Core

by Teshelle Combs

  Cale groaned. He knew he couldn’t do it. He frowned at the no-ir rider. “Do me a favor and knock me out.” He pointed at Ava. “And if anything happens to her while I’m–”

  Shiloh, still balancing on his window sill, struck Cale in the jaw so sharply that the red dragon collapsed onto the stone floor.

  Ava slapped Shiloh’s shoulder. “You could have been a little gentler than that,” she scolded.

  Shiloh ignored her and, to Ava’s terror, tossed Cale’s body out of the window. Rane flapped his wings, catching her dragon on his broad back. Ava glared at the rider. “Now that was plain spiteful,” she said.

  “I am still angry, I suppose.”

  “Well, I’m still angry at you. But you don’t see me punching your dragon and throwing him out of windows.”

  “He asked me to do it,” Shiloh growled. “I am trying to help you.”

  Ava crossed her arms. “It’s appreciated. I guess.”

  Shiloh’s face was stoic, his black eyes hard. Ava didn’t think she’d ever meet anyone colder than a blue dragon. “We should go,” he said. “We are wasting time.”

  “Shiloh…you should knock me out too.”

  His eyes narrowed, his face still solemn. “You are also afraid?”

  She shook her head. “No, Rane doesn’t scare me. I just don’t want to enjoy a flight before I get to go up with Cale. I know it sounds crazy….”

  “Believe me,” Shiloh said, looking Ava in the face for a moment. “You will not enjoy this.”

  Shiloh stepped out of the window and landed on Rane’s shoulders. He stood as though the hovering dragon was solid ground. He spoke to Rane and the beast tilted, letting Cale slide off of its back, catching Cale with his back talons and forming a fist around the sleeping red.

  “Get on,” Shiloh said.

  “Work on the manners, Shiloh.” Ava stood on the window sill, afraid that the thudding of her heart would be enough to tip her balance. She took a shaky step, nearly slipping off of Rane’s metallic hide. Shiloh reached out to grab her, flinching as they made contact.

  “I burned you?” Ava asked.

  “I have never touched a phoenix before you. I am not surprised that we are incompatible.”

  Ava frowned. “I’m not…that.”

  Shiloh lifted the ropes tied to Rane’s saddle. “Rane says otherwise. He knows better than both of us.”

  “You knew?”

  Shiloh clicked his tongue and Rane’s wings closed in, hugging closely to his body. He plummeted so fast that Ava screamed. She had nothing to hold to but the back of Shiloh’s shirt. The wind whipped around her, threatening to tear her skin off until, without warning, the light of the moon disappeared.

  They were in darkness so tangible, so thick that Ava’s lungs began to fold in on themselves. Rane stopped falling, but he did not flap his wings either. He only sat still as Shiloh spoke out his coordinates. Ava’s eyes watered, the salty tear drops leaving her face, floating before her in the emptiness. She choked for oxygen, for just one quick drink of air.

  She couldn’t scream, couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. Her skin glowed a vibrant gold, but it did nothing to light the night that swallowed her. With nothing left to fight with, Ava closed her eyes and let the darkness of the void have its way.

  Twenty

  Spark

  Sirce’s face was so close to Cale’s that he could smell his breath. It smelled like nothing.

  Cale tried to back away, to turn his face, but he couldn’t. Sirce’s diamond-gray eyes bore into Cale. Then he smiled, revealing his dark, razor teeth.

  “You will kill her,” he said to Cale. “You will let me use her, and then you will kill her. I have seen this, and it will be so. There are consequences to every act. And those consequences will always be in my favor.”

  Cale wanted to object, to tell him that he was insane, that he was wrong, but he couldn’t speak. The grey dragon sneered at Cale’s struggle.

  “I must thank you for my gift.” Saliva oozed down his chin as he licked his lips. “She is beautiful.”

  Suddenly, Cale woke up to knobby knees stabbing him in the stomach. He groaned and rolled over, knocking whoever it was to the ground. He forced his eyes open as Jemma righted herself and tugged at his hair.

  “Wake up, wake up,” she said in red tongue. “Or you’ll miss it.”

  “Jemma, get out of there,” Shayna scolded, pushing the curtain aside and gathering her daughter up with one arm.

  “But they’ll miss it,” Jemma protested as Shayna hauled her away.

  Ava had snuggled closer to Cale’s back when he rolled over. He lay still for a moment, relishing the taste of her being so close to him. It has to be her. He sat up and moved so that he could face his rider. Her arm was still around his waist as he poked her cheek playfully.

  “Ava,” he said. “Look where we are.”

  She yawned and stretched as she always did. Cale frowned as he caught sight of the spiraled wound on her forearm. It was healing, but slowly. I did that, he thought. He tried to ignore the words of the grey, words that had filled his mind while he slept. Lies. All lies. He knew he would never hurt Ava. And he would never let Sirce or anyone else near her again.

  “You’re still frowning,” Ava said as she blinked awake. “Even after all this sleep?”

  Cale forced a smile. “Thinking.”

  “About how awesome it is we’re not dead?”

  “About a lot of things.”

  “Not about me being a bird, right? Because I promise you I’m not.”

  Cale lay back down, picked up Ava’s hand and plopped it over his face. “I wish I was still too tired to think.”

  But his mind was racing. If Ava was really a phoenix, it changed everything. Everything. He didn’t need to tell Ava that a red could only pact with a human. She’d heard it from the grey dragons herself. If she was truly a phoenix, if she was a member of the breed so rare that people had nearly forgotten them…. Maybe Mac was right all along. Maybe Sirce, as frightening as he was, had been truthful. Maybe we are destroying the balance.

  Ava moved her hand and laid her head on his chest. He pulled her closer to him, and his heart beat grew steadier as he breathed deeper.

  “Pardon me.”

  A soft voice came from the curtain in the doorway. Juliette was wearing a long white dress, her hair woven in braids, a few curls loose, framing her face. In every way, Juliette was gorgeous.

  But Cale hadn’t warmed up to her. Ava could tell by the way his muscles tightened beneath his skin at the sight of her. Luckily, he said nothing to the girl.

  “The sun is about to rise,” Juliette said, hardly louder than a whisper, “and the village is waiting. But if you would like to rest, we can gather again tomorrow morning.”

  Ava looked at Cale and smiled. “No more waiting.”

  Juliette nodded. “I will tell Emaline,” she said. The girl was gone before the curtain fell back into place.

  Not a minute later, Emaline burst into the room, knocking the curtains to the floor in her excitement. Ava understood why none of the houses in Great Nest had furniture in them. Chairs and tables would only clutter the place, only provide opportunities for injury. Great Nest had given up on civility. Red dragons break things. It’s just how they are.

  “We don’t have long,” Emaline said loudly, clapping her hands together. “Everything is ready except for you two.” She beamed at Cale. “Maurice and Jethro are waiting for you, Cale. Hurry.”

  Cale stood hesitantly. He would have to leave Ava.

  “It will be for a short time,” Emaline explained. “The faster you go, the sooner it will be over.”

  Cale sighed and turned to leave, but Ava stopped him. She turned to Emaline. “We don’t want to be separated.”

  Emaline shrugged. “It is against tradition, but…for you, it can be done.”

  Cale smiled bigger than the sun. After each had a bath, he and Ava stood in separate corners of the Coston house, backs to each o
ther as they dressed. Shayna approached Ava, carrying an outfit she’d stitched out of dragonthread herself.

  “So you won’t catch on fire,” she said.

  The craftwork was exquisite, flames sewn into the sleeves and hood. And the best part, it isn’t a dress. The dark pants fit Ava perfectly. The brown boots were brand new, but covered in mud.

  “We had them broken in for you,” Shayna explained.

  Of course a red dragon would think of that practicality. No need for the shiny and new. Practical, durable, tough. Shayna sat Ava down and ran skilled fingers through her tangled hair. The orchid water she rubbed into her curls smoothed it nicely, removing every knot with ease.

  “Our children know how to make messes of their heads,” Shayna said as she braided it down Ava’s back, leaving two subtle wisps of curls at her temples.

  Shayna brought out a mirror. It was rusted and cloudy, but Ava could still see herself. The orchid water Shayna had splashed on her face made her skin glow, but when Ava looked closer, she thought maybe, just maybe, she saw a hint of gold. Ignoring it, she admired herself, even the scar that wound up her arm. She touched at the bruises on her face, evidence of battling sirens and no-ir riders. It made Ava stand up straight, proud.

  “Do you like it?” Shayna asked.

  “It’s perfect,” Ava answered, putting her hand on Shayna’s shoulder, mirroring the red dragon gesture that had become commonplace to her. “Thank you.”

  Maurice burst through the front curtain, in much the same way Emaline had earlier, his arms spread wide, a smile on his ten-year old face.

  “There are guests for you here,” he shouted.

  “Guests?”

  Cale’s heartbeat picked up at the thought of it. But when Javier and Lena walked through the front curtain, scolded himself for being so hopeful.

  Javier threw the heartiest hug he could manage at Cale. He kissed both of his cheeks, rattling off in both red tongue and Spanish. Lena’s belly poked out from beneath her dress, and her smile elicited a matching one from Cale.

  “I’m so glad you’re both here,” he said. And he meant it. It was so much harder to be sad with them around.

  “Quickly now,” Maurice shouted. “The sun is rising! The sun is rising!” The dragon ran to Cale and threw his little arms around his waist, lifting Cale into the air. “I am bursting with gladness,” he said, doing a jig while still latched to Cale. “So much gladness.”

  Maurice turned to Ava and bowed. Then he approached and planted a careful kiss on her hands. Ava still thought the custom was awkward, but she let it slide yet again. She only hoped no one knew about the phoenix problem. She didn’t want to explain something she didn’t understand herself.

  “You look every bit the rothai,” Maurice said to her. “And the first to bring her dragon back alive from the grey court. Such a thing has never happened. Not in all my years. Not in any time.” He patted her hand. “Enough of my ranting. Now, we must begin.”

  Cale grinned at Ava and put an arm around her shoulders. “You look good,” he said.

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m just glad I don’t have to balance in heels.” He laughed, and the two of them walked through the front curtain. They stopped.

  The entire village, and more, watched expectantly, the sky behind them going from black to gray, the sun about to peek over the hills..

  Harlon stepped forward. He looked much better than the last time Ava had seen him trapped in the blue dragon’s hole. In fact, Ava had nearly forgotten about that place, about the sirens, about the pearl.

  “I would be loyal to you,” Harlon said, putting his fist to his chest.

  Ava looked to Cale, and he shrugged at her. “It’s your call, Ava. You’re the rider.”

  Ava bit her lip. She didn’t want a loyal. Not really. What am I supposed to say? No? Go away? “I guess,” she said with a shrug. “If you really want to.”

  Harlon smiled. “Thank you. You honor me, rothai.”

  Cale laughed at his rider as Harlon joined the others. “God, Ava, you could have said it nicer than that.”

  “How would one 'say it nicer'?”

  “I don’t know. Like how he said it. With some bowing or something.”

  But Emaline cleared her throat from behind them and they turned to face her. “Rothai, do not be offended that we found this. In your shoe, of all places. We have made it so you can carry it with you.”

  Ava made a mental note to thank Shiloh if she ever saw him again, though most of her hoped she never would. Emaline handed the leather necklace to Cale. The pendant was the perfect red marble, very different from the black and white feather and plain gray rock that fused together to make it.

  “It’s our dragonstone,” he said to Ava. “Turned out pretty good for a rush job.”

  Ava couldn’t take her eyes off of it. It was perfect. It was all perfect. Cale put it around her neck, and she noticed that he was making an effort not to look into the crowd, as if he didn’t want to let himself search for the familiar faces of his family.

  Ava wanted to be sad for him, but she knew it would only make him feel worse. “They’ll come around, Cale,” she said. If I have anything to do with it, they’ll come around.

  Cale clenched his jaw in response. He didn’t want to talk about them. The hurt would not be healed. And, even worse–worse than he could dream of–was the knowledge that the girl at his side might not be human. That she was a phoenix. That after all he had fought for, he couldn’t have her.

  He shook the thoughts away. “This is a good day,” he said, more to himself than anyone else. “Let’s enjoy it.”

  Ava looked around at the expectant faces and scratched the back of her neck. “What now?”

  Cale patted his chest, hoping Ava didn’t see the slight tremor in his hand. “My core,” he said.

  “I don’t have any fire on me.” She looked around, waiting for someone to hand her a torch.

  Cale gave a crooked smile. “I’ve already got plenty. I just need you to be my bridge. Take the fire from my core and light it to my blood.”

  She shook her head, suddenly nervous. “I don’t know how to do that.”

  Cale reached out. He placed his hand on Ava’s cheek. He traced her jaw, tilting her chin up to him. “You know.” He looked into her eyes. The same eyes he’d seen the very first day he met her. Green and red and strong. His heartbeat died in his chest. All he could feel was his core. Begging for her. Screaming out her name. “My sarai will always know.”

  Ava blinked at the word. It was beautiful. Different than the noble rothai. She had no idea what it meant, but she knew he wasn’t honoring her by saying it. He wasn’t showing her off. He was calling her closer. Whispering truth into her. She was his promised one. His only hope.

  His.

  Ava placed her hand on Cale’s chest. It was hot–so hot that she almost pulled away. But Cale rest his hand over hers, keeping it in place. He grew even warmer beneath her fingers, until finally, he released her hand and took a step back.

  Nothing.

  He still looked like Cale. The same Cale that Ava had always known.

  Then he laughed. Smoke leaked from his mouth, dissipating in the chill morning wind. He tilted his head back and opened his mouth. A column of fire exploded from somewhere inside him, so much that the onlookers began to scramble. Ash and smoke rained down around him, reacting with each of his molecules. His cells sizzled as his dragonblood caught fire, catalyzing the change.

  Ava couldn’t help but stare. She had expected a monstrous black dragon, scaly and thick-haunched. But Cale stood on four legs, more like a wolf than a big flying lizard. His talons were black, his hide a rich crimson. In subtle stripes across his chest and along his ears was a shimmering blue. His face was alert, sharp, focused, his chest held out as though he was proud. He growled as Ava moved forward to meet him. The sound was so loud, so abrupt that she jumped. This is Cale, she told herself. He won’t hurt you.

  So she kept moving until
she was close enough to stretch her hand out to him. She touched his ear and it ticked in response. His eyes were still light brown. Cale’s eyes. Ava laughed again. Even after all she’d seen, all she’d fought for, part of her never really thought it could happen. A person one second, and a dragon the next.

  He flicked his forked tongue out and it licked her nose playfully. It’s Cale alright.

  Ava put her hand on his forehead, on his neck. He’s so big. On all fours, he was some inches taller than she was. His breath came through strong and steady, almost like it did when he was asleep. She circled him, examining his long tail, admiring how it spiked at the end. She touched the sharp edges of it in amazement. Then he growled at her, stomping his paws.

  “Can you wait a minute? Let me get a good look at you.” She came back around to the front of him. “Let me see your teeth,” she said.

  He snorted out smoke and nipped at her shirt sleeve. She laughed again, almost dizzy. A dragon. My dragon. She had forgotten the sirens, forgotten the Anders family and the grey court. Even the pearl was gone from her mind. Nothing matters but this.

  “What now?” she asked Emaline.

  Emaline’s eyes were as wide as everyone else’s. It almost looked like the woman was about to cry. She swallowed and pointed to the tallest of the surrounding hills. “Now, you fly.”

  Cale stomped again. He tossed his head, puffing smoke out of his mouth. Ava didn’t have to sense his anticipation. She could see it.

  “How do I get on?” she asked Emaline.

  “I don’t know,” the woman answered, breathless. “I’ve never seen anything like him.”

  Ava ran her hand over Cale’s back. His skin wasn’t hard or scaly. It was soft, smooth. Like a fine leather, but still warm. She had seen Rane strapped with a saddle and reins, Shiloh directing him through subtle tugs and pulls.

  “Maybe he needs reins.”

  Harlon handed her a rope made of dragonthread and Cale snarled at it, shaking his head, backing away. Instead, he lay down on the ground, his chin resting on his paws.

  Ava chewed her nails as she thought. “Do you want me…to sit on you?”