by Meagan Hurst
“No,” he retorted. “I think I have held my tongue long enough. I want to discuss what possessed you to hand Zimliya over to Midestol.” Holding up his hand to stay her words, he glared at Veilantras before speaking again. “If he has Rameilas, why didn’t you just ask us for aid in getting her back?”
Chapter 11
Z realized she had never truly seen a shocked Dragon before. She had believed she had, but the look on Veilantras’s face at Nivaradros’s words destroyed her previous experiences. Z suspected Veilantras could fall off her chair from her astonishment at the words that had just come out of Nivaradros’s mouth. Instead Veilantras just stared at him in horror, fear, and near incomprehension.
“I’m waiting,” Nivaradros snarled after five minutes had passed. “Why don’t I make this easier on you—Does he have Rameilas? Z shield the lair against possible eavesdroppers; I believe it would be ill-advised if this conversation was to be overheard.”
Z agreed with that. Drawing on her power, she blanketed them with a shield that could not be penetrated from the floor beneath their feet to the stone ceiling above them. “Finished,” she told them when she had everything in place.
“How…how do you know of her?” Veilantras whispered as she gripped the arms of her chair. “I have never said…” Her eyes blazed as her shock began to change to fear. “Did you tell Midestol about her? If you did, Nivaradros, I swear I will—!”
“I did no such thing, but that answer confirms my thoughts on the reason you would do something this foolish. It is clear you will surrender much to protect your half-breed daughter.” Nivaradros’s tone was cutting and furious—Z considered getting involved, but she decided to let the Dragons handle this.
Veilantras shuddered in her chair at Nivaradros’s words. “You know she’s my…? How do you…?”
“You are easy enough to follow,” Nivaradros answered. “And once I was close enough, Veilantras, I could tell she was your daughter. Yours and Baryaris’s daughter.” He watched as his mentor grew even paler. “I have known since she was Z’s age, Veilantras,” he added as he softened his tone. “I will admit there was a time when I considered killing her to wound you, or revealing her existence to the rest of our people since they would have killed her. You betrayed my line, Veilantras, and you have done very, very little to protect me from that same fate.
“If I was anyone else, I wouldn’t have survived the most persistent of our kind. I considered and even plotted the deaths or emotional strikes against all the Dragons who were directly involved in the downfall of the Dragon empire. There was nothing wrong with it, and you helped destroy it because the idea of serving another of your kind—no matter their wisdom, power, or the fact that they saved you all—was too hard to swallow. My siblings were systematically hunted down and slaughtered; I was hunted but survived. You became my mentor out of guilt, but Veilantras, that is not enough. You’ve stepped aside every time the Council has decided to send a flight after me, and I find it vastly unfair considering everything we’ve been through. You have been free with my aid; you dropped Z off with me, after all, and demanded I keep her alive. Yet you refuse to offer me the same courtesy. I have been turned into a scapegoat more times than I can list, unless you want to be here for centuries, and I am tired of it.” Eyes blazing, Nivaradros watched Veilantras as if he was hopeful she could offer him something to lessen his pain. “And yet, when I had my chance, I did nothing to harm you or any of the others. Perhaps I should have, as holding back has not afforded me any leniency in return.”
Veilantras held Nivaradros’s gaze at long last and seemed to read him for some time. She was, Z could tell, blinded by Nivaradros’s words. Had none of this previously crossed her mind? “Why did you keep her existence a secret?” Veilantras wanted to know.
“Because she was yours, and I saw no reason to kill her just to get back at you for what you had done to me. It is not—as I am sure you don’t know—my way of doing things.” Nivaradros crossed his arms. “But it is your turn, Veilantras. Speak up and speak well. I am considering killing you for putting Zimliya—Zimliya—in danger. Your daughter doesn’t seem to possess any useful or powerful magic; Z does. Nor has Rameilas made any great contribution to the world as Z has. In fact, the only thing remarkable about her is the fact she is several millenniums old and is an unknown tie to the Rangers’ founder and Z’s great-grandfather. Nice touch, by the way, moving her around every fifteen years, ensuring no one would realize she didn’t age. Moving her out of Tenia when you learned the kingdom was to be destroyed was a nice effort as well. I am surprised neither move revealed her to others, but I presume it is because of the care you take to keep her hidden. It was extremely well done; I will commend you on that.”
“Nivaradros…” Veilantras’s eyes moved to Z and then closed. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“No. I have no understanding of what it’s like to fall in love with a human. None whatsoever. Nor do I know the hardships of life and making sure personal choices don’t get in the way of more important ones. How could I? I’m still a hatchling, aren’t I? That’s all you and the Council will ever see. A hatchling. Never mind my triumphs, my losses, my hardships, and my hard gained knowledge. I am still just a hatchling. Considering me as anything else endangers the Council, and the future of our race.”
And that right there was the truth. Z kept quiet and watched Veilantras struggle for words to counter something she couldn’t. Pain and anger that was both for Nivaradros, and had nothing to do with him, encased her and Z turned away to regain her composure. She wished she had spoken like this—this right here—to the Tenian king before his death. Her words would have been different because her life was, but the pain, anger, and complete confusion over why and how would have been the same. She hadn’t walked the path Nivaradros had; she had been on a similar path, and she had fought against what she had been accused of. It was one of the reasons they got along so well. Both thrown out by their people for nothing more than existing; both of them doing what they could to survive.
“Z?” Veilantras called. Caught off guard, Z found herself lashing out.
“I cannot understand how you cannot see what you did to him!” she snarled at Veilantras. “Do you have any idea who he is? What he’s done besides all the things the Dragons happily pin on him whether or not he was even involved? Do you? Because I’m certainly still finding out things that amaze me! You and several of the other Dragons cry out in horror at what happened to me at Tenia’s hands—and you don’t know half of it—yet you did far, far worse to Nivaradros! You’re still being pig-headed. Do you realize the knowledge he has kept safe for you for millenniums while you have offered him little in return? Do you even grasp what your lack of a true position on his side has cost him? The Dragons only offered him a spot on the Council to get to me, and you have the nerve to treat him like a hatchling? All of you are the hatchlings!”
“Z—” Nivaradros interrupted. “It is alright. It’s alright.” His tone was careful and it caught her by surprise. When she glanced at her hands, she realized why he was approaching her so delicately; Kyi’rinn was in her left hand unsheathed, while her right hand held a globe of shadow within it.
Disbanding the shadow, Z lowered Kyi’rinn as well before turning from the Dragons and exhaling in a huff. She heard Nivaradros approach her from behind and managed to keep from reacting as he wrapped his arms around her. “It’s fine,” he whispered before turning to face Veilantras with her in his arms. “But it is your turn,” he remarked to the rather uncertain elder Dragon. “I would be careful what you decide to say,” he added with a cutting smile as Z glanced up at his features. “Both of us are…not at our best.” Releasing her, he waited for Veilantras to speak.
Standing, Veilantras seemed to debate what to say before speaking. “Baryaris and I were…friends,” she began. “Just friends. Rameilas was the result of one night when both of us needed more than just a conversation. It wasn’t planned, and it wouldn’t have happen
ed again even if Baryaris hadn’t been brutally murdered right after that.”
Nivaradros stiffened, but he didn’t speak of his involvement in the death of the original de la Nepioa. Instead he stepped up close behind Z once more and waited for Veilantras to continue. His actions warned Z he expecting her to explode again over something the female Dragon said. As she was still seething over this whole meeting, Z felt Nivaradros’s actions were fair.
“I considered killing Rameilas. She is a half-blood and, as Nivaradros suspects, she has little in the way of talent. Low magic, passable fighting skills, and she cannot shift into a true form.”
“Nice to know I don’t have a form that’s considered ‘true,’” Z inserted sourly.
Veilantras ignored her. “But I grew attached to my half-breed, and as she grew up I began to value her lack of abilities. They made her easier to keep safe. Yes I have to help her relocate often, but no one has ever suspected her until Midestol discovered her. I don’t know how he found her.”
“By following you. This is Midestol we are talking about,” Nivaradros snorted. “He is always looking for everyone’s weakness. She is yours. You should have let him kill her.”
“She is my daughter.”
“And giving him the upper hand over you…this protects her how? You should have come to us.”
“And said what?” Veilantras laughed. “My daughter is missing?”
“Yes.” Z answered this time and her anger swelled again. “I would have gone after her—I will go after her if Midestol still has her. Does he?”
“He does.”
“Then provided Nivaradros and I leave this Isle alive, and I am content with how things go here, I see no reason why I cannot try to save her. And if I am successful, perhaps I can have her move into a Ranger community for safety.”
“And you’d do this?”
“Without hesitation, but only if I make it out of here alive with Nivaradros and a judgment by the Council I consider reasonable. Otherwise I will have to reveal your predicament to that Council. They need to know you are compromised. I cannot have you risking your people or the rest of the world because you allowed Midestol to gain power over you.”
“A threat?” Veilantras asked in a tired and defeated voice.
“A promise. I don’t make threats, Veilantras, and I wouldn’t do this if you were not such a danger. The mortal and immortal races trust you—I cannot have that turned against us since Midestol currently holds some sway over you. I will do what I can to help you, but I will deny that aid if Nivaradros continues to have to fight this foolish debate over his status and his life. He has earned it far more than any of you. Or have you already forgotten what he has surrendered to keep this world here and what he has gone through to keep me alive?”
She received no answer, but she didn’t expect one. “You set me up,” Z whispered, “because you thought my death would solve everything. Veilantras, if I die you do realize the world will not survive, right? What would my death have accomplished? Another hour with your daughter? A few weeks? Would it have been worth it?”
“No. But I could not abandon her. She knows nothing about her bloodlines, and although Dragons aren’t inclined to care for their line; she is mine. After Baryaris’s death she was also the only thing I had of him. I was grateful when the Tenian king perished. Oh, the years I waited for his demise after he killed Baryaris—imagine my surprise when you revealed it was you who murdered him, Nivaradros!”
“At his request,” Nivaradros answered.
“That doesn’t change things, Nivaradros!” Veilantras snapped.
“Of course not. After all this is me we’re talking about.” Nivaradros glanced rather suddenly at the lair’s entrance and scowled. “And this conversation is over, the grazers have arrived. Come Z—let us discuss other matters in private.” He offered her his arm and led her past Veilantras as Dyslentio and Shanii appeared at the mouth of the cave. “Dyslentio, we will see you in the morning,” Nivaradros informed the Kryhista. “Something of importance has risen.” Continuing to lead her away from everyone, the Dragon eventually carried her to their room instead of letting her walk.
“Would you like a bath?” he wanted to know as he set her down. “I am going to presume after the ocean voyage the answer is yes, but you have surprised me in the past.”
Laughing as she was able to let go of some of her anger, Z shook her head. “I plan on no surprises tonight if I can manage it. Yes, I would love a bath.”
An hour or so later, Z was sprawled across the bed in the room Nivaradros had chosen for them to use during their time on the Isle. Nivaradros had likewise chosen to take the opportunity to clean himself after his time at sea, but as he had left after she was finished, she had a few moments to herself. Thinking over how the conversation with Veilantras had gone, an inkling that she was perhaps setting herself up to fail worked its way into her thoughts.
She had managed to avoid attacking Veilantras, but could she manage the same even with Nivaradros’s intervention when she was in a room full of thousands of Dragons? Most—if not all—of the Council would be there for this event, and judgment had already been passed. Z doubted the presence of a Kryhista and her would change anything. Yet it had to. Closing her eyes, she pushed the thoughts out of her mind and focused instead on a plan to get Rameilas out of Midestol’s hands.
“You’re worrying,” Nivaradros murmured as he sat beside her a few minutes later.
Blinking since she had been too lost in her own thoughts to notice his arrival, she twisted to face him and found his eyes were a dull and exhausted shade of green. “You look exhausted.”
“I believe it is considered better than stressed,” he teased in a low tone as a smile touched his lips. “Do share what is bothering you this time.”
“Rameilas, and the council meeting tomorrow. From the way I reacted to Veilantras, I am concerned I may end up killing someone tomorrow.”
“They’d probably deserve it,” was the unhelpful reply. The Dragon, however, knew his answer would upset her and sighed. “Z, if something occurs tomorrow, then it happens. I am not going to feel sorry for anyone’s death unless it is yours—and the emotion I feel will not be mere sorrow.”
Snorting she shook her head, but kept silent for several minutes before changing the subject. “Why is it there are so few…half-breeds as you call them.”
Chuckling as his eyes darkened with amusement, Nivaradros appeared to think about the question. “I believe there are two reasons. The first is because it would imply someone of a superior race—because you know everyone thinks they are superior to everyone else—fell in love with one of the lowly others and had a hatchling that is half superior and half lowly other. The other reason is much more simple; most of them are killed early on or have a very short lifespan due to their lineage.”
The Dragon’s expression grew thoughtful and Z hid a smile as his thoughts clearly turned to events outside the room. “Are you against half-breeds?” she wanted to know. “It seems to be a possible sore spot among the other races, and since I offered to take Rameilas in I need to know if I have to protect her from you as well as everyone else.”
“I don’t have an opinion one way or another. For a while I was convinced you had to be one,” Nivaradros told her with a smile to answer her own. “With all your strengths and power, I was certain that you had to be anything but a pure human—the lowest of the mortals. When I discovered that you were just human, I questioned Rameilas weakness. It baffled me. But it made her less of a concern and eliminated her as a threat. As for you taking her in, that was a wise move on your part for all the reasons I know you did it. You do not have to worry about her safety, I have no interest in her.”
He was still lost in his other thoughts, and Z had a feeling she knew what it was. “I’m sorry you had to come back,” Z murmured..
“I am likely to survive it; you are likely to survive it. I worry about Dyslentio, but we did warn him about the dangers of coming
here. When Veilantras took off with you, I blatantly explained to Dyslentio how the Council acts when I am involved. I also revealed how you tend to act here when the Council decides to become demeaning. Considering the amount of magical power we have on this Isle, it amazes me that you’ve never killed anyone here except when you are challenged. I know you’ve been close.”
“It’s bad form to assassinate someone when they have invited you to a meeting.”
They spoke for the rest of the evening about minor concerns. Z revealed more of her plans in regards to Lyiastras. Nivaradros listened eagerly and offered suggestions. Z was surprised, still not used to suggestions being made. Normally she might be asked to clarify something, but otherwise everyone left things to her because they knew she was solid. Nivaradros, however, questioned, suggested, and even contradicted some of her thoughts until she explained them down to the last detail.
Whistling slightly—something he had learned to do only recently—Nivaradros leaned forward to kiss her before chuckling. “You really do think things through,” he admitted. “I like testing you, picking at your plans, because I always find it incredible how your mind works. You will have a plan and then another twenty to forty in case the first plans—and the ones after it—fall apart.”
She inclined her head in agreement. “Now you know why I had such a struggle with sleep.”
“And why when war was upon you there wasn’t a chance of you sleeping until it finished. It was hard enough to get you to eat—that hasn’t changed by the way. When did you last eat?”
Groaning, Z punched Nivaradros’s left arm, but smiled. She hated his nagging, but had grown used to it as the few years had gone by. She knew why he constantly pushed her as well, despite her tough spots. She also was well aware of how much it had helped, how much she had improved, but it didn’t make accepting it any easier.
