by E. L. Todd
“It was a barbaric practice. Regardless of the crime the elves committed, they didn’t deserve that cruelty. It’s a dark time in our society that we wish to forget. If you question any elf about it, they will disregard your words. The only reason I share this with you is because you’re right—you need to know.”
“Why would I not share this information with Ashe?”
He turned to regard her.
She could feel his stare even if she couldn’t see it.
He remained quiet.
She raised her chin and faced him, looking into the blue outline of his face.
“Please don’t make me say it, Cora.”
The truth fell onto her shoulders with the weight of the world. “Because King Lux used the Shamans to enslave the dragons…”
19
Peony
The mist parted and revealed her sitting there.
Long blond hair with flowers pinned into her braid. Dark green trousers and a matching tunic. She sat on the bench beside a grave, her hands together in her lap, her eyes on the tombstone that marked the final resting place of her loved one.
She had no idea that the outline of a woman was right beside her.
Cora stared, enticed to walk away and push this attempt to another day.
The blonde turned her head slightly and locked her eyes on Cora. They were blue and clear, but they instantly turned hostile once she narrowed her eyes. Her eyes flicked back to the grave once her animosity was made clear.
Just gotta suck it up.
Cora approached the grave but kept a few feet of distance.
The blonde looked at her once more, her look lethal. “You have no business here. Leave.”
“I just—”
“I said leave.”
She was tempted to leave, but she stayed. “Is that your mother?”
Her eyes immediately narrowed.
The spirit beside her had one hand placed on hers, her head bowed in sadness.
“She’s beside you—her hand on yours.”
The blue spirit raised her head and regarded Cora.
That just infuriated the blonde even more. “How dare you?”
“You can see me.” The spirit addressed her, pulling her hand away from her daughter’s and rising to her feet.
“Yes.”
She stepped forward, her arms resting by her sides.
“Yes, what?” The blond elf asked.
Cora kept her eyes on the spirit. “If there’s something you wish for me to tell your daughter, I can.”
The blonde got to her feet, her shoulders squared for a fight. “Walk away now, or I’ll make sure that Queen Delwyn ejects you from our lands—as she should have done in the first place.”
The spirit spoke. “Tell Peony that the brooch I gave her for her birthday looks lovely.”
Cora’s eyes shifted to the blond elf. “Peony, she says that the brooch you’re wearing looks lovely…the one she got you for your birthday.”
Her features immediately slackened as the revelation set in. Several breaths passed before she turned to the vacancy on the bench beside her, her fingers curling toward her palm. “Mama?” Her voice broke as a choked sob came forth.
The spirit moved to the bench beside her, her hand returning to hers.
“Her hand is on yours…”
Peony looked down at her hand on her thigh, her bottom lip trembling.
The spirit continued. “Tell my daughter that I miss her dearly…and it gives me great happiness to watch her visit me, beautiful flowers always in her hair.”
Cora shared the information.
Peony started to cry, clenching the hand she couldn’t feel. “Mom…”
Cora acted as the vessel between mother and daughter, destroying the veil that separated the living from the dead. Peony seemed to forget that Cora was the one speaking because she never looked her way. She continued to stare right at the place where her mother sat, as if she could see her herself.
Her mother had died in the last war, never to return home after the final battle against King Lux. The musculature of her frame was slightly visible in the haze, and it was clear in the way she carried herself, like she was still covered in armor and weapons.
Peony wanted to know that her mother was okay, but all her mother wanted to discuss was her daughter and her life in Eden Star.
“Father never remarried…”
“Doesn’t surprise me.”
“He’s still sad… I’m still sad.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
“Are you waiting for us?”
“I’m waiting for your father. You will have your own family someday, Peony. But of course, we will cross paths.”
Peony wiped the tears away from her cheeks and gave a sniff. “Father still takes care of your birds.”
“I knew he would. He hates that they wake him up every morning, but I know he loves them.”
“He loves them because you love them.”
She stared at her daughter for a while, her hand still on hers. “I’m sorry, Peony, but I have to go.”
“No…”
“We will see each other again.”
She nodded through her tears.
“Rein-Lei-Vu.”
“Rein-Lei-Vu…”
The blue spirit faded into the mist.
Peony took a deep breath the moment she felt her mother disappear.
These women were strangers, but the interaction affected Cora just as deeply as it did when Callon spoke to his Sun-lei. Her eyes were wet. Her chest hurt. It wasn’t her place to linger and watch a woman grieve her mother’s absence, so she stepped away.
“Wait.”
Cora halted.
Peony walked up behind her with silent footsteps. She came into Cora’s line of sight, with tears in her eyes that reflected the glow of the fireflies. “How did you do that?”
“Wish I knew.”
Her eyes dropped for a moment. “Can you do that with other spirits?”
“Yes.”
She took a moment then, her eyes still on the ground. “I haven’t heard my mother’s voice in…a very long time. But it came into my head so naturally because those were the exact words she would speak.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Peony lifted her eyes from the ground. “She was exactly the same…like she was in a good place.”
“I think so too.”
“Sorry I was so harsh earlier—”
“It’s fine. I’m used to people hating me everywhere I go, so…” A quiet chuckle escaped her lips, a bitter and painful one.
“Would you…be willing to do that again?”
“Sure.”
“I know it would mean a lot to my dad.”
“Of course. I just have one condition…”
Her blue eyes narrowed.
“I don’t want this to get back to the queen…so keep it to yourself.” Cora tensed once she made the request. It was treasonous, to ask another elf to hide a secret this immense. But if Peony wanted to be connected to her mother again, she would agree.
Peony hesitated before she gave a nod. “I grant your request.”
Cora stepped around Peony and walked away. “Come to my tree house if you need me. I’m usually around.”
She stepped across the threshold of the tree house and peered inside to see Callon scraping the contents of his pot into a bowl at the dining table. A bird was perched on the windowsill, chirping as he turned his head left and right to get a peek. Like Callon knew he was there, he grabbed a piece of his dinner and tossed it, making it land right next to the bird.
The bird gobbled it up then took off.
“Looks like you have a pet.”
Callon returned the pot to the stove before he regarded her, stern eyes in a stern face. Then he grabbed another bowl and split his dinner into two. “Barely heard you that time. You’re getting better.”
She took a seat at the table and pulled the bowl close. “One of Weila’s
recipes?”
Arms on the table with his head bowed, he spooned the food into his mouth. “Yes.”
“She knew her way around the kitchen.”
He chewed, his eyes out the window.
The mutual silence continued, the two of them eating together, no pressure to exchange words. Singing birds surrounded the house on all sides, growing louder as the sun set further and further.
“I made a friend…sorta.”
Callon’s eyes lifted to hers.
“Peony.”
“Peony Mountain?”
“I don’t know…the introduction wasn’t that specific.”
He took another bite. “What happened?”
She told him what had transpired at the Cemetery of Spirits.
Now his dinner was abandoned in front of him. His dark eyes were focused on her, serious and narrowed. “Her reaction?”
“Disbelief, obviously. But once her mother gave me details I would never know otherwise, everything changed. I told her I would continue to do it for her if she kept my secret from the queen.”
“And her answer?”
She gave a nod.
His arms crossed on the table, his bowl set to the side, his eyes on the window again. “I would deceive Queen Delwyn for the opportunity to speak to my wife and son again. Others will feel the same. Your secret will spread among the elves—but it won’t reach her ears for a long time. But by the time it does, it’ll be too late.”
“What if she just executes me?”
He gave a slight shake of his head. “The elves of Eden Star will stand in her way. If they lose you, they lose their loved ones too.”
“I guess that’s true.”
“Peony will tell the others. The flame has been lit—and now the fire will spread.” He turned back to her and studied her face. “There’s pain in your eyes. Why?”
She held his gaze in static form, unsure what to share and what to hide. “I spoke to my father.”
“Did his words provoke you?”
“No. I just…I wish he were still here.”
He shifted his look away instantly, giving a slight nod of his head. “As do I, Sor-lei.”
Her mind pressed up against the hard surface with a grooved texture that felt like rigid scales on a muscular flank. Her open palm pressed against the dragon, feeling the rise and fall of his breathing lungs.
Pretty, you’re back.
Hey, Flare. How are you?
You’re always so sad when I speak to you. I don’t like it, Pretty.
I’m sorry. I am happy to talk to you.
Does General Callon continue his tirade of coldness?
No, we’re good now. Can you bring in Rush? I have something to tell you both.
Hold on.
Rush’s voice emerged a moment later. Everything alright, Cora?
Yeah, I’m totally fine.
General Asshole came around?
She knew it was a joke, so she rolled her eyes. Yes. But don’t call him that.
Come on, you know I’m only teasing.
I know. How are things with you?
Well, it’s a bit complicated—
It’s not complicated at all. We’re lost. And he’s the reason we’re lost.
Don’t act like you don’t like eating those goats, alright?
The more I eat them, the more they attack us.
They’re following us all through the mountains. We have to keep one person on guard all night. Not because of orcs. Not because of Shamans. But because of these goats that’ll knock your teeth out.
I thought you had a map?
But it’s not very detailed, and there’re sooooo many mountains over here. It’s like a needle in a haystack.
A needle on a mountainside.
Literally.
Are you guys going to turn back?
Nah. We’ll figure it out. What did you need to tell us?
Well…I got our answer about the Shamans.
General Callon told you?
My father.
Based on the way you’re talking, this sounds like bad news.
Because it is.
Alright. Lay it on us.
The Shamans are elves. Dark elves.
Silence.
Eden Star used to punish elves by cursing them… And I guess they turn into…whatever they are.
That’s barbaric. And the elves are not barbaric.
He said it was a really long time ago. They’re so ashamed of it that they’ve removed it from their history and lore. It’s forbidden to speak of it.
Does that mean elves can use Death Magic? That would explain why you’re capable of it.
I don’t think they can. That black flower I told you about? That’s what they used to make the curse.
So, the Shamans that exist today are elves from centuries ago.
Yes.
What does Ashe, King of Dragons, think about this?
I haven’t told him.
Why is that?
Because if I do…it’ll be over.
How have you been able to keep this from him? He would have witnessed the conversation.
My father told me it was only for me to know—so I blocked him out.
When was this?
This morning.
And when he questioned you, what did you say?
I’m still blocking him. He’s pressed against my mind a couple times…
You never deny a king, Cora. Especially when he’s trusted you with his mind, body, and soul.
I know…but I don’t know what else to do.
You must tell him.
I still don’t understand why you don’t want to tell him.
Yes.
She sat up in bed, her arms crossed over her chest, the blankets around her waist. Whenever their voices were in her head, it was like they were in the same room, just a breath away. Because if the Shamans never existed, King Lux would have been unable to force the dragons to fuse…
Silence once more.
Shit.
A heavy weight of emptiness broke through his voice. The elves have blamed us for centuries. They abandoned us to the dungeons. They stayed in their forest as we were tortured—all the while saying we deserved it.
Cora closed her eyes to shield herself from the heartbreak in Flare’s voice.
There is no word to describe that kind of cruelty. Not in Elvish. Not in Dragon. Not in Dwarvish. None.
I’m sorry…but I had to tell you.
Silence.
He’s gone.
Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything…or maybe said it better.
I would have told him anyway. And there was no good way to say it, Cora.
She tightened her arms across her chest.
You can’t tell Ashe.
I can’t lie to him…
I understand that’s impossible for you to do. Believe me, I get it. But we both know what will happen when he knows the truth. Our only chance of securing this alliance is over. We need more than dwarves and elves to win this war. If we don’t have dragons to meet their dragons in the skies, it’ll be a massacre.
I know. But…
He’ll leave Eden Star and return home—unless you force him into a fuse—
Don’t even say that…
Cora, I know you never would. I’m just saying.
Well, don’t ever say that again.
Rush turned silent.
What do I say?
You could say it’s an elvish secret that you can’t share with him.
Ashe would never accept that answer.
Then you need to lie to him.
Not telling him the truth is much different from outright lying.
Those are your two options, Cora. It doesn’t matter which you pick—because both are a betrayal.
Ugh, I hate this.
I know. But if you never tell him, I don’t see how he would ever figure it out.
He will—once we figure out why I can use Death Magic.
Tib
erius didn’t answer that?
No. We didn’t talk about it. I was so stunned by what he told me that I didn’t think about anything else.
Understandable.
I just can’t believe this, you know?
It changes everything. Like our odds weren’t poor enough…
Do you have any theories? About me?
Well, I’m even more confident that you aren’t a Shaman. You haven’t been cursed, and if you have, you would have been turned by now.
I guess that’s true.
So at least we can rule that out.
But we aren’t left with any other theories.
I’m totally stumped, Cora. I can’t even think of anyone to ask.
What about Mathilda?
Just because she carries the flower in her shop doesn’t mean she knows what the elves use it for. And even if she does know, that doesn’t mean she can explain why you have the powers of a Shaman without the curse. The only person we could ask…would be a Shaman.
A shiver went down her spine, a vile and disgusting shiver.
But even if that was an option, I don’t think it’d be a good one.
Yeah.
All we know is you have the power to take on the Shamans. And maybe…that’s all that matters.
20
The Burden of the Veil
When Callon pursued her in battle, it was always a fight to the death.
He gave her his all—every time.
To wield her sword, block his hits, be aware of her footing, and project her mind to disarm his all at the same time…was exhausting. It was hard to concentrate on all things at the same time.
It made her drop her sword more than once.
“Again.” Callon readopted his position.
You need to disarm his mind.
What do you think I’ve been doing? She pushed off the ground and grabbed her sword.
You’re doing too much at once. Pick your battles, Cora.
When he’s coming at me like a psychopath—
Not a psychopath. He’s one of the greatest swordsmen, and you should feel honored that he’s teaching you.
I do. I just… It’s a lot, okay?
Too bad. You think General Noose won’t be a lot?
I’ll do the Skull Crusher if I have to.
