Shaking his head slowly, he said in a controlled voice, “I think you should save your studies of my linking mark for a time when the Healer can accompany you.”
“I ... I think that’s good advice.”
The Healer, Gallen and Ansel were in the library on the communication disc, contacting the riders throughout the kingdom, gathering news. The Healer’s library had been rebuilt since that horrible night when the sorcerer had destroyed it. She was in the process of replacing what she could of her maps and books that had been caught up in the fire. We had brought some books home from Ansel’s manor in Trivingar. She also picked up some apothecary books from the shop in that town and the nearby town of Arevale, when she was up there for Ansel’s birthday.
I had just gotten out of the bath for the second time in the same day. I knew the stench from the arena no longer remained on my skin, but wanted one more aromatic soak to try to rid myself of the memory of the smell.
“Amáne!” the Healer called. “We need you in here for a moment.”
I entered the library to find the three of them with eyebrows raised and barely-suppressed smiles. I tilted my head and looked at them suspiciously, “What is it?”
Gallen held his hand on the brass knob of the communication disc and announced, “A rider has a question that only you could answer. Would you mind helping him out?”
I noticed there was no image of a rider in the disc. It showed only a blank wall. Stepping hesitantly up to the device, I wondered what they found so amusing. More than likely it was some kind of joke at my expense.
Gallen said, “Rider, what is it you needed to know?”
A voice resonated from the disc, “Amáne, or Vann — whichever — I need to know how you feel about yourself. Are you angry you left me with all the fun of finishing off the guards you riled up?”
My hand flew to my mouth to stifle my scream. My eyes filled as the speaker stepped into view. “Avano! You’re alive. Of course you are — you’re too much of a scoundrel for your ancestors to even want you. And, you forget, I offered you my help, but you insisted on keeping the fun for yourself!” I laughed as I blinked away my tears.
“I couldn’t have done it without the help of that nightmare monster that you’re linked to ... and the excellent swordwork of your father.”
“My father? You saw my father?”
“Yes, he’s some fighter. He took down those on one side of the door and Charna Yash-churka — however you pronounce his name — and I took care of the ones that got through. He left after that, before anyone spotted him.”
Relief shot through me once more, hearing that my father lived. I swelled with pride at the compliment that came from Avano, a master swordsman himself.
Avano then updated us with the goings on in the townships from which he had information. We spoke for a bit before he signed off. The Healer excused herself to do some work in her shop. She was still laughing at my reaction, although, I’m sure she was as elated as I that Avano made it out.
Gallen announced that Dorjan was waiting for him at the Dragon’s Fang Tavern. Before leaving, he asked Ansel to update me on the rest of the news they had heard while I was soaking.
Ansel spread out some maps on the library table, and began his instruction, “Word is Galtero will be on the move soon. He declared he would seek out and destroy every dragon rider in the kingdom — especially ‘the girl of the prophecy and her dragon.’” He looked at me pointedly.
We all knew this would be coming.
He drew my attention to the map of the kingdom, pointing out the cities where the dragon riders were stationed, and which rider resided where.
I tried to pay attention but found myself distracted. There was an aroma in the air that I couldn’t ignore. Did the Healer bring home a new herb, or did she have something cooking in her kitchen?
“... and this is where Eben has settled for the last few years.” I glanced to where Ansel pointed, but my attention diverted again. I lifted my nose in the air and inhaled. I felt like an animal, but I had to find out where that delicious scent came from. Exotic, spicy, musky.
As Ansel bent over the map, his hair hung across his shoulder on my side. He usually wore his long wavy hair pulled back in a queue, tied at the nape of his neck with a leather thong. Sometimes he added several ties down its length, but at this moment, there was just the one. My nose led me to turn in his direction. Without thinking, I took his dark locks in my hand and brought a handful to my face, inhaling the source of the fragrance. It was the aroma of his dragon, infused in his hair. My eyes closed as I absorbed the scent, losing myself in it.
When he turned to see what I was doing, his hair yanked out of my hand. My eyes sprung open to his amused expression. I couldn’t hide my guilty look as I grinned self-consciously, my hand still poised in front of my face — empty.
“What are you doing, Amáne?”
“I ... er ...”
“You were smelling my hair, weren’t you?”
“It smells nice ...” Feeble answer. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. He burst out laughing.
I couldn’t help but laugh with him. “I guess I owe you an apology, Ansel. More than once you told me you loved the scent of my hair — that it smelled like my dragon. It annoyed me, and I always pulled it away from you. Now I understand. I didn’t realize it was so ... so ...”
“Enticing?”
“Yes ...”
Our eyes met. I lost myself in his cool green eyes.
Every day Sovann grew in stature and beauty. Eshshah offered her support from the start. She showed him where the tastiest game could be found, the best place to sun, and I’m sure she told him all the quirks to which we humans are prone. Like Eshshah, he was of the Royal Dragon line and a bond was shared between them similar to Ansel’s and mine — unexplainable, yet undeniably present.
I felt badly for Eshshah that we didn’t have the same privileges of support when she hatched. But maybe our linking would be less powerful if we’d had witnesses. The Healer once told me that there were linkings where they had to extract venom from a Chosen One. In their dragon’s excitement, a deadly amount had been forced into the rider’s veins — similar to what had happened when I linked with Eshshah. Only because of my dragon’s healing powers, did I live. Our bond proved unusually strong.
“Amáne, I can’t believe how much Sovann eats.” Eshshah confided in me one evening. “He’s hungry most of the time. I don’t recall eating more than one or two goats during a night’s hunt. I think last night, he still wasn’t sated after five. Two more days of that and he’ll be nearly my size.”
Although very young for a dragon, Eshshah had reached her full size. She once told me that dragons grow in relation to their rider. She would naturally be a smaller dragon because of my size.
I laughed. “He is growing fast. I remember how surprised I used to be at the speed you grew.”
Besides his rapid growth, we were shocked to find the truth about his scales. Dragon scales exhibit the properties of the dragon from which they came. For instance, Eshshah’s name meant fire. Whisper her name when holding one of her shed scales and it would flame up. We were not sure what to expect with Sovann’s luminescent scales. His name meant gold. We found they did, in fact, turn to gold at the whispering of his name. Gallen tested a transformed scale by rubbing it on an unglazed porcelain tile. The result was a golden yellow — no black streak. It was pure gold.
Our dreams were realized. We needed to raise an army to fight Galtero, and although Ansel’s silk farming showed excellent profit, and he had some treasure remaining from his father, supporting an army did not come cheaply. We all kept our eyes open for any of Sovann’s shed scales. Even Eshshah and Sovann were helpful, should they notice any had fallen during their hunts or their wanderings. They brought us those they had found, spitting them out at our feet.
Ansel had no choice but to stay at the Healer’s for their training. It would take about a week for Sovann to grow strong enoug
h to fly with him, and a few weeks before his dragon could make the long flight to Trivingar with a rider. Ansel couldn’t hide his pleasure when the Healer informed him.
Although not as overprotective as Ansel — he could easily have kept me no farther than arm’s length at all times — I wished I could have spent more time by his side, but we were both quite busy.
As Ansel and Sovann worked with Gallen and the Healer, I trained on my own. I was ready to pour myself into my practice — my wrist had healed and the talon marks were nearly gone, thanks to Eshshah. I spent a good deal of time practicing on the pell — a large tree trunk that simulated a man’s height. It was planted in the ground on the other side of the barn. I worked on my strikes, concentrating on my precision and technique. The sun beat down mercilessly on that side of the Healer’s extensive property. My body was drenched in sweat, but I pushed myself. When I became weary of my practice sword, I switched to my glaive.
Later, sitting at the kitchen table for our midday meal, the Healer and Gallen announced it was time to implement their plan.
“We are at last seeing a positive direction from our efforts. Our next step is to raise an army of elite soldiers. We’ll need a contingent of highly skilled troops,” Gallen said. “We will seek out the best of Dorsal. Bern, Eben and the other riders will do the same in their locations.”
He turned to me, “You’ll be pleased to know, we plan to include eligible girls on a case-by-case basis.”
I smiled and nodded. Females were forbidden to participate in weapons training in anything other than the bow. It was a law with which we would take liberties.
“Amáne,” said the Healer, “We’ve practically abandoned you to work on your own. You’ve done well. Your weapons skills are exceptional. We’d like you to take a group to lead in their training.”
I made an effort to close my gaping mouth. Ansel looked at me with pride.
“If you feel I’ve reached that level, I ... I’d be honored.”
“With a little more work, you can start training with Dorjan and Avano, to work toward swordmaster.”
“Thank you, Healer,” I managed to whisper.
The morning came when the Healer announced, “Ansel, Sovann is now strong enough and large enough to fly with you. We can begin tonight.” Sovann was a week old and towered above us. He had reached Eshshah’s size.
I screamed in delight.
Sovann had been pleading with Ansel to fly with him, but Ansel, trying to live by the rules, told his dragon that they would have to wait until the Healer gave the okay. The wait was over. But this would be a long day, waiting for nightfall.
As if she read my mind, the Healer said, “Amáne, why don’t you and Ansel take the day for yourselves. You’ve been working hard all week. The evening will come quicker if you enjoy some diversion. It’s a market day. You should go into town.”
“Thanks, Healer,” I said. “That’s a perfect idea.”
I turned to Ansel, “I need an hour before we go. The herb garden is in serious need of my attention. After that, I’m all yours.”
He shot me a devious look. I rolled my eyes.
The weather was perfect, as I headed to the herb garden at the far end of the courtyard. I loved the warm dirt on my hands and the smell of the herbs as I pruned and collected them in my basket.
I glanced over at Eshshah and Sovann who sunned themselves in the field between the courtyard and the barn. I smiled thinking how content Eshshah had been since Sovann had hatched. Maybe when they both matured, they would accept each other as mates. Just because they were the only two dragons alive now did not guarantee they would be attracted to each other. Dragons are monogamous and pair for life. Considering how long they lived, their choice was not regarded lightly.
Eshshah used to chide me about my reluctance to follow my heart in regards to Ansel. I did feel badly that I held off a suitor who was meant to be with me, while she remained alone — the only one of her species in all of Teravinea. Undoubtedly, there will be more dragons in our future. So even if Sovann were not the one, she at least had some companionship. For that I was thankful.
In the midst of my musing, I suddenly needed to find Ansel. I didn’t know why, or if I felt there was something wrong. All I knew was I had to see him.
Wiping my hands on my tunic, I left the garden and headed across the field to the barn. He mentioned he would be sharpening and polishing his sword.
I passed our dragons and my urgency increased. Quickening my pace, I arrived at the door of the barn and saw him at a workbench engaged in his task. I stood there for a short time watching. My heart skipped a few beats. Gazing at the way his dark hair fell over his shoulders, and how he held his mouth in a pucker while concentrating on his work, my need to be closer to him escalated. Hearing my footsteps, he turned toward me. Our eyes met. My heart accelerated and threatened to leave my chest as I moved across the floor to where he stood.
Tilting his head, his deep green eyes met mine. I noted a recognition of something he caught in my gaze, although I don’t know how. I certainly didn’t know what urged me to close the gap between us. I slid right up to him. Close enough to inhale his scent.
Ansel put his sword down. He raised an eyebrow. His mouth turned up in an inviting smile. I wrapped my arms around his neck, stood on my toes and pulled his face down to meet my lips. He clasped his hands around my waist and pulled me closer. I felt I couldn’t get close enough. My heart beat against his.
At that moment, my unexplained emotion turned to shock as I realized the source of my behavior. I pushed away from him, stunned. My shame washed over me. He stood there, confused, his eyes still burning, as were my lips.
“Eshshah!” I said out loud, and then continued in thought transference. “Stop that! Block me out. I don’t need to be a part of your thoughts now. This is embarrassing!”
“I’m sorry, Amáne. I’m just thinking about Sovann. I know he has only recently hatched, but his egg was laid many years before mine. I find myself quite attracted to him. He is drawn to me as well. If dragons felt love for each other like you humans, I believe this would be love.”
“I believe that’s a little more than love! Block me now, please.”
I heard her rumbling laugh-like sound before she excluded me from her thoughts.
Turning back to Ansel — his face like a child who had just gotten a sweet taken from him, mid bite. I swallowed hard and tried to extricate myself from this predicament.
“Ansel,” I brought my hand to my mouth, my face hot with embarrassment as well as emotion. “I am so sorry. I’m ashamed of myself.”
“Sorry? For what?” he said in a low voice as he took a step toward me.
I took a step back. “No, you don’t understand. It was Eshshah. She was ... er ... admiring Sovann. I ... I got tangled in her ... feelings for him. I told her to block me out once I figured out what had come over me.”
“I think that kiss wasn’t only about Eshshah’s attraction to Sovann.” He smiled, as if daring me to deny it.
I felt even more self conscious. I couldn’t completely disagree with his assumption, but I wouldn’t admit it out loud.
“It was improper behavior on my part. Please forgive me. I feel like one of those ladies down by the shipping docks.”
“Truthfully, Amáne, you’re nothing like those ladies.” His eyes glazed and I recognized he was communicating with Sovann. Focusing back on me, his eyes heating up again, he took another step toward me.
I took one back.
“Ansel, tell him to block you!”
“Why?” He moved toward me.
Stepping back once more, I began to think we’d been caught up in a strange dance.
“Ansel!”
“Okay, okay, you win — like always. Blocked.” He didn’t hide his frustration.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Ansel.”
With a bewildered look, he shook his head and exhaled, “Wow!”
Embarrassment still
ruled my emotions. But very much aware of the heat we had just generated, I had to agree with him. I nodded slowly.
“Well ... so ... er ...” I tried to think of something to say to ease the tension, but found myself at a loss for words.
“Come on,” he said. I think he recognized I was still mortified. “Let’s go see what the Healer has in the kitchen. I hope she has some strong ale stashed somewhere.”
He put his arm around my shoulder, and we made our way back to the house. I lost myself in the thought of the powerful link the four of us shared.
Mid stride, I came to a halt. “Hey, what did you mean when you said I’m nothing like those ladies at the docks? How would you know what they’re like?”
He pursed his lips, shook his head and kept walking.
We stopped at the laver outside of the kitchen to wash up. Feeling his gaze, I turned to him — his eyes still smoldered. I filled my cupped hands with water and splashed it in his face.
Laughing, I said, “You need to cool down, my friend.”
He splashed me back. “Well, you started the fire, my love.”
“Then allow me to put it out.” I found a bowl, filled it and doused him.
He found a pot and the fight was on.
Drenched, laughing and out of breath, we finally called a truce.
The fire still burned in his eyes.
Ansel and I left before noon for the marketplace, deciding to walk, instead of going by horseback. We were in no hurry — having the rest of the day to ourselves. It was a long-needed diversion, giving us a chance to just be together and talk.
It had been a week since Ansel and Sovann had linked and not only was he was so busy with his new role, but we were both too tired by the end of the day to be able to stay awake long enough for any kind of meaningful conversation.
At last I had the opportunity to ask, “Ansel, you never told me what made you decide to come to the Healer’s when Eshshah and I began our quest.”
His eyes darkened. After a moment of silence, he answered, “Eulalia came to me the evening you left Dorsal for Anbon. She handed me your letter and apologized profusely for keeping it from me. She said it was upon your orders that she held it until you left, and it was upon my orders that she obey you. You can understand her dilemma.”
Amáne of Teravinea - The Prophecy (The Teravinea Series Book 2) Page 22
