Chapter 25
It had taken a few days to find the right moment, but with the women’s cabin finally free, Aeliana wasted no time lying down on the bed and closing her eyes.
She set aside all of Sylmar’s attempts to train her in noetic magic, instead focusing on the thread of connection formed by her brand on Durriken.
If this worked, and if their theories about her noetic magic being stolen from Durriken were right, she wouldn’t need to work on her noetic skills anymore, because they wouldn’t exist.
As always, it felt invasive and wrong, but this time the thread connecting them seemed thicker than before, and once she recognized the path toward Durriken’s presence, it was like he was there with her—or really, she was with him.
He sat in the same clearing where she’d last left him, only now the little boy held a squirming baby girl.
Her smiles lit up her face as her pudgy hands reached for Durriken’s snout.
It was a strange sensation for Aeliana to feel the girl rubbing his nose as if it were her own, like a tickle that made her want to sneeze.
The dragon held unnaturally still as if knowing sudden movements might frighten the baby, and he barely breathed, likely concerned the warmth of his breath might be too hot for her tender skin.
“Adella? Ahndru?” The older male’s voice carrying through the trees caused Durriken to stiffen. His body drew inward as if he could slink away and hide from whoever approached, but Aeliana couldn’t sense if it was fear or something else making him cower.
When the stranger reached the clearing, his jaw dropped and his face paled. He crouched and waved the children toward him, his eyes never leaving Durriken’s. “Quickly, come to me.”
Even though it was clear the man had far more fear than Durriken, the dragon took slow steps backward, his tail bumping into the trunks behind him. Aeliana sensed his desire to leap into the air, but something held him back.
I might kill them. The thought rumbled through her as if in answer to her question. The brush of the air from my flight could knock the wee ones to their deaths.
“Grandpa, you have to meet him,” the little boy said.
“Come to me now,” the old man demanded, his voice shifting to a panicked plead.
“But he’s our friend. He’s nice,” Ahndru insisted. “He won’t hurt you.”
“Are you so sure?” The old man’s voice shook, but this time from rage. “This dragon killed your mother and father.”
The words were like an arrow to Durriken’s heart, and Aeliana felt the pierce of their point along with him.
The boy’s face crumpled. “No. He wouldn’t do that.” He turned back to Durriken.
The dragon merely lowered his snout to the ground like a dog who’d been shamed by his disobedience.
“Did you?” the boy whispered. He was too old not to catch the meaning behind Durriken’s actions, but too young to fully understand. Tears filled his eyes, and he pulled the baby away, back toward their grandfather.
I’m sorry. The words reverberated in Aeliana’s mind again, the boy unaware of the dragon’s apology.
Aeliana stayed silent with Durriken long after the people left the clearing, unsure how to help him. But a strange warmth invaded the brand binding them, as if this time he was grateful for her presence as he curled up in a ball.
I’ve come to set you free. Letting the words cross their connection felt easier this time, and she felt confident they reached him even before she sensed his curiosity.
I knew the brand connected our thoughts in some way, but I thought you were giving me memories with your magic.
I didn’t know I was taking both your memories and your magic.
A grumble passed through their shared space. I never let you see anything I don’t want you to. And any magic stolen from me has been too little to be missed. Unlike Mayvus, you’ve never forced me. Was he… grateful?
Either way, I want to set you free. There are some things you should know first, but I promise I will remove your brand today. I don’t want to risk using you in ways I shouldn’t, in using the brand in ways I shouldn’t.
Durriken uncurled to lift his paw, holding it before his face to give her a view of the brand mark on it.
Without his other paw available to balance, he was forced to sit back on his haunches.
Even so, he managed to lift a hind leg and bring a claw to the edge of the bond mark.
I could have cut it out at any time. Mayvus would have stopped me from cutting out hers, but not you.
Aeliana hesitated, her update on Mayvus on the tip of her tongue and at the edge of her mind. But his admission left her curious. Why hadn’t he removed it? She shook away the distraction.
Mayvus is alive. The thought came out in a rush as she tried to move on from what his words implied.
The tension in Durriken’s muscles left Aeliana’s own body trembling in a way that made her too aware of the fact that her body was back on a ship.
It made it difficult to maintain a constant connection through the thread of the brand.
How?
We’re not entirely sure. The admission burned.
We’re trying to figure it out, but... either way, we suspect that she’s crossed the barrier to Ahmranas using a starbridge.
She’s out of our reach. Sylmar wants me to ask you to watch the fortress, maybe intervene on our behalf.
I’m not willing to force you to do anything.
This is our battle, not yours. So I want to release you.
The quiet that settled between them was comfortable, punctuated only by the twitter of birds in the forest, who somehow seemed unconcerned about Durriken’s presence.
And what if I wish to make it my cause? She is my enemy as much as she is yours.
His answer left Aeliana stunned into silence. At most she’d expected him to want the brand as a protection like Sylmar had suggested. But it almost sounded like he wanted to be allies.
His words slowed as he sent his thoughts her way.
A connection like this isn’t all bad. My ancestors tethered themselves to half-lights.
Maybe not with a brand, but it was still a voluntary submission of vulnerability.
A willingness to work together that was blessed and sealed by the Stars.
I’m willing to accept this form of connection for now if it allows us to communicate.
Her presence in Durriken’s mind flickered as her gratitude swelled.
She wanted to shout with joy or throw her arms around him, and the inability to do so reminded her that this wasn’t her body, that this was unnatural.
Daisies unfurled in the grass near his paws, and while he nosed at them, this time he let them grow and blossom.
She dared to voice her suspicions. It almost sounds like you trust me.
A growl emanated from his lips. I have no reason to trust people. But perhaps I trust you above the others. Enough to sacrifice some of my freedom and preferred solitude for an advantage over an enemy.
His attempt to salvage his pride wasn’t lost on her, but rather than call him out, she gave him an even better reason for his offer.
There’s also the possibility she has more of your blood somewhere.
Since I branded you on Summer Solstice, her brand wouldn’t be as strong as mine.
If she tries again, I could help you fight it.
A shudder ran through him. Another excellent point.
So you’ll watch for her return?
He yawned and smacked his lips. I won’t go back to the fortress again unless I can destroy it.
No. Aeliana said the word perhaps too quickly, and she sensed his interest pique. My parents are still there, along with Orra and many of the soldiers who aim to protect them. You would do more harm than good to destroy it.
His sigh was almost comical, but it gave Aeliana confidence he wouldn’t attack them. I will let you know if I hear anything from afar, then. And for now, we remain tethered, little one.
There was that word again. Tethered?
It’s what they called the connection with your kind. Not through something as barbaric as a brand. But this will do for now. He curled up in a ball on the forest floor, tucking his snout under his tail. She sensed his grief over the boy’s sorrow returning. Now I wish to be alone.
Even though it was a clear dismissal, something warm rushed through her with his acceptance of their connection, something that made the string connecting them feel thicker, sturdier. It also made her concern for him grow.
Will they come after you for revenge?
He didn’t answer right away, and she wondered if he would. But then he sighed in disappointment. They can’t hurt me.
As she released the string binding them, she sensed that he almost wished they could.
The sway of the ship left her dizzy after having briefly returned to solid ground. She stood, holding on to the furniture to make her way out of the cabin and back on deck.
“Are you all right?” Velden asked. He lazily sprayed the deck with water so one of the sailors could swab it.
“I’m not sure,” she said.
He eyed her more closely. “What happened? Should I get Sylmar or Lukai?”
“Durriken just—he requested to remain branded to me. He said it’s as if we’re tethered.”
Velden’s jaw went slack. “Tethered? Dragons haven’t been tethered to people since before the Great Divide.”
She shrugged. “That’s what he said.”
“If he used that term, he meant it. And it’s an honor you should not take lightly.”
“I won’t.” She stood a little straighter, almost offended. “I just—I don’t really understand it. I never expected him to see us as allies.”
She held up her hands, studying the scars on her palms, tracing the dark, bubbled brand mark on her right palm before placing her thumb over the small, tear-shaped mark on her left, hiding it from her view.
“It’s funny how his acceptance of it seems to change it,” she mused. “Perhaps when a brand is wanted, it gives that connection more power.”