Page 13 of Upon Buried Embers (Upon Buried Embers #1)

Elf

“Calian is a Keeper of Beasts,” Rohan says as he drags me to the back of the camp. “He takes care of our dragons, horses, sheep, and anything else we have with us.”

A man approaches. He has short, dark hair, a stark difference to how the other Dragorie people look. Their long hair, usually braided, is a sign of who they are. He has scars on his neck, they look mangled. Burns maybe? He has another one running through the top of his lip.

“Keep looking, girl, and I will shove you face-first in horse shit.”

His voice is more of a croaked whisper, like his vocal cords are broken.

I blink at him before lowering my eyes.

“Dragonbond.” He nods to Rohan respectfully. “What can I do for you?”

“She is to help take care of the horses.” He unknots the rope around his waist and shoves me toward Calian.

I barely manage to stop myself from colliding with him.

Calian is silent for a moment. “I already have Tofa helping me here. Could she even lift a bucket of feed?”

I feel Rohan’s stare on the side of my face. “We shall see. If not, she will work up to it.”

“If she doesn’t snap her arm in half first, she’s skin and bones.”

Rohan hums. “That was my assessment too.”

“She’ll likely be mistaken for a toothpick by some dragons,” Calian mutters.

“I don’t think they will be interested, she’s light on her feet though, so watch her in case she tries to escape.”

They speak of me like I’m not here—invisible, and honestly, I’d rather I was.

“Come, girl. Let’s put you to work, no one sleeps here for free.”

With one last tentative look at Rohan, who scowls at me, nodding toward Calian, I shuffle after him.

The clan eyes me, faces harsh as I pass them.

I follow Calian to where all the horses are resting. They’re not even tied up, waiting nearby wearing furs to stave off the chill in the air. A campfire isn’t far from them, burning brightly.

“First, you will clean the wound on the Dragonbond’s mare, Serah. Then you will feed the horses and groom them. However…” He turns sharply and folds his arms. “Don’t think about running, girl, or I’ll send the dragons to hunt you down.”

Do they listen to him?

I swallow roughly and nod, tucking the loose rope around my waist so I don’t trip over it.

He grunts, and we move through the small herd of horses until we come across the black one with a white spot in the middle of its head, and one white foot.

Serah.

“Here.” Calian passes me a bucket containing a clean cloth, along with a small bowl of green sludge.

“Feed is in the cart, four cupfuls each are to be given out in the larger wooden bowls with a carrot or two. I’m melting snow for some water which will be poured in a bucket that you’ll take around and make sure all the horses drink. Got it?”

“Yes,” I say quietly. When he stares at me, I start to shift, uncomfortable. “Is… is there anything else you would like me to do?”

I’m used to working. I would get up when the sun rose and sleep when it was long gone, mostly on an empty stomach. Even with my weakened body, I know how to push myself. I’ve had no choice.

Being out of the way was better than being seen, less risk of getting hurt. So if I do these chores, no one will bother me.

Calian shakes his head and walks off.

He speaks to a younger woman waiting for him near a cart. She has her hair tied up high, braided, and a delicate nose that twitches as he approaches.

Bowing his head, he whispers something to her, and she looks off to the side before walking away, her shoulders tense. Calian runs a hand down his face and shakes his head, watching her leave.

I don’t care enough to wonder what that was about.

Looking around, noticing a few people standing outside a row of tents. Darcia is one of them, standing next to Rhett, watching me intently.

I turn my back to them, hoping to block them out.

I look to Serah and place the bucket down, removing the contents and notice some water in the bottom to clean her with.

I eye her warily as I move toward her, that tail of hers swishing.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her quietly, crouching down before her injured leg.

“If you hurt me again, I deserve it, it was my fault you were injured.” I start to peel the bandage away, red seeping through and my stomach drops.

“Are you in pain too?” She huffs, shifting from foot to foot.

“This should only take a moment, and maybe I can ask Calian if there’s something we can put on it to numb it. ”

I look at the sludge-like paste in the other bowl. “Master had something like this. Of course, I never had it used on me, but he was injured one time in a hunting game, and he demanded I get it from a healer in the lower levels of the city.”

I shiver at the memory.

The lower levels are unkind.

I whisper to her as I wash her wound, being slow and careful. Talking to animals has always been my preferred choice. I used to speak to the rats in the barn, and the single horse Master had in there. I was always comforted by them.

I think it was because animals don’t hurt others for no reason. They don’t hurt for the enjoyment of seeing others in pain, only lashing out when they want to protect something or have been trained to do so on command.

I also may prefer animals because I’m an elf. Effy told me that apparently elves love animals and nature. I’m not sure if that’s true.

Shaking off those thoughts, I wrap the new bandage slowly around Serah’s leg before tightening it like Rohan showed me.

“There we are,” I raise a hand and gently stroke down her leg.

“Hopefully it’s on the mend.” I pick up the dirty cloth and now red-stained water and turn, jolting when I see Rohan standing there, arms folded, staring at me.

I lower my eyes, clutching the items closer to my chest. Did I do something wrong? Am I not supposed to talk to her?

Wait… did he hear me?

Red colors my cheeks, and when he leaves again without a word, I breathe out a sigh of relief.

“Is he always so… intimidating?” I ask Serah. She lets out a snort, and it feels like a yes .

Watching as he talks to a group of men, I can sense the sheer power coming from him. It’s clear others respect him, maybe even fear him as another man lowers his eyes while shifting nervously.

I suppose it’s easy to fear a Dragonbond when they have a dragon at their beck and call, but something about Rohan makes me think it has more to do with him than a dragon.

He commands any space he’s in, and even Master couldn’t do that.

“Hurry, girl, get to work!” Calian shouts, and I remove my eyes from Rohan and do as I’m tasked.

I make my way to the cart of grain. Grabbing an empty bucket, I put four cups in then pause, spotting a few apples at the back.

Moving quickly, and making sure no one is paying attention, I put two in the bucket and move back to Serah. I place the bucket on the ground, and she eats one of the apples. I’ll make sure to give her extras from now on.

I put the other apple in the side of my pants. I’ll find a sack later to hide it in hopefully, that way when I leave I’ll have food with me.

With Serah enjoying her breakfast, I feed the other horses.

This clan has around ten horses. Some are larger and stocky, which I assume are the ones that pull the carts, while others are sleeker, and I wonder if those are the ones used for scouting. Though, do they need that if they have dragons?

“Here’s the bucket, girl, fill it with water from the pot, it’s cooled enough now.” Calian drops a bucket at my feet and walks off.

Sighing, I pick it up then go to a barrel and fill it with water, grunting at its weight.

Walking back to Rohan’s horse, which is the furthest away, I give her the first drink. She gulps greedily. “You must’ve been thirsty, huh?” I whisper. Her tail swishes.

I smile and move over to a brown horse, this one not caring about my presence much. When I get to one of the larger horses, I hold the bucket up as best I can so it doesn’t have to bend as much. The coldness seeps into me but the horse drinks greedily.

My arms start to shake with how heavy the bucket is, but they need water for the journey they are on. I don’t know how long we have left until we reach Rohan’s… home.

I pat the side of his head when he’s done and make my way to the next one, only to be knocked into and sent sprawling on the snow-covered ground, spilling water everywhere.

“Stupid slave,” a voice mutters, and I wipe the snow off my face as Darcia walks off with Fiona.

That’s the second time she has pushed me now.

My teeth start to chatter, and I groan as I get back onto my feet, looking down at the now empty bucket.

I wince. I hope there will be enough water for the rest of them.

“What are you doing down there, girl? The horses won’t water themselves!”

I grab the bucket and with a limp in my step, I go back to the barrel for more water, feeling Calian’s eyes on me.

The cold has truly settled into my bones now, but even with shaking hands and fresh pain coming from my hip, I don’t stop until all the horses are watered.

“Why are you limping?” he asks when I go back to the water barrel.

“Just cold,” I don’t meet his eyes.

There’s no point in telling anyone what Darcia did. I’m an elf, a slave, no one cares.

Calian eyes me up and down before he nods his head and I follow. I wipe my face, sweat beading my forehead.

“You took too long, so we’ll pass on the grooming today.”

“Okay.” Hopefully I won’t be reprimanded for it.

We move further back from the clan and stop at a little herd of sheep inside of a make-shift enclosure. Calian opens the wonky wooden gate, and gestures for me to go inside with him.

The sheep bleat when we enter, and I smile as one comes up to me. I pat its fluffy head and it rubs up against my leg, forcing me to take a step back at the surprising strength of it.

“Like sheep?” Calian asks, and I look up at him, shrugging. I guess I do. “Don’t get attached.”

He grabs a rope and puts it around the neck of the one I’m stroking, along with two others. He passes me the end of the ropes and I take them, my brows furrowing. He leads us out of the enclosure, ensuring the gate is secure and gestures ahead of us into the forest.

“The dragons know not to touch them when they’re within the clan, but when we allow them to run wild, that is when they’re allowed their dinner.” My stomach drops. “Walk them away from the clan and then release them. Don’t be too slow about it or the dragons will think you’re their snack as well.”

I look down at the ropes, at the way the sheep bleat up at me and my hands begin to shake.

Tears threaten to fall, and I move forward with them. They come willingly, not even pulling the rope, like they trust me.

I’m sorry.

“Go on now, girl,” Calian says, as I hear the flapping of wings from somewhere above.

This is the natural way of life and death, I tell myself. You probably ate them in the stew you were given.

Yet why do I feel like this is a symbol of my life?

Forever caught, pain looming at a moment’s notice.

A roar sounds closer than I expected, and I realize I’ve walked quite far away now, distracted by my thoughts.

I look to the treetops and see tips of wings gliding through the mist curling up there, hungry creatures waiting.

I look back down at the ropes secured around the sheep, and then I slowly loosen them.

“I’m sorry.” I untie them one by one, and at first they don’t move. But another roar has them running away from me, from the sound.

A moment later, talons swoop down, their bleats loud and frightened, and then they go silent.

I don’t take my eyes off the place where they once existed.

In the blink of an eye, there was life, then there was death.

“Elf,” Rohan growls from behind me, startling me. He grabs the end of my rope and yanks me away. “The horses need grooming; you will not slack off.”

I guess I’m grooming today, after all.

I stumble after him through the cold and realize that I’m just like them…

The sheep.

And that freedom is an illusion, only death can set you free.