Chapter 8 #2
Thunar’s laugh is ugly. I wouldn’t dream of touching your filthy little creature.
His nose wrinkles as if he’s smelled something foul.
I won’t tie myself to one of them unless no other option presents itself.
I’ve gone years before without needing to consume flesh.
Trust me—I’m not like you and your tiny brother. I know my limits, and I’m in no hurry.
I try to imagine him incinerating Hyperion in eggshell, and it’s not a hard image to conjure.
Less than an hour later, all the bondable humans have been paired with one of the compatible blessed who recently arrived.
Most of them are earth blessed, which I find strange.
Here, all blessed of every variety were clamoring for a human to bond.
Now the strike and water blessed just. . .don’t care to bond one yet? Do they have a death-wish?
Before I can ask any of the earth blessed about it, Thunar announces loudly, We’re finished here. It’s time to go to the next location.
Finland. That’s what he means. They were next on the list, with a setup hopefully not dissimilar to this. They also offered to try and gather as many interested individuals as possible on such short notice. I can’t help noticing Liz gazing back longingly at the market she mentioned.
Do you want to stay? Hyperion can manage things for a while and we can follow after you’ve had a chance to be festive with your feelings. I hope I used the words right.
Her half smile tells me I got close, but probably not all the way there. “This might sound ungrateful, and I don’t mean to be,” Liz says. “But I’d like to go. . .with you.” She bites her lip. “Could we hang back, and could you be human Axel for a bit?”
Thunar doesn’t know, I don’t believe, about my second affinity yet.
He’d have brought it up for sure. Being terrifying and awful to everyone around you has some drawbacks, most notably others not sharing information when they think it might not serve their interests to do so.
If those earth blessed—who’d be most likely to have discovered that truth—want Liz to upgrade them, they might keep it to themselves.
Anything he doesn’t know, I shouldn’t show him.
But I’m not ashamed of it anymore.
It’s part of who I am, and according to Euphrasia, Odin and Thunar and all the others have always known Freya’s and Odin’s children were probably different. If Thunar finds out, even if everyone else is surprised that I alone can once again shift into my human form, so what?
It’s not like he can want to kill me more than he already does.
He’d find me an easier target in my human form, but that’s why I’d change forms after he’s already left.
“Wait,” she says. “If I don’t go to Finland now, who would be the spokesperson for the dragons?” She sighs. “I guess we can’t stay.”
She looks so glum.
I hate it.
“Did you say you need someone else to step in as spokesperson?” The Prime Minister smiles. “I’d be happy to do the honors. Since I set the meeting in Finland up, I’m sure it would be fine.”
“You’re sure?” Liz looks at me, as if I care what human represents us.
“I can tell them you were caught up with other things,” he says. “I’m happy to do it.”
“Thanks, George!” Liz looks positively delighted, and I know I made the right call.
It’s a little harder convincing Hyperion that we’ll be right behind them, but within a handful of minutes, everyone’s leaving. . .and we’re staying. Just as I’m about to release the portal, Liz drops a hand on my shoulder. Are you sure this is alright?
She almost never communicates with me this way. She must be nervous.
Coral’s with Hyperion, and Jade insisted on riding with Asteria. She doesn’t mention that even Sammy came. She doesn’t have to—I noticed.
I know she’s worried about her siblings being there without her. Sammy especially is quite small. But they have their bonded to keep them safe. I can’t imagine what they might encounter that Hyperion and Thunar can’t handle without me.
“Thunar’s the one I’m worried about,” she mutters.
I can’t help my snort. We won’t be here long. I don’t tell her that she needs a moment to do something fun too. It’s a human sentiment that I’ve learned is relatively true. The blessed might be better off if we adopted some of their ideas.
“Okay.” She sighs and lifts her hand. “Close the portal.”
I do.
Once it’s closed, people stand and stare for a moment, clearly wondering why I haven’t also left.
The humans milling around us are giving us a lot of space, but it’s still not quite enough.
There’s no way Liz will get her magical walk along the little shops she likes if everyone watches me shift from flame blessed to human.
I launch into the air, pumping my great wings until we’re well away from the square, and I keep going south until we reach an area where there’s nothing but open land.
Then I shift.
“What are we going to do from here?” Liz grumbles. “It’s going to take forever for us to get anywhere near the Christmas market.”
I smooth down the sleeves of my wool coat. It looks just like one I saw a human wearing ten minutes ago, so I should blend in just fine. “You can fly us there.”
She blinks. “Yes, that will help us blend right in. Good call. I bet a lot of humans flew their way to the market with their bright white wings.” She sighs. “Which means it probably doesn’t matter how I get there.” And she’s back to being glum.
“You’ll be just a regular human, carrying another human to a shopping center at Christmastime.”
“Axel, humans don’t have wings.”
“Not until recently, they didn’t, but you do, and you’re human.”
“Just forget it.” She kicks a rock. “Let’s just go to Finland.”
I reach for her hand. I’m not sure why, but it feels like the right thing to do. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” When she turns back toward me, her eyes are wide.
“I know you want to do something small and fun, something normal. Everything about being bonded to me makes that hard for you.”
She laughs. “I was never going to be normal.”
“Because you’re too spectacular. You’re a warrior.”
She laughs harder, and then she shakes her head. “No, because my mom is. . .” She sighs. “Climb on. We can talk as I fly.”
“We’re still going?”
She points. “See those people over there? They’re just going to come try and follow us if we don’t get out of here quick. We can always open a portal straight from the Stuttgart Christmas market if it’s miserable.”
I can’t help my smile. “Yes, we can at least try.”
It’s very strange to climb up on her back, however. “I don’t think this will work.”
She grabs my hands and yanks them down over her shoulders. “Hold on.” Then she jogs a step or two and jumps up into the air. “Saint Nick’s stockings, you’re heavy.” But her wings keep on beating, and we’re going up, up, up.
From here, I can see how right she was. There are quite a few humans that must have seen us land that were on their way over to investigate or introduce themselves. They don’t look armed—not military. Just civilians, who now think we’re the big friendly dragons they always wanted.
Perfect.
It takes longer for her to fly us back there than it took me to leave, but it’s not such a long way. As we land, quite a few people turn our way, but Liz creates far less of a fuss by carrying me as a winged human than I draw as Azar.
“You were telling me how you were never going to be normal,” I remind her.
She chuckles. “I was, I guess.” She points at the stalls. “Shall we?” Only, she moves about twelve steps before she slaps her head. “Money. We have no money.”
“Do we need money?” I blink. “For what?”
“To buy things.” She points. “It’s a market. They’re all shops.” The shop closest to us smells quite enticing.
I sniff the air. “What is that?”
“They’re roasted nuts.” She groans. “Not that I can get you any. Dangit.”
“Für den Drachenreiter,” a woman at the small stand says. Then she holds out her hand.
“Drachenreiter means dragon rider in German,” I say.
“Thanks.” Liz rolls her eyes and shakes her head. But she takes the package of nuts.
And when she hands me some, they are very interesting. Warm, crunchy, but also chewy. Salty, and a little sweet. Very interesting indeed.
“My parents—my dad was very normal,” Liz says between bites.
“He was a hard-working and smart lawyer who always had a great job. But my mom? She. . .was weird. She always had some cause she was crusading at the moment. She’d skip washing her hair for a week to conserve water or prevent the waste involved with the soap-making industry.
She’d stand in front of the Houston Livestock show for weeks with signs about the way they treat chickens.
” Liz snorts. “The list of social atrocities Mom fought just went on and on. By the time I was five, I was better at standing and holding protest signs than I was at riding a bike.”
There’s a group of people singing up ahead. All around us, in little stands and shops, people have wares lined up in bright colors and changing shapes. Scarves. Decorations. More food items. “I’m sorry I don’t have money.” I can’t help frowning. “How does one get this human money?”
She’s laughing again. “You earn it, by working, by providing value.”
“Hey.” A little girl pulls on my arm. “Ich mochte fliegen.” She points at Liz’s wings.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I don’t really speak much German.”
“Ride,” she says. “Fly!” Then she points at Liz and flaps her arms. “Your girlfriend fly?”
“That’s not my. . .” I start to say she isn’t my girlfriend, but then a strange desire grips me. “She actually is my girlfriend,” I say. “Yes, ride.” I nod. “But you have to pay her.” I pause. “Money?”
“No money.” The little girl shakes her head, her eyes downcast.
Before she can walk away, Liz holds out her hand. “I’ll give you a ride for free.” She does glance back at the girl’s father—a man wearing all black and grey beside her. “If your father says yes.” She lifts her eyebrows.