Chapter 3 #2
Mariah swallowed. “I’m not sure how I can ever repay you both.”
Signe’s smile widened. “We did not do it to put you in our debts, Mariah. We did it because you need them”—she gestured at Mariah’s court— “and the world needs you.”
Mariah stilled, the wind stirring her hair, and she fought back the lurching in her chest. Answering Signe only with silence and shame.
The world couldn’t need her. The world was too big; she couldn’t be the one to save it.
Not when she couldn’t even save those she loved. Not when it was her who’d doomed it in the first place.
“Mariah.” Rulene’s gentle voice brushed against her mind, a feather-soft caress. Mariah lifted her gaze and blinked with shock, taking a staggered step back.
Even though her power was silent, she still felt the energy racing and swirling in the air, like a static storm on a summer’s day.
Clouds and mist danced around Rulene and Callamus—sky blue around the former, indigo around the latter.
The dragons were obscured, magic crackling and popping and pulling Mariah’s hair across her face.
The clouds shrank, the sizes of the beasts compressing down, down, down, until they took a familiar size and shape.
Human-like shapes.
Her court gasped as the clouds and magic cleared, revealing the two figures. Human in form, but as ethereal and other as the beasts who shared their skins.
The woman—Rulene—was dressed in the garb of Kreah, long-paneled linen fabric that brushed the sands and kept out the heat of the desert.
Her skin was rich and warm, her eyes the same burning golden yellow as her dragon.
Long, silky waves of sky-blue hair fell around her high cheekbones.
Everything about her was as bright and open and vibrant as the day sky she embodied.
Callamus was her opposite in every way and yet somehow her perfect match.
His hair was the same deep indigo as his dragon’s scales, skin pale and glowing, eyes the same galaxy-ridden black.
His demeanor was quieter and stiller, the very essence of the purest time of night distilled into the form of a man.
They were beautiful. And it had never been clearer to Mariah that they were something far more than mortal.
Rulene stepped forward with a gentle smile. “I am sorry to disrupt your rest. We know it has only been a few short days, and you and your court likely need many more to fully heal and recover.”
“We do, but we can hardly turn down a visit from two gods, can we?”
Behind her, someone gave a quiet choke, then a hushed, “Mariah.”
She ignored Sebastian. If she could, if those bonds were silent to her now, she would crack his open just to push back a sliver of her indignation, like a toddler stamping her foot, but she didn’t really care.
She’d never minced her words with leaders before. What made the gods any different?
Callamus chuckled. “Do not chastise your queen for her tongue, Armature. After all, she is much closer to our peer than any mortal has ever been.” He leveled that depthless gaze on Mariah, handsome face open and smiling.
Mariah’s spine only stiffened.
She would really appreciate it if people stopped reminding her of all that she was supposed to be. It only made the aching hole in the pit of her soul so much worse.
“We were hoping you and your court could accompany us this morning,” Rulene said, her voice still light, but now Mariah did not miss the layer of hidden urgency beneath her tone.
Still, she hesitated. “Accompany you where?”
“It is about a three day’s ride. Or an hour flight.” Callamus’s eyes twinkled as he rolled his shoulders like a dragon would shift its wings. It was clear he meant it good-naturedly; an invitation to join them in something he assumed she would enjoy.
Instead, Mariah’s chest lurched, her stomach bottoming out. Her vision narrowed, blackening around the edges.
It was too soon. She’d only just told her court; she couldn’t yet confess to these ancient beings, these deities who somehow were relying on her far more than they should.
“Mariah?” Rulene asked softly, interrupting her turmoil. “Is everything all right?”
Mariah’s vision filtered in, becoming less fractured.
There was a hand on her arm, belonging to the petite blonde figure beside her.
Ciana looked up at her with earnest concern.
Her court had all moved closer, fanning around her, and even though their bonds were sealed she could still feel their worry.
Her hands were shaking. She clenched them into fists, leaning against Ciana for a moment, before lifting her gaze to Rulene.
“We can go with you, but…” She drew in a ragged inhale. “But I can’t fly.”
Concern flashed through Rulene’s golden eyes. “Is something wrong? Are you injured?”
“Not…physically,” Mariah stammered. Cool sweat pooled at the back of her neck as the concern faded from Rulene’s expression, replaced with curiosity.
“Then what is it, Mariah?” Callamus wore that same curious look.
Mariah swallowed. “I—” Her words caught in her throat. She cleared it and tried again.
“I can’t use my magic. I can’t feel it. Ever since we arrived in Kreah, it’s just…gone.”
Rulene and Callamus fell still. Supernaturally still. Only the breeze rustling their hair revealed they were more than hyper-realist statues, molded in a perfect image.
Rulene drew a breath. “Well,” she said, sharing a furtive glance with her Consort. “That is certainly…something.” She looked back at Mariah, real kindness in her expression, albeit masked by that same strange curiosity. “Thank you for telling us.”
“Indeed. It is better we know than you keep it from us. And we know how difficult it can be to reveal a weakness to those you have only just met.” Callamus nodded with his words. “But we really must go. Rulene and I can carry you all to the border.”
Mariah nodded absently, still a bit dazed, before Callamus’s words struck her.
“Wait, did you say the border?”
The God of the Night Sky dipped his head in confirmation. “Yes. There is something there you need to see.”