Page 11 of Wrath Of Suns And Shadows (The Osparia #2)

Chapter Six

Emelyn

T he sounds of retching woke me up. I rolled over and didn’t see Shay in her bedroll, so I got to my feet with a groan from how sore I was, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. My body begged me to stay down, but I needed to know if Shay was okay.

I walked a few paces away, and the snarl of a dragon greeted me.

Emeris. But something was different. She seemed feral as she growled at me, showing me her rows of sharp teeth.

Her claws dug into the ground as if she were preparing to charge me.

She blocked my view of Shay. I was about to grab for my axe.

I didn’t want to hurt Emeris, but I would defend myself if I needed to.

Emeris paused when she heard Shay’s voice call from behind her. She sounded weak.

“No, stop . . .”

The beast snarled at me one last time before turning back around toward Shay, wanting to be near to her.

I walked around Emeris and saw Shay hunched over, leaning against a nearby tree.

I got to her quickly as she lurched and spilled the contents of the dinner we’d eaten at her feet.

I grabbed her braids to hold them out of her face as the sickness took over again.

Shay spat and wiped her mouth before she rose and turned toward me.

“Are you alright?” I asked, and my eyes trailed down Shay’s body. Something was different. Her scent was changed. Something softer lay just beneath her normal smell, but it seemed familiar.

“I’m fine. It comes with the territory,” she said, blowing out a breath. It clicked in my mind where I recognized the smell. Helena had carried the same scent of an unborn child.

Shay was pregnant. I could feel the small tether of life growing inside her. My eyes rounded from shock.

“How long have you known?” I asked.

“Only a little while.”

“I can’t believe Baron would let you leave his sight with you carrying your firstborn,” I said, and the pleading look she gave me told me he didn’t know.

“Shay . . . please tell me Baron knows.” I ran a hand down my face, hoping for a different answer, but Shay’s eyes lined with tears as she shook her head.

“Damn the Mother,” I cursed. “Gods, Shay, are you alright? I could’ve seriously hurt you .

. . or your child.” I placed my hand on her lower back, letting my water coat my hand with its faint glow of healing.

As I touched her, I sensed her body relaxing.

I knew she had to be sore. We had been going hard with training every day this week.

I was thankful I didn’t hurt the child. I could feel its small, steady beat of life under the power of my palm.

I healed Shay’s every cut and bruise, doing as much as I could without fully draining myself.

“Eme . . . really, I’m fine, I promise,” she said as Emeris lowered her head to Shay’s stomach, resting her forehead against her still flat belly.

“I’m sorry,” Emeris hissed. “My animal instincts have been taking over more and more with a need to protect Shay. The only reason you both have been able to train is because Shay has been sending me away when you do.”

“I understand, Ris. I wouldn’t have ever put Shay in harm’s way if I’d known,” I soothed, staring daggers at Shay.

“Why would you glamour your child, Shay?” I asked.

That was the only thing that made sense.

She had been holding a glamour this whole time.

Although Shay didn’t bend, she still had the abilities of a fae.

“Look around, Emelyn. The world isn’t exactly a place I’d like to bring my child into.

I know it will be someday, now that you're here, but with everything happening, I couldn’t have anyone distracted from what’s coming, including Baron.

Atreya found out I was pregnant before we left for Westwell.

She only kept it to herself because I begged her to, but I promise I will tell him when we get back to the rebellion.

I had to keep it a secret. Like you said, he wouldn’t have let me out of his sight if he knew.

” Her assurance took a little bit of the weight off my shoulders, but now that I knew, I wouldn’t give it my all in training because I’d be too worried about the babe.

“We’re not training today,” I said. Shay cut me off.

“Emelyn—”

“I said no. Today we can study. There are dozens of books in that library that I need to get to anyway. Besides, like you said, I can’t run myself into the ground, and knowledge is just as powerful.” She paused before she finally nodded her head in defeat.

“Fine, then we better get a move on,” she said, and I noticed the sun peeking over the horizon in the distance.

“Wait . . . would you like to watch the sunrise with me?” I asked, giving her a small smile.

“Is that what makes you late to practice?” she asked, returning the smile, and I nodded. “I have something better in mind.” She and Emeris shared a look with each other. “Come on.” She grabbed my hand and tugged me along down to the spot on the beach where I normally sat.

Emeris was on our heels. Branches creaked and snapped as she sauntered through the thick woods behind us.

When we made it to the sand, she lowered her colossal frame down to the ground.

The small rays of early morning light glimmered against her scales, making them shift between black and dark purple.

She was a beautiful creature. She nudged Shay gently with the side of her angular head, helping her get on her back.

Now that I knew Shay was carrying a child, I could see how much more Emeris had been protective over her the last couple of weeks—gentler.

Even at the races, she hadn’t wanted to leave Shay’s side.

I looked over Emeris and ran my hand down her body. She had a horrible scar on her side. It looked like it had been a nasty wound.

“That was Valla’s doing,” Shay said with a snarl when she noticed where my hand had stopped. She patted Emeris’s neck, and the dragon looked at me with her bright yellow eyes.

“Come on, we’ll miss the sun,” Emeris hissed, and it brought a smile to my face.

She might have been a dragon, but her demeanor reminded me a little of Willow.

I noticed I found myself looking for her in everything since she’d passed.

I cleared my throat and pushed down my grief as Shay offered me a hand and pulled me up onto Emeris’s back.

“Do you think you could give us some cover? Create a mist with the water?” she asked, and I nodded.

I took a deep breath, and with a rise of my hands, a mist overtook the oceans surrounding us.

In the next moment, we were soaring above the waters of Draynua.

The light shimmered against the mist of the water, making rainbows cascade around us. The sight was something out of a dream.

The views reminded me of all the times Ace and I had soared over the waters when we were kids.

This was definitely better than sitting on the beaches below.

It felt as if I were being kissed by the sun as it rose over the horizon.

A smile overtook my features, and I started laughing like a fool as the warm, salty winds whipped through my hair.

Shay glanced back at me and did the same.

The love she had for the skies and the dragons, I could tell, was dear to her.

She was happiest here. I wondered if Magni reminded her of her home—her real home. The one Ember had taken from her.

Emeris free fell down to the ocean, and I held on for life. The talons at the ends of her wings grazed the glassy surface. We were so close, I could see my reflection staring back at me until the beast sent a splash over us, only making us giggle like kids even more.

“Hold on and hold your breath,” Shay shouted, and panic slithered through me, but I did what she said.

Emeris dipped below the surface, and the world went quiet as the crisp chill of the water rushed over my skin.

Emeris whipped her tail, and suddenly we broke the surface and were flying toward the clouds.

The wind rushed over my wet skin, sending a shiver down my spine.

My hair was dripping. Shay and I both looked a mess, but when she glanced back at me, all I could do was beam at her.

And she did the same with me. For the first time in a long while, I felt a moment of peace.

And I was determined to give us—everyone—that feeling forever.

The shelves of the library were no longer dusty.

I had spent time this week helping Draken clean up the place.

If I was taking valuable knowledge, the least I could do was take care of it.

The library was coming back to life, and I could tell it made him happy to see it in its former glory.

He kept telling me Evenae would have been proud to see it so bright after so many years of being untouched.

I pulled out my chair. It screeched against the old stone floors before I took my seat. I sifted through the books and found a few on the Peacebringer. Most only explained their powers, but not exactly how to master them, while others focused on the Peacebringer before me.

Long before my time, when the gods had blessed Osparia, they’d sent the Kappa to maintain knowledge, the Soothsayer to maintain fates, and the Peacebringer to maintain peace while the world adjusted to our gifts.

Everyone had lived in harmony until Ember’s current emperor.

I didn’t even want to think the man’s name.

I closed the book I was currently reading, moving through the stack. I stumbled across one about magic and rune marks. It sparked my interest because it was the markings I’d seen in the cell on Kade’s ship.

I opened it.

With magic comes power and strength—vulnerability and weakness. A give and take.