Shan dashed over to give me one final, gentle hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Breathe deep, little brother, and keep breathing even when it hurts. You're going on an adventure.”
“Not again...” I mumbled.
Shan released me and joined Marita by a limestone column. Behind them descended a wide staircase. I'd thought we were on the ground floor, but I was wrong. I wondered how many more levels were beneath my feet.
Liantor waited until Shan cleared the star to raise his arms. He whispered a string of words in a language I didn't recognize. A cold violet mist rose from the floor to encircle us. It started out still and calm, then slowly began to swirl.
Somewhere beyond the circle, boot heels scuffed against stone. I saw nothing but swirling violet, but I heard the voice clearly, as if the speaker stood at my ear. Nylian's deceptively gentle voice. “I wish you had listened to me, Kembriana. Too late now, I suppose. I have no wish to kill my children by interrupting the ritual. Lyndarian, retrieve the Spellkeeper's dragon. Clip his wings. Neither he nor the Spellkeeper will ever fly.”
The floor dropped out from beneath my feet and I plunged into a spinning purple darkness.
∆∆∆
“Chirp? Chirp, chirp, chirp?” Serida was at my side, furiously licking my face. She knew better than to stand on my chest.
I opened my eyes. I was on my back in a thick bed of frosted pine needles. The boughs above creaked and swayed against the force of a frigid wind. Stray snowflakes sparkled in the sunlight.
“Where are we?” I said, unsure if anyone was around to hear me.
“I have no idea.” Iefyr replied. His voice came from the center of the circle rather than to my right. “Don't move yet. I'll help you up.”
A moment later he was at my side and I was being sat upright. The pain in my back was sharp, but not overwhelming. Nylian's potion had already eased me through the worst of it. I looked around. Lenna and Rakas began to stir, but everyone else lay unconscious.
“Did you hear what the High King said, just before the floor vanished?” I asked.
Iefyr shook his head. “All I could hear was Ragan swearing. Never heard some of those words before.”
“He told one of his sons to clip Lumin's wings so he can't fly.”
Iefyr shuddered and looked toward Auna's crate. “I hope you were hearing things because that's cruel.”
“I know what I heard.”
“I'm not calling you a liar. I'd just rather believe you heard something that wasn't real.”
“So would I.” I closed my eyes and inhaled the scents of pine and frost. “Where do you think we are?”
“No idea. This could be any mountain forest.”
I opened my eyes, adjusted my spectacles, and stared up through the pines. Gray mountains jutted above the boughs, their snowy peaks obscured by misty clouds. “Oh. There are mountains here, aren't there?”
“I think it's going to storm soon. The air is crisp and smells of snow.” Iefyr pulled a scarf from his satchel and draped it around his head and neck. “Cold here, wherever we are. That was different from when he took us to Anthora. Parandor was chaos, this was precise.”
“It was a ritual meant to hide our location,” I said, shivering. I wanted to search the saddlebags for my jacket, but standing from this position would be difficult.
“How do you know that?”
I accepted the extra scarf Iefyr handed me. It smelled of ink and turpentine. “Shan must have mentioned it.”
“The Guardian does not wish my father to know her location,” Liantor said, rolling onto his side. He clicked his tongue at the preening violet dragon and smiled. “You're first awake, Endariel? I'm surprised. Usually Rittan wakes first.”
The violet dragon squawked, then returned to preening.
“Are you bound to both of them?” Iefyr asked. Auna's triangular head popped out of the loose lid of the open crate. She squeaked, then scrambled out of the box and onto Iefyr's lap.
Liantor nodded. “I'm bound to three. Zendara was my first, but she's too large to use in the ritual. My silver dragon is Rittan, brother of Lenna and Bronda. There were nine eggs in that clutch, so one was bound to each of us. The little one you're holding was supposed to be my fourth.”
“Sorry about that.”
Liantor shrugged, then pushed his dark hair behind his pointed ears. “She was supposed to be mine, but she was meant to be yours. If her destiny was to be bound to me, she would have waited. I suspect she liked you better.”
“I don't know what to do with her,” Iefyr said, stroking the tiny dragon's neck.
“The Guardian will help you with that.”
Ragan startled upright. He rubbed the back of his neck as he allowed his eyes to acclimate to his new surroundings. “Oh, now where the sarding hell am I? I'm getting sick of this waking up in strange places bullshit.”
“Sanctuary,” Kemi whispered. She opened her eyes and smiled at Liantor. “Thank you. He wasn't going to let me go. He wanted to put a binding bracelet on me like he put on the Spellkeeper.”
Liantor reached over to stroke Kemi's freckled cheek. “He can't keep you from seeing her.”
“He tried. I think he knows that I have no intention of returning to Anthora.” Kemi held up her hand to catch a snowflake. “We need to go. It's too cold to linger here.”
Iefyr and Liantor helped Ragan to his feet, then helped me. Serida rubbed her head against my leg as I studied the trees. “Is it far? There isn't anything here.”
Liantor drew a silver horn from his satchel and held it near his lips. “The sanctuary is shielded, and she recreates the shield every time she moves to a new location. Warlocks cannot enter, and neither can my father. I need to let her know we're here so she can come to us.”
He pressed the horn against his lips and blew three sustained notes. He returned the horn to his satchel and embraced Kemi. “I'll miss you. I knew you'd be leaving Anthora eventually, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. You know what to do if you need to contact me. Distance isn't a barrier for us.”
“But the Guardian shield is,” Kemi said.
The trees shimmered and a black-haired elf appeared. Her pale, bare arms were covered in tattooed runes similar to those Marita wore. Her green eyes flashed as a grin spread across her face. She brushed by me to approach Kemi and Liantor. She embraced them both and kissed their cheeks.
“You always find me, Lian, no matter how well I hide,” she said, still smiling.
“That's because you want me to find you, Mom,” Liantor replied, returning her smile. “You won't let me see your house, but you always come when I knock on your door and drop off strays.” He held out his hand toward me, then swept it toward the others. “Tessen Lim, Iefyr Sealash, and Ragan Dannis, this is the Moonlight Guardian. Lyssandra Zephyrain Lightborn.”
I lowered my head. The Moonlight Guardian was Nylian Lightborn's wife, the Queen Consort herself. “It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.”
Lyssandra reached up to touch my shoulder. “I don't want to hear any of that Your Majesty nonsense here. I left Nylian five years ago and only remain married to him so he doesn't delegitimize our children. Call me Lyssa.” She let her hand drop from my shoulder and turned around to embrace Kemi again. “You have grown up away from my eyes. My sweet girl, I see you are troubled. Lian, I wish you could stay with me for longer, but I must send you home so I can take your strays in from the cold. I see I have some interesting new dragons to learn from. A solar dragon . . . I never thought I'd see one of those.”
“You know where this all leads, Mom. I'll see you again soon.” Liantor said. He took two steps backward as his dragons stepped forward.
“No you won't, my dear. I won't let you find me again,” Lyssandra said with tears in her eyes. “No more blind jumps to nowhere or shaded returns. I'm sorry.”
“I understand. If I don't see you again, I leave you with these last three words: I love you.” Liantor didn't wait for her response. He and his dragons e
vaporated in a puff of violet vapor.
Lyssandra touched one hand to her lips and laid the other on the small of Kemi's back. “He's a better man than his father is. It's going to kill him one of these days.”
Kemi shifted on her heels. “Mom, we need to go. I need to speak with you.”
“Yes. Come. All of you. There will be time for proper introductions later.”
We followed her through the shimmering trees. The glistening pines parted to reveal a vast stone keep nestled within a mountain crevasse.
Iefyr gasped and drew to a halt. “I know this place. I've seen drawings of it. This is Mountain Home.”
I knew that name. Mountain Home was the family keep of the Nightshadow elves. We were in the Crimson Realm east of the Jade Realm.
“Yes, this is Mountain Home,” Lyssandra said, continuing forward. “The Nightshadows abandoned it nearly a year ago, so I took it last month. They were dragon breeders, so I thought it was a good place to train my dragonbound. Their methods were cruel, however, and we are in the process of breaking down their pens to create open training grounds.”
We passed through the iron gates after Lyssandra acknowledged the guards, a pair of dwarven women who were sipping from steaming mugs.
Lyssandra turned her head for a moment to make sure we were paying attention to her. “My husband believes that only elves should be dragonbound, but as you'll see here, I disagree. I have trained humans and dwarves, half-elves and halflings. You two are the first of orc and Fae blood. I'm not sure how the bonds will affect either of you. What are the other halves of your bloodlines?”
“Human,” Ragan said. He was unsteady on his crutches and beginning to have some difficulty keeping up with us.
“Highland elf,” Iefyr said.
“Ohh...” Lyssandra spun around to face Iefyr. “Are you Ienya Ironwood's child? You seem to be the right age.”
“Yes. I'm her eldest of five. My father was Fyrel Sealash of Tidegarden.”
Lyssandra's eyes reflected sadness and gathering clouds. “I see. And you are bound to a balefire. I'm not sure if you realize how appropriate that is for your bloodline. I knew your mother and I already see her in you. We must speak soon, but for now I will leave the three of you at the meeting hall and take my daughter to my private residence. You will find someone inside to help you find accommodations.”
“Thank you, Lyssandra,” I said. It felt awkward to call someone of such a high status by her first name.
Lyssandra touched my chin and looked into my eyes. “Just Lyssa is fine. You're unusual, aren't you? Such potential for us to explore. Go inside, child. I think what you find here will bring you great relief.”
I watched Lyssandra and Kemi leave, then lingered behind Ragan and Iefyr to watch the snow flurries. I'd never seen a real snowfall before. There were places in the Jade Realm that occasionally received snow, but balmy Jadeshire wasn't one of them.
“Ragan?” someone called from within the hall. I jolted out of my pending reverie. “Ragan, what are you doing here? Where are my sons? Iefyr?”
I knew that voice as well as I knew my own.
I crept into the candlelit meeting hall and let the heavy door swing shut behind me. My mother sat in an upholstered chair by a fireplace. Yana was sprawled on a rug, reading a book. Uncle Elsin and his family shared a loaf of bread and a bowl of grapes while playing a card game at a nearby table.
Ragan stood some distance from my mother, wide-eyed and speechless. His fingers trembled against his crutches.
“Ragan, what happened?” Mom's worry wrapped around me like a frozen cloak. She hadn't seen me yet, or if she had she didn't recognize me. How could she not recognize me? Had I changed that much? No, that couldn't be it. I was hidden in shadow so she must not have noticed me.
“You look like you've been through hell, Tessen. Where's your brother?”
I jumped, triggering a lance in my spine. I grimaced, then turned to the right to face Daelis. My stepfather carried baby Zinnia in a sling on his chest. My little sister was wide awake. She smiled at me with crinkles at the corners of her turquoise eyes.
I embraced them both. “I . . . I had no idea you would be here. How long . . . why are you here?”
Daelis touched the back of his hand to the scar on my cheek. “Liantor brought us here two weeks ago. Elsin, too. His family just arrived yesterday, and they brought our belongings from Jadeshire. They even brought the tool set my father gave you so you'll be able to return to smithing if you like. Tessen, where is Shan?”
Pain exploded in my back. I cried out and swung my arm to the side. My mother grabbed my hand.
“It's me, just me,” she said, embracing me from behind.
“Whoa, whoa, watch his back!” Ragan called.
“What happened to your back?” Daelis asked as Mom released me.
“Got hammered by a mountain troll.” I slowly turned to the side so I could hug my mother. “Don't squeeze me. I'm wearing a brace, but it's not enough for that.”
“Honey, where's Shan?” Mom asked.
I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes. The pain wasn't subsiding and likely wouldn't until I was able to lie down and dose myself with Nylian's poppy potion. I was about to make a liar of myself. I took as deep of a breath as I could manage and said, “Shan's fine. He's in Anthora. The High King is training him since Lyssandra's shield doesn't allow warlocks in. I was sent here to train under the Moonlight Guardian. Iefyr and Ragan, too. Shan's okay, though. He wanted me to tell you, all of you, that he loves you and not to worry about him.”
Mom put her hand to her mouth and nodded. She was on the verge of tears.
Daelis put his arm around her and pulled her close. “He's all right, Rin.”
“He is. Honestly, he is,” I said. I held out my hand so Zinnia could examine my fingers. “Better than me, really. He didn't get smacked around by a troll. I think he might even be a touch happy now. He's in love. I'll explain more later. Right now I think I might need to take a nap.”
“Chirp?” Serida leaned hard against my leg. “Chirp chirp?”
I looked down and followed her line of sight to see what had caught her attention. A green-eyed black dragon stared back at us. He was easily twice the size of Kemi's Lenna, and stocky of build. “Mom, whose dragon is that?”
“Ectran is mine,” Elsin said. He stood from the table and wiped his mouth with a napkin. Several long strides took him to Daelis's side. “Good to see you again, Tessen. You look like adventure doesn't agree with you.”
“It doesn't.” I nodded toward the black dragon. “Uncle Elsin, why didn't you tell us you are dragonbound?”
Mom sighed and lowered her hand. “Elsin has been Captain of Lyssandra's Moonlight Regiment for ten years. He was exiled to the Northern Calvary, but Lyssandra saw potential in him and took him on herself. She bound him to a midnight drake eighteen years ago. He would have taken you to her himself, but he was tasked with protecting Daelis just as Ragan was tasked with protecting you. It was safer to split our family, but it was a damned nightmare, wasn't it? We didn't know if you were alive and I'm sure you didn't know if we were. Oh Tessen . . . I'd hug you again but I'm afraid I'll hurt you.” She gasped, then reached up to touch my cheek. “Your eyes . . . you've lost your eyes and gained those of a dragon. You're scarred and in pain. I keep worrying about Shan when I should be worried about you.”
I held her hand and slowly lowered it from my face. “I'll heal. Mom, can you find me somewhere to lie down?”
“Tessen?” Yana was at my side, looking up at me with luminous, pale green eyes.
“Hi, Yana,” I said, smiling. I rested my hand on her slender shoulder. “I'd hug you but it's hard for me to move right now.”
“Tessen, look what Lyssa gave me.” Yana held up her arm. An opalescent white dragon hatchling clung to her arm.
“Now Yana is dragonbound, too?” I asked. “Is that an opal dragon? I thought they didn't bind to people.”
“Moonstone dragon,�
�� Yana said with a giggle. She nudged the dragon up to her shoulder so she could nuzzle her face. “I named her Hani, like my sister. I'm the first Uldru dragonbound. First ever.”
Uldru. The epiphany struck me as hard as the mountain troll's hammer. In an instant I knew what Shan's plan was, why he had spent the year lying to everyone, why he didn't fight being kept in Anthora. I knew why he'd killed seventy-seven Jarrah. I knew why he was wanted access to Anthora's libraries.
Shan was working toward liberating the Uldru. All of them.
I couldn't tell Mom or anyone else. Another secret to add to the accumulating pile. If I revealed his plan, I'd be endangering both Shan and every Uldru he might save. I needed to keep my suspicions to myself.
I shook away the thoughts and offered Yana a smile. “She's beautiful. So are you. I'm so relieved to see you again.”
“What's wrong, Tessen?” Daelis asked as he adjusted Zinnia's weight in the sling. “You look like Yana did the first time she saw the sky.”
“Nothing,” I said. “I'm just so tired that I think I'm having waking dreams.”
“Tessen, what is it?”
Elsin stroked the black dragon's head. “He needs to rest, Daelis. Don't push him any further on it. You know as well as I do that we all have our secrets and we should be allowed to keep the little ones that make us smile like he is right now.”
Was I smiling? Somehow the idea of Shan freeing the Uldru balanced with everything else I'd learned about him. My brother was dark and light, sunlight and shadow, and I knew if he was allowed to complete his ambition, the light within him would scare away the shadows in the end.
I shrugged my aching shoulders and yawned. “We all have our secrets.”
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