Chapter 46
Seren
The sweet scent of Paionia flowers hung in the air and I wrinkled my nose, stretching. I’d been dreaming I was flying, and I hated to tear myself from the sensation. My wings were getting stronger each day and I could fly higher each time I tried jumping from the mountainside.
With a jolt, I opened my eyes, the dream abruptly leaving me.
The unfamiliarity of the room, the luxury of my bedding, startled a cry from my lips.
I drew a deep breath and sat, squinting at the streams of light that greeted me, unhindered by a tree canopy or tent panels.
Instead, the light cascaded through floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
The ceiling itself shimmered like crystals in a dark cave, vaulted high above me.
The sunlight reflected on the dark stone walls with an iridescent glow.
Maybe I died and went to Evermere?
My fingertips drifted over velvety fabric as my eyes adjusted. Thick green velvet draped from the four posts of the bed I occupied. A strange energy hummed beneath my skin, thrumming like a second heartbeat. My limbs felt foreign, lighter and heavier at the same time.
A creak from a few feet away alerted me to the fact that I wasn’t alone, and I turned as a woman stood from a chair. “You’re awake.”
“Where am I?” I managed.
“Be still,” the woman said with the hint of a smile, one that didn’t meet her eyes. “You’ve only just awoken. One question at a time.”
She came over to the side of the bed and sat beside me. “We’re in Cairn Hold. In Pendara.”
Pendara? I was in Lirien?
“But …” I searched my memory for those last moments before Thorne had carried me. “I died. Why am I here?”
The woman crossed her arms. “You didn’t die—obviously. The king took the Oath of Bryndis. He saved you.”
My eyes widened.
Rykr had taken the oath?
Fear snaked through me. “What about—”
“You’re alive, my lady.” The woman took my hand in her slender fingers. She scanned my gaze. “That’s all that matters.”
I tossed the sheets to the side and stood. A desperate feeling filled me. What happened to my family? My friends? We couldn’t all have crossed the border so easily. “I’m fine. But I don’t understand what happened. Where’s my family? What—”
The words died on my lips as I caught sight of myself in the mirror. I stepped closer to the mirror, my heart rate slowing. A dark tattoo showed on my right arm, the same shape as the one I’d cut onto my wrist when I’d taken the oath.
But my entire right arm also appeared to be covered with a unique pattern of iridescent tattoos on my skin. Beautiful and … shaped like dragon scales.
“What the hell?” I gasped.
“The dragon’s blood,” the woman said. “The poison never left your body. It was inside you when the king took the oath.”
“What does that mean?”
The woman lifted her chin, watching me warily. With fear. “It’s better for the king to explain everything. I’ll summon a servant to help you bathe.”
My heart throbbed with sorrow as she turned to go. “What about my family? Please tell me.”
The woman didn’t look back, but she paused for a step. “The king will be here soon. I promise.”
A foreboding feeling rose in me. What isn’t she telling me?
“What is it? Please!”
But she’d already gone out the door.
Within moments, female servants arrived. They bowed toward me, saying little as they took me to the adjoining bathroom, pulling and poking and prodding in a blur of activity that was overwhelming.
Just as they’d finished pulling me from the bath and slipping me into a robe, the door to the bathroom flew open.
The tug in my heart pulled tight, Rykr’s presence flooding my body with warmth before I saw him.
Then he was there, striding into the room, and my heart stumbled at the sight of him.
Every trace of the Pendaran warrior had nearly disappeared. His hair was still dark, but his clothes spoke of the Ederyn prince I’d never really known. His striking features were even more beautiful, the chiseled jawline and strong cheekbones set in an unreadable mask.
His piercing blue-green eyes met mine, the rawness in his intense gaze nearly making my knees buckle.
He wore a thick tunic over woolen trousers, which were tucked into sturdy fur-lined leather boots.
On his broad chest was a leather vest, adorned with metal studs, leather bracers carved with dragons and wolves encasing his arms. The thick, fur-lined cloak fastened with a silver Valknut brooch swished as he strode toward me, then stopped a few feet away.
Rykr gave the servants a hard look as they curtsied. “You’re dismissed.”
They rose quickly, scrambling toward the door.
“Should we expect you for your midday meal?” one servant, an older woman, asked as she stopped at the doorway.
“Not likely,” Rykr snapped, not taking his eyes off me.
She bowed her head, then left.
The door closed behind them.
I rubbed my arms, mystified at my sudden desire for them to return. “Rykr,” I managed in a soft voice, feeling oddly exposed.
His dark brows drew together, the hint of a line between them, then his gaze softened. A smile curved at his lips. “Gods, I’ve missed the sound of that name. Everyone has taken to calling me Calix once again.”
“Missed?” I asked, searching his gaze. “It can’t have been that long since we left the Havamal.”
“You’ve been asleep for a month, Seren.”
Tears pricked my eyes at his words. “What?” My legs felt suddenly weak, and I searched for something to sturdy myself on. My fingertips gripped the edge of a chaise in the bathroom.
A chaise. In the bathroom. Absurd.
“How is that possible?” I whispered, beginning to understand the woman’s hesitation at answering my questions. So much must have happened between now and then. Where is my family? I wanted to scream. But I held back, fear pressing in on me from all sides.
“The High Magister thinks it may have to do with the dragon’s blood that was inside you when I took the oath.”
He rested his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist and stared at me, as though afraid to come any closer.
Touch me. I’m right here. I’ve come back to you, I wanted to scream.
But a chasm seemed to exist between us, where once there had been nothing but all-consuming passion, there was hesitation and distance.
A month had passed and I’d been asleep. What had he gone through during that time? “Rykr …” I managed, then stopped. “Am I allowed to call you that?”
A smile curved at the corners of his mouth. “Yes, Seren.”
I lifted my chin. “You’ll always be Rykr Westhaven to me, I suppose.”
“I can live with that.”
Still, he made no move to come any closer. His eyes raked over me, like he was afraid I might vanish if he blinked … as if he was staring at a ghost.
What if he no longer loved me?
But he’d come rushing back to my side when he’d heard I’d awoken. That wasn’t nothing.
Drawing a deep breath, I closed the gap between us and touched his cheek. “I’m real, you know. This isn’t a dream.”
A light laugh left his lips, and he lifted his hand, his fingers enclosing mine.
He closed his eyes for a moment, his breath shallow.
He kissed my knuckles softly. “I’m sorry.
I did dream of this moment, often, and now that it’s here, there’s so much to say, and I don’t know how to tell you.
” He opened his eyes, holding my gaze. “Not having you in my life the last month has been the hardest part of my existence, Seren.”
His voice was deep and tender as he cupped my face in his rough, callused palms. “I never want to wake from this if it is a dream.”
My eyes filled with tears. I couldn’t imagine what he’d been through, or what I would have felt if the situation had been reversed.
Even though my mind burned with questions, the peace, the completeness of his presence calmed me.
“I love you, Rykr.” I rose to my tiptoes, sliding my arms around his neck.
His arms tightened around my waist, encasing me in a gentle embrace, then his lips met mine. “I love you, Seren.”
I laughed as he swept me off my feet, then he set me down, his eyes bright with emotion.
I pressed my cheek into his chest, a strange mixture of uncertainty and happiness going through me.
Then something fierce and uncontrollable wrapped around my heart, squeezing it.
The slick feeling of utter darkness.
The feeling twisted, as though something inside me had shifted. My heartbeat faltered. Heat curled through my veins—wrong, unnatural heat.
Fire, burning my soul.
I stepped back and looked hard into his eyes. “What the hell did you do to me, Rykr?”