by SGD Singh
Nidhan looked up at one of the mother-stalks as he passed it, and the plant leaned toward him in greeting. Nidhan almost smiled, reaching out to touch the feather-like leaves, and the mother-stalk straightened.
“Blue wheat, cotton candy trees… I can't get used to this place.” He looked around. “I take it there are no modes of transportation around here?”
“Every creature here either has roots, or can fly,” Zaiden explained. “It's just a little farther, don't worry. You're gonna want to want to see this, yaar, believe me.”
Nidhan nodded, and Zaiden felt a pang as he noted how handsome the Tvastar looked. Is this what jealousy feels like? He turned away, concentrating on not crushing the plant beneath his feet. When he glanced back, Nidhan was watching him.
“What?”
“Nothing.” Nidhan looked up at the star-filled sky. “I like the way you say yaar, that's all. Makes me feel… at home.”
They walked another ten minutes in silence until they reached the edge of the giant crater. Zaiden pointed down. “There it is. The Valley of a Thousand Suns, I guess would be the translation.”
“Suns? It looks more like the burned remains of a ginormous biscuit.”
“Tell me that once you've held one.” Zaiden leapt off the ledge of the crater and began making his way down its steep side, reminding himself not to use his wings for balance as Nidhan scrambled behind him.
He heard Nidhan gasp and then stop short.
“Wait,” Nidhan said. He stooped to pick up one of the danta, and squinted at the knife-like spike. “Is this… metal?”
Zaiden smiled. “Not exactly.”
“Yes, it is, Zaiden. I'm a Tvastar. I can feel it.”
Zaiden moved further into the crater. “See these round things that look like burned ostrich eggs?”
Nidhan stumbled. “You mean these rocks that are hard to walk on? Yeah, I see them. Sort of.”
Zaiden reached into his pocket and pulled out his svaru, holding it high above their heads to light the ground around them with a deep orange glow.
“And you had a flashlight all along,” Nidhan grumbled. “I almost twisted my ankle back there on an ostrich egg, Your Highness.”
Zaiden ignored the comment. “Pick one up.”
Nidhan turned in a circle, looking at the ground. “What is this place?” He crouched and lifted a {trasa} in his giant hand, and Zaiden heard him exclaim something in Punjabi.
He looked up at Zaiden with wide eyes. “Well? Are you going to tell me what this is? I mean, I can feel that it's metal, and it's… it's…”
“Awesome?”
“Definitely awesome.”
“We're standing in the middle of what you could call a dragon graveyard,” Zaiden told him. Nidhan studied the trasa in his hand, and Zaiden could see by his frown that he was piecing together what he held.
“I don't know how, but… this is a dragon heart, isn't it?” Nidhan started scrambling away from the trasa scattered at his feet. “Oh, God. How disrespectful.”
“It's okay,” Zaiden rushed to assure him. “They have no sentimental attachment to these remains.”
Nidhan crouched in the black dirt again, carefully clutching the trasa to his chest as he ran his other hand through the ashes. “This sand is metal. And these are dragon teeth, aren't they?” He held up a handful of danta. “They've somehow turned to metal, too.”
Zaiden crouched in the ashes in front of Nidhan. “When a dragon's life ends, all the sunshine they soaked up during their lifetime moves through their veins, traveling to their hearts, until it sort of…”
“Explodes like a ball of fire? Searing everything around it until it turns into metal, leaving nothing but the dragon's heart, teeth, and claws?”
Zaiden laughed despite himself. “Yeah. Pretty much.”
“Like a thousand suns,” Nidhan whispered, holding the trasa up as if offering it to an invisible deity. “I don't know if you fully appreciate how much power is still in this thing. I could make some incredible weapons with this stuff.”
“Kelakha told me how hard it must be for you to have no weapon, after the Underworlders took them from you. And so I thought…” Zaiden cleared his throat, suddenly self-conscious. “I thought maybe you could find something here.”
The sunrise painted the sky the color of scattered rose petals, and as they watched, a dragon flew into view, swooping toward them on fire-veined wings.
This changed everything.
“We should go,” Zaiden said, the words coming out more forcefully than he meant them to. “Dragons can be grouchy when—”
“They're about to explode?” Nidhan finished.
“Yeah. Not to mention we'll be turned to ash if it dies too close to us.”
But Nidhan didn't move to follow him. Instead, he stood rooted to the spot and watched the dragon descend, and Zaiden thought his expression looked relieved.
It took another few seconds for Zaiden to realize that the Tvastar wanted to stay.
“Nidhan, listen, we really should go,” he tried.
“I'm getting permission before I take anything,” Nidhan said.
Zaiden's panic rose. The dragon had landed a dozen yards from them. It was already smoking and could explode any second. “Lexi will kill me if anything happens to you.”
Nidhan ignored him and walked toward the ancient dragon, whose skin had already turned a coal black. Its fiery veins were visible between its scales, and its eyes had turned a milky-white. Zaiden froze as Nidhan began to speak softly to the dragon in Punjabi, his voice low and soothing. Then he actually reached a hand out to the dragon.
We're dead. What in the worlds was I thinking, bringing him here?
But as Zaiden watched, unable to breathe, the dragon lowered his head to Nidhan and practically nuzzled up to him, closing its milky eyes. The dragon touched its forehead to Nidhan's, and Nidhan knelt, bowing his head. The dragon sniffed at the remains in the Tvastar's hands and the next thing Zaiden knew, the enormous reptile was laying down before the Tvastar, apparently settling in to sleep.
Nidhan laid the trasa and a handful of danta in the ashes, and reached his hand out, placing his palm against the dragon's skin. Zaiden flinched as the flame beneath the charred scales flared, and the creature made a noise like distant thunder that rattled in his own chest.
Nidhan continued to speak softly to the dragon for what seemed like forever, all the while moving his hand along its scales in a slow, sweeping motion that Zaiden guessed was comforting. Then the Tvastar filled his pockets with danta, gently gathered up two trasa, and faced Zaiden.
“Thank you, Zaiden,” he said. “This meant a lot to me.”
Zaiden tried to hide his horror and embarrassment by turning and climbing the slope without a word, and Nidhan followed.
He could still hear the smile in the Tvastar's voice, though when Nidhan spoke. “The weapons we can create with this metal are going to be epic, yaar.”
“I'm glad,” said Zaiden, picking up his pace to a jog. “Mostly that we're not dead.”
Nidhan looped his long shirt into a pouch for the two trasa, giving himself a bulging, lumpy waistline, and as soon as they were out of sight of the crater, he started studying one of the curving dragon claws.
“This will make the perfect gift for Lexi when she wakes up, don't you think?”
Zaiden watched the claw turn into a knife before his eyes, taking shape easily in the Tvastar's hands. Carved steel began to shine as he gave the tarnished remains new life and Zaiden felt that pang again, suspiciously close to what envy was reported to feel like.
But before Zaiden could analyze himself too deeply, Satish and Dinesh landed in front of them, the feathers of their wings iridescent beneath the sun's rays.
Satish looked from what Nidhan held in his hands to Zaiden, and his mouth hung open, then closed. “Where… Did you—”
“Yes,” said Zaiden.
Satish nodded, then looked to Nidhan's lumpy waistline. “I don't want to
be around to hear what Ursala says when he sees your shirt like that.”
Zaiden turned to Dinesh. “Was there something you wanted to tell me?”
Lexi. She's all right. Please let her be all right.
Dinesh and Satish both said, “The Seer is awake.”
Chapter 3
Asha swooped in a wide circle, shifting from her bird form to land outside the healing rooms, Aquila at her side. She reached for the door, then hesitated.
We're about to meet the savior of the world. What the hell are you supposed to say when you meet the savior of the world? Hi?
He's alive because of you. Aquila laced his fingers in hers, and kissed her cheek, his lips barely brushing her skin. It'll be fine.
He's alive because of all of us.
Oh, now you're just stalling. You'll face down a horde of Underworlders on your own, but let one little savior of the world show up, and you're intimidated.
Asha lunged playfully to bite his nose, and Aquila easily dodged her, then pushed the door open.
The Seer sat on a bed, propped against pillows of what looked like raw silk. His hair hung to his shoulders in thick, dark curls and framed his radiant smile. When he turned his blue-green Seer's eyes on Asha, his face lit up with so much joy and innocence that it brought tears to her own.
He's…
Yeah.
This urge to protect him is intense.
Yep.
Is that a Talent?
I don't think so. I think it's just him. He's…
Yeah.
“I knew you would come for us, Asha,” the Seer said. His voice was gentle, melodic. Healing. “That's why I was never afraid.”
Silas. His name is Silas.
Okay. Good to know. You should probably say something out loud.
“Silas.”
Witty.
Shut up.
Silas' eyes lit with the excitement of a child discovering a new wonder. “That is super cool,” he said. “I wish I could read someone's mind like that.” He closed his eyes for a moment, then laughed softly. “No… no, I never will.”
Ursala and Kelakha entered the room then, followed by Nidhan and Zaiden. They crowded around Silas' bed, shaking the Seer's hand and making introductions, while Satish and Dinesh stayed by the door, watching over their prince with a stiff demeanor that reminded Asha of Secret Service agents.
Zaiden offered Silas his arm with a warm smile. “Let us escort you to more comfortable accommodations,” he said. “The hospital is no place for such an esteemed guest.”
Asha realized it was the first time she had seen Lexi's soulmate smile. He was almost as radiant as Silas. She understood then why Lexi had been so bitter. Before the feeling of admiration for the Upperworlder could shift to the hollow ache of regret she felt now every time she looked at her cousin, something moved in the doorway.
Nidhan and Zaiden both lunged forward at the same time, then froze.
Lexi stood in the doorway, her expression unreadable.
Asha was the first to get over her surprise. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her friend, delighting in Lexi's aliveness. “You're up.”
“Keen observation,” said Ursala.
“Are you…? I mean, you feel all right now? Your bones are all mended? Your spine? Your—”
“Other than the fact that I can hardly breathe because you're crushing me,” Lexi gasped, “I'm fine.”
After squeezing her one more time, Asha released her, and Lexi leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms. She let her gaze linger on each person in the room except Zaiden, who she pretended wasn't there, avoiding his anxious gaze.
Then Lexi turned to Silas, and everyone but the Seer himself tensed.
“So,” Lexi said, narrowing her eyes. “You're the one all the fuss was about.”
Silas smiled that same innocent smile, not at all intimidated. “The longer the night, the brighter the dawn,” he said, his voice the promise of healing, “for those with the strength to endure the darkness.”
Lexi's expression clouded dangerously, and Asha took a step toward Silas before she realized she was doing it.
But his smile only brightened. “Everything is going to be okay, Lexi. I promise.”
“A Seer for less than three weeks and already speaking in riddles,” Lexi mumbled, but Asha saw her eyes fill with tears before she turned and stalked away, disappearing between the strange purple trees.
Nidhan hesitated for an instant, then sprinted after her.
No one looked at Zaiden.
† † †
The four remaining Guards followed as Zaiden led Silas to what Asha thought could only be described as luxury accommodations on nature steroids.
The Seer blinked, clearly overwhelmed as he took in the spacious apartment, filled with flowers, waterfalls, and even some very exotic-looking birds.
“I don't know if you're aware of this,” he said, “but I grew up in a convent.”
“Yes, sir,” said Zaiden, shifting uncomfortably. “But, uh, this is the house reserved for special guests, visiting royalty…”
Silas turned his bright eyes to Asha, looking slightly panicked, and mouthed, ‘Sir?’
Asha stepped forward. “Your Highness, I think what Silas means is that although he's very grateful for your generous hospitality, he would feel more comfortable in more humble surroundings. If it's not too much trouble.”
Ursala grinned, slapping Zaiden's back hard enough to make him wince. “This room is better suited to Lexi, actually.”
The Upperworlder nodded. “Of course. No problem.”
Kelakha stepped forward to stand a little too close to Zaiden. “And don't call him sir.”
Zaiden looked as if he only now realized he was surrounded by vicious killers.
Aquila was having way too much fun with the Upperworlder's virtuous na"{i}veté. He bowed low and swept an arm for Zaiden to lead the way. Asha shook her head.
Don't bully him.
I'm not! Asha could see Aquila trying hard not to smile. It's just that he's so nice, it's kind of fun to tease him.
Well, take it easy. When Lexi finally… well, someday she won't appreciate you guys terrorizing her soulmate.
Aquila hesitated. Good point.
Asha placed a hand on Zaiden's shoulder. “I'll show Lexi the way back here.”
Chapter 4
Asha found Lexi and Nidhan sitting at the edge of the strange forest. Her head was resting on the Tvastar's shoulder as they gazed across the fields of blue wheat. White flowers bloomed in the ever-brightening sunlight between the pink trees, reminding Asha of rows of dancing ballerinas.
Nidhan's voice carried to her. “I'm just saying, the way you're acting, anyone with half a brain would think you wish you'd died, instead of waking up in Shangri-La, fully healed. With not one, but two dashing young men—”
Lexi elbowed him in the ribs, hard, but Nidhan didn't flinch.
“You're gonna have to face your life one way or the other,” he said. “It's not—”
Asha settled down on the other side of Lexi and leaned her head on her best friend's shoulder, delighting in the sound of irritation that proved she was alive.
“Returning from the dead,” Asha announced to the field with a sweep of her arm, “the fair maiden is filled with loving gratitude for her saviors, and is soon forced to pull her flaxen-locked head from her ass!”
“And lo!” Lexi shouted even louder, then wrapped her arm around Asha's shoulders and squeezed. “The nearly-fallen warrior lacks the will to stab friends in their creepy eyes.” She shoved Asha with her shoulder. “Nidhan already told me how you didn't kill Ranya, so save the excuses.”
The girls stared at each other for a long second, each one trying not to cry.
“So,” Lexi finally said, dropping her gaze and looking around. “This is Tapas, I take it.”
“Yep,” Asha told her. “Wait 'til you see your room. Silas found it overwhelming. You'll love it.�
��
Lexi snorted again. “I doubt that.”
“Lexi,” Nidhan groaned, his voice scolding and pleading all at once. “If it hadn't been for Satish, and for Zaiden, and Sashi… just at least promise to try.”
Asha felt Lexi sigh as she leaned back into Nidhan, and Asha tilted with her, like three dominoes.
They watched the crop bloom for another few minutes, and then Asha said, “C'mon you guys, let's go get some food and find out what Silas can do with the multiple Talents he's supposed to have.”
Lexi didn't move. “Do I even want to know how many days we've been sitting on our asses up here?”
Asha grinned, jumping to her feet. “Nope. But now that everyone's awake, it's gonna be entertaining watching you interrogate Silas.”
† † †
The six Guards gathered after lunch at Silas' new, more secluded guesthouse. The moss-covered hut stood at the edge of a lake with water so clear Asha could see the cracks on the colorful gemstones within its depths.
Silas stood ankle-deep in the water, gazing in childish wonder at the view.
He turned and addressed Kelakha as if they were in the middle of a conversation. “Do your senses ever feel… overwhelmed? Like too much is happening at once?”
Kelakha glanced at Asha and Aquila, startled. “Are you asking about shapeshifting? I'm not sure what you mean.”
“I've been seventeen for, what? Twelve days? Thirteen?” Silas turned his eerie eyes back to the lake. “The changes definitely started that first day, but then I was unconscious, and now… now I feel like I could reshape this entire lake and fly into the sun.” He shrugged. “But then nothing happens.”
Kelakha looked at Aquila, then Asha, and she shook her head. Silas was asking him, not her. He took a hesitant step forward.
“You need to relax into it. Just—”
“Feel the form take shape within you,” Silas finished.
