by Terah Edun
It caught the dragon ambassador by surprise to say the least because she let her captive go and stumbled back to face Ciardis with shock and fury written plainly on her face.
“I won’t repeat myself,” Ciardis said quietly ... her outer visage calm while nervous sweat poured down her back. She didn’t want to face Raisa.
Sebastian walked over to stand to a point about five feet from Raisa’s right shoulder.
Thanar came to stand to behind Raisa’s left shoulder.
They were far enough away not to be at her back or by her sides, instead they were clearly jailors with the dragon ambassador caught between them.
Both males stared at Raisa from behind, and the triumvirate forming a triangle, with the dragon in the center.
Raisa didn’t bother turning away from the woman who’d just attacked her with enough lightning that if she’d been human, she would have died.
“What do you think you’re doing, Ciardis Weathervane?” The words were barely understandable through the sinuous whispers.
Swallowing harshly Ciardis said, “I just needed you to let him go.”
Raisa let her claw transformed back into a human hand. “He imprisoned me. That is punishable by death.”
This time Thanar spoke. “Ah, I see what is going on here.”
“Silence, daemoni!” yelled Raisa.
“Oh no, ambassador,” Sebastian said, with a hardened look in his eyes, “this time the daemoni prince will speak. For once at least he’s not upstaging me.”
Ciardis snorted at the irony.
Raisa snarled but said not a word further.
“The Muareg isn’t a term I’m familiar with,” said Thanar with enough smug satisfaction on his face that even Ciardis wanted to smack him, “but there once was a people that were quite ... dear ... to the dragons. They were never seen outside the dragon homeland unlike the humans who travelled alongside their dragon masters, but for a long time it was rumored that the scarred people of the Mua were one such race.”
Ciardis looked over at Thanar in disbelief. “I’m sorry what? How?”
Thanar waved a hand. “The how is not important.”
“Oh, it is very important,” Raisa said. “The Mua are sacred to my people. We cared for them. We healed their wounds and built their young into strong people.”
“You enslaved my people and bound them to your young,” the leader said in a voice that hinted at stress for the first time.
Ciardis turned to him with a furrowed brow. “The ambassador did?”
The Muareg leader scoffed. “No, not her alone.”
“If not her, then who?” asked Sebastian.
Thanar laughed. “Is it not obvious? These Mua people are the slaves of the dragon race. They began to care for their young and tend to their needs after the humans left.”
“And what,” said Ciardis slowly, “do the Mua have to do with the Muareg?”
“Not a clue,” said Thanar with a shrug. “Other than the fact that they somehow ended up on the edge of the western lands of the Algardis Empire with the tell-tale signs of a people that belong to the dragons.”
“We belong to no one,” said the male leader fiercely. “We are here of our own free will.”
“Serving the city of Kifar?” Sebastian said.
“They offered us shelter, homes, food, and a life when no one else would,” said the Muareg. “Not even your fabled city of Sandrin and its imperial halls would hear our pleas.”
Thanar began laughing. “Of course they didn’t. The humans are nothing if not consummate cowards. To go up against the Sahalian empire for what amounts to slaves? They are no fools.”
Ciardis flinched. That was her people they were talking about so callously. But there was little she could say to defend a position when she had been unaware of the history until this very moment.
Swallowing deeply Ciardis said, “So what now?”
She was looking at Raisa. Raisa was staring at the Muareg with fury in her eyes.
Ciardis shook her head and stepped between Raisa and her prey.
The dragon’s eyes lightened with fire and fury.
“Hear me out,” Ciardis pleaded. “You know my history. I know nothing of yours. But I know your pride, Raisa, and I know that you are a fair judge of character. Yes, the Muareg wronged you but by demanding his prostration you have wronged him and his entire people.”
The dragon’s gaze stiffened.
“Please, my friend,” Ciardis said while raising her hands, “Let this go.”
Raisa dropped the Muareg like a boneless doll. “He will take us to his people and I will find my answers there.”
“No,” said the Muareg as he wheezed on his hands and knees. “Never.”
“Do not worry,” Ciardis said with steel in her eyes. “We will get to Kifar and get answers, if only to save the people that remain.”
“Save us,” the Muareg behind her cried. “You mean condemn my people to that dragon’s claws.”
Ciardis turned to look at him and reached down to cup his face. “Listen to me and listen carefully. You fear this dragon, but what you should fear lies behind your very walls.”
The Muareg looked at her for a tense moment. He was still in her hands. He didn’t try to turn away.
Finally he said, “I can see you speak the truth, or at least what you believe to be the truth, so I will hear your story ... but if I see a falsehood mark my words I will let you die in this dry desert before I lead you to my promised land.”
Ciardis blinked and stepped back. “Christian?”
She wanted an explanation. She wanted to know what the Muareg meant.
Fortunately Christian seemed to understand her request. “Much is not known about the Mua and I cannot tell you for a fact hat he can discern a truth or a lie.”
Thanar grunted. “If I know one thing about the servants of the dragons, other than the fact that the ones that replaced their human chattel are known by their ugly visages, it’s that they can only tell the truth and cannot be told a lie. They sense it like a bat can sense the walls of the cave around it.”
Ciardis nodded as she held out a hand to raise the Muareg to his feet.
He shakily stood.
Solemnly the woman with the golden eyes said, “You have my word. We are not here to harm you. We’re here to save you and in doing so ... save an empire.”
Chapter 27
The Muareg’s eyes stayed pinned on Ciardis Weathervane’s. Then something changed. The eyes took on a knowing look. And the tension-filled lines that showed above the cloth from the bridge of his nose to the edge of his forehead eased. If he wasn’t perfectly relaxed, at least he was calmer.
The Muareg spoke in a reed-like voice, “I can discern the intentions of an individual by reading the hundreds of signals in their voice and on their face. Suffice it to say that I believe your intentions are true. I will take you to Kifar.”
“Thank you,” said Christian as Ciardis looked over at him.
She wasn’t surprised to see that he had kept his cloak and gloves on. Not an inch of flesh was visible, but Ciardis knew that he wouldn’t risk transmutating to a more human appearance. Not while they lay within the borders of the western lands.
Ciardis felt the tension in her shoulders ease. She hadn’t been aware that the knots were there until now. She knew that they didn’t precisely need the Muareg’s help, but it was the only individual they had encountered who had accessed the fabled city of Kifar in the last half-century. They would be fools not to try to gain its trust.
“Good,” Ciardis said with a gulp. “That’s good.”
Thanar cleared his throat. “Then let’s get a move on. We left Sandrin less than twenty-four hours ago and yes, it’s a damned miracle that we’ve managed to travel such a great distance in so little time, but we shouldn’t squander it. For the city’s sake or for our own. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go back and kick some imperial—“
Thanar! Ciardis quickly snapped
in a mind-to-mind thought. She didn’t want him revealing the secret of the imposter emperor. After all, no one else knew yet and until they decided how to handle it, no one else should.
Thanar cleared his throat and continued with a short pause, “As I was saying we’ll be kicking some celestial butt.”
Clapping from Sebastian’s direction had Ciardis turning around to eye the prince heir.
“Well,” said Sebastian, “It’s seems as if the daemoni prince has finally come to our side.”
Thanar shrugged. “I’ve come to the conclusion that if I want to survive the next month, let alone the next year we need to get rid of Ciardis’s problems instead of letting them come back and bite us in the butt time and again as you all seem so fond of doing.”
“Now hold on,” said Sebastian in anger.
“Boys, boys!” snapped Ciardis while rubbing her forehead in anger. “What is the matter with you? I’ve seen many things in my time with the two of you but to see you fight like children, that is a new one.”
She opened her mouth to rebuke them again and closed it abruptly it as shock flowed through her system. Shock mixed with a little bit of guilt and a lot of glee.
At that moment it was as if all of the signs came together in Ciardis’s mind. She turned to Christian with wide eyes and an unasked question on the tip of her tongue. Fortunately, she didn’t have to voice it because Christian nodded with solemn amusement the moment her eyes met his. They didn’t have to speak. Ciardis didn’t have to say a word in return.
She knew and he knew.
She couldn’t help but laugh at the confused expressions on Thanar and Sebastian’s face. The more she laughed, the more their confusion changed from concern to distemperment.
Ciardis felt a hand on her shoulder as she tried to get her laughter under control.
“Ciardis, are you feeling all right?” Terris asked in concern.
“Fine, perfectly fine,” Ciardis said just before she bit her lip to seal the laughter inside.
A full minute later she took a deep breath, wiped the wetness from the corner of her eyes and said, “You two are feeling what I’ve felt for the past two days.”
“And what would that be?” Thanar asked in mild disgust.
“Yes,” Sebastian said dryly, “Because you’ve been acting mildly depressed and wholly drunk for what seems like a fortnight.”
“I have not,” Ciardis shouted while anger rose in her belly, “And if I was, it’s your fault.”
“My fault?” Sebastian said in shock.
“His too!” Ciardis said while pointing an irate finger at the daemoni prince who looked less than impressed.
“Enough!” Christian snapped. “You’re all at fault and since none of you can seem to have a normal conversation about your relationship before descending down into petty disagreements time and again, I will have it for you.”
“You Thanar are an insufferable lout who should have known better than to trick someone into a bond that is irreversible,” said Christian while pinning the daemoni prince with a steely gaze. “Now you’re suffering the consequences. Your power is being drained to fuel hers. Your nights are restless and your mind is agitated which is why you don’t want to stay still. You don’t want to face your own consciousness.”
Sebastian smirked and said, “Quite right.”
But he got no further before Christian rounded on him, “Oh, Prince Heir Sebastian I have much to say to you as well. When confronted with the new souldbond between yourself and Ciardis Weathervane you didn’t deny it or reproach it, in fact I have it on good word that you actively worked to conceal its presence in negotiations with the Companions’ Guild council in order to push your own agenda.”
Sebastian looked mildly insulted at Christian’s verbal attack.
“Am I wrong?” Christian said icily.
“No,” said Sebastian in a short tone.
“I didn’t think I was,” Christian responded. “Yet, now when it suits you, you not only block off Ciardis’s mental access to your mind, which slowly chips away at her well-being, but you also dare to accuse her of infidelity while knowing full well that just as the soulbond binds her to you emotionally and magically it also does the same with her and Thanar.”
“Yes, yes!” Ciardis whispered to herself triumphantly as she watched Christian verbally flay both of the males until they were no more than puddles of shame in the ground.
“I did, but—” Sebastian protested.
“No buts! You knew this,” Christian said while driving home his point. “As much as Ciardis loves you, she must show an equal affection to Thanar to satisfy the demands of the dual soulbond.”
“Any questions?” the kith that could both kill and heal a person asked.
Sebastian looked at Thanar. Thanar held his gaze and raised an eyebrow.
Then they both nodded and simultaneously turned to Christian to ask, “What about her?”
“What about me?” Ciardis demanded outraged.
“Please stay out of this,” Christian said in a patient tone, “What do you mean, gentlemen?”
“We mean,” Sebastian said with a nod to Thanar and in an urgent tone, “Why aren’t you castigating Ciardis as well?”
Ciardis snorted and crossed her arms, but after an irate look from Christian, stayed silent. She was fine with that command.
The two sounded like sulking children anyway, she thought.
“I’ve already had this conversation with Ciardis,” Christian said, “And she understands the risks. In fact, she’s experienced twice the anguish from this ordeal because her soul, for lack of a better word, is now split into two bonds whereas each of yours is only effectively in one bond.”
Ciardis rocked back on her heels disturbed. Christian was right.
And there’s not a damned thing I can do about it, she mused to herself bitterly. The trouble was ... she wasn’t sure if she wanted to.
“As much as I love seeing the prince heir brought down to his knees,” Thanar interjected, “The soulbound only amplifies what Ciardis feels for us. It doesn’t automatically convert that to love.”
“Exactly,” said Christian, “But you’ve done everything you can to rectify that small problem. Defending her. Joining our cause.”
Thanar’s eyes turned hard and cold as ice.
Ciardis however didn’t wait for him to speak. “Now hold on. I don’t love Thanar.”
Christian turned to her and asked a simple question, “Don’t you?”
Ciardis opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of air, trying to force herself to answer Christian’s question with a denial but unable to force it out of her mouth. Why was it so hard now, when it wasn’t before?
Perhaps because this time, it wouldn’t be a reflecxive denial, she thought to herself.
Christian shook his head. “This is between the three of you, but the ramifications of the soulbond are affecting all of us. So get it together.”
Ciardis blinked. Vana had said almost the same thing before she left the city. She had to wonder if the assassin and the koreschie were comparing notes now. If they were she had a lot more to worry about than a conniving emperor and a forthcoming god of destruction.
The idea of Vana and Christian as matchmakers made her shiver in fear.
“Alright?” Christian said loudly after a long pause has passed.
“Fine,” muttered Ciardis.
Christian looked over at Sebastian.
The prince heir responded, “You have my word.”
All three turned to Thanar who glared and said, “If it will end this diatribe, then yes, my word is given as well.”
The four startled when clapping erupted all around them.
Terris piped up from near Christian’s left side, “That was a drama that I thought would end up with all of us covered in blood. Nicely done, Christian.”
“Yeah, I thought the three would be brooding until the sun came down the whole trip,” quipped one soldier.
After Sebastian gave him a dark look, he snapped a salute and said, “I’ll just go check on ... something else, Sir.”
He quickly made himself scarce.
Terris said once the dust had cleared, “Can we go? We’ve come so close to the city and we can’t waste the opportunity to get there as fast as we can.”
“She’s right,” Ciardis said in a low voice.
“That will be possible but not today,” the Muareg said with a tilt of his head.
“Why not?” an irate Terris demanded.
This time Rachael stepped forward. “Muareg custom. They must bury their dead and wait a day before returning to their homes. In order to prevent the contagion from spreading.”
“Why and how do you know this?” Ciardis demanded.
“It is a custom of my people to know the habits and predilections of our neighbors,” Rachael said with a blank face. “In this case, the policies associated with the Aerdivus are stringent. It is fast-acting and still no one knows what causes it’s to spread. Our only boon is that those who come in contact with it, show symptoms the first day.”
Christian nodded. “Hence the Muareg’s need to wait the full day?”
Christian hadn’t been addressed the Muareg, but he answered. “Yes.”
“And the dead?” Sebastian asked.
Rachael shrugged. “Common decency.”
“It’s the desert,” Thanar said sarcastically, “We leave them here and they’ll be buried by shifting winds by morning.”
Ciardis opened her mouth to speak, but Rachael cut her off with a furious whisper at Thanar. “Would you leave your family to be preyed upon by scavengers and ravaged by wind and time on the hopes of a natural burial?”
Thanar blinked slowly. “I orchestrated my own family’s death and left them in a slumping pile of blood, so yes.”
Rachael reeled back with a look of disgust on her face. “My people are not so callous.”
Thanar snorted.
Ciardis barely restrained herself from clapping with glee. Seeing the two of them fight was music to her ears.
Looks like the honeymoon is over.
It took them two hours to dig holes deep enough in the sand to the Muareg’s satisfaction. When it was all done, they all were tired and aching for some rest.
