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BETTER THAN GOING NAKED

“T his is nice,” Bain said, leaning back in the shade and peeking at the sun through the branches with one eye closed.

“What’s that?” Tearloch sat on the grass at my feet with his arm and head resting heavily on my lap.

“Sitting here…nowhere we have to be…no one to chase…no one trying to kill us.”

Minkin and Sweetie hummed their agreement. She sat on his lap popping morning fruit into his mouth and adding a kiss after each. Then Sweetie let out a small gasp. “Although…”

“What?”

“Some man might come looking for his pants…” He glanced pointedly at my trousers and laughed.

Lennon and Griffon joined us, all dressed up in gold and silver, marking them as members of the royal family—evidently, they weren’t keeping it a secret from anyone. They brought plates of food they’d stolen from the same tables we’d raided half an hour before. Bain caught them up on the subject at hand.

“And no one hunting us? That’s a rare day for us.” Lennon shifted a chair and sat in the shade as well. “We thought we’d left all that drama behind when we came here. Of course, we knew we might have to run from a few black dragons, but how hard could that be, right?”

Sweetie shook his head to the offer of another piece of fruit. “I guess you’ll find out tonight, if the royals don’t want you to leave.”

Bain was right. This was a perfect moment, and we should appreciate our last day with Lennon and Griffon. It was probably futile to hope this calm would last. After all, most of us were about to find out how much time we had left to live…

* * *

I didn’t know if the druid’s music was replaying in my head or if I was hearing a new version of it until my friends sat up and looked around.

“I think that’s us, then,” Sweetie said, and helped Minkin onto her feet. “Follow the gong.”

I hooked elbows with Tearloch and Bain and we all joined a ragtag procession toward the far end of the gardens well beyond the palace. Amongst the treetops, there was a dark stone structure toward which everyone flocked. It was a long leisurely stroll, and as we drew nearer, the sound of splashing water flanked us on both sides. We soon passed a series of fountains with flowers dancing along little waves. And a familiar taste met us halfway.

Memory trees!

I closed my eyes and let my escorts guide me down the path, inviting memories to fill the stage of my mind. But it wasn’t the memory of that first night among the trees, or stuffing my pockets, or even passing those leaves over to Lady Edeen’s people. No, I saw crescent-shaped benches surrounding a fire, and a hedge of tiny yellow blossoms I kept reaching for, but someone stopped me. Someone with red hair and soft hands, the feel of which…made me…want to cry.

If I opened my eyes, I would lose her!

Tearloch and Bain stopped. My eyes opened on reflex, but the scene before me was much the same. In the distance, a fire burned in the center of a ring of heartstone, surrounded on three sides by rows of curved, white stone benches. But this time, they were filled with finely dressed people and a sprinkling of druids.

Along the outer row, servants hurried to find a place to sit. Others stood with their backs to a tall line of shrubbery that served as an outer perimeter to the space. And still others sat on empty stretches of grass. Along either side of the assembly, row upon row of guards stood at ease along with dozens of dragon riders. Chatting, waiting.

I had the strange notion that this was just another arena, only this one had no dome. And a shiver ran up my spine.

The structure I’d seen from a distance was much darker up close, made of heartstone like the fire ring. Light reflecting off the edges of its tiny holes had made the black rock appear paler. In the center, a wide entrance and darkness beyond. The orange, late afternoon sun hurried to take its spot behind the tableau.

“I’ve been here before,” I whispered aloud. “Demius, I’ve been here before.”

The head of a druid, seated nearby, snapped up. His eyes bore into mine before he looked down again and pulled his hood forward. A few seconds later, he got to his feet and hurried away to get lost in a flood of bodies joining the party.

A woman with red hair—the same woman I’d envisioned—stood on the opposite side of the fire and waved in our direction.

“She’s seen us,” Tearloch murmured as he nodded.

“Don’t worry,” Bain said with a laugh. “Happy to sacrifice, old man.”

Compelled to take a closer look at the woman’s hands, I left both men in my wake as I hurried in her direction. I glanced to the right, expecting to see yellow flowers but found a slab of heartstone there instead.

I keenly felt each step as I closed the distance. I reached out…and Moire stepped into my path.

“Asper, isn’t it?”

I blinked. Reality shook me. “Yes. And you’re the woman trying to keep Tearloch from me.”

She let out a little gasp, a little laugh, then stepped aside to greet Tearloch and Bain. “She’s a surprise,” she said, looking me up and down.

Tearloch grinned and caught a hold of my hand to turn me away from the red-haired woman. “You have no idea,” he said, then pulled me against him. “The moment she saw me, she tried to kill me.”

Sweetie added his witness to this with a vigorous nod.

“I trust she’s stopped trying?”

I hated that she talked about me like I wasn’t standing right in front of her. “So far,” I said. “We’ll see how tonight goes.” I looked into Tearloch’s eyes, teasing, testing.

I was expecting a clever response that would also hint at our bond, but instead, he pulled me closer and crushed my lips with his. Then a series of kisses, each more gentle than the last.

When he was done, I sighed. “So far…so good.”

Moire rolled her eyes and waved us toward the redhead so she could greet Lennon and Griffon. Tearloch introduced me to Rowena, who was trying to keep from laughing.

“I’ve never seen anyone who so perfectly put mother in her place. Well done, the pair of you.” She winked then pointed. “We have seats for you there.”

Again, I reached for her hands, but Tearloch nudged me to the side and my chance was gone. Once we were seated, he frowned with concern. “Is something wrong?”

I considered lying, then gave him a shallow nod. He was instantly on alert, and we bowed our heads together. “Tell me.”

“Tearloch…I…I’ve been here before.”

He nodded at the palace.

I shook my head and pointed to the fire, then the setting as a whole.

He stiffened for a long minute, then nodded, as if he understood perfectly. “We’ll take it one moment at a time, yeah? The second you feel uncomfortable, we leave.”

I smiled and repeated Sweetie’s words from earlier. “If they’ll let us.”

Lennon and Griffon sat ahead of us, next to his father. With Minkin and Sweetie on my right, Tearloch and Bain to my left, I was once again, surrounded by my family. I should have felt completely at ease, but the smell of those memory leaves and the image of starwings fluttering above those yellow blossoms made me feel strange. And I wished more than anything that Demius were there to explain why.

How could I have been here before, unless it was prior to me being left at Demius’ door. But if he’d spent time at the palace too…

Moire clapped her hands together to gain attention. To the side of the structure, a druid sat back from his bowls and the droning notes slowly faded to nothing.

“Thank you for coming,” she said, to the rows of gold and silver-clad guests. “And welcome.” She smiled at the rows of servants beyond, then to rows of various other people, including druids. “Welcome. Unfortunately, the King Aristaeus cannot be with us today?—”

“Oh, yes,” an old voice called out, “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” With guards hovering beside and behind him, ready to catch him if he fell, he caned his way down the path toward the fire.

People jumped to their feet to bow before exchanging whispers. To a person, everyone there was humbled and shocked by his presence, and I wondered if any of them had ever seen the king in the flesh before. In such an ageless place, it was impossible to guess.

Naturally, a plethora of paintings existed. But as the king was led to the bench in front of us, to sit beside Lennon, Griffon, and Ghloir, I felt quite special. And even more so when he paused to find my face and give me a wink before easing his bones onto the stone.

“Asper,” Tearloch hissed. “In the name of all the Fates, how do you know the King of Hestia?”

I shrugged. “Did you think I slept the entire time you were gone?”

Lennon’s shoulders started shaking. Minkin looked up at me with round eyes. “And you didn’t even have to come naked to hold his attention.”

Tearloch inhaled sharply, then coughed.

Once Moire believed the interruptions were over, she began again. “I’ve looked forward to this day for a long, long while. And you’ll soon understand why. But first of all, I must ask you to withhold judgement until I have finished.

“Yes, I did foresee that one day, a blue dragon would bring death to Hestia, which I shared with you all. But much later, I realized why it was necessary, and that I would need to instigate it myself.”

She retold the story of how King Aristaeus saved the population from a devastating plague by dealing with the Severe God, Agrios, when the Kind God, Caldemius, failed to answer the king’s call. Agrios granted immortality to his people so the plague couldn’t take them. In exchange, Aristaeus was to sacrifice his two sons.

“But as many of you might know, I loved with both those sons and couldn’t bear to see them taken from us. So, I suggested he sacrifice them by sending Ghloir and Afi away, and me with them. Of course, this wasn’t what Agrios had in mind, so he added a stipulation—if either son returned to Hestia, the contract would be voided.

“The contract would be voided, rendering Hestians mortal again.

“Now, take just a moment to absorb that. Then I’ll explain why I made sure my husband, Ghloir, was returned to us…with the help of a DeNoy and her blue dragon…”