is not known. There is rumor that they have left the Jade Realm and have no plan to reclaim it. I am sorry. I'm not important enough to know more.”
“Why did you want to find us? I assume you wanted to claim the bounty for yourself.”
“Not quite.” Kai looked down at his hands. “We don't trust the High King's claim that he wants to find Lord Goldtree for benevolent purposes, likely to add him to his ranks of elite dragonbound magic adepts, the Crown Paragon. It is known that the High King has no love for half-elves, so the idea of him forging an alliance with one is suspicious, especially considering how easily he embraced his new Duke Starbright. We wanted to find you first because we know a group of master dragonbound who are no longer allegiant to the Crown and we think you and Lord Goldtree would be safer with them than in Anthora.”
“Is your father one of these master dragonbound?” I asked.
“No. No, our father is with the Crown. We do not trust him.”
“Where do you want to take us if not Anthora?”
Kai shook his head. “It is safer not to speak of it directly. The dragonbound are defectors of Anthora. Even though the High King is not overtly hostile toward them, they do not linger in a place if they feel they aren't safe, if they feel he might be able to locate them. Kemi and I know how to find them, and we will take you to them once we recover your dragon and your brother. We do understand we need to earn your trust first, otherwise there is no reason for you to believe us over the words of the High King.”
“You can help us rescue Ragan. That will be a huge step toward earning my trust, but you'll have to start over when we find Shan. He's more paranoid than I am, and with good reason. And, when we find him, don't go calling him Lord Goldtree. Shannon, either. Call him Shan and he'll know you're making an effort.”
“We will do our best to help your half-Fae friend.”
“Ragan isn't just my friend,” I said, my pulse quickening as dread crept through my veins. “He's my father. Not by blood, but in my heart. He endured the worst of my childhood and still embraced me like I was his own. He's my father, Kai, and I love him. Keep that in mind if you think about speaking ill of him or his parentage as so many others have.”
“I have no intent of speaking ill,” Kai said. He nodded toward the road. “I'm awake enough to resume the fleetfoot spell now. I think I can hold it for an hour, maybe two, and then we need to rest the horses.”
“Go ahead.”
A flash of silver wings caught my eye. The dragons were gliding along the basin wall high to our left. Kai urged his horse ahead several paces, leaving me with Rose.
Tears ran down Rose's weary face. She drew her horse close to mine so she could reach my hand. She swallowed a lump in her throat and whispered, “Thank you, my dear. Your words mean everything to me right now.”
“I mean them.” I squeezed her trembling hand and we rode onward.
Chapter 39
We rode far past the point of exhaustion in order to get beyond a town that sat too close to the road. We stopped after nightfall and led the horses into the woods just far enough to be out of sight of any travelers who might pass along the road. The horses grazed on the lush grass, then fell asleep beneath the red maples. The silver dragons slept not far from the horses, their heads resting on each other's flanks. My companions barely finished their meager dinners before finding comfortable patches of moss to use as beds. Not ten minutes after we stopped, only Iefyr and I remained awake. He had first watch, and I was waiting for moonrise.
A cool breeze swooped down from the mountains, carrying with it a fine mist and the scents of stone and pine. My face was numb and my limbs were heavy, but I needed to force myself to stay awake or I'd miss my chance to link with Serida.
I paced several laps around the camp to stretch my legs, then sat next to Iefyr, who was using one of his Owlfae arrows to prod a tiny fire. I arched my back to look up at the starry sky and asked, “You going to be able to stay awake?”
“I'm fine. I got a good couple hours in once I drew the straw for first watch. It was a shit nap on horseback, but good enough.” Iefyr jammed a large shelf mushroom and an onion onto the arrow and held it over the fire. “These things make better skewers than arrows.”
“Infinite mediocre skewers. Great for campfire cooking when you're in the forest and run out of sticks.”
Still twisting his arrow over the fire, Iefyr reached to the side and snapped another sh
elf mushroom off a nearby log. He handed it to me, then drew an arrow and set it on my knee. “They taste of moss and dirt, but they're safe and they'll fill you up. I've got a couple more onions in the side pocket of my satchel. Help yourself.”
I yawned several times as I arranged the mushroom and two small onions on the arrow then held them over the flames. “I don't remember what it feels like to be rested. Or to sleep in a bed. Almost had the chance for that one, but everything went wrong. This exhaustion is nothing but a hollow void in my gut and anvils tied to my limbs. Am I supposed to get used to it or should I keep hoping to wake up in the morning feeling rested instead of half-dead and listless?”
“I don't know. I inherited enough orc hardiness that sustained physical fatigue isn't too much of an issue for me. I can fight it off for longer than most people can. Mental fatigue, though, now that I understand. When I'm at my worst, that despair spreads through my body and weighs me down. Hell, it gets bad enough that I feel it my hair and teeth.”
I ran my tongue along the backs of my incisors. “Yeah, even my teeth are tired. How is that possible?”
“Our minds and bodies conspire together against us.” Iefyr switched his arrow to his other hand and nudged my elbow. “Hey, pay attention. Your onion is on fire.”
“Damn it,” I mumbled. I held up the arrow and blew on the onion until it extinguished. Both onions and the mushroom were charred thanks to my tired arm deciding to rest them directly on the burning fuel. They still appeared edible, so I didn't care. “Keep me awake, will you? Moon should be rising soon.”
Iefyr looked up at the stars. “Clearest sky I've seen in weeks. Don't want you to miss this moonlight.”
“I can't miss it. Could be life or death for Ragan and Serida.”
“Then I won't let you sleep until you've linked with her.”
“Talk to me, Iefyr. Not about Ragan or Serida or my brother, though. Distract me.” I let my eyes wander over the sleeping forms of our companions. I didn't know what to say to start a conversation, so I was surprised by what slipped off my tongue. “Have you ever been in love?”
“Have you?”
“I asked you first, but no, I haven't. I love the people I'm close to, but I've never felt romantic love. I don't know what it feels like.”
Iefyr held in a laugh as he tore apart his onion. “You'll know it if you feel it. And yes, I've been in love. Several times, but always unrequited. First one was an orc girl named Starn. We were fourteen and I knew for certain that I'd grow up to marry her. Then Farak, my big-mouthed little brother, told her I was in love with her, and she walked right over to me and laughed in my face. She told me I was too small and too weak and too elven, and no orc woman would ever want to be with me. No orc would ever take me into her bed, let alone choose me as her mate. Turned my heart to parchment and ripped it to shreds. My parents helped me heal from that first heartbreak, but they weren't alive for the others. There was Aliyar, the elven fletcher whose professional friendliness I misread as interest. It was well-known that he preferred men so I thought I was okay to approach him, but he gagged when I told him how I felt, and then he told me I was too hideous to love and my parents' union was shameful. There were a few others I don't care to recall at the moment, but I will say they all spurned me because of my parentage. There was also a human mercenary I fell in love with, but her heart already belonged to another. That one didn't hurt anywhere near as much because I already knew I wasn't the one for her, and she never insulted me like the others did. Race bias wasn't in her nature.”
“Was her name Rin Sylleth?” I asked.
“Am I that obvious?”
“Yes.”
Iefyr huffed, then grinned through several bites of roasted mushroom. “I won't embarrass you further.” He turned toward me again and raised an eyebrow. “It doesn't surprise you that I was in love with the fletcher?”
I shrugged as I watched a meteorite streak across the sky. “No. People love who they love. Nador's told us all plenty of stories about the vast variety of lovers she's had. Doesn't bother me, even though I'd rather her spare me the details.” Shan had also had both boyfriends and girlfriends, but it wasn't my place to reveal that to anyone else without his permission. I didn't even think he'd told Mom about any of them. Not that she'd be anything but happy for him, especially in post-cave life. I was pretty sure Mom herself had been romantically involved with a mercenary woman she'd worked with. It was over a decade ago, before she was with Ragan. I tried to remember that red-haired human's name, but all I could recall was a Beryl Realm accent and a pair of big brown eyes. It didn't matter. As long as they weren't moving in with us or fathering any of my siblings, Mom's former paramours were her business, not mine.
“She's adventurous and she doesn't care who knows it. It's caused quite a rift in her family from what I've heard.”
I nodded toward the sleeping halfling. “She's in love with you.”
Iefyr sighed and skewered another mushroom. “I know. And she knows I'm not in love with her. Now I know what it feels like to be on the other side of unrequited love, but I'm not going to be like Aliyar and Starn and insult her for it. She's my friend and I don't want to hurt her, but I don't know, maybe it hurts her more to let her keep hoping that I'll eventually reciprocate. I'm not opposed to the thought, I just don't feel it and she deserves someone who does. She knows perfectly well how I feel. We discuss it at length when alcohol loosens our tongues.”
A sliver of silver caught my eye. The edge of the crescent moon was rising above the mountains.
I drove the tip of the arrow skewer into the ground and reclined onto my back. “Thanks for helping me stay awake. I need to do this now. If I say something aloud, pay attention. It might be important.”
∆∆∆
Flickering candlelight, mildew, and a centuries-thick coating of fear upon every surface . . . I was back in the dungeon of Parandor, and Ragan was staring at me.
“You all right there? You got kinda twitchy for a second.” Ragan reached toward me through the twisted bars of his cage, but the gap was too small to push his arm out beyond the wrist. “Anyway, as I was saying, I dunno how to read dragon emotions, but I'd say you look sad. Can't blame you. You're locked up here and you've never been away from your dad before. He's gotta be worried about you. I think you'll see him again. He'll fight for you. Hate to say it, but I think you're lucky you're bound to Tessen instead of Shannon. Shan's not stable, and someone irresponsible and unstable with that much power is nothing but trouble even when they don't mean to be. Tessen's steadier. Jittery, but steadier. No magic to addle his mind, but he's got a good heart and a good head to go with that strength he hasn't quite figured out he has.”
I'd intruded on a private conversation that just happened to be about me. I felt a flush rise in my face, but I wasn't sure if it was Serida's face or my own. Could dragons blush?
Ragan tilted his head in line with the bars so he could see me with both eyes. “I don't know what that look means, either. You are a cute little thing, though, aren't you? Sweet personality. You're a good match for him. Don't let his jitters fool you. He's quite calm when there aren't any bridges or sheep and his routine isn't interrupted.” Ragan smiled and rubbed his jaw. “He punched me in the face once, about a week after I moved in. Bruised up my face terribly, and my jaw's been clicky ever since. Had quite an arm for a chubby little kid, and I knew then that he had some fighting potential. Not that I wanted him fighting anyone, but I convinced Rin that we ought to start training him. Thought it would help deter some of his bullies, if nothing else. So, we took Rin's boys and taught them axes and swords, and he eventually got used to me being around and stopped hating me. And he held onto what I taught him and saved lives with it. Can't say I'm not proud of that kid. Tell him that if you learn some way to speak to him someday, will you? Tell him I love him and I'm proud of him, not just for what he can do but for who he's become. I'm not gonna be around past afternoon after next and I don't think I'll get
to tell him myself. Hell, have him tell Shannon the same thing. Don't think he'll believe me, but I mean it. Always wished those boys were my own, and was just starting to feel like they wished it, too. One of them, at least.”
I wanted to talk to him, and reassure him that we were on our way, but Serida as a conduit meant silence. All I could do was observe.
The heavy door croaked open, letting in a stench of sewer to further foul the stagnant air of the cell. I crouched lower and peeked through the bars. A violet-robed Faeline and a turquoise-eyed, black-haired elf stared back at me.
“Fascinating creature, absolutely fascinating,” the elf said as he circled the tiny cage. His accent was the same as that of the Silverwind elves, but his voice was harsher. He smelled of nutmeg and menthol. A slight sheen beneath his nose suggested he'd dabbed on some scented oil to negate the malodor of the dungeons. “I'd thought solar dragons extinct. Beautiful, isn't she?”
The Faeline shrugged and glared at Ragan. She pointed at him and said, “Knew it couldn't belong to that, so I called you in. Don't want to waste a perfectly good dragon if it doesn't belong to that atrocity.”
Ragan bared his teeth and growled. “I am not a monster.”
The Faeline narrowed her eyes. “You most certainly are. You should have been killed at birth. Disgusting.”
The elf held up his hand. “You can return to insulting him after we take care of this dragon matter. Insult him, assault him, execute him, I don't care. He's not important.”
“Its only use is as entertainment. You're invited to the gladiatorial tournament the day after next if you want to see it shredded and fed to the boars. I can't wait.” The Faeline snapped her jaws at Ragan, then licked her lips.
“I appreciate the invitation, but I take no pleasure in bloodsport,” the elf said. He glanced sideways at Ragan, then back at me. “The hour is late and my father wishes to see the dragon tonight. Do you have that blanket I gave you? I want to cover the cage to lessen her panic.”
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