The Dragonrider Heritage Second Series, page 98
“You already tried it?” she fumed. “Even though it could have killed you?!”
Great.
I turned to face her and flailed my arms. “You were in danger! Gods, woman, I didn’t have any other way to reach you in time!”
“Not that we’re not enjoying your little lovers’ quarrel, but can we refocus here?” Thatcher chimed in, his expression every bit as shocked and dismayed as Violet’s as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re saying you can valestep us all the way to the Compendium Library?”
I winced again, giving him that forced, toothy, grimacing look that probably wasn’t going to win me any more of their confidence. “Uhhh, I’m not exactly sure how far I can do it. I’ve never tested that since, you know, it was so dangerous before.”
“What’s the farthest distance you were able to cross with it before?” Maylea asked.
I shrugged. “A mile? Maybe two?”
Violet’s mouth scrunched up bitterly as she glared at me. “And you want to try to cross thousands of miles and arrive in a location you’ve never even seen before?”
“Hey, I’m open to suggestions here!” I threw my hands up again in surrender. “If anyone has a better plan, I’m all ears!”
“I believe I do,” a deep, heavily accented masculine voice interrupted.
We all turned in unison, whirling to face the source with weapons already drawn. My jaw dropped and I took a protective step toward Violet as I stared across the small crowd of men gathered not even ten feet away from us. No, not just men. They were all Rajinna men.
Sweet Fates, where had they come from?!
I counted twelve in all, dressed in a wide spectrum of colorful robes, long strings of jewels, and golden bands. Every one of them had the same features as Neiko and Lukani—lion-like tails, horns, pointed incisors, and eerie yellow eyes. They also had varying shades of oddly colored skin. I saw several shades of blue, purple, and even pink and gray.
The one at the very front of the group appeared to be the oldest. He was also the largest, with thick, brawny, bare arms exposed by his sleeveless open vest. His dark cobalt skin was mottled with scars and swirling tattoos of red and black that spanned across his chest and down his arms all the way to his wrists. His curled dark horns were sheathed in gold at the tips, and his thick black hair hung down to the middle of his back like a mane.
He loomed over us, standing a few inches taller than Thatcher, and slowly scanned our group with his deeply set yellow eyes. His expression stayed stony and guarded, not betraying anything about what his real intentions were—friendly or hostile.
I had a pretty good idea what he wanted from us, though.
Lukani seemed to shrink as he stared across the crowd, his long, pointed ears drooping and his shoulders drawing up. He didn’t say a word, even when Neiko let out an excited shout and went trotting over to stand right in front of the huge man like an excited terrier.
“Father! You received my distress call!” Neiko exclaimed. “I was beginning to worry we were too far apart.”
The big Rajinna man put a hand on his shoulder, giving Neiko an approving nod before he looked back at the rest of us again. “And these must be the ones Arlan spoke of.”
“Yes, indeed,” Neiko confirmed, quickly stepping aside and making a sweeping gesture to the rest of us. “I have found the young one, but he travels with many humans. It seems many of them are god-touched.”
The man nodded, then strode proudly toward me. It was only then that I noticed the massive, double-headed great axe he wore in a leather harness across his back. Gods and Fates, it was bigger than I was, and appeared to be crafted from solid bronze. It must have weighed a hundred pounds, at least.
It took every bit of my nerve to hold steady and keep my expression neutral as he stopped only a few paces away and stretched out a hand like he wanted me to shake it. “I am Ziryan. Arlan the Kinslayer sent word that you might be in need of aid, and that one of our own was also in your midst. We were on our way to find you in the temple but were delayed. It seems the Hands of Fate are not far behind you. We discovered them after they had already destroyed the gateway in this temple.”
My shoulders dropped and I resisted the urge to scream up at the ceiling. The Hands of Fate had already destroyed that gateway? So much for that option.
Ziryan’s huge hand all but swallowed mine when I returned the gesture. My attempt at a strong shake probably felt pathetic to him. “Yeah, we ran into a few,” I replied. “You can call me Reigh. This is Thatcher, Maylea, Violet, and … Lukani.” I hesitated on the last name, not sure if I should have let the kid introduce himself or not. He looked ready to pass out again as Ziryan’s gaze finally landed right on him.
But the big Rajinna man’s expression softened immediately, looking down at Lukani with the same expression I’d seen on Jaevid’s face when he first held his infant sons. He stepped past me, moving through our group and finally crouching on one knee in front of Lukani. “Arlan told me much about you, young one,” he said, his deep voice much gentler now. “You truly have no memory of your capture?”
Lukani slowly shook his head. Even from several paces away, I could see his shoulders and arms tense like he might bolt at any moment.
Ziryan’s expression fell some, his strange yellow eyes panning over the boy as though he were examining every tiny detail. “I see,” he murmured. “Perhaps that is for the best. Your mother defended you bravely, and I will forever carry the shame that I could not save her.”
“Y-You knew my mother?” Lukani’s voice shook with desperation as his entire body seemed to go slack in shock.
A faint, agonized smile tugged at the corners of Ziryan’s sharp features. “I did. She was my mate,” he answered quietly. “And you … were our greatest treasure.”
You could have heard a mouse sneeze in the silence that hung in the chamber. Lukani didn’t seem to be breathing. He didn’t blink. He just stared at the big Rajinna man, his eyes as wide as two yellow saucers and his mouth hanging open.
So, Ziryan was his actual father? Not just some term the Rajinna used for their elders? Even Neiko seemed shocked at that revelation. I guess Ziryan had kept that little tidbit to himself. Heh. Interesting.
“I know this must be difficult for you to hear,” Ziyran said, bowing his head some. “You see, all Rajinna are born male. We take partners only from royal bloodlines of Lunostri elves, as we have since the dawn of our species. Once that bond is forged, it can never be broken, and children born of those unions are even more rare, but are always Rajinna. They grow far slower than most other children, and that is when we are most vulnerable—before our power truly manifests and we cannot defend ourselves. That is why you and your mother were targeted. And I was too late.” His wide, sharply angled jawline went rigid. His densely muscled frame seemed to stiffen in quiet wrath at the memory as his eyes smoldered ominously. He reached out, slowly and cautiously, for one of Lukani’s much smaller hands. “I am sorry that I failed you, my son.”
Lukani sprang toward him suddenly, crossing the small distance in a heartbeat and flinging his arms around the big man’s neck. He hugged him fiercely, gripping the back of his silken vest and burying his face against Ziryan’s thick mane of hair. I could have sworn I saw tears in Ziryan’s eyes as he hugged Lukani back tightly.
A small sniffle was my only warning before I felt someone’s weight lean into my side, too. Maylea hid under my arm, her chin trembling and fresh tears rolling down her cheeks as she watched them.
Right—this was bound to be awkward and painful for her. A strange mixture of joy and sorrow for a young girl who’d only just dipped her toes into the ocean of love. Lukani might continue with us for a short time, if he wanted. But ultimately … he would stay here in the Southern Kingdoms. And he should stay here. He’d been robbed of an entire childhood that should have been spent with his family. This was his chance to reclaim some of it.
We had no right to stand in the way of that.
Pulling back, Ziryan held Lukani’s head in his large hands and kissed his forehead. Then he finally looked back up to the rest of us. “You have brought my only blood child back to me. What can the Korvaal Clan do to repay such a debt?”
“You did mention you had an idea about how we could get out of here,” I reminded him. “That would certainly be welcomed at this point. We need to get to The Compendium Library as soon as possible.”
Ziryan stood, his hand still resting on Lukani’s shoulder as he faced me with a look of proud resolve. “No,” he corrected. “According to your man, Arlan, you do not.”
Oh? I flicked a sideways glance to Thatcher, who already wore a skeptical frown. I wasn’t feeling all that trusting, either. Even if Arlan had somehow managed to contact this guy—which was plausible, considering the strength of the magic I’d seen him use before—what connection did he actually have with Ziryan? Were they allies? Acquaintances? Or was I standing in front of yet another one of Arlan’s old enemies who would turn on us the first chance he got?
I didn’t know.
Fortunately, it wasn’t up to me whether we should trust him or not. Violet was the expert, here. She didn’t waste a second and immediately spoke up. “And what did he say, exactly?”
Unlike Neiko, Ziryan didn’t seem the least bit thrown by the fact that she was a Viperi. He considered her with the same guarded yet intensely focused stare he did the rest of us as he answered. “The codex you seek has already been removed from play. Avgior has been awakened. The game has officially changed, and your first and only order of business should be reaching the port of Uru’Nai as soon as possible.”
My stomach dropped to the soles of my boots. My heartbeat slowed, and a shuddering breath left my lips like a death rattle. The codex was out of play? What did that even mean? Were we too late? Gods and Fates, what was happening? Was Ronan all right? Who the heck was Avgior?
“Avgior,” Violet gasped in horror. “Then … it’s really happening. Sadeera is going to try to open the gate to the divine realm. Is that what he suggested?”
“It would seem so,” Ziryan confirmed. “Arlan made mention that he is moving more formidable forces to the Gate of Proleus, I assume to make a final stand against her.”
I frowned. “Formidable forces?”
“Dragonriders,” he said matter-of-factly. “But I would advise against venturing there. We have a powerful seer among us who has already glimpsed the size of the forces gathering there, most likely to prevent outsiders from interfering with the ritual. At least ten thousand men with war machines, cavalry, and arcane cannons.”
“Gods …” Thatcher whispered hoarsely. “It must be Jaevid and the others.”
I spat a string of Gray elven curses and spun on a heel, pacing a few feet away and wringing my fingers through my hair. Gods, Fates, and all things divine! Of course it was Jaevid. Who the heck else would be that stupid? That idiot didn’t know how to keep his nose out of a world-ending disaster. And if he was going there with Arlan, then I had to believe Murdoc, Garnett, and maybe even my sister would be skipping along right behind them.
“You mean my dah is here? In Nar’Haleen? But that—that can’t be! H-How would they even get here that fast?” Maylea stammered, her face paling as she glanced back and forth between us frantically. “It took us so long to get here by ship, and dragons can’t fly that far all at once, can they? It’s impossible, isn’t it?”
“No,” Violet announced. “It isn’t.”
I snapped around, pacing slowly toward her with my head tilted to the side as I eyed her suspiciously. “What do you mean?” I demanded. “What haven’t you told us?”
Violet glanced skyward, as though trying to collect her thoughts, before she gave a heavy, defeated sigh. “Let’s just say that … Arlan has been planning this confrontation for a very long time. He had no interest in leaving margins for errors and missteps. And with Miss Phoebe’s brilliant engineering mind now readily at his disposal, he has not been idle over the last fourteen years.”
“He’s had Phoebe building something for him?” Thatcher guessed.
“There really is no name for it in any language I can speak, simply because something like it has never existed before now,” she said, still avoiding eye contact with me. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, tucking some of her hair behind her ear as her mouth scrunched to one side and then the other. “But suffice it to say, it could move a decent number of dragons, riders, and even soldiers here in relatively short order. That said, I don’t believe he would actually risk bringing it into Nar’Haleenan territory until the conflict was underway. He would probably try to keep it out of sight for as long as possible. It’s not exactly subtle—at least, not from the few schematics and diagrams I’ve seen.”
I started pacing again, rubbing at my forehead with the heel of my hand as my temples throbbed. “And how long would it take this whatever-it-is to reach Nar’Haleen from Maldobar?”
She finally met my gaze, her expression fractured with worry as she replied, “At most? Two days.”
27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Two. Days.
Arlan had the means of getting us here in two days? And instead, he’d just slapped us on a boat with Malina? What the—?!
There weren’t enough profane curses in the world for me to scream right then. Curse that Avoran slime-ball. He always had secrets—things tucked away in his back pocket that he kept hidden until it benefited him.
One look at Maylea made my temper fizzle, though. She stared around at all of us, her eyes rimmed with tears and her chest heaving in quick, terrified breaths. “My dah is headed straight for those armies,” she seemed to realize aloud. “H-He can’t fight against that many people on his own. We have to help him!”
I rushed over to her the instant I saw her expression start to go foggy. Fates, she was going to pass out if she didn’t calm down. Taking her hands in mine, I kept my voice as calm as possible. “May, look at me. Take some deep breaths, okay? Try to calm down. We will do everything we can to help your dad,” I promised.
She blinked owlishly at me, her chin trembling and her brow skewing as she fought back a sob. “How? How can we get there in time? I-I don’t have any arrows, and—”
“It would be unwise for you to enter this fight,” Ziryan insisted. “You would be fighting against the very best of the emperor’s forces. With such small numbers, you will stand no chance of survival, and you will be bringing the sorceress the very last element she needs to open the gate.”
“What are you talking about?” I snapped. I’d about had it with everyone holding back these vital tidbits of information.
“He means Maylea.” Violet stepped forward, reaching down to stroke her fingers over the bone-carved pendant that hung around her neck on an old resin cord. I’d seen that necklace many times before. Jaevid had worn it first during the Gray and Tibran Wars, and then Thatcher during our confrontation with Iksoli. It was just a family heirloom. A trinket.
Right?
Maylea frowned, her voice still shaking some. “I-I don’t understand.”
“Lock and key, the gate shall hold. The boundary of Fates and souls. Blood and blade and twisting spark. To fracture, break, and rend apart,” Violet recited. “It is an ancient curse that speaks of the Gate of Proleus that was sealed thousands of years ago. To break that gate open again, you need three things: the Blood of Fate—Avgior’s blood, the Blade of Souls—forged by Clysiros in the pits of pandemonium, and the Spark of Life.” She paused, her expression falling to something like grim acceptance as she ran a thumb over the pendant again. “The spark contained in this, the last Seed of Life. The energy of creation in its purest form.”
“The … the what?” Thatcher wheezed, rubbing at his own neck where that very trinket had hung only a week or so ago. “I thought it was just bone!”
“Its true identity was hidden away ages ago, likely to protect it for this very reason,” Violet explained, her voice still hushed. “Placed around the neck of those charged by Paligno to speak in his place. The lapiloques. Your ancestors, Maylea.”
“And if that sorceress, Sadeera, gets her hands on it?” I dared to ask.
“Then she will have the last thing she needs to complete the ritual and open the Gate of Proleus,” Violet confirmed.
Great. Just … fantastic. Our friends were headed straight into the heart of the hornets’ nest and, what, we were just supposed to wave as we passed and head on our merry way?
No. Absolutely not.
I was a dragonrider. I did not betray my own. Win or lose, futile or not, I would rather die side by side with them in battle than face the rest of my life knowing I had abandoned them in their hour of need.
One look at Thatcher, and I knew beyond any doubt that he felt the same way. His wide, squared jaw clenched. He nodded once.
Fine. Let’s do this, then.
Straightening, I let my arms drop to my sides as all my thoughts seemed to snap into focus. That mental state, the dragonrider state of mind, came over me so easily now. I could be objective in that cold silence, far removed from doubts and fears that paled in comparison to failure.
“Violet, you need to take Maylea and go to Uru’Nai. Mr. Ziryan, I appreciate the delivery of this … update on the situation. If you really wish to repay our efforts in bringing your son here, I’d ask that you make sure these two make it there safely, since you seem more than capable of navigating this region discreetly.” I bent down, beginning to gather up my bag and sling it onto my back.
Thatcher did the same without saying a single word.
Violet had plenty to say, though. She dashed over and grabbed my upper arm, pulling me around so she could glare up into my face. “What are you talking about, Reigh? You can’t be serious! There’s no way you can just—”
