[Vankara Saga 02.0] Dragon Alliance

by SJ West

  “Will they help us against their own kind if I tell them what’s going on? Will it be enough?”

  “I have no way of knowing for sure,” Dracen said. “Like I mentioned, dragons can be very opinionated and onerous creatures.”

  “Yes,” I said finding it hard not to laugh. “I have noticed that about them.”

  “I can read your thoughts you know,” Aurora said, sounding slightly offended by what I was thinking.

  “Then you know how I truly feel about you,” I told her.

  “Well of course you love me,” Aurora said, as if I didn’t have to point it out to her. “I love you too, Sarah. And don’t worry. My kind will help you. I just know it.”

  “Dracen,” I said, “have dragons always been able to bond with humans?”

  “A very long time ago, dragons and humans coexisted to a small extent.”

  “What happened to stop that?”

  “Humans became greedy. Those who weren’t chosen to be the companion of a dragon decided that no one should be granted the privilege. Their jealousy made them hunt down both the dragons and their companions. The dragons finally decided it would be better to distance themselves from humans and have remained on their sky islands ever since."

  "Does Nuala know this history?"

  "Of course she does."

  "Then, do you think she suspects they will double cross her in the end?"

  "I'm sure it's crossed her mind," Dracen said. "But as we've already noted, Nuala is a complete lunatic. She's probably deluded herself into thinking she can control them, but as I said, I suspect it's actually them controlling her. She simply can't see it because she's out of her mind."

  "Is there anything else I can offer the dragons besides revenge?" I asked.

  "It's been a very long time since I had dealings with them," Dracen admitted. "The only other thing dragons care about is treasure."

  "So you think we can buy their cooperation?"

  "They have no interest in money," Dracen said. "They're attracted to shiny baubles."

  "Like jewelry?"

  "Yes, more or less. It doesn't even have to be real as long as it's shiny. Though, if you can offer them something with actual value, it would be better."

  I took this information in and stowed it away for later use.

  "Do they have a leader?" Fallon asked. "Someone the queen will have to negotiate with directly."

  "More than likely she will have to speak with the entire council. There are five factions of dragons, which are separated based on the color of their scales and temperament. You have the blue dragons, like your companion, who breathe fire and are talented in reading the emotional states of others. The green dragons are the complete opposites of the blue. They breathe out a frosty mist and are very solitary creatures, for the most part. The yellow dragons are docile and have no defensive capabilities. They are the scholars and record-keepers for the dragons. The black dragons are the hoarders and have the ability to produce a shockwave so strong with their roars that the more ancient ones have been known to decimate mountains. And last, but most important of all, are the red dragons. They are the lawmakers and peacekeepers. You will have to persuade their leader to help you. Otherwise, none of the other factions will. As long as you have the red dragons on your side, the others will fall in line."

  "Do you have any suggestions on how to get the red ones to like me?"

  "Not really," Dracen said with a shake of his head. "The only thing I can tell you is that you need to be truthful with them... about everything."

  I chanced a glance in Able's direction because I didn't feel free to ask what I really needed to know. I could only assume the dragons would know exactly what I was. Aurora knew almost instantly, but we were bound to one another. It would have been impossible to keep such a secret from her. Would the other dragons instantly recognize that I wasn't the real Emma Vankar? Would they be able to tell I was a shifter? From what Dracen just said, I had to assume so.

  "How will we arrange this meeting with the dragon council once we reach their islands?" I asked.

  "I told Inara exactly where to land the airship," Dracen said. "There is an island that is considered neutral territory by all the dragons. It will be the safest place to land and will surely draw their attention to us. Once we make contact, I will ask for a meeting with the council."

  "How?" I asked. "Are you able to speak with them through your magic?"

  "No," Dracen said, looking reluctant to say more.

  But, I needed to know everything.

  "Then how?" I asked in a tone that told him I wouldn't let this slide unnoticed.

  "I was once bonded to a dragon. It was a very long time ago."

  "Once bonded?" I asked in surprise. "I was under the impression that the bond was for life until one of us died."

  "As with everything, there is always a way around rules that aren’t meant to be broken."

  "What happened to break your bond?" I asked, intrigued.

  "In every dragon's life, there comes a time when they are faced with a difficult test measuring their character. It isn't something that's planned and most of the time they don't even know it's a test. Those who pass are able to achieve the status of immortality. Those who don't, live out a normal life."

  "Do many of the dragons pass this test?"

  "No, only a few do. The most ancient of the immortal dragons are on the council...plus one other who isn't. He lives away from the others and doesn't get involved in their politics."

  "Why?"

  "He was the first to achieve immortality, but it came with a price he didn't realize he would have to pay. Ever since the human he was bonded to died, he's remained in isolation. I think the loss of his companion was too great for him."

  I felt Aurora rub her silky smooth head against one of my cheeks as she sympathized with this unnamed dragon’s plight. I could well remember the heartache I felt when she and I were separated by a short physical distance. It was when we first met and I tried to leave her on the Fae side of the Iron Wall. I couldn't imagine the heartache she would feel after my death if she were made immortal.

  "Immortality wouldn't be worth having without you by my side, Sarah," she told me, a forlorn quality to her voice. "I will purposely fail whatever test they give me because it wouldn't be a prize worth winning."

  In my own peculiar circumstances, I knew there was a way for Aurora and me to be together forever. But it would mean I would have to live through many different lives through the rest of time. It wasn't something I was willing to do, not even for my little dragonling. I couldn't imagine outliving Dena. The heartbreak in that alone would be enough to kill me. No, Emma Vankar would be the last person I shifted into. I fully intended to die as her and pass the reign of Vankara over to Dena when she came of age. It was what the real Queen Emma wanted, and I would do everything within my power to make it happen. But first, I had to retake Iron City and give Dena back her birthright.

  "So did the dragon you bonded with earn his immortality?" I asked Dracen.

  "Yes, he did," Dracen said, his gaze falling to the floor and his features looking drawn with sadness.

  "What happened?" I whispered, not wanting to cause him any more pain but feeling a need to know all the answers.

  "Do you remember asking me what has kept me alive for all this time?"

  I did remember standing with Dracen in the courtyard of the Royal Academy while we were there and asking him that particular question.

  "Yes," I said. "You said love was keeping you alive."

  "It was because of the love my dragon had for me that I was made immortal," Dracen reveals. "Though, I wish he hadn't sacrificed so much just to save me. Living forever isn’t always a blessing. Yet, he felt the need to save my life the only way he knew how."

  "What did he do?"

  "I became ill a long, long time ago. I was on my deathbed when he transferred his life force into me, giving me his immortality and taking on my death. Trill was a yellow dragon a
nd very wise and gentle. I never understood what it was he saw in me when he picked me to be his companion. My family wasn't part of the aristocracy like most of the other dragon companions. We were just a poor farming family trying to eke out a living to survive. Most of the dragons chose companions from rich families to increase their own personal hoards, but Trill was different. He was a philosopher and saw something in me that no one else did at the time. I had just discovered my magical abilities when we met. Somehow, he knew I would become a great sorcerer. I've often wondered if he was able to see into the future and knew what his death would transform me into. All I know is that after he transferred his magic to me, my own powers grew exponentially. I transported his body to Ledmarrow after he died because I thought he deserved to be buried in something that would stand forever as a memorial to his sacrifice. After I did, I received yet another gift from him that I didn't expect. As his body decayed, it turned into trillian." Absently, Dracen began to twist the bracelet of the yellow gemstone on his wrist. "With his magic and the amplifying properties of the trillian, I did in fact become the most powerful sorcerer this world has ever known. But, that power has come with a hefty price. I've had days when I wish Trill had simply let me die."

  “So has Dracen been able to hear me all this time?” Aurora asked me.

  “Yes, I’m afraid I have,” Dracen replied to Aurora’s silent question. “I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.”

  “Can you hear me every time I speak with Sarah?”

  “Only when you are close by,” Dracen told her. “It’s the same principle as speaking to someone in a room. If you are close, I can hear you. If you are far away, I cannot.”

  “Good to know your limitations,” Aurora replied, sounding satisfied with his answer.

  “Do you think with both of us making a plea for their help that they’ll give it?”

  Dracen shrugged. “I have no way of knowing, but I have hope that their pride will tip the balance in our favor. They won’t like it that the other dragons are harming humans. Above everything else, dragons prize life. They are a very honorable race, for the most part.”

  I sat back and thought about what I had just learned from Dracen. So many answers revealed, yet still so many questions left to ask. I knew Dracen had given me as much information as he was able to provide. Only the dragons would be able to give me the answers to the rest of my inquiries. I just hoped they were in a generous mood when I asked them.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The men made sure I ate some of the food Sora sent which would last us for the rest of our journey. Aurora flapped her wings with joy when she saw the raw fish rice cakes, which were among the food items in the cooler. After she ate her fill, she promptly went to sleep on top of a pillow on the couch. I, on the other hand, felt a need for something quite different.

  “Fallon,” I said as he was packing away the food that we didn’t eat back into the ice filled wooden crate to keep them from spoiling, “do you think you could help me wash my hair?” I held up my wrist. “I don’t think I can manage it alone, or a bath for that matter, and I feel in desperate need of having both done. I’m just not sure how to go about it.”

  Fallon’s expression looked troubled by my request.

  “I can certainly help you with your hair,” he said hesitantly, “but I’m not sure how to go about helping with the rest of it.”

  “I may have a solution,” Dracen piped in. “I’ll just blind you.”

  “You’ll what?” Fallon exclaimed.

  Dracen waved a hand in the air as if it was nothing to blind a man.

  “It’s a simple spell. It’ll wear off in an hour’s time. As long as you promise to keep your hands from wandering into places they shouldn’t go, I don’t see the problem. The queen needs to be presentable when she addresses the dragons. Like I mentioned, they like shiny things, and she needs to glisten when she asks them for help.”

  Fallon stood from the cooler and faced me looking a bit uncertain about the plan.

  “It’s really up to you,” he told me. “If you trust me to help with such a thing, I'm willing to do it.”

  “Under the circumstances,” I said, “I don’t believe I have a choice unless you would prefer Able or Dracen to do it for me.”

  “No,” Fallon was quick to say, sounding rather protective of my person. “I’ll do it.”

  “Then let’s get it done,” I said, standing up.

  Dracen walked over to Fallon and placed one hand over Fallon’s eyes.

  “Ut linquens,” Dracen said, casting his spell before removing his hand.

  Fallon blinked his eyes a few times.

  “Ok, maybe this wasn’t the best of ideas,” Fallon said. “I can’t see anything. I’m not sure I’ll be of any use to you now.”

  I walked up to Fallon and took one of his hands into mine.

  “I can still see,” I reassured him. “Together we should be able to get the job done.”

  Dracen followed us into the bathroom, which was right beside my bedroom. He went to the bowl shaped sink sitting on top of the vanity and spoke the same words Gabriel did once to fill the bathtub in the room, “Aqueous.”

  Water freely flowed from the faucet into the basin.

  “If you run into any trouble,” Dracen said directly to me, “please let me know. I’ll be standing right outside the door.”

  I felt certain the last sentence was meant for Fallon’s benefit more than it was for mine.

  Before he left, Dracen grabbed two glass containers sitting in the silver tray attached to the bathtub and brought them over to Fallon.

  “Shampoo,” Dracen said placing one bottle in Fallon’s right hand, “and soap,” he said placing the other container in Fallon’s left hand.

  Fallon sat them down on the counter of the vanity with the shampoo closer to him and the soap further to the back.

  Dracen looked around the room and located two towels for us. He sat them on the vanity next to me.

  “Just yell if you need anything else,” Dracen told me, before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

  “I’m going to need help undressing,” I said, remembering that my hands and arms were too weak to tie the sash of my robe around my waist earlier. Even when I ate the little rice cakes for dinner, Fallon had to place them into my mouth because I couldn't keep my grasp on them. It seemed as though Fallon had become my caretaker while I was recovering. Not that I was complaining about the fact. To be honest, I was enjoying the circumstances we found ourselves facing together. We were growing closer because of them, and I saw no reason to fight the feelings that were developing between us.

  I placed my hands on top of Fallon’s and brought them over to the tie of my sash.

  He quickly undid the bow. He grabbed the front edges of my robe into his hands and took a step forward to help slip it off my shoulders. Once I had my arms out, he tossed it onto a nearby chair with an accuracy that made me wonder if his eyesight had returned.

  “We can leave the nightgown on since it’s sleeveless,” I said. “But, I’ll want to change into a new one after this bath. It won’t matter if it gets wet.”

  Fallon nodded. “Ok. Can you lean your head into the stream of water?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  I bent down at the waist until my hair practically filled the sink. Fallon worked the water through the strands to wet it all before reaching for the shampoo. Fallon was gentle with my hair but very thorough and sure handed. I appreciated his quickness because it was a bit tiring to bend over in such a way.

  Once my hair was washed, Fallon squeezed out most of the water and then wrapped one of the towels around my head.

  “Well, that was the easy part,” Fallon said. “How…do you want to handle the bathing part?”

  “Gently,” I replied with a smile.

  Fallon smiled too. “I’ll sponge off the parts of you exposed by the nightgown. That would probably be easier than a full bath and a less likely way of getting you
r bandages wet.”

  Fallon grabbed the sponge by the sink and thoroughly wetted it before placing some soap on.

  “Give me one of your arms,” he told me.

  I gave him my left one, and he carefully began washing it. Water dribbled onto the floor, but that was the least of my concerns.

  I watched Fallon’s face as he continued to wash one arm and then asked for the other. He briefly ran the sponge across my chest, being careful not to go anywhere near my breasts.

  “Could you turn around please?” He asked.

  I turned around and let him wash what little of my back was exposed above the nightgown.

  “Would you mind turning back around?”

  I did as asked and saw Fallon kneel down on one knee in front of me.

  “Are you strong enough to place your foot on my thigh?”

  “Yes, I can manage that.”

  I propped one foot on his elevated thigh. Fallon lifted the hem of my gown up to my knee and washed my calf. We did the same thing to the other leg before Fallon stood to wash out the soap from the sponge. He used the freshened sponge to rinse off all of the areas he had been able to wash with soap.

  After he was done, he rinsed out the sponge. I walked over to the chair where my robe was and slipped it back on.

  “Thank you for helping me,” I told him. “I feel much better now.

  “I have to confess,” Fallon said, laying the sponge back in its place beside the sink and turning around to face me. “I think I would have enjoyed that a lot more if I had been able to keep my sight.”

  I felt my cheeks flush. “That would not have been very proper, Marshal Fallon.”

  Fallon grinned. “No, it wouldn’t have been, Sarah. But that really wasn’t the point I was trying to make.”

  I fell silent for a moment before working up my courage to ask, “And what point were you trying to make?”

  “The next time I give you a bath,” he said, “I would like to be able to see you.”