Ride The Wave: Her Elemental Dragons Book Four

by Briggs, Elizabeth;

  A part of me knew that my relationship with my father would be fleeting and short-lived. I wanted to soak up as much time with him as I could before it was over. Even if he was something of a monster, I was curious about him—and my mother too, if I was honest. They’d lived a long time, and I knew so little about them, beyond the myths and rumors.

  “What did you do before you became Nysa’s mate?” I asked, when we stopped to take a quick break. Talking while flying was difficult except for a few short words yelled into the wind, so this was our first moment to chat.

  “I was a pirate,” Doran said.

  “Really?” I had to admit he did look the part.

  He leaned against a tree and took a swig of water. “It’s been a long time since I thought about those days. I grew up in the Water Realm, and your grandmother and her mates had brokered a truce with the elementals, so they didn’t attack us as long as we stayed out of their way. That opened the seas to travel, and I joined a merchant’s ship at thirteen. At sixteen, we got attached by pirates. They told me I could join them or die. Seemed like an obvious choice.” A slow grin spread over his face. “By the time I was twenty-five and the Water God came to visit me, I was captain of that ship.”

  “What happened then?”

  His grin faded. “I gave it all up for Nysa.”

  Of course he did. Just like my mates gave up their previous lives for me. “Did you love her?”

  “I did. I do. I always will.” He met my eyes. “But I love my daughter more.”

  I stared at him and grasped for a way to respond. He turned away before I could find an answer, and then he shifted back into his dragon form to take off. All I could do was stand there, reeling in shock, while a warm feeling spread through my chest, followed by a deep, unbearable sadness. I’d waited so long to hear words like that…and now they were from my enemy.

  * * *

  Doran led the way, pushing us hard the entire time. When we finally stopped it was late in the evening, and we managed to find an abandoned farm to spend the night in. The roof was caving in on the farmhouse and everything had a layer of dust, but I supposed it was better than camping outside. Jasin lit a fire in the slightly moldy hearth, and we sat around it while we ate some of the food we’d packed.

  Doran spread the map out in front of us. “We’re going to take a slightly longer route to avoid the other Dragons, who will no doubt be looking for us around the old Water Temple.”

  “What can you tell us about the other Dragons?” Jasin asked.

  He lifted one shoulder in a casual shrug. “What do you want to know? I’ve spent many lifetimes with the bastards. It’s hard to narrow it down to a quick summary.”

  “Tell us about each one of them,” Auric said. “What did they do before they were chosen by the Gods? What are they like now?”

  Doran leaned back in a rickety wooden chair and folded his hands behind his head. “Isen was a nobleman, Sark was a soldier, Heldor was a carpenter, and, like I told Kira earlier, I was a pirate.”

  “That sounds oddly similar to our lives before all of this,” Slade said.

  “You’re probably more like the Dragon you’re replacing than you realize, and you’ll probably take on similar roles once this is all over. Her protector, her enforcer, her scout, and her diplomat.” He chuckled softly. “What can I say? Each of the Gods has a type.”

  “I’m nothing like Sark,” Jasin said with a scowl.

  “No? He’s brave, passionate, and hot-tempered. He acts without thinking but can be strategic when it comes to battle. He’d fight and die for his beliefs and he’s willing to stand up and be a leader when required. Sound like anyone we know?” He smirked, and Jasin’s scowl only deepened. “But you’re right—Sark is different from you in some ways. He will murder innocents, including children, and feels no guilt as long as he believes it will help the Black Dragon. Sark’s the darker version of you, twisted and corrupted by years of serving Nysa.”

  “Does that make you the darker version of me?” Reven asked, arching an eyebrow.

  “I suppose.” Doran appraised Reven. “We both have a view of the world that’s more gray than black and white. We’re both willing to do whatever needs to be done, preferably from the shadows. We collect secrets to use as leverage. We guard our hearts and can come across as cold, but only to hide how much we feel. Am I right?”

  Reven looked away sharply and didn’t answer.

  I leaned forward, curious. “What makes you darker than him?”

  Doran’s face turned serious. “I doubt Reven would have waited centuries to act when he believed something was wrong.”

  Awkward silence fell over the room. “And Heldor?” I finally asked.

  “Heldor is fiercely loyal to the Black Dragon and rarely leaves her side unless she commands it. Most of us have had other lovers over the years, but Heldor has never once strayed. He’s the strong and silent type, calm under pressure, and generally level-headed. But he has a low tolerance for nonsense, and he follows Nysa without question. He’ll do anything for her.”

  “What about Isen?” Auric asked.

  “Isen is smart, calculating, and likes to collect knowledge, although his motives are different from yours. For him, it’s all about power. In the old days, he was often the mediator of our group, and trust me there were many times when none of us got along. He prefers not to fight unless he must, although he has no problem murdering people in cold blood either. His favorite method is to suffocate anyone who disagrees with him.” Doran turned to Auric. “I can teach you how to do that, if you’d like.”

  “No, thank you.” Auric’s face paled. “That sounds horrible.”

  “Why hasn’t Isen done that to us?” Jasin asked.

  “Suffocating someone with magic requires a lot of concentration, and it takes longer than you think to choke someone to death. He prefers to use it to make sure he gets his way—anyone watching is usually too terrified to disagree with him after that.”

  “How do we defeat them?” Slade asked.

  Doran let out a harsh laugh. “Right now? You can’t. They’re stronger than you, and they’ve been Dragons for centuries.”

  Reven sneered. “What are we supposed to do? Wait a hundred years before trying to take them down?”

  “No, because I’m going to train you.” My father leaned forward, the firelight dancing in his eyes. “I’ll teach you how to use your powers and how to work together. In our time, the previous Dragons mentored us before they stepped down. You’ve been at a disadvantage because you’ve had to figure everything out on your own.” He looked at each of us in turn. “With my help, you might actually stand a chance.”

  13

  Slade

  In the morning, I woke early and took a walk through the abandoned farm, down a steep hill. When I was out of sight of the farmhouse, I shifted into my dragon form for the second time. The transformation was strange as my bones cracked, expanded, and changed. Wings formed on my back. My fingernails turned to talons. My teeth turned to fangs. And everything around me suddenly got a lot smaller.

  Compared to the others, I was massive. In my human form I was broader than Kira’s other mates, but I hadn’t realized it would translate to this body as well.

  I glanced behind me again to make sure no one had followed me, trying to get used to the way my long neck moved, almost like a snake’s. With the sun cresting the horizon, my scales turned to green fire, and I had to admit they were beautiful.

  I took a deep breath and raised my wings. The fear of failing a second time nearly held me back, but I had to try this again. For Kira.

  I beat my wings as fast as I could and managed to lift up onto my claws, but that was as far as I got. It was like the ground itself was holding me down, preventing me from flying. I let out a frustrated roar before becoming a human again.

  I knelt and picked up a handful of dirt, then let it run through my fingers. Would I ever be able to fly, or would I be condemned to the ground forever?
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  “Heldor had difficulty flying at first, too,” Doran said, making me jump. He stood behind me, appearing out of nowhere like Reven did sometimes. Sneaky bastards. “It's not your fault. Your Earth magic makes it hard for you to fly. That connection with the ground is so strong you’ll have to learn to overcome and let go of it before you can lift off. I can help you.” He examined me. “It doesn't help you're such a large Dragon either, about the same size as Heldor when you shift. You'll need to build up your wing strength too.”

  I scowled at him, but his words felt right, and I had to admit I did need help. I had no idea what I was doing, and I didn't have time to figure it out on my own. He'd lived for hundreds of years and had seen Heldor go through the same thing once. I gritted my teeth and said, “I'd appreciate your help.”

  Doran chuckled. “I doubt that, but I'll give it to you anyway. There's no way you can defeat us if you can't fly.”

  “You want us to defeat you?”

  “Of course.” He said it casually, so casually I suspected he might be lying. Like Reven, he was hard to read, and secrets perpetually danced behind his eyes. Until recently, I wouldn’t have trusted either of them. Then Reven went and saved my life and nearly died in the process. And Doran… Well, he’d helped Kira escape and had protected her. I wasn’t ready to let down my guard completely with him, but I was willing to listen to his advice.

  Doran waved a hand at me. “All right, turn back into a dragon.”

  “You want to do this now?”

  “You have somewhere else you need to be?”

  I scowled at him, then took a few steps back to give myself space, and returned to my dragon form. The others would be up soon, but for now we were alone out here.

  He nodded as if confirming his suspicions. “Like I thought, your size is going to make it harder for you to fly. You’ll need to practice with your wings every day to build up their strength.”

  I groaned, though it came out more like a growl. My voice was different as a dragon. Deeper. Louder. More gravely.

  “But the real thing holding you back is your own magic,” Doran continued. “Along with your own self-doubt.”

  Now I really did growl at him, though he ignored it and kept talking.

  “What I want you to do is try to let go of your earth magic. I know it’s a part of you but try to block it out however you can.”

  How did he expect me to do that? The moment the Earth God came to me, I became a different person. No longer a simple blacksmith living in a small town, but someone destined for bigger things. Even when I wondered if he should have chosen another, or missed my old life, or tried to guard my heart from Kira, I’d never wavered in my faith. The magic was a fundamental part of me and had become as natural as breathing.

  I felt the earth through my clawed feet, which dug at the dirt. The only time I didn’t feel the earth’s presence was when I was flying on one of the other dragons’ backs, or when we were on a wretched boat. Even on a boat I’d managed to connect with the wood and the metal, but soaring high in the sky—it was hard for me to feel comfortable with that. Like a part of me was cut off.

  Maybe that was the problem. I tried to focus on that uncomfortable feeling now. I pictured riding on the back of Auric or Jasin as they soared across the sky, and how empty and adrift I felt. I hated it, but when I tried to take off this time, my feet left the ground.

  I didn’t get far. My wings flapped rapidly to hold me up, but I knew they wouldn’t last long.

  From below, Doran called out, “Nice work! Try to hold it as long as you can.”

  I hovered above him for a few more seconds, before hitting the ground in a thump, sending a cloud of dirt into the air around us.

  Doran coughed and waved it away. “Good. Now I want you to do that every day. Preferably multiple times.”

  I groaned and set my head down, already tired from that short flight—and from dealing with Doran.

  He walked away while I rested there, enjoying the sun on my back and the dirt under my scales. As the sky grew brighter, I heard footsteps approach. Kira. I raised my head and met her eyes before looking away quickly, ashamed she had to see me like this. I was a failed dragon who could hover for a few seconds at best. She deserved better.

  “I never got the chance to see you as a dragon,” she said, as she approached. Her arms wrapped around my head, embracing me. “You’re beautiful.”

  I let out a grunt, but nudged my head up against her chest, enjoying her touch. The bond between us, which I hadn’t noticed before except when we’d had sex, suddenly took over my mind. I sensed how happy she was to see me like this and felt her belief in me. My own doubts slowly fell away. I couldn’t fly now, but I would keep practicing every spare moment I could—for Kira.

  14

  Kira

  We reached the coast that evening, just north of the border between the Earth Realm and the Water Realm. Doran showed Reven and Slade how to turn saltwater into water we could drink, while Auric and Jasin rested after flying the entire day with few breaks. I took a walk down the shore, my toes digging into the wet sand for the first time in years, while lazy waves stretched closer and closer to my feet. The moon was bright overhead, making the surface of the water shimmer, and I bent to pick up a shell that almost seemed to glow.

  “Kira,” a voice whispered across the salty breeze.

  I jerked upright and spun around, the shell clutched in my palm. My grandmother Enva stood ankle-deep in the water, yet when the tide pulled back, she showed no signs it had ever touched her. She strode toward me, her gray skirts completely dry, her white hair shining under the moonlight like a pearl. She’d once been called the White Dragon, and though she’d been dead for centuries, she was trapped between this world and the next along with every other person who had passed. But unlike the others, her connection to the Spirit Goddess allowed her to hold onto enough life to manifest in front of me for a short time.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t help while you were being held captive,” she said, as she drew near. “The bone cage prevented me from visiting you.”

  “I assumed as much,” I said, relieved to see her again. “Why does the bone block our powers?”

  “Your magic stems from life, and bones are objects of death. They’re abhorrent to us, completely opposite of our very nature.”

  I frowned as I examined the shell in my palm. “But I’ve killed many animals and even people before. I’ve been around many dead bodies. It wasn’t until I touched Tash’s bones that I encountered that horrible feeling.”

  “Ah, because there’s a difference between killing to preserve life, and killing only to end it. When you hunt animals for food for yourself or others, you’re sustaining life. When you’ve killed people, it was to defend yourself or protect other lives. All of those things are part of the natural cycle of survival. But when someone is murdered, their bones become tainted with darkness.”

  “Nysa could touch them. How?”

  Enva’s face darkened. “That is the ultimate question. I suggest you ask your father.”

  I stared at her, while wind tugged on my hair and completely ignored hers. “So Doran truly is my father.”

  “Of course. But you knew that already.”

  “I did, but I wanted to hear you confirm it. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “It wasn’t my place, and I knew you wouldn’t take it well. Not at that time.”

  I sighed. She was probably right. “What of everything he told me about Nysa—is it all true?”

  “Yes, he has been honest with you. He’s just left out something very important. Something you should ask him about.”

  “What is that?”

  Enva’s eyes burned into mine. For the first time I realized they were the same green as my mother’s. “Nysa told you she has to stay alive in order to keep the Spirit Goddess contained. Ask him why.”

  I nodded slowly. “I assumed it was so the Gods couldn’t replace her.”

  “Not entirely. I
would tell you myself, but it’s a long tale and I expect you’ll have many questions. I already feel the other side pulling me back now.”

  “I wish we had more time together. There’s so much I want to know about your life. Like what was it like when you were a Dragon? Doran said you negotiated a treaty with the elementals and brought peace?”

  “Every set of Dragons has one great challenge to face. Mine was the elementals. When I became the White Dragon, the elementals had ravaged the four Realms and humans were living in fear. The balance had tipped too far in one direction, and my mates and I did what we could to level the scales again.” She gazed across the water with a distant look in her eyes. “For some time, we had peace. And then the shades came.”

  “Was that my mother’s challenge?” I asked.

  “It was the start of it.” Enva sighed and stared at the sand at her feet. “There’s another reason Doran should tell you this tale. It hurts me too much to speak it aloud. I love my daughter, no matter how twisted she’s become. I understand why she did what she did, even if I disagreed with it. I only wish I could have prevented all of this or found a way to save her from the darkness. I’m her mother, and I failed her…and now I must help you defeat her.”

  I took her hand, which felt solid even though she wasn’t really there. “No one should have to make such a choice.”

  She squeezed my hand in return as she began to fade before my eyes. “Nysa and I both made mistakes, but I know you will be the one to right them. Stay strong, Kira…”

  She disappeared from sight as her last words floated away on the wind. A sense of sadness filled me as I stood alone with the waves lapping at my bare feet while I clutched a shell in my hand. I released it into the water and turned to walk the distance back to my mates, while I mentally prepared myself for another conversation with my father. One that I wasn’t sure I was ready to have.