Page 58 of Upon Buried Embers (Upon Buried Embers #1)

Elf

“When will it begin?” I ask Tofa, wrapping a blanket around my shoulders. I’m wearing a simple black dress underneath that Rohan gifted me.

He said he had it made before we left for The Glade.

I couldn’t keep the smile off of my face. It’s simple, but I love it.

“Soon,” Tofa replies. “We just have to keep watch.”

I nod and look at the treeline. We’re sitting on the hill that overlooks The Glade. It’s the day of the Blessing, and those who want to watch sit upon the hill, while those that want to try and become a Dragonbond, enter.

I look at the young kids. Rohan is scolding Lykke, his mother, Maery close by.

Rohan did warn his mother that he would sneak here, but it seems she didn’t heed it.

“Will they get hurt?”

Tofa shakes her head. “No, just rejected. But with Frelia getting killed and others hurt, some are entering with them to make sure they’re safe.”

“Do we know how they managed to kill her yet?”

“I overheard Calian speaking to Rohan and Kaldar earlier. They found glass nearby.”

“From what?”

“The concoction that puts dragons to sleep was probably inside of it.”

“Nighturn?”

She nods solemnly. “But why? They didn’t take her or her baby.” Thankfully.

“Just because they didn’t take her doesn’t mean that wasn’t the intent.”

She’s right.

I curl my hands around Sparks more, wrapping him up in my cloak as he rests on my lap.

“Rohan said Sparks was hiding under her wing?”

“Yes. He thinks she managed to hide him.” Sadness washes over me. Her last act as a mother was to protect him, and I’ll make sure to carry that protection on.

“It’s wrong.”

“It is,” she says, reaching in and stroking Sparks. “Calian was so furious. I haven’t seen him like that in a long time.”

“He cares.”

“He does,” she says gently, lifting her knees and resting her chin on them.

“He cares too much but keeps it all inside of him.” She sighs and looks to where he stands near Rohan, getting the kids ready for their journey into The Glade by passing them a waterskin. Adora, Kaldar and Olaf stand with them.

Dorkin is speaking to Sigrid, their heads bent close together as Varan, Durruk and Karag are off to the side, masks in place.

It makes them look even more menacing.

“He seems like a good man,” I say to her, referring to Calian. He’s been kind to me.

“He is the best man I know. He just doesn’t see it.”

“I’m sure you can help with that.”

She huffs. “I’ve tried and been rejected many times. I… I love him.” The admission has my head snapping to her, and a sad smile graces her face.

“Does he know that?”

She shrugs and looks back to him. “I haven’t told him the words, but he probably does because I show him my love in so many other ways. He just doesn’t want it.”

“Oh Tofa, I’m sure that’s not true.”

She sniffles and I shuffle closer, then tentatively, I bring my arm around her and lean into her. I haven’t given comfort to another like this, but I don’t like seeing her hurting. She’s my friend.

“After what that bitch Darcia did, he took me away. I wanted his comfort so badly. I was hurt and sad and so angry, I just wanted… love. If he wanted my love he would accept me, but every time I try to get close, he pushes me away. Just like that night. I tried to kiss him. For the first time, I laid it all out, and do you know what he did?”

“What?” I ask softly as a tear falls from her eye.

“He pushed me back gently, saying that I must be tired and I should get off to bed. I cried myself to sleep.” I hold her tighter.

“I love him, I love him so much that it hurts, but I don’t know how much more I can take, or how much longer I can compete with the ghost of the woman he loved. No. Still loves.”

I remember Rohan mentioning that Calian had loved and lost someone.

“I’m sorry, Tofa, that must be hard.”

She turns her head and gives me a watery smile. “Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.” She wipes her face then stands. “Ah, no more wallowing. I need to tend to the horses.”

“Tofa…”

“I’m okay, promise. I’ll see you in a little while, okay?”

I watch her go as others arrive, a frown on my face.

Tofa’s been so kind to me since I arrived, and she’s become a friend to me. I hate seeing her hurt.

I look back to where Calian is, wondering if I can help somehow, but his eyes are already on Tofa’s retreating form.

A sudden horn sounds in the distance, and all heads snap to the west.

“A few days,” a clan member whispers.

“It’s coming around so soon.” That’s from a man.

“Shouldn’t we be concentrating on protecting The Glade instead of catering to the king’s whims?”

“Do you want to die? You know we have no choice.”

The Games.

I curl in on myself more. I have a few days to prepare to die.

I’m not strong enough to survive them. I’ve known this since Rohan told me I was attending them, and I was okay with that. Dying. But now, after Rohan and I have gotten so close, I don’t want to die.

I want to try and be brave—learn how to live with the freedom he’s given me.

A body drops to sit next to me suddenly, taking me out of my thoughts followed by the smell of burning wood.

“You heard the horn?” Rohan asks, face tight. “Just days now,” he says, fists clenching, body tense. He must be worried. “I’ll keep you safe.” I nod, knowing he can’t promise that but I appease him anyway. He shakes his head, body relaxing slightly. “Are you ready for The Glade’s Blessing?”

“I think so.”

Rohan tightens the blanket around me, glaring when he sees Sparks in my lap before he leans back on his hands, gazing into the forest.

“Is there a reason why your other dragons don’t come to The Glade?”

“Though they would be welcomed in The Glade, their way of life is far different here than clan life. Best not to integrate the two, it can cause friction.” I nod because that makes sense.

“How do you choose which dragons belong with you?”

“I don’t. No one does, that’s why every Dragonbond has a different number of dragons in their clan.

We don’t choose, they do,” he explains softly, eyes on the trees.

“When I became Dragonbond, some dragons followed Drogonah to the camp, while others naturally came, sensing the presence of dragons as they sought safety and family. Others choose to stay, like the dragon who was caught in the net.”

“Do you know if that dragon came from The Glade? I remember you saying that.”

“I can’t confirm it, but it wasn’t a wild dragon. They act differently in a way that I would have recognized if they came from The Glade rather than the wild.”

“How?” A whine come from Sparks, he must be dreaming. We both look down at him for a moment.

“He would have attacked us even after we removed the net,” Rohan eventually explains.

“Really?” I ask surprised, thinking back to how the dragon acted. He just… stopped. “What if that’s just his nature?”

“It isn’t. You saw how the wild dragon attacked us out of The Pit. Yes it was hungry, but they’re still wary.”

“Then why did that dragon go all the way to your camp?”

“To seek safety,” he states simply. “I think he escaped whoever was trying to take him, which led him away from The Glade in the first place. He probably saw one of the dragons heading our way, and with my clan being the closest to The Glade, it makes sense.”

I nod, understanding. “We’ll never find out who tried to capture him with that net, will we?”

He shakes his head slowly, eyes on me. “No, probably not.”

My shoulders slump, and I stroke along Sparks’s spine.

“I’ll help in any way I can, I hope you know that.” I lift my eyes and watch him swallow roughly.

“I know you will.”

A little while later, those who went into The Glade come back out, unscathed, but no new Dragonbond emerged, no new bonds made.

I can tell they’re disappointed, and when they come over, they get pats and encouragement that there is always next year.

Dragons begin to roar in the distance not long after, and my head snaps that way as the tree tops rattle with movement.

A blue dragon emerges, followed by another and another as night begins to set.

They’re mainly blue and green, a few red that make me think of Frelia, then a single black one. No white.

It’s a magnificent sight, seeing all those dragons down the hill. Last year, I was lying on an empty potato sack, trying to get as comfortable as possible, hoping Master wouldn’t call for me, and now I’m here, witnessing this first hand, though I’m not sure what will happen.

They all gather before The Glade, circling and moving between themselves as the Dragonbond’s dragons sit off to the side, watching over them.

“What are they doing?” I ask Rohan.

He looks at Drogonah at the end of the line. “They watch over the Blessing in case anyone gets out of hand.” He looks at the large number of dragons. “And they’re scoping out options if they wish to participate.”

My brows furrow, and I wonder what he means when a red dragon starts bouncing on his feet in front of a blue one, just slightly smaller than him.

The red one circles the blue, tail now high and swishing. I sit up straighter, watching with rapt attention. I’ve never seen this before.

The blue then sits, watching the red dragon as it stops before it and spreads its wings out wide, then flaps them in small movements up and down.

“He’s showing her the size of his wings,” Rohan murmurs so only I can hear.

“What’s the reason?”

“Wingspan. The larger it is, the stronger the dragon.”

“Is that true?”

Rohan huffs, shrugging. “Who knows.”

“I think it’s nice.” The blue dragon now stands and moves closer.

“Nice?”

“Yeah.” I grin, looking at Rohan. “I didn’t know dragons danced and showed off. Why do they do that?”

Rohan looks at me, eyes dancing with amusement as cheers erupt from the hill. I jolt, looking around at the wide smiles and then Rohan is grabbing me, placing me between his spread legs.

Sparks doesn’t even rouse from sleep.

“They’re not dancing, Little Whisperer,” Rohan says, his breath tickling my ear.

“They aren’t?” I try to look back at him but he grabs my chin and holds me in place.

“No. They’re showing how strong they are to be able to catch a female dragon.”

“But, whatever for?” The red one pounces on the blue one, snarling and growling as they wrestle on the ground. Others follow suit, fighting in some sort of way one-on-one.

“To mate.”

My cheeks heat as I notice a dragon mount another and I look away.

Rohan chuckles at my embarrassment.

“You’re shy with what you just witnessed, but you took me so well the other night? Made me come by your hand?”

“Rohan.” I squirm.

“You took me so well, didn’t you? You adjusted so perfectly, and tonight, you will sit upon a Dragonbond and ride him. Your little hands will be clawing at my chest in pleasure, and you’ll take what I give you, won’t you?”

My chest rises and falls as arousal swirls in my stomach. The feeling is still new to me, but I welcome it with Rohan.

“Will you take all of me again?” he rumbles in my ear, biting the tip softly and I gasp.

“I took all of you last time.”

“You did.” His voice drops with desire and a light moan falls from my lips.

“Go and put the dragon back in the tent,” he says, standing and pulling me up with him.

More cheers erupt, dragons growling and then clothes are being taken off as people lower to the ground, uncaring of an audience. Moans and whimpers erupt around us.

Rohan grabs my chin and raises my eyes to his. They’re heated, almost glowing in the darkening sky.

“Many tonight will join in the hopes of conceiving, that is the Blessing of The Glade, the welcoming of spring and new life.”

“It is?”

“Yes, but I won’t fuck you to get you pregnant tonight, Little Whisperer, however…” He dips his head, lips touching mine. “I’ll still fuck you like I want you to be.”