by Kenna Bardot
She reached up to swipe at her eyes and turned to me, face fierce and ravaged by tears. “Then when I knew I would leave her, I didn’t want to. I couldn’t bear the thought she was going on her next step without me. Alone, Mireyah. That’s what she is now. Alone. And I caused it. It seems so selfish to be so happy.” Hydra climbed up on her lap, nuzzling at the side of her face for comfort.
It made sense that Hydra would love her. I loved Aes, and she trusted me. I was glad she could give Aes even more comfort because she needed it.
"I don’t doubt it. It was hard for me to leave you both. Her more because I knew I would see you again when she was gone forever. Is that why, Aes? Why you didn't finish your first shot at the Sire Trials? I was here to see Oryn and how devastated he was when he came back. He thought he'd lost all hope. That he'd never get the chance to get you back." I reached up, making her face me, and I saw the truth in her eyes. Those bright orange orbs that were so different from the pink tinge of before.
"Yes," she admitted with a guilty hunch in her shoulders. "I wanted to stay with her as long as I can because we'd already just lost you. I didn't want to have her be alone and lose me too." She threw me a wide-eyed look. "Not that I - we- blamed you for anything, Mireyah. Your trials were different because there was so much at stake. Selfishly, I figured Oryn could wait." She looked down at her hands. “I knew it had been difficult for him, but I didn’t know just how hard. Guess I’ll just have to make it up to him.”
"He waited, Aes. Yes, he was hurt, but more he was just scared. He would not lose you when he had been so close." But there was no blame in my voice, just an understanding because the truth was that no matter how much I did truly love my men, I would have done the same for Lys if I could.
"Lys found out, you know?”
“Find out what?”
“That I was stalling for her. She got so mad. Do you know that she went out into the Visitation Area of her own volition, searched out Oryn and told him what was going on and asked him to get me out of there before it was too late." Her laugh was watery, but she smiled and it was genuine happiness.
"I'd have paid a fortune to see that," I said with a laugh in my voice. "So you came here."
"I did. She said I was to tell you how proud she was of you and how happy." Aes rubbed a hand over her face and Hydra came up to lick her face. It really was safe to say that my dragon liked Aes.
"I’ve missed you both so much. Sisters in all but blood. I love my Sires and all, but it’s different when it’s been mostly difficult making friends here."
“I’m here now, Mireyah. I’ve finally made peace with my decision to be here. For her as much as it’s for me and for Oryn.”
“Yes, for her.” I rested my head on her shoulder. “As much for me and my Sires. Speaking of which, you should really come over sometime. Meet my Sires. I’d love for you to meet them.”
“I’d love to meet them. They don’t mind a Sutre, right?” She laughed and created a ball of flame on her palm, and Hydra played with it with her paws.
"I have a Svadeni so no, not at all. Do you mind it?”
Her eyes lit up much like the flame in her hands. "I’m really quite surprised and pleasantly so. I'm so glad I'm not a Northern Goddess. I'd have been miserable."
"Right. And yet, you live here." I gestured at their house and the cold that they lived in - the eternal winter of the North filled with Kalds.
She shrugged, her jaw tightening. It was the Aes nobody ever saw, fierce and strong. "I insisted that we live in the North no matter what I became. Oryn and I argued over it bitterly, but he agreed. Besides, I can be here and annoy everyone with my fire tricks. I've taken to this Sutre in a way I never took to my Tovenaar."
She stood from her chair to lay on the ground. She raised a hand, circling it in the air in controlled movements and letting tiny pinpricks of flame shoot out like tiny flaming bullets. They created a halo ten feet off the ground before raining down on her as harmless little embers.
"Oh! Well done. That's one of us who’s mastered her powers," I mumbled and sighed as I remembered my failure to master Majele even with Lathyn as my tutor.
"Oh? Problem with your Kald?" she shot tiny little bullets of flame at Hydra, who tried to copy it by spurting flame out of her snout.
"Oh, no. I can do cold. Cold lives in these bones. It's the Majele that's giving me trouble." I tugged at the ends of my hair that were a bright and shocking blue.
"Well, you have two so it’s not surprising. You’ll get the hang of it, eventually." Astraea rolled away as Hydra rolled on her back and spit out flame, making projectiles much as Astraea had.
The unfortunate thing was, she couldn't control where they would fall as they fell towards me, my feet and my hair.
"Stop showing my dragon your tricks!" And I shot a spear of ice at the toe of my burning boots to the sound of her laughter and Hydra’s yips, growls and shrieks.
To stop them, I sent a stream of cold ice straight at the two.
That shut them up.
Eleven
Hollis
I stumbled on the last step down before making it into the kitchen. I was graceful on most days, but when the sun hadn’t even risen and without my first cup of coffee, all bets were off. I moved to take the kettle to fill it with water to boil, surprised that it was still hot and still full.
I took the press out so I could make my coffee as I glimpsed outside the kitchen window. There was a cup and empty place on the table but no one nearby that I could see. The tiny roars and growls of a dragon meant Mireyah and Hydra were somewhere on the lawn.
When I’d woken up they’d been the only ones not still sleeping. And since I’d been so early, I shuddered to think of how early they’d had to have been. I took a deep breath, smelling the earthy, rich aroma of the coffee as I poured my first cup.
I sipped, scalding my lips a bit from the heat as I walked out into the patio and caught my first sight of Mireyah and her Hydra. Beauty and strength on two legs.
In Godsvail, she’d been the most beautiful human I’d ever seen, and I’d desired her with a weakness that made me angry and disgusted with myself. My inability to resist her had coursed through me at the most inconvenient times. But then I’d fallen for her. Loved her with every bit of my soul, and I knew that nothing and no one could ever compare to her. I would fight for, bleed through and suffer all manners of torture and hardship if it meant keeping her and the group we had struggled to achieve.
She was life itself.
She and Hydra played with tiny little balls of flames and small spurts of ice and snow. It was mesmerizing, her dance with Hydra, a unique give and take of a Goddess and the creature that claimed half her soul. They were like a ball of vitality and beauty that I could not break through but felt grateful I could watch and share a small part with.
She stopped my heart more times than I cared to count.
Hydra noticed me before long Mireyah, and she sent out a low roar that had me laughing before she ran towards the patio, giving me a bossy look. I bent down to touch the top of her head and stepped out of the patio and onto the grass. As I walked forward, Mireyah watched me carefully.
Perhaps too carefully. It was something to think about.
"Morning, Hollis," she called out as Hydra threaded through her legs in excitement. "Early out for you, isn't it?"
"Earlier out for you, I would argue." When I reached her, I reached up to give her neck a rub. She stiffened, but not for long before her shoulders sagged as she pressed into my hand. Our Mireyah was exhausted, that much was obvious.
"Pet, you’re tired. So very tired." I took her hand and pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her. I looked down at Hydra, who watched us patiently, likely waiting her turn. "Isn't she tired, Hydra?"
“There’s just been so much happening lately.” And she was right. I was worried for her more than anyone. The Dragon Guard were elite, but they also didn’t lead the safest, most quiet of lives. As a God who loved a
Dragon Guard, I had to admit that it was nerve-wracking to be the one who had to watch from the sidelines.
“Yes, there has. But you’ve always been so strong. Even as a human, you went through so much. That didn’t change much as a Sylfe.” I sighed as I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “But I really wish Ascending meant you could have settled. We could have settled into a quiet life.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, and my heart clenched at the genuine vulnerability in her voice. Mireyah didn’t like to complain. She didn’t like to express the emotional wounds or her own insecurities, and we as Sires weren’t the best at reading her since she so often remained closed off. The thought she might feel guilt for her destiny that was out of her control felt like a stab to the chest.
“Don’t apologize. It’s part of you now.” I kissed the top of her head because she looked genuinely worried. I wanted to smooth away the creases that showed on top of her brows.
“Thank you for standing up for me that day. The one when I went to the West.” She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed. “I got you in trouble for it too.”
I squeezed back and sniffed, smelling that unique scent that was her and Hydra all in one. “It’s fine. First, I’m okay if they punish me. But you also did nothing wrong, so standing with you was the right thing to do.”
“Yes, but only you would really think that.”
I ran a hand down her hair. “They’ll come around. So what are you doing waking up so early?”
"Training early today. I have to make sure I pass the basic exam. Then, I have to attend a meeting this afternoon. It promises to be long, and it didn’t seem fair to Hydra to have to sit still inside. So I woke up early to give Hydra her exercise in case today's training doesn't give her enough time to just have fun, you know?" Mireyah reached up to stretch with a sigh.
"Yes, fun is essential, isn't it?" I crouched down to give Hydra a stroke, admiring the way her gold-green scales glinted in the early morning sun. It was a beautiful contrast to the stone of swirling colors on her chest. Hydra cooed before running away and laying on her back. I barked out a laugh, wondering what she would do.
Mireyah turned around and held out an arm to stop my forward motion. "Hydra, no!" But it was obviously too late when her dragon started spitting out tiny bullets of flame up into the air. Her tail whipped madly and I could see that she was showboating for my behalf.
I clapped just as a tiny ember fell onto my hair, singeing it. I yelped as I smelt the burning hair and yelped again at the hard blast of Mireyah's snow. "Ouch!"
"Sorry, I tried to stop you. And her. Aes taught her that new trick yesterday when we went to visit. Unfortunately, Hydra can’t do it that well yet." Mireyah reached up and pulled, a bit of the hair pulling off easily from being burnt. When she showed it to me, I just chuckled. "Well, I was going to have my hair cut, anyway. Guess this is as good a time as any."
"Aww. I wanted to see it long and curly." Mireyah pouted at me, and I shook my head vehemently. "No. I'd rather eat my hair than let it grow out. Speaking of which, breakfast?"
"Can't, sorry. I have to go." Mireyah leaned forward for a kiss, and I laughed when I felt the heat from Hydra's snout as she nuzzled into our kiss.
"One for you too," I declared, giving Hydra a brief kiss on the snout. I ran a hand down Mireyah's cheek and did what I did best. I hid my worry for her. "I love you, Mireyah."
"I love you, Hollis." And I watched her walk away as the sun rose to the East. I said a soft prayer that she came back to us the same way she left.
Safe and happy.
Even if she was tired.
✽✽✽
Mireyah
I yawned and hunched my shoulders. Like I’d told Hollis early that morning, it promised to be a lengthy one. Barely an hour after lunch and I was wilting.
Like a mid-day slump.
"Mireyah!" Chett's voice boomed out, loud like a crack in the air, and I shook my head so I could refocus.
"Yes, Chett?" I said around another yawn that tried its best to be let out of my mouth. "Sorry, I'm listening."
He sighed and sat back down on the chair he had placed across from me. "I know you’ve read the literature but I have to make sure you’ve really learned them. So, to reiterate, a Dragon Guard’s duty is in part and parcel tied what their houses were before they joined the Guard. For example, a Nastroj works better in security, Bytas do intelligence gathering and Springens run the station and communications training for dragons.”
I nodded, stifling another yawn. “Yes, and Kalds and Sutres run the Forge.” I remembered the quality of weaponry and armory produced by the Forge and had to admit, it must be satisfying to create something so beautiful and lasting from scratch.
“That’s correct, however, there can and have been deviations. Before I found myself in the position of heading over all Bonded Guards, I was Elin. Head of Security.”
“Were you?” I hadn’t known that, but it should have been obvious - he was the sort that seemed to exude a need to protect everyone he came into contact with. Protect and nurture.
“That’s correct. Is that clear?" Chett tapped a finger on his knee as I nodded. “Good, now let’s go to security and privacy.”
I nodded again, waiting for him to speak.
"Ah yes. As mentioned after your induction ceremony, you are no longer bound to your House or in your case, Houses. Your first and only duty is to the Dragon Guard. Especially in your case. Similar to mine, our souls are bonded to the majestic dragons. That being said, when a Dragon Guard is needed, we drop whatever we are doing and dedicate our time and energies to whatever the Dragon Guard needs. There is no exception." He tapped the swirling stone on his circlet, and I reached up to touch mine. The smooth stone seemed so innocuous, so innocent. But it suddenly felt heavy on my forehead - like a prison.
"None?" I gulped down and thought about how it could affect my life I was building with the guys, the children we would undoubtedly bring to the world.
And my hopes and dreams - the fight that I was still gearing up to fight. The rights I was more than willing to fight for.
"Well, within reason. But no superficial events can take precedence on Dragon Guard duty if we require you. In time, you will learn that we can all communicate through the stones, a skill that the Springens can teach you. However, for practicality we need to wait until Hydra is bigger than she is now as it takes considerable strength and will.”
"We can communicate through the stones?" I looked at his, wondering how that was possible, but when I remembered the circumstances with which it installed itself on my forehead, I shouldn’t have been surprised.
"Dragon magic. Not in words, but with enough effort we can communicate ideas to one another. It's how we knew Kimba and Trellis were in the square. It's just very sad they hadn't reached out before they appeared in that square in Demiorgo. Maybe they were unable." He shook his head, the loss still affecting him.
“I’m sorry, Chett.”
He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, nodding at me before continuing, "It's okay. Now, privacy. They do not allow us to talk about our duty. The Dragon Guard helps with the running and upkeep of Demiorgo, the Unwanted Lands. Even Sylfeshire and Godsvail. However, we don’t do most of it in the open. The general population knows we exist, but it’s best they don’t know just how essential we are. For that, we keep our knowledge to ourselves.”
"And who can we tell exactly?" I thought of my Sires. Already, being a Dragon Guard was driving a wedge between us. We knocked it down and walked over it most of the time, but I knew that keeping secrets was probably not the best thing for the relationship.
He gave me a funny look, as though my question confused him. "We don't. At least to no one outside the Dragon Guard."
"Okay." A prison I couldn't talk about. I loved Hydra, I really, really did. But the circumstances of my having and keeping her?
Maybe not so much.
"So we have codes that we can use whe
n we’re communicating outside the Reserve and our dragons aren’t near for us to communicate through the stones." Chett handed me a thick book. "You can read that too, but let's discuss."
I sighed as I flipped to the first page. It would be a longer day than even I thought.
✽✽✽
At the end of the day, the last thing I wanted was to knock on a door that wasn’t mine. I knocked again, not caring if I was being brusque, although I questioned how intact my sanity was. A wide-eyed Aes eventually opened the door. “Mireyah, what in Zeevar’s name are you doing here?”
“I got Oryn’s note.” I waved the parchment I held in my hand. She sighed and shook her head. “I wondered if it was such a good idea sending you that. Come on in.”
I strode in and she led me down a narrow corridor and into a welcoming room with comfortable chairs. Oryn was dressed in snazzy robes, and he was busy fixing his hair using the mirror that hung next to the fireplace.
“How dare they!” I growled out as soon as I saw him see me in the reflection of the mirror. He spun around to face me, exchanging a look with Aes as he did.
“Mireyah….” He saw the parchment I held in my hand. “I take it you got my note.”
“Oh, I got your note, all right. Not only that, I got their precious invite.” I pulled it from the waistband of my trousers. The envelope was thick and heavy, my name written on the outside with gleaming black ink.
“They addressed it to Mireyah Dracari so I figure it’s safe to assume that they know I’m in the Dragon Guard and that they now think I’m worthy of an invitation,” I spat out.
“That’s…” Oryn trailed off before shrugging. “Not wrong. I don’t want to lie to you. They asked after you, my friend who became a Dragon Guard.”
“Bastards, every single one of them. I expected that getting home at this time meant that I would come home to my men. But no, the house is empty but for your note and this bloody fucking invite that I’d chosen to ignore. I didn’t even really glance at the name since I knew it was from the North.” I started pacing back and forth, but Aes held out a hand to stop me in my tracks.
