Chapter 27
Reynard
Iemerged from the dwarven mines only to be blinded by the light of the setting sun. I needed a moment to gather my thoughts, to settle the maelstrom of emotion roiling in my chest.
I’d watched M?ot’s body be ripped to pieces by his own people.
I’d sat back and let it happen, but he’d deserved it.
The familiar feelings demanded my attention: guilt for surviving, elation at winning against the odds, anger at the deaths of my soldiers and innocents.
It was a mess, but over the years, you learned to face each one and accept them.
‘At least this matter can be put to rest,’ I muttered, focusing my mind on the future.
That lasted all of three steps when a roar shook the mountain, deafening me, and a crimson shadow blotted out the sun.
‘Reynard!’
Once the ringing in my ears abated, I recognised the voice in my head repeating its call.
The beast was magnificent. His scales gleamed in the twilight, cinnabar struck through by veins of pure gold.
His wings extended high above my head until he folded them, tucking the vast membranes to his sides.
I couldn’t stop staring at his eyes, mesmerising, beautiful orbs that contained the fire of the gods.
He stared back, golden irises expanding, radiating such fury that I took a step back, unsure of my safety.
The massive muzzle hovered in front of me, lips rising, uncovering a row of sharp teeth and the furnace behind them.
‘Are you trying to end your miserable life, King of Dagome? Is it your intention to break the tether connecting us? If you crave fire so much, then let me give it to you.’ His muzzle opened, and burning saliva dripped onto the cobbled street.
‘Stand down!’ I shouted as the sound of dozens of swords leaving their scabbards echoed off the mountainside.
I stepped closer to the dragon. Cinared was bigger than Vahin, and my brother’s companion was the largest dragon I’d ever seen.
He was also the angriest, and I’d witnessed Vahin threaten the Dark Fae Empress.
Still, beneath the menacing tone, there was an undercurrent of fear, worry, and… affection?
Images assaulted my mind. Countless visions of my body buried under the srebrec and rock, Cinared frantically trying to dig me out. He couldn’t stand it. Not so soon after finding me, of being needed, of no longer being alone in the vastness of the heavens.
This connection, this bond… Our souls, each separate and whole, had become something more, something… Words failed me. This feeling was indescribable and somehow more right than anything I’d ever experienced. The flash of hazel eyes in my mind made me smile… Almost anything.
Cinared, the master of fire and sky, no longer wished to fly alone.
The urge to touch him was overwhelming. His vertical pupils widened, focusing on my hand as I reached out, seeking a physical connection.
Slowly, the fire in his throat died, and the giant head lowered hesitantly.
My palm touched crystalline scales so hot that the air was a shimmering mirage above them.
The crest on the dragon’s neck raised, rattling in warning, then fell, and raised again, as if Cinared didn’t know how to react. Neither did I.
The world faded away as my soul fell into the depths of our connection, spiralling out of control until my senses expanded, and I sucked in a breath, Cinared’s strength settling in my bones, his fierce spirit in my heart.
‘Mine,’ his voice boomed out, shaking the mountainside, and my mind fused with the dragon’s. This feeling, this ethereal elation, became a part of my being.
Fuck, it felt good.
I became the fire, the wrath of the eldritch… But power mattered little, eclipsed by the sensation of belonging. Even more, the Wild Magic quietened. The uncontrollable berserker raging in my veins was finally settled and satisfied.
The dragon’s power slid over my skin, so similar to Sana’s magic yet so different. My breath escaped in shuddering gasps as I glided my palm over the scales until it reached the ridged eyebrow.
‘Cinared,’ I whispered, closing my eyes as tears tracked down my cheeks.
His name was power; it was existence. Cinared and his brethren had created this world, had flown these skies before the gods were born. And now, he was bound to me.
My dragon.
‘No, Reynard,’ came his voice, deep and calm, as if my touch erased all the anger.
‘You are mistaken. It is you who is bound to me. I will not allow you to die. I would sooner burn this world to ash than lose my bond.’ The dragon whipped his tail forward and dragged me against his cheek.
‘My power will protect you from fire, but not make you immortal, a detail you seem to have forgotten.’
I laughed at his scolding. ‘A calculated risk is not forgetfulness. I may be a puny human, but I will face danger whenever it rears its ugly head.’
Cinared’s tumultuous thoughts settled into a hard resolve.
‘Not anymore.’ His forked tongue slipped out, touching my cheek.
I can’t stay here long, he said, switching to thought-speech, his tail uncoiling to release me.
The srebrec is uncomfortable, and my presence is unsettling your men. Go to them while I watch from the sky.
‘What’s going on?’ Tova asked from behind. I turned, smiling when I saw him standing there, thumbs under his belt, eyeing Cinared with unbridled curiosity.
‘Nothing much,’ I answered, moving away from the dragon. Go, I can feel your pain, I told Cinared. His warmth was welcome, but the gnawing ache that grew stronger with each passing moment was not.
‘Master Orenson, I believe you have a few issues to solve.’ Cinared sniffed the air, ‘Be quick about it; there will be a storm tonight, one not of my making. Those hidden in the forest might not survive.’
‘It… talks. And it– How does it know my name?’ Tova’s mouth fell open. I nodded, cursing quietly when a gust of wind almost knocked me off my feet as Cinared leapt into the sky.
‘Yes, he does. We need to talk. Where’s the best place?’ I asked, placing a hand on the dwarf’s shoulder.
‘The healer’s quarters,’ Tova answered without hesitation. ‘It’s been empty since M?ot arrested Sana. No one else wanted to care for those poor souls.’
‘Lead the way. I hope it doesn’t collapse on our heads.’ Tova’s face fell at my casual remark, but he didn’t reply.
The morning sun was merciless, exposing the dilapidated state of this famous dwarven industrial hub. Rubbish and debris littered the streets. Unused machinery and ore were scattered like common trash.
The healer’s building was surprisingly clean.
It was also large and eerily empty, with a small antechamber open to the icy wind.
It gusted through the doorway when we walked into a large room.
It was the infirmary hall, cots and benches filling the space.
The faint, sickly sweet odour of death still filled the air despite the room having been empty for some time.
‘What can I do to help your people, Tova?’ I asked quietly, sitting on a stone bench near the entrance. ‘I don’t want to be king here, but I might not have a choice.’
Tova sat next to me, his face grim as he stared at the hand made of living wood. ‘Everything changes; the dwarves too, must change. They will accept you as the leader. Not that there are enough of us left to object.’
‘It only takes one voice for me to listen,’ I said, before adding on impulse, ‘Would you be willing to lead your people?’
‘Me? Did you forget about those bloody void cubes?’ He pursed his lips, his hand tightening into a fist. ‘I have work to do, and Sana needs me. Choose someone else. Someone better suited for the job.’
I couldn’t blame him, but I also didn’t trust anyone here.
It was time to strike a bargain. ‘I’m planning to leave Ivar here with a detachment of soldiers,’ I said cautiously, noticing his raised eyebrow.
‘Stay with them for now, help to set things right here. Not right for me, but right for your people.’
‘I told you I’m not…’ he started, but I shook my head.
‘Then give me a better option. Someone I can trust. Someone who won’t follow M?ot’s example and attack Dagome. Someone willing to rebuild.’ I could see my words hit home, and eventually, Tova nodded, although the tight set of his lips told me the decision hadn’t been easy.
‘Fine, I’ll stay. Two weeks. A month at most.’ He lowered his head as if weighing what to say next. ‘My life is in Truso now, with Sana and the mages. My work… it matters. I have so much to learn and so much to teach.’
‘A month it is,’ I said. ‘After that, your people can choose their next leader – one they’re willing to follow.’
He nodded, and I closed my eye for a moment, enjoying the silence.
‘I thought I’d be happy returning here… but Wiosna will never be the same, and Sana will never leave Truso.’ Tova’s murmur was filled with sadness and resignation.
‘Our expectations rarely survive confronting reality.’ I smiled when he frowned. ‘Come, Master Orenson, it is time to help your people embrace the change. I’ll leave you to do the talking.’
Tova cursed under his breath when I called for the soldiers, ordering them to clear the cots and gather all remaining citizens of Wiosna in the old infirmary.
Once they’d arrived, I was surprised by how many there were – dwarves from the mines, those Tova freed from the cells, and the people hiding from M?ot’s oppression in the forest filled the space.
The numbers weren’t enough to support a city this large, but it was a start.