Chapter 9 #2
“When your Flight came back without you and Ren, it was mayhem. Teams were going out weekly to search, but we couldn’t find so much as a whisper of anything.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to all of it than we thought, so I pressed Elias and Daria about the intel that sent you and your Flight to Enoit.
“Maybe I pressed too hard, or maybe it was inevitable given the circumstances, but that’s where things started to shift.
They were understandably hurt by the insinuation that they set you and your Flight up.
From there, it just got worse. People took sides, the situation propagated suspicion and distrust, and whoever’s really to blame for what happened now has a perfect place to hide amongst the mess. ”
Her words seep into me. They make lazy laps around my worries and bump into my unease.
I knew uncovering the colluder in our camp would take its toll, but I hoped the wreckage wouldn’t destroy everything we’ve built.
Surviving has always cemented us together, and now, I worry, that same innate drive will tear us apart.
“I’ve been careful with parceling out information, but we’re not a big group and everyone knows something is up, especially after your Flight was attacked a second time. How about you, any leads?”
“No,” I admit dejectedly. “I’ve racked my brain, but I can’t come up with one credible option. I can’t even figure out what their endgame would be. Nothing makes sense, just like with the rebellion and all the players involved. We’re missing too many things to make out the big picture.”
We both grow introspective as we walk.
“We need to press the brokers,” Enslee declares. “They’re the key.”
“It’s worth a shot,” I agree. “But if we’re going that route, we need to keep it locked down between us. No one else can know.”
Enslee scoffs. “That’s easier said than done.”
“But not impossible,” I counter.
The echoey cadence of our conversation suddenly drops away like it just fell off a cliff.
The tunnel walls disappear and we step out into a massive dark cavern.
Enslee wanders off to the side, and I hear the distinct sound of a lighter before a loud whoosh fills the air.
One by one, a series of pyres ignite around the immense structure, revealing a high, domed ceiling, stacked rows of seats, and a large, flat stretch of smooth pebbles down below.
Each of the three towering dunes surrounding Syphon Central hides a long-forgotten, and now buried, history.
One was a hotel that half collapsed about thirty years ago.
The other was some kind of parking structure that eventually filled with sand, and the third dune hid this?. .?. some kind of sports venue.
I force myself to breathe through the apprehension and exhilaration that starts to build.
“Have you thought about what you might look like?” Enslee asks as she walks back and stands next to me.
I realize I haven’t. It felt too much like hoping, and I try to do that as little as possible these days.
“I’ll probably be some kind of gray or gray-purple like the other Syphons,” I finally answer and then start down the stairs before I can psych myself out any more than I already am.
Enslee stays where she is for safety. Something we agreed on before I let her come with me. I have no idea how big I’ll be, or how clumsy. She can use the tunnel for safety, worst-case scenario.
“Maybe gray,” she calls after me. “But don’t forget, Mom’s dragon was ivory. You could lean in that direction too.”
I don’t let my thoughts go there. I already feel too vulnerable and anxious.
I’m not unburying any more memories today; I’m trying to heal, not torture myself.
Instead, I keep my focus on not tripping down the crumbling stairs, all while considering that I’m about to tear my body apart and reveal a creature that could weigh anywhere from sixteen to a hundred thousand tons.
“Nervous?” Ens yells when I’m halfway down. The echo makes the question prance around me like some schoolyard taunt.
“Nope,” I cheep and then clear my throat. “Not even a little.”
Enslee laughs, knowing I’m full of shit. “You deserve this, Ever. More than anyone. I love you and I can’t wait to see you fly.”
Fly.
The word itself almost grows wings and starts to soar through the kaleidoscope of butterflies rampaging in my stomach right now.
I let myself think of all the years I’ve dreamed of doing just that.
I recall every single time I’ve reached for my dragon, only to slam into an unbreachable wall.
The anguish, the frustration, the half-life I’ve lived—piece by piece, it all falls away, because now?. .?. everything is about to change.
My heart no longer feels like it’s producing separate beats; instead, it’s a percussive riot that could burst out of my chest at any moment.
A ringing begins in my ears, and my fingers start to tingle like they’re falling asleep.
I stretch my neck from side to side and shake out my arms to loosen them up.
When I get to the middle of the field, I stop.
For a moment, I debate if I should remove the spelled anklet that’s hiding my scars.
Enslee is far enough away that she shouldn’t really see anything, but I don’t want to risk it.
She’d lose her shit, and I don’t want anything to derail my first reveal.
If the charmed anklet breaks, it breaks; I’ll just have to deal with the fallout after.
“You can do this,” I murmur to myself, and then I close my eyes and finally embrace the magic surging through my veins.
Mentally, I open the unused channels between my power and the dragon that’s been caged since I can remember. I tell myself to go slow, to ease into the connection, but as soon as the two touch, a spark ignites in my chest. Seconds later, that spark is an all-consuming inferno.
My dragon roars its rage, its torment, its triumph, and when I open my mouth, it all comes thundering out of me.
The force of it throws my head back and bows my spine.
Magic burns through every neuron, deciphering each solitary cell until they all sing the song of both dragon and drake.
My insides stretch to capacity, shifting and making room for what I was always meant to be.
My bones melt and re-form, my muscles shred and then strengthen. Joints pop and shatter, only to reshape and harden. I’m both made and unmade, and it’s terrifying and breathtaking in equal measure.
Scales ripple across my skin, but before they can fully form and harden, pain overtakes everything.
Sharp and searing, anguish gnaws through me, and a ferocious pressure threatens to shred me from the inside out.
My magic flickers like it’s running out of battery, and suddenly all I know is white-hot agony.
My dragon’s roar morphs into an excruciating wail, made all the more terrible because it’s coming from both of us.
I try to wrestle control of whatever is happening, but I’m already too far gone.
Something molten drips from my eyes and nose.
Then I feel it spilling out of my ears, all while my scream makes ribbons of my vocal cords.
Something explodes out of me, a familiar sensation I recall from the Fae Gate, and then everything all at once?. .?. stops.
The small pyres around the room go out, and I’m doused in an impenetrable blackness that feels like it exists both inside and all around me. I collapse into a heap in the middle of the field of pebbles. My senses are burned to a crisp, my thoughts scorched beyond comprehension.
“Ever!” Enslee screams, and she sounds far away even though somehow she’s in front of me. “You’re okay?.?.?. you’re okay!” she chants, but whether it’s for her or me, I can’t say.
“Did I fly?” I rasp, surrendering to the heavy weight of my eyelids.
“Fuck, you’re bleeding,” Enslee whimpers, and I think she starts wiping at my face and neck with something. “What happened?” she exclaims. “I could see the outline of your dragon. It was so beautiful, and then it was just gone.”
I groan and immediately regret the effort, but something odd is happening. A tingling wave washes through me, and it instantly cools my sautéed insides. Enslee chitters reassurance at me, but my consciousness is solely focused on the sensation of being stitched back together from the inside out.
I’m healing.
That surprising realization is accompanied by a peculiar awareness. I’m here in the pitch-black arena, and yet I’m also lying in a dark room, my breaths even and slow, as my consciousness floats listlessly between here and somewhere else.
Suddenly a figure forms out of a thousand tiny red dots, and a large hand reaches up and brushes its fingers across the apparition’s face. My face, I recognize when I feel a distinct caress across my cheek. Confusion muddies my thoughts. How am I here but also there, a place I don’t even recognize?
Another gentle touch cups my cheek, and I find myself leaning into it, craving the comfort radiating from the contact.
A deep, satisfied growl rumbles both in and around me, and instantly, I know what’s happening.
Panic drowns my momentary contentment, because I know that growl, just like I know that hand.
Aeson , I hiss in alarm, and then I let go of the connection I’ve unknowingly opened and panic-stricken shut it the fuck down.