Chapter 77
When Aeliana reached the swampy clearing she’d instructed Durriken to meet her in, she grew anxious at how empty it was.
Scanning the skies for the dragon’s large frame revealed nothing.
She closed her eyes and reached out along the string connecting them until she sensed his approach from both her place in the clearing and from his place in the sky.
The powerful beat of his wings gave her hope and confidence as he neared.
But when her presence in his mind eventually allowed her a glimpse of herself waiting in the swamp, the strangeness of it made her hold on their tether snap.
She stepped back with the force of it, and her vision cleared until she saw Durriken headed straight for her.
Surprised by her own trust, she stood firm as he landed beside her, even though the air that rushed from his wings knocked her to her backside.
It dawned on her that this was the first time they’d seen each other since that night in the Myndren Mountains.
All their experiences had been through the brand that connected them, and the magnificence of both his size and beauty left her startled.
But they didn’t have time to relish their greeting.
You’re afraid. The deep rumble that met her mind held concern and curiosity.
“Mayvus is back.”
The growl that came held a fierceness that warmed Aeliana. She and Gaeren would not be facing Mayvus alone.
“We can’t go to the witches like we planned. Not now. She’ll be coming to the palace and going after my mother. Maybe the royal family.” She thought of the strange note Felk had carried from Orra. “Maybe me.”
Those last two words made Durriken stiffen.
Aeliana’s fear and sorrow magnified as she sensed it flowing through Durriken and back again as he shared it with her.
Your mother should be safe. Mayvus won’t harm her if their life forces are connected.
A bitter laugh crawled up Aeliana’s throat but got choked out by the tears she held back. “Others will take my mother’s life if it’s a last resort to save all of Rhystahn. She’ll probably offer it to them.”
The same way you offered yours?
She flinched. “It’s different.”
Durriken’s hum held clear disagreement.
Aeliana ignored it. “I’d like you to take me to the palace. I want your help finding a way to defeat Mayvus while keeping my mother alive. But I want it to be your choice, not something you feel obligated to do because of a brand.”
Durriken sat back on his haunches and pawed at the earth beneath him with his single front paw, the mud squelching between his claws. You want to remove my brand. Do you not want to be tethered? A strange emotion emanated from him, almost like the thought caused him pain.
She hesitated. “You said your ancestors were tethered to half-lights. Can’t we remain tethered without the brand? Would it be strong enough to protect you from Mayvus trying to rebrand you?”
Durriken paused, studying where the mud hid his brand. Perhaps if Orra seals it. Then it might be strong enough.
“Orra?” Aeliana’s breath caught. “She can do that?”
It’s how it was done for my father and his father before him.
Our tether has formed, but until a Star seals it, it’s strength might not be enough to override the blood magic of a brand.
But a sealed tether is a permanent connection, severed only by death.
In many ways, it could be considered worse than a brand if it’s not something both of us desire.
The vulnerability returned to his words, making Aeliana’s throat tighten.
She let his meaning sink in, making sure her decision was not made lightly.
She hadn’t wanted her bond with Lukai, and clearly she hadn’t wanted to be branded by Mayvus or even Gaeren.
She’d constantly been looking for a way out of her brand on Durriken because it hadn’t ever felt right.
But a tether held give and take with mutual understanding.
From the moment she’d met Durriken, she’d wanted the world to be wrong about him.
He was grumpy and could be vicious, but he was also hurting—and had been for a long time.
Maybe the others were right and she had a weakness for defenseless creatures, one that might come back to hurt her down the line.
But Durriken had become far more than an animal to save.
“I would gladly bind myself to you with a tether.” A ripple of pleasure crossed the air between them, and his nose dipped to the ground in acceptance.
He lowered his entire body, offering his back for her to ride.
She hesitated, then used her dagger to split her already torn skirt, grateful she’d worn the leathers underneath.
As she climbed up behind his neck, his scales flattened instead of flaring, giving her safe passage to the leathery place that held one of his only vulnerable spots.
It made her realize that for a dragon to allow a rider, it had to make itself vulnerable.
There was a two-way trust, as she expected him to safely carry her through the skies and he expected that she wouldn’t stab him in the back.
As his three paws lumbered across the swampy ground and the power of his hind legs lifted them into the air, the sensation was both frighteningly unfamiliar and strangely nostalgic.
When she’d flown in his mind, it had been smooth and consistent.
But now his muscles rippled beneath her and forced her to learn the rhythm of gripping his neck and anticipating the pattern of the beat of his wings.
After a while, she grew used to it, but she knew she’d be sore in the morning—if she made it to the morning. Her stomach grew queasy, but she wasn’t sure if it was a result of the rise and fall through the air or her nerves at approaching the palace.
“Orra will likely be at the Sungazer,” she shouted to Durriken, pointing at the building on the eastern end of the palace.
When she realized he couldn’t see her arm behind his head, she fed the image through their tether.
Her subconscious use of his noetic skills left her all too aware of how this might change things.
Losing the brand would likely make her lose the noetic skills Sylmar had encouraged her to learn.
But it would be worth it to give Durriken his freedom.
He adjusted his trajectory, and with the descent, Aeliana’s stomach grew even more unsettled. As he landed, a figure emerged from the Sungazer, and Aeliana recognized the statuesque frame of Orra patiently waiting for them as if she’d expected them.
Perhaps she had.
“I should have known the two of you were involved,” Orra said as Aeliana leaped off Durriken’s back.
“Involved in what?” Aeliana asked.
Orra spread out a hand, gesturing toward the palace. “All the commotion. Dozens of soldiers being called into the palace. Are they gearing up to face a dragon? Or is this more than a simple misunderstanding?”
Orra’s question left a hollow ache in Aeliana’s chest. Six months ago, Orra would have been telling them what would transpire. But now she had just as many questions as Aeliana. Was her power that weak? Or was her restraint that strong?
“Felk showed up at the wedding,” Aeliana said.
Orra’s eyebrows rose. “He followed my note, then.” A small smile crossed her face.
“It was a gamble, but they refused to let the winex stay at the fortress. So I gave him the choice of ignorance and freedom or following a trail that might lead to you. His loyalty goes deep, and that is not something to take for granted.”
“Well, his trail also led him to Mayvus and her fleet of ships, which are currently arriving at the harbor.”
Orra’s face paled, and she reached out to grip the stone wall of the Sungazer. “She’s come here?”
Aeliana nodded. “She never even went to Myndren.”
Orra’s eyes fluttered closed, and Aeliana suspected the other woman felt debilitated by her pneumatic blindness.
“We need to get my mother to safety. But we also need to keep Durriken from being branded again. If Mayvus has his blood…” Aeliana trailed off, thinking of the way Mayvus had branded Durriken a second time.
It hadn’t been as strong as the first since Mayvus hadn’t waited for Summer Solstice, but that only gave Aeliana more concern that Mayvus wouldn’t wait for the perfect time if she had more of his blood again.
Orra frowned. “Isn’t that why you kept the brand?”
Aeliana glanced at Durriken, who gave his rumble of assent before lowering himself to the ground and resting his head on his paw. “We’d like to have our tether sealed instead.”
Orra’s eyes widened, and she reached for Aeliana’s arm, placing her other hand on Durriken’s wing. “You’ve started growing a tether?” She closed her eyes and let out a rush of air. “Oh, yes—and it’s already strong.”
The lingering nausea from their flight was replaced by a warmth in Aeliana’s stomach that spread out to her limbs.
“And you want me to seal it.” Orra opened her eyes, the smile on her face oddly bright despite the tension spreading out from the palace.
“Do you have the strength for it?” Aeliana asked.
Orra hesitated, then nodded. “I’ve been holding back my power for a moment like this. A moment when only my power could change the outcome. I didn’t know what it would look like, but I suspect this is what I’ve been saving it for.”
Aeliana sensed Durriken’s relief alongside her own.
“Quick,” Orra instructed. “Cut out the brand.”
Aeliana wasted no time using her dagger to peel off the layer of her skin that held the inky blackness she despised. As blood trickled out, she was reminded of her past and the blood magic she’d been used for, but for once there wasn’t even any pull she needed to resist.
Even though Aeliana healed herself while she worked, her vision blurred with the pain, and the task became too difficult to complete on her own.
Orra took over, ignoring Durriken’s grunts and growls filling the air as he dropped to the ground.
He licked his remaining front paw even though no visible wound was present, merely a fading mark.
This time, when the brand was gone, Aeliana didn’t feel the same sense of loss that she’d felt with Gaeren, because the faint tether that joined them remained, like a string waiting to be plucked to ring out a note of hope.
She placed her freshly scarred palm over Durriken’s paw and closed her eyes, relishing the way the small string connecting them held a purity that had previously been tainted by the brand. The longer she stood there, the thicker the string seemed to grow, and the more stable their connection.
Orra placed her hands on each of them once more, and a light laugh escaped her lips. “Perhaps sealing your tether won’t drain as much magic as I thought. Its roots grow deeper. Its foundation is already stronger without the brand.”
Even so, Aeliana sensed the heat of Orra’s power rushing through her soul—a burning sensation that gave her a new appreciation for Orra’s identity as a Star.
The other woman might not consider herself to be one anymore, but this kind of power could only come from something beyond this world.
Tears poured down Aeliana’s cheeks at the honor of being given this gift from the Stars she’d once worshiped.
She supposed it was a gift from the Sun being given through Orra, but that was something she would have to ponder later, when her mother’s life wasn’t hanging in the balance.
With the heat came flashes of understanding, the hint of a lonely and lengthy existence, waiting and losing hope for its end.
The love of her own family grew tenfold as she sensed Durriken’s love for his, a taste of what a family bond could be.
As she pictured the ruby and onyx scales of his mate and the golden hues of his hatchling, she felt like she’d known them all her life, which now felt tiny and insignificant in the shadow of his hundreds of years.
She’d thought him ageless, but now she sensed he was not just old in half-light years—he was old for a dragon. Maybe even dying without his family.
A coolness followed on the heels of the burn, and a thick rope seemed to replace the tiny thread joining her to Durriken.
When her vision cleared, Durriken’s fiery eye stared back at her with a wisdom and understanding she felt reflected from her soul.
She sensed a closeness to him that surpassed friendship or even the bonds of family.
Something undefinable that made her want to wrap her arms around him, despite his terrifying maw.
Instead, she bent her forehead to the tip of his nose, and he huffed out the slightest puff of warm air that enveloped her like a hug. Daisies bloomed all around them, and her laugh came out as carefree as a child’s.
“The tether might be too strong at first,” Orra murmured, her voice sounding frail. “But it will settle as you grow into it. It’s not ideal to have a new one just before confronting Mayvus. But it’s better than having none at all.”
“Can she still brand him?” Aeliana asked.
Orra hesitated. “She can try. But he should still be able to resist even without your brand.” Orra stepped back, almost tripping over her own feet. Her face paled as Aeliana reached out to steady her, but even more startling were the fresh age lines on her face.
“Are you sick, Orra? Was it too much for you?”
Orra shook her head. “I’ve been fading for a thousand years. It’s a natural decline. One that I brought upon myself.” She turned and stumbled back toward the main building of the palace.
“Where are you going?” Aeliana called after her.
“I have to prepare. If Mayvus is coming, so are the Stars.”