Page 26 of Oaths & Vengeance (Realm of Zadrya #1)

Aella

L eaving the dining hall after dinner, I headed back to the barracks. I’d only practiced for a few hours since I didn’t arrive at Tradain until after one in the afternoon, but I already felt sore from all the sword and knife drills. It would get worse before it would get better.

I entered through the main entrance and turned to my right.

The barracks were two floors, but I was lucky they assigned me a ground-level room.

I opened the door, passing through the ward I’d already put in place to keep people out.

The space was tiny and narrow. It only had a small bed, a chest sitting at the foot of it, and a nightstand.

The empty floor space was a mere two by six feet, which didn’t encourage guests.

I liked having the room to keep my things, but I rarely slept in the barracks, preferring to spend the night in Cam’s roomier officer quarters instead.

He knew better than to expect me this evening, though.

I’d told him I had plans to see my sister and wouldn’t return until late, so I’d come to his place after training tomorrow.

Opening the chest, I grabbed the cloth-wrapped flower buds.

A brief assessment confirmed that the preservation spell I had placed on them had held so far.

I looked yearningly at my bed. It would be another long night without much sleep, but it couldn’t be helped.

Not only did I need to see my sister, but I could also use one of the sebeskas in her village to send a message to Darrow without anyone knowing.

I’d promised to update him on anything affecting our agreement, and he certainly needed to know about the latest developments with the Andalagar.

No one questioned me when I left Tradain and walked a half mile toward the portal ring.

Two male guards dressed in the Therressian army’s brown and forest green uniforms stood next to it, alert and watchful.

They nodded when I approached but didn’t question me.

Most soldiers could recognize me from my channeling them to and from battlefields.

I pulled my stash of holmium from my pocket.

My uncle had given me extra in case he needed me to open portals while I was at Tradain, and I’d combined that with what Darrow provided.

Drawing in the necessary elements, I pushed my power into sequencing the runes on the ring.

Seconds later, blue light shimmered before me.

Giving the guards a wave, I stepped into it.

Though the portal had to transport me from south-central Therress across the narrow Carsiyan Sea and onto the southwestern coast of Alavaar, the distance was still shorter than going to Siggaya, where Darrow and I made our deal. I estimated that about eight seconds passed.

When I stepped out, I found myself in barren woods devoid of wildlife.

Despite the warm day, goosebumps ran up my arms, and waves of melancholy and emptiness swept over me, clawing at my mental energy.

A few trees in the distance had a smattering of brown leaves that would fall soon, but most stood barren of any foliage.

It was one of the areas worst hit by the blight in Alavaar.

I hated walking through these pockets of death where even the scents of decay burned my nostrils.

All the races of Paxia took energy from the environment to perform magic, but the planet struggled to reabsorb the waste produced by spells.

The fountain helped act as a filter and generator, but the longer it was gone, the worse things became.

I’d heard other worlds didn’t need one, but ours couldn’t survive for too long without it for reasons lost to time.

We hadn’t realized how deleterious the effects would be during the first few centuries because they were subtle.

Mostly, there were small pockets of land where the environment felt off or wrong.

In the last two hundred years or so, the issue began to intensify as fertility rates dropped for fae and animals, and the land began to die.

It worried me to think of how much worse it might get.

In times past, couples would produce six or more children, but they now averaged half that number, with even fewer surviving to adulthood due to faebor fever .

The darkness pushing at my mind grew worse, urging me to run from this place.

I quickly began my trek west, following a barely discernible trail through the dried vegetation.

It took about ten minutes before I escaped the barren land.

Relief filled me as healthier trees and brush surrounded me, and birds tweeted beautiful songs.

I eagerly breathed in the floral and pine scents.

The line I’d crossed was where the druids concentrated on renewing the land to prevent the spread of decay, but they could only do so much.

Keeping populated areas safe was their top priority.

After a few more minutes, I finally spotted the first thatched houses.

It was a small village of about 570 people, and they spaced their homes widely apart to allow room for gardens and workshops.

In the distance, the trees opened to reveal the coastline with waves crashing at the shore.

The fresh scent of salt filled the air, invigorating after my walk through the woods.

I stopped to ask about my sister, and an older woman hanging laundry told me Priyya was up at the ridge. That didn’t surprise me.

I weaved between homes, heading south into vibrant woods filled with bright green leaves and blue pine.

Small, furry animals scurried through the brush almost everywhere I looked.

A brown spurmel poked its head around a nearby tree and chirped at me.

They were small creatures with fluffy fur, long tails, and cute little faces.

Most were shy, but some could be domesticated and even kept as pets if one didn’t mind a little chaos in their home.

They had a great deal of energy due to the amount of time they typically spent in the wild hunting for the fruits and berries that made up their diet.

As for other nearby creatures, I didn’t worry about them posing a threat while I walked.

Alavaar had little dangerous wildlife due to the dragons eating or scaring them away from most areas.

Even hazardous plants had been cleared from the vicinity of population centers and well-traveled roads.

Aside from the dead zone pockets, I always felt safe and at peace while visiting, unlike in Zadrya, where I always had to stay on my guard.

Fifteen minutes after leaving the village, I made my way over a bridge with a river’s rushing water beneath it.

Past that, the land opened to a verdant field covered in blue-green grass and tiny purple flowers called mayzies.

Green and yellow striped bees flitted between them, performing nature’s hypnotic dance as they sought pollen.

The warmth of the sun was welcome as it heated my skin.

Near the ridge farther ahead, a massive sky-blue dragon nuzzled its nose against my sister’s chest. The sound of her melodic laugh was welcome to my ears. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that I once had a complete family with constant love and laughter.

My father had generally been a stern man and didn’t tolerate impertinence, but he’d encouraged family bonding and happy moments.

His own childhood had lacked it, which wasn’t a surprise with Lord Morgunn for an older brother.

Mother had alternated between having a single-minded focus on an important project and being carefree with her children.

It hadn’t mattered that my siblings’ ages and mine were far apart.

In most ways, she’d treated us the same.

It was a period of my life I still recalled fondly before it had crashed around me.

Sometimes, I envied Priyya for having nine years more with our mom than I did, but those feelings never lasted. She was so much like Nerine that they could almost have been twins. My sister also deviated between seriousness and uncontained joy. Right now, she was the latter.

Priyya stood before the dragon, her dark-blonde hair flowing loosely down her back, wearing a simple dark blue dress with white lace trimming.

Like me, her ears weren’t as pointed as a full elf and rounded a little at the top.

We both had green eyes, but whereas mine were pear green, hers were sea green.

She was much more petite than me—as if she barely remembered to eat.

My sister patted the dragon’s nose and hurried toward me. We hugged, and I drew in her fresh, flowery scent. It was always comforting to me. We might have lost our parents and elder brother, but we still had each other.

She pulled back and scrutinized me. “You look tired.”

“Not enough sleep lately is all,” I said, shaking my head.

“What’s our uncle done this time?” she asked, sighing.

Priyya couldn’t stand Lord Morgunn and had tried to find a way to save me from the curse years ago, but she never found one.

It was amazing how many people had tried and failed, making me wonder if Darrow would have any better luck.

There might not be bars caging me, but I still felt like a prisoner.

I stared toward the ocean, which lay a couple of hundred feet below the ridge from where we stood. Waves crashed against the rocks with a loud spray. “First, he tried to make me marry Baron Elgord, but thankfully, the king refused to approve the betrothal.”

Priyya wrinkled her nose. “I remember him. He was awful and had the coldest eyes.”

“Terrible kisser, too,” I said, then explained all that happened with him and the newest plan with the Andalagar.

Before coming, I’d thought long and hard about whether or not to tell her about Darrow, but I decided against it.

She’d throw a fit and ruin the couple of hours I had to visit her before returning to Tradain.

It was better to wait until another time, when I felt more comfortable with my circumstances and had more time with her, though I had no idea when that would be, given my new schedule.

I was usually allowed one trip a month, but Lord Morgunn sometimes revoked that privilege when it suited him.

My sister pulled me into another hug. “I wish there was a way I could save you from it.”

“I know, but it helps to see you and know you’re here.” It truly did, since she had a way of bringing peace to my turbulent emotions.

Priyya wasn’t a fighter. In fact, she hated weapons so badly that our father gave up trying to train her.

Her druid side was so much stronger, and the one thing she did have was a major stubborn streak.

She’d chosen to live in the village of Fionbor because it was where our grandmother lived, and she wanted to be close to her.

I didn’t have time to visit our Nan today, and would probably have to avoid her for a while since she had a way of getting secrets out of me.

She wouldn’t find it strange since I often avoided her.

The elder druid was also rather intimidating and more than a little scary at times with her razor-sharp mind.

My sister also chose this area because there were a lot of dragon nests in the southern area of the continent, and her passion was taking care of them. Druids had a symbiotic relationship with the massive beasts that couldn’t be easily explained.

Even as I thought that the sky-blue dragon ambled toward us. The ground trembled with each step. She was so big that with her head up, I couldn’t reach her nose. I’d never seen this one before. She was lovely, with her scales glinting in the waning sunlight and her wings tucked into her sides.

“What’s her name?” I asked.

Priyya’s magic involved communicating with nature, including animals. She could even soothe their pain and heal most types of wounds for them. It was one of the reasons my father realized she wasn’t meant to fight and to let her come here instead. None of her magic was conducive to battle.

“She is called Dagra,” my sister said, smiling at the massive creature. “She wants to know if you’d like to go for a ride.”

A thrill ran through me. Not all dragons liked being ridden, particularly if they didn’t know someone well. I didn’t get enough time around them to be familiar with most. It was a rare opportunity if one offered, especially at the first meeting.

I grinned. “Absolutely. It’s been ages since I’ve been up in the air, but first…” I pulled a small, wrapped parcel from my pocket. “…take this. It’s eventide roses.”

“Where did you get those?” she asked, eyes rounded with surprise.

“I went on a portal exploration last night and found a place with plenty of them.” I paused as she exclaimed over the number and quality I had retrieved.

“It wasn’t a very safe place, so I can’t go back often.

Just glad I came away with something to make the trip worthwhile.

” She was well aware of my penchant for exploring various portal locations and didn’t question me further on it.

“Thank you so much. These will go a long way since I’ve had trouble getting them to grow here anymore,” she said, unsurprised when the dragon dropped her giant head down to sniff at the flowers.

“I’ll keep looking for more when I go out,” I promised.

She nodded, folding the cloth back. “Now, go for that ride before it gets dark. ”

Priyya didn’t have to tell me again. A moment later, Dagra lowered herself enough for me to climb. Still, it wasn’t easy because the apex of her back was about fifteen feet from the ground. It was steep and uneven getting up there.

Once at the top, I found the natural seat and grabbed hold of the spikes jutting from her shoulder joints.

She lifted into the air in one of the smoothest take-offs I’d ever experienced, gliding right over the sea.

As we rose higher, I caught the sun beginning to kiss the horizon.

It was incredibly stunning, with the orange and red streaks painting the sky in splashes of brilliant colors.

For a moment, I could let all my worries and fears go.

Flying high was definitely worth the trip here.