Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
VANDER
The clouds hide my path across the peak of Crone’s Crag and along the ridges leading to the Forest of Ruin. I’d meant to spend the day in the keep with Larellin, but just hearing Brin talk about the deaths of my family was enough to drive me to the sky.
The pain is old and best forgotten. Even so, as I fly I feel the same ache, the glint of sun on my scales reminding me of my mother.
She gifted me my golden hue. My father gave me the golden fire along with it, the ability to turn enemies to nothing but ash blowing on the wind.
If only I’d used it that night and saved them.
I spread my wings farther, letting the wind carry me higher through the thick clouds. A thunderhead looms to the north, threatening the impenetrable Crimson Keep.
My thoughts return to Larellin. Brin has no business telling her about the DragonKin.
Our curse is well known in Oblivion, but the mortals have no sense of our world.
They know only what they learn in the short spans of their lives.
Telling Larellin ancient history will only confuse her, and there’s absolutely no reason to tell her about the curse.
I let out a half-hearted roar, alerting a flock of blue-gilled geese of my rapid approach.
They squawk with terror and dive into the clouds beneath me.
Maybe I should’ve scooped them all into my gullet.
A snack is never a bad idea, even when my mind and heart are plagued by the past. And not just the past, the mortal that’s turned everything on its head.
She doesn’t fear me. She desires me even though she denies it. Even now, the heady scent of her arousal hums around my brain like a swarm of bees. Sweet honey and promises of a delicious sting. Tonight, I’ll claim her. Tonight, I’ll finally know if I’m worthy.
I hum against the wind and catch a current, the feel of it almost like music drifting through my talons.
Floating higher, I also sense the distant inflow of winds to the storm over the Crimson Keep.
Lightning breaks through the gloomy clouds like a stone skipping across water.
The faint sizzle of it hits my nostrils, and I inhale.
The Forest of Ruin spreads out beneath me, the dark trees flitting in and out of view through the clouds.
Snow dusts the higher peaks, the trees wearing the white like a shroud.
I should fly lower and search for any sign of Sela or her warriors.
Instead, I loop around and head north. This path is one I’m loathe to fly, but also one I find myself flying far more than necessary as of late.
Ever since the Bargain. Ever since I brought my mortal to the DragonKeep.
More lightning, the deep roll of thunder tickling along my eardrums. Swooping lower, I get a glimpse of what drew me here, what I fear will draw me here forever.
The DragonLands. Forbidden for any DragonKin to enter, forever closed to us because of the evil wrought by the DragonKin amongst ourselves.
Another streak of lightning, this one breaking off into a dozen spidery strands across the sky.
I wonder if the silvery light reaches all the way to the Palace of the Sky, brightening the tombs of my ancestors or the bones of my family still lying under the foreboding firmament.
The curse is eternal. The lands forbidden. My heart sinks as I approach, the familiar, invisible push emanating from the DragonLands borders and forcing me away.
My only hope is Larellin. She could break the curse. My curse. I roar at the futility of approaching my homeland, at how inevitable it is that I must turn my back on it again and again.
But I remind myself I deserve this. After all, I brought the curse down on all DragonKin. My cowardice. My failure.
I bank away and flap my great wings hard, lifting into the clouds again and aiming for the Usurper’s Aerie.
If Sela and her warriors have returned to their lair, at least I’ll know Larellin is safe for now.
It’s the only comfort available to me, the sliver of hope for my mortal’s survival despite the lethal nature of Oblivion.