Fury

by E. L. Todd

Her body was on the ground, and her eyes saw the wall of black appear.

  Then a gray eye came into her vision, large and luminous. Are you alright?

  “Yeah…just wasn’t prepared for that.”

  I’ll return shortly. He stepped away, each of his enormous feet making a distinct thud as he moved.

  She pushed herself up and watched Ashe crouch down to become as small as possible as he slithered away, almost like a snake. Nauseated and weak, she felt as if her legs or arms had been torn off. Their connection had been brief, just a week, but once he was gone…there was a distinct void in her chest.

  Like she would never be the same.

  5

  The Riverglade King

  Her training had completed for the day. She bathed at her tree house then sat at the table in front of the window with a bowl of greens and root vegetables in a lemon sauce.

  That will not sustain a warrior.

  “It sustains Callon just fine.”

  Then he must eat all the time.

  “He doesn’t.”

  Unnatural.

  “We don’t breathe fire and have jaws lined with ten rows of teeth. So, it is natural—for us.”

  Perhaps.

  She stirred the contents without taking a bite.

  You’re sad.

  “Just not very hungry.”

  I can feel it, Cora.

  Her hand stilled on her fork, feeling his presence suddenly thicken, press up against her the way the red cardinal did—but on a much more intimate scale. Two souls in one body. Two hearts in a single chest.

  When you were reunited with Callon, I could feel the way you loved him. Now I can feel this…

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Ashe retreated from her mind, like he physically crossed the room to put space between them.

  “Cora.”

  She turned at the sound of her name, seeing Callon in the doorway. “Hey.”

  With his arms rigid at his sides, he stood there, his eyes leaving her face and moving elsewhere.

  “Everything alright?”

  “I know I’ve been harsh. I’m sorry for that.”

  “You don’t need to apologize—”

  “I’d like to show you something.” His face turned back to hers.

  He wanted the awkwardness to pass, so she did too. “Sure.” She abandoned her food at the table and joined him at the front door. “Where are we going?”

  He led, taking the stairway of vines. “The Great Hall.”

  A few hours before sunset, the life in the forest was slowly becoming dormant. The sunlight hit the trees in a beautiful way, highlighting the canopy in a greenish glow from all the leaves. Elves walked the forest floor, mostly alone, but sometimes in pairs.

  They took the path away from the tree houses and passed through the thick forest that obscured most of the sunlight. Moisture was heavy in the air, green moss on the north side of the trees.

  Callon was beside her, quiet the entire way. “I understand you’re no warrior, Cora. But I must try everything I can do to make you resemble one as much as possible. I will protect you with my life, but if my life is taken, I fear for yours.”

  “I know.”

  “I’ve lost enough.” His eyes were rigidly fixed on the path ahead. “I can’t endure any more. It was I who should have died, not my family. They should have outlived me. They should be the ones grieving me.” He turned his head and met her gaze. “You must outlive me, Cora. You must.”

  Her hand went to his arm and gave a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry.”

  “If you ever have children of your own someday, you will understand.”

  “I already do understand. I understand it every time I look into your eyes.” Her hand slowly slid down his arm until it rested at her side.

  He forced forward again, emerging from the trees and into the clearing where the large building sat in a field of orange poppies. Stalks broke under their boots as they approached, a quiet summer breeze passing through their hair.

  They stepped inside, the hall answering their presence with silence.

  “What did you want to show me?” She looked and listened for the sound of other elves in the building, but they seemed to be alone.

  He took the lead down the hallway, made a couple turns, and then emerged into a large room that had benches and portraits on the walls. Enormous portraits, most of which were twelve feet tall.

  He approached one in particular and stopped several feet back.

  She examined the painting that captured his gaze.

  Queen Delwyn stood there in a white gown, flowers in her hair, both of her hands placed in the palms of a man across from her. The couple faced each other—like it was a wedding ceremony.

  Tall, muscular, with a hard jaw like Rush, she knew exactly who he was.

  Tiberius Riverglade.

  “This was painted on their Union.”

  “Queen Delwyn looks exactly the same.”

  “She’s aged slightly—but it’s hard to notice.”

  “I thought elves were immortal.”

  “They are. Doesn’t mean we don’t mature like humans and dwarves. We just do it very slowly.”

  She turned her attention on Callon and watched him examine the painting, his expression vacant.

  She looked at the portrait again, looking at the man she’d never called Father. “I have his eyes…”

  “You have other things too.”

  He was a man she’d never met, but somehow, her eyes began to tear. Memories had never been created. Moments never shared. His life came and went, on a timeline that never intersected hers. It wasn’t the loss of the man. It was the loss of the opportunity. Blue eyes came into her mind along with a handsome smile, but she pushed it away to a place her mind couldn’t follow.

  “Whenever my brother was deep in thought, it was with a stern expression. You do the same thing.” His hands moved behind his back, eyes straight ahead. “I doubt this is inherited, but…he was a bit of a smartass too.”

  Her eyes immediately flicked to him.

  Callon shifted his gaze to hers, a slight smile moving to his lips.

  She smiled back, her eyes still wet.

  “At least, he was when it was just the two of us.” His eyes moved forward again. “He was a good man and a great king. His infidelity was his only transgression, and I wouldn’t have believed he was capable of such a thing if I didn’t see your ring…and your resemblance to him. Don’t think less of him for it. One mistake doesn’t erase his lifetime of good deeds.”

  “I don’t.”

  “He always wanted to have a child. Queen Delwyn didn’t.”

  His strength was palpable through the painting, along with his love and affection for the queen he devoted himself to. How different would that painting look if she were there? “I wish I could have met him…even if it was just once.”

  His hand moved to her arm, and he gently pulled her away. “You can.”

  She regarded him as he guided her away.

  “In the graveyard.”

  “Queen Delwyn forbade me from coming here.” The trees were tightly scrunched together in the space, the evergreen leaves crowded together to create a ceiling that hid the sky from view. A single path was in the center, but the distance was obscured by mist.

  “And she was wrong to do that.” Callon took the lead, stepping onto the path between the trees and moving farther inside the forest. The mist was imminent, just like the mist that formed the barrier of Mist Isle, but the energy was different. Instead of thriving with the presence of mythical creatures, this was full of the absence of life.

  The pathway opened, having clusters of graves with flowers growing around the headstones, even though sunlight didn’t reach through the copse of trees. Trails led in other directions, to other groupings of fallen elves. Crickets and other creatures provided the background of a gentle hum of wildlife, but the mist amplified that noise to higher proportions. With the mist, the sound, t
he cool moisture against her skin, it felt like she was far away from Eden Star. “This is where you visit your family?”

  He was about to take a path to the right when he turned to regard her. “Yes.”

  “Can I meet them too?”

  His natural instinct was probably to say no, but instead, he considered the request and gave a nod. “They’re your family too.”

  Fireflies lit up the darkness on their way, the shrouded mist refracting the light to make the circumference even larger. Cool moisture pressed against her cheeks as they moved, forming drops that sometimes slid down her face.

  Callon stopped when he reached two graves, side by side. There was a third headstone, but it was unmarked. He stared down at the headstones, quiet and still.

  She came to his side and read the first.

  * * *

  In Grace Lies

  Weila Riverglade

  Warrior. Wife. Mother.

  * * *

  She read the second.

  * * *

  In Grace Lies

  Turnion Riverglade

  Soldier. Son.

  * * *

  Her hand moved to Callon’s shoulder, and her fingers dug into his shirt. Together, they stared at the graves, the flowers growing over both of the markers. Green ivy grew along their headstones, covered with white flowers. “I’m sorry.”

  Callon’s expression was as hard as always, his dark eyes conveying nothing. He stepped away and lowered himself to the stone bench beside their graves, his hands coming together on his thighs. With straight shoulders and head slightly bowed, he looked at the earth beneath his boots.

  She took a seat beside him.

  Silence went on for a long time, the crickets echoing throughout the forest, the fireflies slowly floating from one point of the area to the next.

  “Sometimes they come. Sometimes they don’t.”

  “They come together?”

  “Rarely. It’s usually just one or the other.” His eyes remained on the ground, and he gave a slow and deliberate breath.

  They returned to their silence, waiting and hoping.

  She stared at the forest, finding it both sad and beautiful. It was unlike any other place she experienced on this earth. Her focus would follow one firefly then shift to another. Drops of moisture would occasionally drip from the canopy, like raindrops that made their way down to the base of the tree.

  Then she saw it.

  A bluish haze.

  It was a flicker that came and went. Translucent.

  Callon closed his eyes. “She’s here. I can feel her.”

  With a held breath, she watched the blue tint come back into focus, and this time, it was more distinct. It was the outline of a woman. Long hair in a braid, it flapped like there was a breeze wherever she was. Petite in size but strong in the shoulders and arms, she looked like the warrior Callon had described. There were no other features to identify because it was just an outline, an incomplete drawing.

  Weila moved to her knees in front of him, her hand resting on top of his.

  “Can you feel her?” he whispered.

  Cora couldn’t speak.

  Weila bowed her head on top of their joined hands.

  The moisture on her cheeks was no longer from the mist. Tears sprung to her eyes quicker than the snap of her fingers as she witnessed eternal love.

  “Cora?” He must have heard the sniffles because he turned to regard her.

  “She’s on her knees in front of you…her hands in yours…”

  His eyes narrowed.

  “I know this because…I can see her.”

  6

  Best Friends

  You think they’ll be there? Flare glided in the darkness, the lights of Karth in the distant background.

  Yes.

  And if they aren’t?

  Then we wait.

  Flare drew closer, the darkness covering their arrival in Anastille. How are you?

  Fine.

  Rush—

  I’m said I’m fine.

  Flare maneuvered around the mountain and dived into the cove. His heavy body landed on the beach with a distinct thud, his talons digging deep into the grains of sand as they shifted under his weight. I see lanterns.

  Good, they’re here.

  Rush emerged and approached the entrance of the cave. “Wake up. Daddy’s home.”

  Bridge sat up inside his cot, his palm rubbing his eyes before he tried to focus on Rush’s approach. “Finally.” He pushed himself to his feet, his eyes still blinking to adjust to the world around him. “You have any idea how long we’ve been waiting around?”

  “Yes, I made a full recovery. Thanks for asking.”

  Bridge rolled his eyes as he gave a sigh. “Shut up. I already knew you would.”

  Rush stopped in front of him and looked him over. “You look like shit, by the way.”

  Bridge gave a sly grin, a full beard on his chin, more awake now. “I’ve been living in a cave for months, so, no surprise there.”

  Zane left his cot next and embraced Rush with a handshake. “This guy’s immortal—and not because he’s fused.”

  “Just because I’m a lucky son of a bitch, I guess.” He embraced him back. “You look good, man.”

  He rubbed his hand through his thick scruff. “I take care of the front lawn, you know.” He cast a look at Bridge.

  Bridge glared. “Not my fault I lost everything with the ship.”

  “What happened to the ship?” Rush asked.

  Bridge brushed off the question. “It’s a long story…”

  Liam came next, walking up to him with his typical starstruck look. “How’s your dragon?”

  “He’s good,” Rush said, shaking his hand. “I’m good too…thanks.”

  He knows we’re the same person, right?

  He just likes me more. Understandable.

  “So, what’s been going on with you these past three months?” Bridge asked.

  “Wait.” Rush took a look around. “Where’s Lilac?”

  “Oh,” Zane said. “She’s with Captain Hurricane.”

  Rush turned to Bridge. “As in, she’s gone for good?”

  “No…” Bridge gave an uncomfortable look. “They’re doing a long-distance thing, so she’s with him for a few more days. Where’s Cora?”

  The instant she was mentioned, Rush gave a pause. “Eden Star.”

  “Is she joining us or…?” Bridge’s eyes flicked back and forth.

  “Not for a while.” When he didn’t hear from her, he assumed she made it safe and sound. She had Ashe, King of Dragons, to look after her, so he knew she was in good hands. “As for Flare and me, we’ve been at Mist Isle.”

  “With the dragons?” Liam immediately blurted, his eyes glazing over as he imagined it.

  Rush dodged the question, always uncomfortable with the guy’s obsession. “Long story short, we convinced some of them to fight with us.”

  Bridge’s mouth gaped open in shock. “What?”

  “So, they are there?” Zane asked. “I can’t believe it…”

  “How many?” Liam asked. “How glorious were they?”

  He sounds like you.

  A bit. I like it.

  Rush exchanged a look with Bridge.

  Bridge gave a slight shrug, telling him Liam was harmless.

  Rush continued. “But their participation is contingent on the elves.”

  “That’s why Cora is there,” Bridge said, following his thoughts perfectly. “You think that’ll work?”

  “I’m still in shock that we got some of the dragons to agree in the first place.” If it weren’t for Cora, it never would have happened. He was still the number one enemy to the dragons, still considered General Rush. “I believe that she can do anything.”

  “Maybe,” Bridge said. “I mean, that elf came with her to save you.”

  “Yeah…” A conversation had never taken place, but Rush could see the fury on Callon’s face when their eyes met. They were enemie
s. If the circumstances had been different, General Callon would have had his sword against his neck. “That was kinda a one-time thing.”

  “It still happened.” Bridge nudged him in the side. “Pretty big deal.”

  Because of her.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Bridge asked. “Eden Star? When Captain Hurricane returns, we’ll ask for a ride.”

  “No Eden Star,” Rush said. “We’ve got to get more allies. Even if the elves agree, we still need more people.”

  “Really?” Bridge crossed his arms over his chest, his head tilted. “Even with an army of dragons?”

  “We don’t have an army.” Rush gave a shake of his head. “We have twelve. King Lux has far more than that…”

  Disappointment flickered across Bridge’s gaze, but he covered it up. “Well…better than nothing. So, who do we ask?”

  Rush gave him a blank stare. “So, you guys literally did nothing but grow beards while I was gone?”

  Bridge glared. “How are we supposed to find an underground resistance group and wait for you at the same time?”

  He has a point.

  This is taking too long.

  Why are you in such a hurry?

  My father knows Cora and General Callon got me out of the prison.

  Meaning?

  I’m building alliances—powerful ones.

  Flare considered what he said, his mind suddenly heavy. Will he march on Eden Star?

  He might.

  He never has before.

  Well, when his son is rescued by the brother of the king he slew…things change. “The dwarves. Let’s start there.”

  “Uh, do you have any idea where they are?” Bridge asked.

  “You’re the scholar, aren’t you?” Rush said.

  Bridge nudged him in the side, this time harder. “I know the location of their territory. But how to get inside? No idea. You’re the only one who was alive last time they were seen, so you tell me.”

  Rush looked at the other guys. “Anyone have any ideas?”

  Both shook their heads.