Chapter 44
Roksana
The morning sky was clear and crisp. A gentle wind ruffled the fur of my hood when Cinared glided through the chill air.
Truso looked so peaceful down below. The powerful river churned the ice determined to form on its surface, heading south into our enemy’s lands.
The steep, snow-covered roofs glittered in the sunlight.
Down below, the citizens of Dagome rushed around, conducting their business, blissfully unaware of the death of my father, of my friend’s capture, and the looming threats that simmered below the surface, waiting to destroy their peaceful existence.
‘I’m guarding people who don’t even know there’s a problem,’ I whispered, but it was loud enough for the dragon to hear me.
‘They are aware, Sanika, but humans like to blind themselves to the truth. It is a vain hope, pretending that if you close your eyes long enough, the problem will disappear.’ Cinared’s voice wrapped around me like a warm blanket.
‘Are you telling me I’ve been walking through life with my eyes closed?
’ I asked, wishing I were his bonded rider with the thought-speech ability, but dragons didn’t have female riders.
Well, apart from one notable exception. Reynard’s sister-in-law was a conduit mage and a living legend, not a poisoner who timidly begged for permission to hop on his back.
Cinared snorted. ‘Timidly… Everyone turns away when the burden is too great, but you? You, my Sanika, earned a dragon’s respect,’ he answered grumpily before turning once more, aiming towards the steep riverbank. ‘Are you ready?’
‘Will I ever be?’
It had been three days since my father’s passing.
Today was his funeral. The Brotherhood initially opposed my plans for a burial on the riverbank, voting to lay Boyan in the crypt under the Chapter House.
Still, I was his daughter, and my word was final.
Boyan’s love for Dobra had been obsessive, tragic, and breathtakingly beautiful, so I did my best to fulfil his last wish.
To bring him closer to her. Somewhere her spirit could find him.
‘I wish Rey were here,’ I said as we descended.
‘He wanted to be. Why did you refuse him?’ Cin turned his head to look at me. I shielded my face from the water launched into the air by the snap of his wings.
‘Because he’s the king, and kings can’t be seen mourning a criminal, no matter how respected the deceased was.
’ I sighed, recalling the heated discussion we’d had last night in the bedroom.
‘I won’t let my pain cause him trouble. I couldn’t save my father, or protect Lily, but Rey, Irsha, and Tova are still with me, and I won’t let anything happen to them. Anything.’
My voice came out harsh, almost accusatory, but those words, this conviction, had pushed me out of bed after my father’s death.
There would be a time to wallow in grief and self-pity, but right now, I had a friend to find and a kingdom to guard.
Only when they were safe would I let myself fall apart.
‘Brace yourself; we might slide a little.’ Cinared’s warning tightened my grip on his crest, and I leaned forward, using the protruding spike as my anchor.
The forest ended well before the riverbank, leaving a slightly raised floodplain.
In summer, it was a meadow full of grass and wildflowers.
In winter, it was an expanse of snow that stretched from the forest to the river.
Now, the pristine blanket was marred by the mud churned up by countless feet and wagon wheels.
After we landed, I slid down the dragon’s wing straight into the arms of the waiting Irsha.
I hadn’t talked to him properly since the night he plunged a dagger into my father’s heart.
I hadn’t been in any state to speak to him, and when I’d returned the next day, Irsha had been too busy dealing with Brotherhood business to do more than briefly discuss the funeral.
Today, his arms locked around me with fierce strength, his entire body trembling as he swallowed hard. I laid my head on his chest and wrapped my arms around his massive torso, just holding him for a moment.
‘Thank you, Blade. For being strong when I was selfish; for ending his suffering the way he wanted,’ I whispered.
Irsha sagged, and we ended up sitting in the snow. His head dropped onto my shoulder, and his body shook in my arms, his steel core suddenly melting. Here, in the shadow of the winter forest, Irsha cried, for the first and probably last time.
Boyan was my father, but he was more than that to him. He was Irsha’s mentor, his inspiration, the man he modelled himself on. So I held him, letting my Blade mourn his chosen father in the safety of my embrace.
‘He trusted you with his death, and that is the greatest prize we can aspire to. He was so proud of you. You were his son in everything but blood, and I’m so happy you accepted his legacy, I really am,’ I whispered, stroking his black hair while the dragon shielded us from any onlookers.
‘I thought you hated me.’ Irsha raised his head to look into my eyes. ‘Thought I’d lost you.’
I smacked his shoulder, causing him to smile, even though the sadness never left his eyes.
‘And I thought you were smarter than that, but I guess you’re still an idiot.
I love you. You were my brother when I had nothing, and you will be my brother when I have everything.
So cut it out, or I swear to the gods I’ll poison your ale with something nasty enough to make you regret doubting me. ’
My speech had the desired effect. His arms briefly tightened around my shoulders once more before he stood up and helped me to my feet.
‘No poisons – my life is complicated enough already – but I’ll tell you this: once we send off your father and find Lily, I’ll be giving you away during the handfasting ceremony. ’
I scoffed, placing my hand on his flushed cheek.
‘First, no one is giving me away; second, you can fight with Tova for the privilege of standing beside me as my witness.’ The massive assassin stood patiently as I used my magic to soothe his red-rimmed eyes, erasing the traces of his soft heart.
‘Come, Grand Master. It is time to say goodbye,’ I said once I’d finished my ministrations, and all emotion disappeared from Irsha’s face, replaced by a mask of icy indifference.
‘Yes, it’s time.’
The dragon moved away, nudging me gently when I passed.
As we approached the large gathering, my own mask fell into place.
Every master, apprentice, and servant had gathered on this isolated field to grant my father the honour of a last goodbye.
For once, the chapters intermingled, the lines that separated them meaningless in this moment, everyone dressed in formal attire around the pyre.
Even the Observers, usually the most unruly of us, were on their best behaviour.
Irsha’s commanding presence silenced their chatter.
At his signal, Veles’ priest started the ceremony, but I wasn’t listening to his prayers or the Brotherhood’s eulogy.
My eyes were fixed on the funeral pyre, on the body covered in its thick shroud.
Then, a rustling to the side drew my attention back to the ceremony and the priest walking forward with a torch.
Irsha frowned when I stepped forward, stopping him.
It felt wrong. A simple torch failed to embody Boyan’s strength, ruthlessness, and kindness.
If he were a dragon rider, his dragon would light the pyre…
The thought expressed the need, and my magic answered.
An emerald glow surrounded me, and Irsha smiled, gesturing to the priest and his torch.
My father’s last goodbye would not be the rigid formality of tradition, but the song of the Vila he loved so much.
I approached the pyre, voice rising with the words of my mother’s lullaby.
My hands wove the fire sigil while my voice, initially timid, strengthened, guided by my magic’s touch.
Flames blossomed on the pyre. Nymphs of emerald fire dancing a ballet of two star-crossed lovers filled the air with yearning, his love for her and for me.
I didn’t finish there; only the melody changed.
I sang about his devotion to those taken under his wing, the strength that sheltered us.
With each word, the flames leapt higher, fed by my tears until their ethereal glow turned blinding.
The ground trembled and fresh grass burst from the snow, with snowdrops and crocuses bowing to the man on the pyre.
‘Sana?’ Irsha turned to me, tense and ready to act if needed.
I shook my head, letting the tears fall as flames fed on the wood and flesh until nothing but ash remained.
It was the perfect setting for his last request. Before the pyre had been built, I planted an acorn in the ground.
The heat woke it, and my magic protected it.
I coaxed the tiny kernel to grow, accelerating its development with my aether and nutrients from the pyre.
My father would live, his spirit tethered to the tree, forever united with his Lady of the Forest.
Murmurs of fear broke out, but Irsha controlled the crowd. The voices faded when a sapling sprang from the ground, its trunk thickening, the branches spreading over our heads, covering the sky with a canopy of majestic oak leaves.
‘You should have told me,’ Irsha whispered, catching my elbow when I faltered.
My power was fading, leaving me weak and shaken, but I’d never been prouder.
Blood trickled from my nose. When I lifted my hand to wipe it away, I squinted at the sun’s position, realising several hours had passed since we’d started the ritual.
The entire Brotherhood still stood there, watching me when I moved forward and touched the trunk’s rough bark. ‘Welcome back, Father,’ I whispered, pressing my lips to the wood. ‘I hope you find her.’