16. Chapter 15 Rhianelle
Chapter 15 Rhianelle
I angle my head towards the terrifying sound. “What is that?”
“Seadragons,” Svenn mutters under his breath.
Shock flies into me over his answer.
Seadragons.
The last surviving real dragons in this world. One of Avalon’s strongest allies. These intelligent beings aren’t mounted like the wyverns but are considered as champions in the fae’s rank of warriors.
I force myself to get up from Svenn and smooth the wrinkles in my nightgown.
“Where are you going?” The snap in his voice almost makes me retreat back to him.
“I’m just going to have a look.” I shrug innocently.
“You don’t seem to have grasped the situation here.” He yanks the chain to pull me back towards him and—yielded nothing.
He arches his brows, surprise alighting his eyes.
“How did you—”
I grin, showing him the fork I stole.
Picking locks is just another one of my survival skills.
“My dress has pockets.” I beam proudly. I silently thank Lady Deirdre for her wonderful creation.
I sense his amusement momentarily before the wrath of a dark god takes over his feature. “Rhianelle…”
I bolt back the way I came to the upper ward of the castle. My breathing fractures the faster I run. The quicker I get away from him, the sooner I can escape this place. I open the door to the bailey and regret the decision instantly.
Oh gods…
Another tumultuous roar wrecks the castle, the mountains and seas beyond. This one is different from the one before. More violent and far more dangerous.
I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. Help.
“Nel!” I hear Svenn call after me before the haunting howl swallows every sound around us. He closes the distance between us once more, shielding my body with his own. Darkness envelopes me as his massive wings blanket over us with another layer of protection. His hand cups my face to his chest, covering my sensitive ears from the clamor.
I inhale his scent deep into my lungs and with every breath, the gripping fear I felt earlier begins to unfurl.
The air settles and I feel the brush of one of his wings against my cheek as he pulls them away.
“Are you all right?” he asks almost gently, his protective instinct overriding his cruel obsession. Some semblance of the man I know returns.
Svenn eases off me slowly. “Get inside. I’ll kill it and return to you soon.”
Nope. He’s still insane.
I ignore his instruction and stare ahead towards the calmness of the open sea. There is no movement, other than the gentle waves crashing through the shore.
“Where are they?” My eyes search the surface of the ocean to answer my question. Seadragons travel in pods with their tribes and clans. It’s strange that there are only two discernible sounds in these shallow waters.
I walk over to the crenellations, pricking my ears.
Svenn stands close next to me, his jutting wings dwarfing me. I’ve never been more aware of our height difference.
“Listen to that,” I say, tuning in to the haunting song. The tune feels familiar to my heart.
I’m so alone. It’s getting dark. I’m scared.
The pleading voice pierces straight to my chest. I can sense the fear and the familiar helplessness in that quivering tone. I take a step to climb the battlement.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Svenn pulls me back towards him, his face stark.
“I know this song. It’s a cry for help,” I say.
His grip on me tightens, unrelenting.
I reach up to touch his face. “I have to see, please.”
I search for the man who helped me move flowerpots and massaged my head at night, the person who became a friend and comforted me in my woes.
A deep sigh lifts his chest and I know I found him.
“Are you afraid of heights?” he suddenly asks.
A strange question. I’ve never really thought about it.
“Not really,” I say, my eyes never leaving his.
“Good.”
I don’t get a warning or the chance to mull over his answer when he suddenly sweeps me right off my feet and propels us both to the sky.
Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods…
The view of the ground alone makes me feel faint. I’m too scared to scream but I hear the high pitch ringing all the same in my skull. He should have at least warn me.
It gets colder the higher we rise in the air. I count the beat of his wings to calm myself.
“Open your eyes,” he coaxes softly in my ear. “It helps with the nausea.”
No, it will not. I shake my head and burrow myself closer to his chest.
“We’re almost there.” I can barely hear him against the whistling wind.
He glides along the turbulent air current to land us over the bay, the maneuver causing my stomach to dip. The man gently eases my bare feet over a solid black boulder on the cliff.
We’re so near to the source of the sound, I can feel the vibrations on the rocks beneath my feet.
“I don’t think the bastard’s necklace can translate dragon’s screech,” he says, casting a glance to Kheirall’s charm hanging over his chest.
“It’s not screech…” I mutter, closing my eyes so I can hear them better. These creatures have a far more complex language system than ours with different dialects and accents. “They can communicate in faerie tongue.”
At least that was how I talk with my friend, Wren, a river dragon I met in Astefar. We spoke with each other through telekinesis.
Frustration overwhelms me as I glance down at the eerie, dark-gray water below. “I can’t see anything.”
Svenn steps beside me, casting a brief look at the ocean. “There’s a seadragon trapped in a metallic confinement.”
My eyes widen in surprise.
I take his hand in mine and begin tracing a prism pattern on his palm. “Does the cage look like this?”
Svenn merely nods.
I clap a hand to my mouth to cover my gasp. “It’s the Gamghat Death Coffin from the Serramande battle seventy years ago.”
My family and the Kashran clan invented it for Aelheim. Rainer ordered for their immediate removal after the war because it keeps trapping innocent sea life, but some of the ones that were missed must have floated here. Another haunting song echoes from the waters, as sad as a lone wolf’s howl.
Come back, please. I’m scared. I’m not even hungry anymore. Just come back and be with me.
Svenn arches a brow when I grab the large boulder next to his foot. “Rhianelle?”
I inhale a single deep breath before I leap from the edge and plunge into the abyss. The cold sea water embraces me, prickling my senses in its wake.
This is reckless, Rhianelle, the Un mutters but they continue to guide me.
The visibility improves significantly in the deeper waters. I glimpse the shine of metal like the glimmer of a silver coin in sunlight. It takes a while for me to reach the Gamghat despite the heavy stone weighing my quick descent into the deep blue.
Moss and rust cover the steel containment. It truly lived to its name as an underwater coffin. My heart sinks almost like the stone I released from my hand.
A pale, white seadragon resides in the metallic cage in the frigid water. No land animal could have grown to that size, not even an elephant. Yet, it is far smaller than the horrifying tales told by the corsairs in V?lundr.
A juvenile perhaps.
It doesn’t even have horns yet. The creature thrashes violently at the sight of me, her large obsidian eyes blinking near-frantic. That whimper from her is the same soft voice I heard earlier.
Do not be afraid, I tell the panicking young dragon. I mean you no harm.
I am not sure if this baby dragon understands my projection in her head, but she ceases moving for a moment.
I am Rhianelle. I am a friend.
The river dragon once told me that attempting a conversation with a human or an elf is like trying to speak to a bug. I gather my courage to touch her pectoral fin.
She doesn’t flinch from my touch.
I move about to inspect her cage. A smile rises to my face at the curious, sentient eyes trailing me. I must seem like a peculiar talking insect to her.Of course, I don’t kid myself into forgetting that this creature is wild and fae.
This prism is smaller than the ones used to capture seadragons. I believe this one is meant to fend off the fae’s orcafin from nearing the beach. The framework remains the same and I find the pulley at the bottom of the cage.
You have pretty eyes. I tell the seadragon.
I keep talking to her, hoping it’s amusing enough to distract her from attacking.
How long have you been stuck here?
She doesn’t answer.
I figure it must be a while. There’s no way the seadragon can accidentally enter this death trap with her current size. Sorrow clutches me again at the thought of her living in solitude inside this confinement.
I am going to get you out of here.
It takes several attempts for me to grapple the slippery hidden latch.
One, two, heave.
I give it several more goes.
Try as I might, the stubborn metal will not budge.
The seadragon finally seems to understand I’m trying to help. I see the hope and excitement glittering in her eyes.
“Kiiska.” Her soft voice floats into my mind, as soft as a river stream. “ I am Kiiska.”
I nod to her with a smile. Hello, Kiiska. Let’s free you out of this thing, all right?
If I don’t do this quickly, my seven minutes will run out. I search deep within me, rallying my strength for another pull.
The lever finally gives but the device’s door remains sealed. Panic wrecks every nerve in my body when look at my hand.
Oh no…
I’m holding the rusted, broken handle of the Gamghat with my trembling hand. The seadragon whimpers, vocalizing the crumbling despair I feel in my chest.
A rough, callused hand tugs my elbow and I’m prepared to shove the broken metal into whatever creature trying to attack me—
Bubble rises to the surface from my startled breath.
Svenn is staring at me with the wrath of an underworld god. My heart thunders in my chest over the fury in his face. But it quickly ebbs into relief because he’s here.
Angry, but here.
I show him the handle in my hand and point to the seadragon in the cage.
Help me, I plead silently.
Understanding enters his violent, dark eyes.
Svenn treads towards the trap in an effortless motion. Kiiska is terrified of him, but instead of thrashing madly the way she did with me earlier, she just cowers to the back of the cage. That is the normal reaction to a Strigon.
Svenn is here to help, I tell her.
I see the fierce gleam in her eyes as she prepares to fight for her life. I smile a little to myself. Kiiska is a survivor. Just like little me in Astefar.
The Gamghat prism bars bend like celery underneath Svenn’s brute strength. I still for a moment, mesmerized by the sight and the relief flowing in my chest. The little sea dragon wriggles her way out of the opening and swims away at the first chance.
I am so in awe I forgot that I need air to survive. My lungs feel like they’re about to explode. I propel myself upwards in a dash.
Wait—no, no this is too fast. I need to adjust my ascend carefully after the deep dive.
Something wraps around my waist, pulling me to a stop. Perhaps a sea monster has decided to enchant me. But I am not staring at a kelpie or a mermaid.
It’s my husband.
Dark and menacing, Svenn is death incarnate himself. Instead of killing me, he shoves his mouth to mine, breathing me air and life. The burning sensation in my chest recedes.
I blink and exhale slowly.
Svenn’s eyes soften as they lock on mine. He’s buying time so my body can adjust to the new pressure. I’m grateful that he pulled me to this safe stop. I don’t want to explode like that deepsea starfish Kahedin brought to the surface.
Thank you, I try to tell him with my blinks.
His mouth closes on mine again, passing me air. I don’t know how this is even possible. Perhaps it’s the ability of that poor siren that was sacrificed to the Rhunhraefn to make the Strigons.
I could drown, but all I can think of right now is I want another kiss. More kisses. Endless kisses. For a moment it feels like there are just the two of us, existing in the world.
A strange peaceful calm settles as we sway in the current. I like the way I fit in his arms, like belong here, even in the strangest of places.
He gives me another mouthful of air before we surface. Svenn tows me towards the rocks against the relentless tide. His hair is slick back from the dive but he doesn’t seem the least bit exhausted from the effort.
He pushes me to climb on the rocky cliff. “Quickly, the mother is coming.”
Panic swells in my chest and I clamber the ridge faster to get to the top.
Sure enough, a long serpentine shadow sweeps through the ocean towards us at a terrifying speed. My heart lurches to my throat the moment the beast leaps out of the water.
Heavens help us.
The adult seadragon is a thing of nightmares, a creature that haunts the darkest depths of the ocean and only emerges to the surface to hunt and feast. It is ten times the size of the calf we rescued, with sapphire scales gleaming like diamonds in the sunlight. A single swipe of that powerful body can destroy dozens of ships.
“Daughter of V?lundr!”
Her vicious snarl shatters the realm as she shoots straight towards us. She rages with maws open, displaying her rows of sharp teeth.
My heart stutters erratically and nearly stops.
Svenn remains undaunted by the looming threat before us. I think the very concept of fear is unfamiliar to the man. He pushes me a step behind him, shielding me from the incoming danger.
The beast suddenly rears back before it reaches the coral outcropping.
An all too human whimper escapes her throat. She blinks repeatedly in disbelief at the sight of the pale smaller seadragon approaching shyly from the shallow waters.
I see Kiiska’s sheer joy from the movement of her tail. The seadragon nuzzles her equine snout to her daughter lovingly, like she can’t get enough holding her. They sing a song together, low and haunting, too mystifying for simple elven tongue.
Their beautiful reunion makes me happy. I smile despite the fear building in my heart. I am content hiding behind Svenn forever from those jutting teeth until I see the massive spear on the larger seadragon’s back.
The Caehir lightning bolt, named after my grandfather in Kashran. Another one of my family’s clever inventions.
Bitter fear punches through my guts but I know I have to do what’s right.
I touch my chest. Take courage, heart.
I take a trembling step towards the edge of the cliff to speak to the colossal creature.
Svenn shoots me a warning glance. “Rhianelle…”
“It’s all right. Trust me,” I tell him, but he is not reassured.
He inches forward together with me. Maybe it’s for the best. I feel braver with him by my side.
The seadragon’s lips pull back in a silent snarl. “What do you want?”
I steel my spine and move nearer to the precipice.
“I can help you remove the barb,” I offer, pointing to the weapon protruding just below her neck.
“Do you think I will let a dirty elf lay her hands on me?” A guttural sound rumbles in the colossal creature’s throat.
Svenn’s gaze falls to her heart spontaneously and my fear intensifies.
“Mommy, she’s my friend,” Kiiska whines to her mother, swimming around in circles and vocalizing another soft tune. Their difference in size is jarring. The imprisonment must have stunted the baby seadragon’s growth.
“The elf is no friend, my dear,” the seadragon hisses, her nostrils flaring.
She whips her tail to the ridge close to it and the entire cliff is decimated. I feel her fury charging the air, her wrath summoning the storm.
It takes everything in me to remain standing from that show of power. I’m certain she had sunk plenty of ships and vessels during the war.
But I know she requires all the help she can get to return to their lair. The Varan trench lies west of Avalon, deep below sea level. She will have to fend off predators like the giant squid and the sea crocodiles to protect Kiiska.
I steel my spine and let her see the truth in my heart. “I have enough blessings to heal you. You need the strength for the long journey back home.”
The beast narrows her sharp, ageless eyes at me. “Why would you do that?”
I summon all the courage I have and straighten my shoulders. “Because I can.”
Her eyes remain skeptical.
I spread my hands and make a show of turning around. “I have no weapons with me.”
Her dark gaze drops to Svenn, as if she knows that he alone is worth a thousand swords. The seadragon takes another glance at her beautiful daughter. Kiiska is playing with currents awkwardly, testing her newfound freedom.
An eternity passes before she finally lowers her head on the rocks, giving herself to the mercy of her enemy.
Svenn approaches the seadragon first. There is little warmth to be found in his eyes as he takes his place at the side of the creature’s back.
“It’s better to do this quickly.” His voice is low and cold.
She nods in agreement, the little movement sending pebbles off the cliff. Svenn extracts the weapon from her with a single pull.
The seadragon roars and the island itself shakes. Birds take to the sky, fleeing that bellowing.
He cast the spear to the ground, and I know it’s my turn now. I hover my hands over the gaping wound, the light of Anastarros flaring through my fingers. But the God of Healing’s power alone might not be enough to purify this infected wound.
Lead from the metallic spear has tainted the seadragon’s blood over the years. She would have died in a few months. I finally understand her desperation from earlier.
I close my eyes and open the door to the blessings I collected in Astefar. I don’t usually return to the realm of the forgotten gods twice in a day. You get careless and you die.
The chamber is not as empty as before. Soft noises whisper through the wall, like the fluttering of a thousand butterflies. I hasten my footsteps to my secret storage room on the lower floor.
I ease the door open and enter the chamber silently.
My chest tightens at as I stare at the giant ball of wool.
I can do this. I must.
The strands hum eagerly when I pluck them. Its dark power eager to be unleashed upon the world.
Three pieces will do.
Pain echoes down my spine at the force of their energy, but I can handle it. I head straight back to where I came from when light suddenly dance from the corner of my eyes.
I trace it to the far end of the hall to find Lulu resting on a chaise. The God adorns his mortal form of a handsome golden-haired male with long hair. I’ve always wanted to know why he is always without a stitch of clothing on his body. But then it doesn’t seem polite to ask. He wears a bored look on his face as he moves his chess set on the board.
His opponent is none other my friend.
Jessica waves demurely to me. “If it isn’t our Rhianelle.”
I return what I owe her and give her a warm hug.
“You could have held on to her eyes at least till tomorrow,” Lulu grumbles with the lyrical voice of a songbird.
Jessica gasps when she sees three more strings in my hands. “That’s eight strings in a day.”
“Hey, are you sure you can handle that?” Lulu asks. I can’t tell if he is concerned or simply curious.
“Of course, she can!” Jessica says brightly.
I feel a flush of warmness over my cheeks at her cheer. All that hard training with Svenn is worth it to reach this point. I nod to Lulu’s question slowly, even though I am practically bursting at the seams with pride.
His smile widens, stretching to the corner of his ears. “I’ve always believed in you, kid. Will you join us for a game?”
I adore chess but it’s easy to lose time in this realm. The seadragons and Svenn are waiting for me. “I don’t have time to play.”
He lets out a long breath. “You never seem to these days.”
I hear the disappointment in his sigh.
“She has a husband now,” Jessica croons with a light giggle.
“Yeah… I think I’ve met the guy,” Lulu mutters absently. “He’s delicious.”
Delicious.
One simple word.
Yet, that is the absolute worst thing one can say to trigger a goddess who feasts on the flesh and soul of mortals.
True fear slices into me when I slowly look at Jessica. Her eyes churn like the dark glimmer of a dying star.
“Rhianelle… you were lying.” Her voice shatters, heartbroken from betrayal. “I—I thought we were friends.”
“We are!” I say, but it’s no use.
I tremble at the clacking sound of her teeth.
All her kindness bleeds away, replaced by sheer fury. “Friends don’t hide treats from friends.”
She flips the table and chess board in her wrath. Hunger and anger don’t go along well, especially with a mother who is exhausted after childbirth.
“Aww shit…” Lulu rolls his eyes, realizing his mistake. He snaps his fingers, and just like that he is gone, leaving me to handle Jessica’s hunger pang.
The goddess scrambles towards me like a charging bull.
“I’m sorry, Jessica!” I cry out, running for my life. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
“Liar, liar, liar!”
I run like hell.
“Forgive me. But you can’t eat my husband!” I shout back to her.
“I’ll just eat you then!”
I keep sprinting towards the door with the blessings in my hand.
She lunges her pincer straight to my back. It misses my neck by a mere inch. Several strands of my hair fall to the ground from the cut.
I’m exhausted…
My lungs fill with fire, but I power through the last couple of steps until I reach the exit. I shut the door and open my eyes with a startled breath.
Svenn has my shoulders in his hands, shaking me a little.
“Rhianelle? You were out of it for half a second there.” His calm voice anchors me back to the real world.
The strength of his grip grounds me. I touch my chest to calm my beating heart.
That was so close.
But I have all the blessings needed to cure the blood poisoning now.
“I’m all right. Let’s begin again,” I say, giving him a smile of assurance.
My visit to my dark patrons should not have taken more than one tenth of a second. I don’t think Svenn would have noticed it. But my husband’s half-amused gaze is fixed on my fallen silver locks on the ground.
He says nothing more, but I can see the curiosity dancing in his eyes.
I concentrate on stitching the seadragon’s flesh quickly with the golden thread. A long breath of relief escapes my lungs when my hand tingles with heat. It means the blessing is purifying the bane in her blood. Vessels, nerves, and sinews of muscles fill the gaping wound faster once the toxicity recedes.
The seadragon turns her head as much as she can, her enormous eye leering towards me. “This healing… what is your name?”
That sudden lilt in her voice sends a chill to my blood and bones.
I hesitate.
“I’m Rhianelle.” I don’t reveal my full name to the seadragon. Doing that to a creature of fae is plain foolish.
“I’ve capsized three ships bearing the name Rhianelle,” she muses.
They were my mother’s warships, but I don’t tell that to her either.
“Thousands of your kind have fallen because of me,” she continues recalling the horrors of the war. I’ve never been to war or to a battle, but I’ve seen the hollow eyes of the people who returned from it. They are never quite the same again.
It takes me a second to find my voice. “I’m sure my people have killed and wounded yours too. I’m sorry.”
Surprise scuttles through the seadragon’s harsh features over my apology. She keeps her knife-sharp gaze trained on me the entire time I am passing my blessing. I think Svenn is doing the same thing. I try not to look at him, but I can feel those dark eyes trailing my every movement.
I work silently under the scrutiny of two dangerous predators.
“You there! Come and be my friend!” Kiiska splashes the water and baits for Svenn to swim with her. The vampire is reluctant to leave me from his sight. But after a while, he finally succumbs to her playfulness and indulges her little game.
The seadragon speaks to me again once her daughter is occupied and out of hearing range. “I was wounded and pregnant during the battle. I gave birth shortly after it ended. Those first few months of the injury were the worst. I—I couldn’t take care of my child properly.”
Her words trail and crack in my mind.
“This little one was stuck as soon as she knew how to swim,” she says, her tone becoming quiet and heavy. “I’m a terrible mother.”
To think that Kiiska has been living in that cage for more than seventy years… It breaks my heart to even imagine it. Tears prick the corners of my eyes. I’m glad no one is looking at me. I wipe them quickly before anyone can see it.
“You couldn’t leave to reach out for help because you needed to feed the little one and give her air,” I mutter to the frigid air.
She shifts her head a little, nodding to my question.
“My family must have thought I was lost in the war. And my mate…” I swear I hear the touch of sadness and longing and in her voice.
“You’ll meet them soon,” I tell her, even though it’s not something I can promise. “I think you’re a good mother. You didn’t leave your daughter behind and stayed with her.”
Maybe I’m just imagining it, but I swear her eyes soften a little.
“I am Ksatka,” she suddenly says.
Seadragons abiding to the tradition of their fae kin would never disclose their name to a stranger.
I greet her revelation with a nod and a smile.
It takes longer than usual for Ksatka’s body to fully heal because she is malnourished. But the blessings of the Un are powerful and eternal. The three strings slowly weave to patch every broken piece, stealing her pain away.
“There, all done,” I say, cutting the remaining thread to the stitch with my teeth.
Color returns to the seadragon’s scales turning her a darker shade of blue, almost similar to the deep ocean hue.
“Are we going home, mommy?” Kiiska asks.
The seadragon nods, stretching and testing her strength in the water. My heart hurts for everything they’ve been through.
“Thank you, friend.” Air particles shuffle when Kiiska dives into the sea to sing me a song. I listen to its rhyme, memorizing the tune deep into my heart. She pops up to the surface once again, moving her tail excitedly. The day is close to its end and I know it’s time to bid them farewell.
“Goodbye, Rhianelle,” Kiiska bellows a sad melancholic melody.
“Goodbye, friend,” I say to her. I wish I can hug the baby seadragon, but she is too big.
Kiiska does an excited little flip of her tail before painstakingly reaching her head to the cliff. “Thank you for helping my mom, Svenn.”
I could have sworn Svenn’s features soften a little when he touches her muzzle. It’s an attractive look on him and I love it.
“I’m sorry, Ksatka. For everything.” It’s the only thing I can offer before she goes.
The seadragon gives me a meaningful look, the kind that is spoken straight to the soul.
“You have my gratitude for helping me and my daughter, but I remain loyal to my King. I am Eirik Bloodhound’s retainer, General Ksatka of Durakain. When the call to the Wild Hunt rises, I will answer his summon, ” she says, her high pitch voice devoid of emotion and warmth. “The next time you see me, I might be the one who will shatter the proud Watergate in V?lundr.”
My heart clenches at the promise. “I understand.”
The pair of seadragons cruise towards the open sea in a beautiful dance. My eyes stay with them until they dip beneath the wave, disappearing from sight. But my heart lingers long after.
I pray a silent prayer to the stars.
May I never have to raise my sword against my new friends.