Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
ELARIYA
There was nothing around me.
Not even sound.
It reminded me of the first time I’d passed through the Void.
My eyes were still closed, but I was fairly certain the room had shifted again.
There was no ground beneath my feet. And I could no longer feel the Nyethera.
The only sure things were the steady pull of my bond to Wolfe and the currents of time. They no longer flowed around me. They flowed through me, alive in my chest, no different from my heart or my lungs.
Then, somewhere beyond the darkness, Viktor's voice reached me, calm and impossibly distant. “Very good. You are doing well.”
The currents shifted at the sound of his voice, stirring.
“Kallen, adai, kallen myen,” Viktor chanted.
Moments later, a power surge rushed through me. I gasped. It felt like I was falling.
“Stay right there. I got you, Ziyka,” Wolfe spoke to my mind.
Despite the sensation, I stood my ground.
“Kallen, adai, kallen myen.” Viktor’s voice grew louder, then the words he spoke changed into something I couldn’t quite pick apart.
The power flowing through me felt like it was forcing its way through my veins, competing with my blood for space.
Higher, higher, higher it rose through me, lifting me up. I didn’t know what I expected to happen after that, but then the feeling just stopped.
Silence again.
“Now... open your eyes,” Viktor said, his voice steady.
I did. Slowly. And wonder stole the breath from my lungs.
I stood within a boundless river of light. It flowed in every direction around me, not with water but with countless shimmering gold and silver threads that twisted and intertwined. It was like being in the Cave of Echoes, back when Magdalena first taught me how to awaken the threads.
These were awake and alive. Together, they moved, carrying moments, memories, and possibilities through an eternal stream that had neither beginning nor end.
I turned around. My ring of magic had disappeared. Or rather...
It had become one with the river itself. Yes. I could sense that now.
It was a part of it. It flowed with the other currents as though they had always belonged to one another.
Where was I?
“You are exactly where I hoped you would be,” Viktor answered.
All this time, he’d been quelling my fears; he could read my thoughts.
He materialized paces ahead, untouched by the rushing currents. The threads flowed around him, parting as he walked through then weaving together again behind his back.
He regarded me, pleased. “Welcome,” he said softly, “to the River of Time.”
“The River of Time. Where are we?”
“Not where. When. These are threads from every era that has ever existed. All threads connect to this place. No matter where they are in the world. Or when they took place. To truly align, you must become part of the river, too. Allow it to flow through you.”
“How do I do that?”
“Touch it. That is all. I have prepared you to receive the power. Touch it and embrace your power.”
I reached out. The moment my fingertips brushed the nearest thread, the river answered.
Light surged through my hand and raced up my arm with breathtaking speed, then the current welcomed me as though it had been waiting for me.
The threads around me brightened one after another, rippling into the distance like waves.
At that moment, power flooded every part of me.
The fractures Viktor spoke of…
I hadn’t felt them before, but now I could, and they were disappearing, knitting together. Whole.
The wild current flowed through me. And I with it.
I was part of it.
All of it. Past, present, future, possibility. It all belonged to me.
Viktor walked up to me, his grin widening.
He clasped his hands over mine, and I could feel the Nyethera again. I saw it for one moment before he took it from me and the River of Time faded.
A few breaths later, we were back, the room taking shape. And Wolfe was right beside me.
I beamed when I saw him.
“Are you okay?” he asked, cupping my face, inspecting me for anything that could be wrong.
I smiled wider. “I’m more than okay.”
“Did it work?” Wolfe looked from me to Viktor.
“Why don’t we find out?” Viktor said and cocked his head. “Elariya, why don’t you try and sense your dragon? Search for magic that feels like yours then speak to him as you do with the others. I believe you already know what he looks like.”
My pulse hammered. The idea of actually connecting with my dragon was…
Indescribable.
I drew in a breath and spread my awareness. Searching for that similarity that had connected me before.
And I felt it. The connection was wild and strong. Like a bond.
You are mine, I whispered through my mind.
The dragon roared, answering my call.
I placed a hand to my heart and my knees almost gave. I nodded at Wolfe, tears burning my eyes.
“It worked. He answered,” I blurted.
“You are now aligned,” Viktor said. “You have access to a wealth of power. You just have to tap into it.”
“This is amazing. I can’t thank you enough.”
“Nor I,” Wolfe said, his voice rough.
“You still need to go to Hyxian for lessons with my daughter. You have the power. But the journey to becoming who you’re supposed to be is just as important.”
His wise words settled deep in my chest. “I will absolutely continue my lessons.”
“She is a good teacher. You will learn much from her.” Viktor nodded.
“I know.”
“Now we just have to form the bond.”
“Will that be easier now?”
“Much. While making a dragon bond requires the usual rites, I have found other measures.”
“What are they?” Wolfe narrowed his eyes.
“All temporal creatures love metal.”
I widened my eyes. “Metal?”
“Yes. Preferably steel. To this day, I have absolutely no idea why.”
“That’s very interesting.” Wolfe chuckled.
“Indeed. For a dragon like yours, I suspect he’d need his bonded to have a sword made from Rysarian steel. I have just the thing.”
Wolfe and I stared, deeply fascinated as Viktor wiggled his fingers and a sword appeared in his hand.
But not just any sword.
My sword.
Yuilandria.
“I believe you are familiar with this.” Viktor held it out to me.
My heart leapt as I took it, then I gazed back at him, stunned. “How is this possible? I got this from you?” In the future—as in now.
“You did.”
“I received that sword from a knight who gifted it to me in her final moments.”
A female knight. I’d never heard of that. How commendable. “What was her name?”
“You already know it.”
I smiled. “Yuilandria.”
“Yes.”
I could definitely understand why I would name my sword after her.
I glanced back at Wolfe, then Viktor.
“I think you know what happens next.” He looked over the sword.
“I imbue it with magic.”
“Go on, then. Do it.”
It was an enchantment spell. I learned several at Hyxian. I just needed to pick one.
“Lumiara perien,” I said, thinking of the magic I wanted to pour into the sword. And it was done.
I looked back at Viktor, still intrigued and confused. “Did you see this happening? This moment?” If he did, I wondered why he’d imprisoned us.
“Only when we danced. But nothing is ever straightforward or streamlined when you’re trying to see the future.
That’s because of choice. At any moment, you could have chosen not to do something I told you.
Then the paths would have rewritten themselves.
It was your desire that made it more certain. ”
“My goodness. This… is a lot to take in.”
“Of course. Ready to see your dragon?”
“I can’t wait.”
“Wonderful. Go ahead and portal us to him.”
My lips parted and my cheeks flushed. I’d been doing so well. Now I had to spoil it by telling him I was terrible with portaling and I hadn’t even managed to portal myself anywhere properly, let alone other people.
“I’m not so great with that,” I said, finding kinder words. “Portaling and phasing aren’t my best abilities yet.”
“That is different now. Go on, just think of where you want to be. Your dragon answered. Just go to him.”
I commended his faith again and realized I had to stop second-guessing myself.
I nodded, pulled in a deep breath, and flicked the air the way I’d seen the others do it. When a ripple appeared, I smiled. So far, so good.
I waved my hand, and the ripple widened to a space we could walk through. I stepped in first and felt the Void. Wolfe followed, then Viktor.
The muted gray of the Void surrounded us, then I thought of where, or rather when, I wanted to go. My dragon was on a time plane within the caves at Vyrenth Hollow.
No sooner had I thought about it than we began to move.
Solid ground returned, then a vast cavern stretched before us.
Blessed Mother. I did it. I portaled. Finally.
I couldn’t resist the smile that touched my lips. Wolfe smiled, too.
Streaks of time threads drifted through the air, parting for us. Then a steady presence pulsed deeper within the cave.
“This way,” I said to Wolfe and Viktor.
I led the way, and when we walked beneath an arch, a deep roar suddenly thundered through the cavern.
More threads parted, revealing a colossal dragon with gray and white scales. Silver veins lined the ridges of its wings and its eyes were just as pale as when I’d seen them before.
He stopped the moment his eyes found mine, and neither of us moved.
Then he spotted my sword and lowered his massive head.
Bowing.
“The bond has already formed,” Viktor said quietly.
I walked toward my dragon. He remained perfectly still, watching me. I reached out with a trembling hand, and the instant my fingers touched his scales, a pulse of gold and blue erupted between us.
The currents rippled as they answered, connecting us, and I knew he could feel me the same way I could feel him.
At last...
I'd found my dragon.
“Welcome, Daughter of the Hourglass,” the dragon spoke to my mind, his head still bowed. “I am Laureth, Wielder of Time. I am at your service.”
Gods be good. “Thank you, Laureth. I waited my whole life to find you.”
“And I you, my Lady.”
I turned back to Wolfe and Viktor, excited. I was about to say something when a burst of Nyzith strands flew in from behind them.
They circled through the air, spreading until they covered all of us.