Page 18

T he ground flew by under Vahly’s feet, the combination of moonlight and dragon wings casting disorienting shadows.

Golden threads of earthblood shot through the blackened ground, large boulders showed fragments of the old path, and thinly leafed bushes grew here and there—the only thing that could possibly grow in such an environment. Thin plumes of white smoke twisted into the air like spirits.

Vahly’s throat burned with the vicious gases that the Fire Marshes put off, and a coughing fit pressed her ribs painfully against Dramour’s hind claws.

Arcturus seemed well enough tucked away in Nix’s careful grip.

The wind flew through his jet hair as he glanced at Vahly, his face possibly showing concern, though it was difficult to tell in this light.

She coughed again. The elf had no trouble with the gases and that made her pause.

He had definitely struggled to breathe when she’d found him, stranded and barely conscious.

She determined to ask him about this when they took their first rest. If she could get her wounded throat to work. Too much time spent in this kind of air, and Vahly would be mute or dead, neither of which allowed for the questioning of elves or the saving of dragons.

“We should fly higher.” Arcturus’s voice rang out like a large bell. Was that also elven magic?

Vahly nodded in agreement although she wondered how much the air would improve. Surely they would have to travel quite high indeed to avoid these noxious fumes.

Nix turned her huge dragon body toward the heavens, capable of understanding everything going on between Vahly and Arcturus.

The rest of the dragons followed suit, gaining altitude at a speed that took what little breath Vahly had.

A chill permeated the air as they climbed, but Vahly did find she could breathe without coughing up here.

“Much better!” she called to Arcturus and Nix. Dramour growled, the sound vibrating Vahly’s bones. “And thanks to you as well, Dramour.” Vahly shook her head. Dragons.

They flew for hours before Nix gave her a look that said it was time to stop.

Squinting as they glided away from the stars and into that horrible miasma, Vahly spotted the place Nix had shown her on the map at the cider house.

A stretch of earth, not marred by cracks or gases, spread out before the group.

A line of impressively hardy bushes marked a natural boundary.

Vahly thought perhaps it would be a good idea to gather leaves and stems from the bushes.

They could prove useful to Helena, if Vahly ever did make it home.

The only way to land without experiencing the full weight of a shifted dragon was for Nix and Dramour to open their claws and let Vahly and Arcturus fall to the ground. A clacking sort of growl sounded from Nix’s throat, and Vahly took that as the signal to prepare for the drop.

Dramour’s claws opened.

Vahly bent her knees and tucked her chin, rolling as the ground rushed up to meet her. Grit scraped her forearm and her knee bumped her cheek. But aside from that, she was well enough.

Arcturus was already on his feet—for all she knew, he’d landed that way. He extended a hand, but she hopped up and waved it away.

The dragons landed in a circle around them, breath puffing out and heavy feet shuffling.

Vahly gave Nix a bow. “Thank you, friend.”

The dragons nodded in response, then settled down to soak in the energy the earthblood gave them. They spread their great wings over their bodies like the thin walls of a summer tent.

Nix’s eyes glowed like coals through the translucent color of her wing.

Arcturus walked out of the circle of resting dragons, his gaze flicking from the way they’d come and toward his homeland.

He adjusted the bow slung across his back and met her eyes.

The first violet light of dawn seemed to gather around his temples and his long fingers.

Placing the bag of Kemen and Ibai’s clothing and footwear at his feet, he looked to the West. She wished he would have kept the eye contact, but she wasn’t sure why.

“Rest if you like,” he said, staying quiet and not disturbing their fellows.

“You don’t need to take a break, do you?”

“Not yet.”

The air bit at Vahly’s throat and she coughed, touching the cheek she’d knocked during landing.

It wouldn’t be bad to be an elf, she thought, with skin nearly as strong as scales and energy to spare.

Both physical traits would have served her well when fending off sea folk spears near the Jades’ coastal territory or during the Jade-Lapis feuding that went on for months last year.

“May I ask you a question?”

“I love questions. I specialize in alchemical sciences so curiosity is key to my study. Plus, I owe you a life. The least I can do is satisfy your inquisitive mind. I might even beg an answer or two from you if you’d allow it.”

This elf continued to surprise her.

“Why did the Fire Marshes’ gases seem to bother you before, but now you’re standing there like you’re fresh from a pristine forest of dreams?”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “I am far from fresh.” He held out his hands and dusted black grime from his fingers.

“But seriously. I could tell the air had injured your lungs.”

“Only because of the foul spell one of my kynd placed on me. It hinders my healing.” His lips tightened into a line.

“It damaged my body as well as my mind. The bent magic sticks to my thoughts even now.” He looked up, sincerity widening his hawk-like gaze.

“I do hope it does not affect you. Or the others.”

Vahly swallowed against the fire in her throat. “I feel nothing strange. Just the pain of being in this awful place. I think I’ll take you up on that whole you guarding while I rest thing. I’m merely human and need a nap.”

“You are not merely human. You are the epitome of human strength and capability.” He gestured at her Blackwater mark.

“How many times do I have to explain this? I have no power. Not a blink of it. That’s why I’m helping you get back home—so I can find out if your kynd know of any rituals my kynd used to perform to gain their magic.”

“Forgive me. My mind remains hazy.”

“No, forgive me. I shouldn’t bark at you when you’ve been through so much. I apologize.”

“Where were you born?”

“My family lived in what is now the Lost Valley. The Sea Queen flooded the area, but my mother held me up to Amona, the Lapis matriarch, before she was dragged under. Amona took me in, hoping I would save the dragons and balance the world. But so far, I’m not the creature they were counting on.”

“But the dragons,” he opened a palm in the direction of Nix, “they follow you. You do have power, Vahly. These would never listen to my commands nor my suggestions.”

It was kind, the way he tried to make her feel important. But it was unnecessary. They either would or would not find the answer to her questions in the Forest of Illumahrah. It made no difference what she felt about herself otherwise.

“I’m going to rest now.”

Arc nodded. “As you wish.”

Vahly made a pillow of Kemen’s trousers and shirt, knowing the dragon wouldn’t care as much as the other three if she dirtied his clothing on the ground. She closed her eyes, thinking there was no way she’d sleep here, half choking, but before she could form another thought, dreams took her away.

Midmorning light seeped through Vahly’s eyelids, and she sat up quickly, panicked. “We should go,” she tried to say. Most of it ended up as sputters and coughing. Her entire esophagus was a column of pain.

Arc was talking to Nix. He was apparently able to communicate telepathically with dragons.

His surcoat did indeed feature a half sun against a half moon and she wondered at his powers, the magic of air.

He glanced at Vahly and switched to speaking aloud, most likely for her benefit. “Yes, I do think we should stop closer to the boundary. It would be good if you were rested in the case that my welcome is less than positive.”

Vahly stood and hacked up at least half a lung.

Ibai nudged the nearest satchel with his smoking snout. Vahly opened it to find a large water skin. Thank the Stones, Ibai had thought to bring it. Wincing, she managed five good gulps before pouring the rest down Ibai’s throat.

“Leaving now, yes?” she croaked. “Because I’d like to be not dead when we finish this trip.”

Nix gave a small roar to wake Kemen and Dramour, and after a few morning ablutions, they sailed into the golden sky.

Vahly enjoyed the ride, breathing normally again. Her throat still throbbed along with the fingers she’d injured during her climbing and thieving escapades, but it was all so much better than being down there in that nasty mess of horrible.

Vahly’s cheeks and ears grew numb from the wind buffeting her flesh. Her stomach growled too. At least she was standing in the comfort of claws. She snorted at herself. If only her kynd could see her now.

Did something entertain you? Arc said from Nix’s clutches.

I didn’t know elves could do this. Could speak telepathically.

We can. And no, I cannot read all of your thoughts. Only the ones you project to me like your previous question and phrase.

Arc’s telepathy felt different from Amona’s. Hers held a command, a force. Arc’s words were simply communication.

Vahly wrapped her hand around Dramour’s first claw.

The ridges were like wood grain on an ancient tree.

All right. You can speak like a matriarch into my head.

That’s . . . unexpected, but not bad. She took a deep breath.

There were sure to be more surprises as this journey continued.

I was laughing because I feel better in the claws of a dragon than on the earth at the moment.

Pretty ironic from someone who is meant to be an Earth Queen.

Arc raised a black eyebrow. No one could love that stretch of earth. Arc eyed the smoke curling from the black ground below. Even the fire kynd hate it.

The dragons did gain strength from the earthblood. Vahly supposed that was why they hadn’t needed to hunt. The proximity to the golden fire kept them going.

Well, too much of a good thing and all that, Vahly thought to Arc.

Our friends are no gluttons then.

Vahly felt herself grin and was surprised by it, considering the circumstances. They are the finest dragons.

Her own words also shocked her. She’d always said Amona was the best of dragons.

But it was true. Nix, Ibai, Kemen, and Dramour had agreed to follow her despite their misgivings about elves.

They’d been good to her and to Arc. Amona would not have done so.

It was a safe bet to say the matriarch would have fried Arc the moment she laid eyes on him.

They share no bond with any matriarch. Arc’s phrase held a question.

They refused the Call when it was offered, or broke it after the fact. They lay claim to the name Call Breakers and act much like a clan themselves.

But you are bonded with the Lapis.

I am. She could see the confusion in his graceful features, in the line of his strong brow and the narrowing of his eyes. It made sense that he wondered at the workings of this group and their split loyalty.

The veined ground of the Fire Marshes was slowly but surely fading into a greener landscape. Vahly was almost certain the movements she glimpsed far, far below were large rock lizards, creatures who could live on the edges of the marshes.

“I wonder…” Arc’s voice startled her. She’d grown used to his voice inside her head.

Nix had flown close to Dramour. Their wings fitted like puzzle pieces, and Arc was just behind Vahly, not too far away at all.

“I wonder what the Lapis matriarch would think if she knew her human was soaring above the Fire Marshes and headed into enemy territory.”

She ignored that comment. It was none of his business.

The synchronized movement of the dragons’ wings mesmerized Vahly. The muscles and bones worked the leather-like skin. Sunlight passed through the emerald wing above her and made her feel like she was under the fresh water of the Silver River, peaceful and cool.

The idea of peace made her twist to face Arc. “Are the elves truly enemies of the dragons still? They’ve had no interaction in ages. Why have your kynd hidden away?”

The elf closed his eyes in obvious frustration, his head giving half a shake. He switched back to using telepathy. I wish I could tell you, but that part of my mind is cloaked by the spell. It makes me rather curious about what I’ll find upon my return.

Well, tell me about yourself then. What does your average day look like?

Arc leaned back, resting on Nix. I study alchemy. Specifically, I experiment with how magic interacts with gold. The research has wandered into the study of the four types of magic and how they might work together. Fire, Air, Earth, and Water.

Vahly raised her eyebrows. How do you experiment with magic you don’t have?

I simulate it in my laboratory. He bent forward. Do you think perhaps Nix would be willing to help me by donating some dragonfire?

Somehow I don’t think asking for a dragonfire donation would be a great idea.

Arc’s shoulders dropped, but then he laughed. Good point. I’ll wait until she trusts me. I appreciate candles, but I do not want to become one.

Do you believe a dragon could ever trust an elf?

The concept has not been tested under these conditions, so we shall see.

Vahly grinned. You are an optimist.

I am an alchemist.

In the distance, a plateau reached from the end of the glowing, smoking marshes all the way to the isle’s sea-foamed edges, along the western coast, covering the entire peninsula. Dramour and the rest soared closer to the ground, to better view the plains and the plateau.

The green of countless ancient oaks cloaked the stretch of raised land, miles upon miles of velvety color. The image stirred Vahly. Her feet itched to walk the legendary forest’s ground, to smell the earth there—

A flash of black zipped past her ear.

Dramour jerked forward and down and nearly lost hold of Vahly. Heart in her mouth, she gripped the dragon’s claws and turned to see Nix spiraling out of the sky, a massive arrow shaft sticking out of the spot under her wing joint.

Dizzy, Vahly looked down.

Arcturus was a spot, falling, falling toward the earth.