Ashes of Dearen: Book 1

by Jayden Woods

  As the storm raged outside, Picard sensed the Haze in the air fading.

  “No ...” He ran to a window and stared out into the swirling torrent. Little could be seen through the thrashing drops and rolling mist. But beams of moonlight pierced the clouds, creating stark contrasts of light and shadow. Light should never cut sharply in Dearen. Everything should glow and gleam and glitter. Everything should blur in the Haze.

  “NO!”

  He forgot briefly about Sean, Kyne, Fayr, and his own father. All he could think about was the sharp pain in his right arm, clenching his nerves, splintering up his shoulder.

  “Friva help me,” he gasped, and ran for his room.

  What he found there—or did not find—only helped to increase his panic. Severed ribbons streamed loose from his bed frame.

  “Mina?” he cried. “MINA!”

  She was gone.

  He collapsed on the floor and ran his hands through his hair. She couldn’t be gone. She just couldn’t. He had enjoyed his many days with her—or at least he had nearly done so. He had not yet discovered what pleased him, but he had been closer to that discovery than ever, he felt. He had watched her react to his touch, or his mere conversation, as her safra ran out day after day. He blocked the windows so she could not breathe it, and he consumed it in front of her, so that she desired it but could not have any of her own. He watched the pain flicker slowly into her awareness, just as his own was doing now. And it had been a sight to behold.

  But he had not yet found what he searched for. And now … now …

  Thunder boomed outside and sent vibrations through his bones. He clutched his aching arm and gnashed his teeth. The wind through the open curtain lashed his curls and he knew this wasn’t over. Not yet—and far from it. This was only the beginning.

  He remembered the safra supply he kept under the bed. He’d started it not long ago, perhaps when he’d subconsciously sensed that not everything happened as he wished it to. He had begun to fear that his plans would go awry: that the khan would make a fool of himself, and that Sean would not complete his mission. He’d realized that he might as well collect what safra he could from the ground, or the corners, or even from the air in Dearen while he had the chance. So a few pouches of the glittery dust waited under his bed frame.

  He dashed under there now and stuffed his mouth with the sparkly powder.

  A few moments later, he breathed a deep sigh of relief. He collapsed against his sheets and breathed the piquant smell of the storm. He would survive this. He was smarter than all the fools of Dearen. He would discover the formula, and he would either get the princess killed, or bind her to Vikand in marriage. Safra would not be lost.

  Mina should not be lost, either.

  He got up and decided to find her. Safra glittered from his nostrils as he huffed for breath. Perhaps he felt better, but his time with Mina was not resolved. That was all there was to it.

  He wandered through the halls looking for her.

  “Mina? Mina! Come out, darling. I’ll give you safra this time. I’ll give you whatever you want. Just come back …”

  He could not find her. Instead he only walked past lashing rain and annoying revelry. His arm throbbed and his body trembled. He found a neglected goblet of safra juice and glutted his thirst with its remains.

  With a sigh, he slowed down and found a smile on his face. His pain ebbed and he relaxed his arm at his side. Everything would be fine. Sean would do … whatever exactly he planned to do. Then Sean would return and they would take Kyne’s key and everything else he knew about safra. Finally, Picard would find Mina again and everything with her would be even more interesting before, because now he knew the pain of losing her.

  He told himself this several more times, over and over again, as he made his way back to his room. Then he blocked out the sound of the storm to the best of his ability and managed to fall asleep.