by Andi Van
“Is that a lie?”
“Yeah, I’m afraid so. It’s absolutely dog drool.”
Kelwin made a noise of disgust, but he still kept a firm grip on Tasis. Zaree, however, felt her temper escape her. “You let giant dogs chew on him?” she demanded of Daro, smacking him hard on the arm. “How dare you endanger him like that? Are you out of your tiny little mind?” She smacked his arm again, scowling up at him so fiercely that most others would tremble at the sight.
Daro, however, just grinned and pulled her into a hug. “That’s my girl. I’ve missed you.”
The anger crumbled away, and Zaree found herself gripping on to Daro for dear life. “Papa,” she managed to squeak before letting out a sob.
Chapter 16
EVERY TIME someone new shows up here, it results in a lot of crying, Rin said once Zaree had finally calmed down.
“Every time?” Tasis asked with a snort. “This is the first time someone’s shown up since us. Somehow I don’t think you can call this ‘every time.’”
“No, it’s a fair assessment,” Nirena said, placid smile still on her face as she sat cross-legged in one of the chairs and watched what was going on around her with all the aplomb of a doting parent. “Zizi cried when Piren showed, because it had just been the two of us for a few years. Then she cried when Daro showed up, for obvious reasons. Everyone was in tears when Evina arrived. So, yes, I think it’s fair to say K’yerin is correct.” She tilted her head, her face becoming serious. “However, we don’t have time to carry on like this much longer. I can only keep Zaree and Kelwin here for so long before I’m breaking the rules.”
“Do we get to take Tasis back with us?” Zaree asked.
“No.” Surprisingly, it wasn’t Nirena who answered, but Tasis himself. His face was grim, and he looked everywhere but at them. “At risk of sounding like one of the dragons, it’s not time yet.” He looked at Nirena, and Zaree was somehow irritated that he’d look at the Maker but not at her, his own sister. “Have you told them your prediction?”
“You mean the ‘three deaths, six births’ thing?” Kelwin asked. “What’s that about, anyway?”
Tasis shook his head. “I can’t go back until the second death. Nirena brought you here to discuss the first.”
“Why?” Zaree demanded. “Come back with us. We need you.”
“Zar….”
“Come, all of you,” Nirena said, gesturing at the chairs. “I’ll tell the story.”
“Is this really a good time for a story?” Zaree sniped. “Are you going to suggest nap time next?”
“Zaree.”
The tone of Tasis’s voice surprised her, and she looked over to see him staring at her, his face devoid of emotion. No, not devoid. His eyes couldn’t hold back whatever it was he was feeling, and Zaree swallowed at what she saw. Something within Tasis had broken. She didn’t know what, but she had a feeling it had to do with the predictions Nirena had made. That was why he couldn’t look at her when the conversation shifted that way. He knew she’d see it. She let go of Daro and crossed the room to take a seat on the sofa across from the Maker, then stared at Tasis. He nodded and gently moved Kelwin’s hands away, standing to come sit next to her. Kelwin stopped him just as he reached her side, and took the space next to Zaree instead, once again pulling Tasis into his lap. Zaree watched as Tasis nearly tried to curl into a ball before stopping himself. Whatever he knew that they didn’t, it was bad.
When they were seated, Nirena turned her attention on Zaree. “Do you know why there is only one daughter?”
“Yldost said it was because having more than one would create conflict,” Zaree answered.
“That’s true, but that’s not the whole story.”
“Somehow, that’s a pretty common thing with our interactions with dragons,” Kelwin said dryly. “Forgive my rudeness, but I’m more than a little tired of it.”
Nirena nodded in acknowledgment of his words and continued. “The first time I had more than one daughter on a world, it was an accident. The daughters are all born from a piece of my soul, you see.”
“What about the other dragons?” Zaree asked. The whole of dragon anatomy and procreation made absolutely no sense to her, but if her daughters were created from her soul, wouldn’t all of them be?
“That’s different, and not something I have time to explain,” Nirena told her. “I promise you that if you really want to know after this, I will tell you.”
Zaree nodded. That was fair. She didn’t particularly like it, but it seemed there was a lot to handle in very little time. It could wait.
“The first time it happened, the piece of my soul split, giving me two daughters who shared a soul. The world they inhabited was a utopia, and that was in no small part due to the bond they shared. It was so perfect, in fact, that I tried to recreate it elsewhere. Perhaps because I was trying to force that kind of a bond, it failed miserably. That world died a quick but agonizing death when the daughters went after each other.”
“And the first world?” Zaree asked, hesitant to know the answer. “The one where the sisters were happy. Does it still exist?”
“No.” The word was flat, and Nirena’s face, though still placid, somehow became terrifying from the grief in her eyes. “That was the first of my worlds Gisik destroyed, and it was completely unexpected. That death was not as fast, but there was nothing we could do without being prepared for his attacks. The only thing I was able to save was the twinned souls of my daughters. Normally, if something like that happened I would reabsorb those pieces of myself, but those two….” She took a deep breath and looked out the window next to her in silence for a long moment before turning back to Zaree, tears in her eyes. “I loved those two very much. They were special. So I kept them suspended in time. When my grief had begun to fade in its intensity and Gisik had made it his mission to destroy everything I touched, I knew it was time. I used one of the souls to create a daughter on a world I’d created and waited. When I was sure Gisik wouldn’t know what I’d done, I impregnated one of the world’s inhabitants with the other. It would not be born a dragon, but it would be on the world and safe, ready to help when Gisik came. Unfortunately for the second soul, the body that housed it was not as expected. The soul was that of my daughter, but the body was that of a human that would be assumed to be a boy. The clashing of mind and body isn’t an unusual thing. It happens. But I had not expected it to happen to my daughter.”
Zaree’s eyes went wide, and she started to shake. Tasis held out a hand for her, and she grabbed it so hard that if she’d been in her right mind, she would have been surprised at the fact she hadn’t crushed it.
“The daughter I created from the first soul was attacked by Gisik. She was killed, but her brother rescued her soul and put it in another form. Eventually, she passed down a piece of her soul in her child, as she would have if she’d retained her original body. For the most part, the pieces that were passed down to the children were small, not making any difference in the bearer’s lives. But a very large piece of her soul ended up in, of all things, an elven boy. He would never be one of my daughters, but he carried a part of one of them. A very important part that’s turned the tide on Gisik’s onslaught.” Her eyes turned to Tasis, who only stared at Zaree as if waiting for a reaction. He’d obviously heard this before. “Have you heard of soul mates, young Zaree? The mistake people seem to make the most is in assuming they must be romantic partners. But you have your soul’s mate, the twin to yours. You call him your brother.”
Zaree turned to stare at Tasis, her head buzzing with noise over everything she’d heard but could not explain. He nodded slowly, confirming everything Nirena had just disclosed.
“Your world cannot defeat Gisik without a daughter,” Nirena continued. “And yes, ultimately it is Gisik behind the troubles on your world. He interfered directly with Tasis, and there were things that were said when I saw him last that led me to believe it wasn’t the first time he’d broken that ironclad rule. He
will pay for that eventually, in ways beyond comprehension.” She closed her eyes, face pinching with pain for a moment before she looked at Zaree again, her expression haunted. “The being that was once Onai is beyond me now. She cannot be changed back to what she once was. But there is someone who can.”
“You mean me,” Zaree whispered.
Nirena nodded. “I mean you,” she confirmed. “But you’re in a human body, and I would need to change that.”
“You’d be the first death,” Tasis explained, his agony showing on his face for only a fraction of a second before disappearing. “Your human body would die, she would collect the soul you carry, and you’d be put into a new body. You’d be a dragon.”
“And you’d be free of the things that torment you,” Nirena added. “You’ve been trying to claw out of the wrong body since you were old enough to be aware of it. It’s not just about anatomical features. You weren’t meant to be human.”
Zaree could only stare at Tasis, silently begging him for an explanation or advice or something that would help keep her from losing her tenuous grip on her sanity.
“I asked the questions I knew you would,” Tasis told her. “You’ll retain the things that make you you. Your personality, your memories, your emotions… they’ll all still be there.”
“But I’ll die.”
“You will,” Nirena agreed. She was so calm that they may as well have been discussing a book they’d read, and it irritated Zaree immensely. “But you may have noticed that death is a very tenuous thing when dragons are involved.”
Zaree looked at Tasis. “Who is the second death?”
“I don’t know. I can only guess.” He really did try to curl into a ball then, and it was all Kelwin could do to keep him from landing on the ground. Tasis wrapped his arms over his head, hiding his face. “Gisik is the one who locked me away here. It will take a tremendous amount of magic to bring me back, because while his spell can’t be undone, it can be broken.” He shuddered hard and whimpered. “It will be excruciating, for several reasons.”
We’ve already dealt with that situation once, Rin told them. If a spell binding you is broken, it’s not just the spell that suffers.
“You screamed,” Zaree said.
Tasis moved one arm away to look at her. “What?”
“You screamed. Back at home. Then you were so hot you felt like you were on fire. And you called me Mother.”
Tasis looked at Rin, and the cat nodded. That would sum up what happened here as well when the spell was broken, he agreed.
“The second death will be a sacrifice,” Nirena told them. “Someone will sacrifice themself by giving Tasis their magic. No mage survives that.” She narrowed her eyes and looked at Kelwin. “And it is not you, so don’t even consider it.”
“And the third?” Kelwin asked, one hand running along Tasis’s back to try to soothe his distress. “Who is the third?”
“There are two paths the third option could take. On the first path, everything is done correctly and it is Gisik.” She paused, looking at Zaree before continuing. “On the second, any one of the steps is missed, and it is not Gisik who dies, but one who fights against him.” She looked over at Tasis, who had once again pressed his face against Kelwin’s shoulder, and looked back at Zaree.
Oh Maker. She meant Tasis. It was Tasis who would die. Zaree started to speak, but Nirena shook her head sharply, glancing at Tasis again. It was Tasis, but he didn’t know. A sick feeling rose from her gut, and she had to swallow it down. “I’ll do it.”
Tasis’s head jerked up, and those wide eyes so full of pain and broken pieces of himself met hers. “Zar.”
Zaree put her hand over his mouth to stop him. “I have no choice,” she told him. “But you and I are both aware that I would do anything to protect the people I care about, which means I would choose this even if there was another option available. I’d choose death, even if it weren’t temporary, if it meant keeping those people safe.”
The room went quiet as she stared them all down one by one. When she got to Nirena, she received a smile in return, and Nirena placed a hand on her head. “Thank you.” She looked over at Tasis, her lips pressing together in pain before returning her attention to Zaree. “I need to send the two of you back soon. I’ve bent the rules as much as I can, and I cannot do what needs to be done here at any rate. It must be on your world.” She patted Zaree’s head, then let her hand drop. “I’ll give you a few moments to say what needs to be said. And don’t worry. You’ll see them again.”
She stood and glided out of the room. Zaree watched her go before looking at her parents. “I’ll see you again, she says?”
“You will,” her mother promised.
Zaree nodded. “Good. I’d like to know more about you, beyond the stories I’ve heard.”
“I’d like that,” Zizi told her. “I’d like to talk to you. And to Sireti.” Her face darkened, and the origin of the temper Zaree was so well known for showed its face. “He and I need to have a very, very long talk about how to treat people.”
Zaree looked at Tasis, who merely gave a little shrug. “I may have mentioned a couple things.”
She gave a short laugh, then put a hand on his cheek. “So. You and me, huh?”
“It’s always been the two of you,” Kelwin pointed out. “The only thing your hidden history did was explain why.”
Tasis nodded. “So, when you think about it, I really have been your brother this entire time.”
“You really were even without that,” Zaree shot back, leaning over to grab him in a hug. “I’m scared.”
“Yeah.” A damp spot built on her shoulder where Tasis hid his eyes as he returned the hug. “Me too. But we’ll do what we have to do.”
Piren cleared his throat. “Do me a favor,” he said. “When you see her again, would you tell my sister I’m sorry for the subterfuge? You two aren’t the only ones who’ve done what they had to do whether they liked it or not.”
“We’ll tell her,” Kelwin promised. “She’ll be glad to hear you don’t hate her.”
“Tell her I hit him for her,” Tasis said.
“You?” Zaree asked. “You hit someone?”
“He upset Firea and he acts like a child,” Tasis snorted. “He deserved it.”
“We are all proud of you,” Evina said before a spat could break out between Tasis and Piren. “All of you. I don’t think we can tell you just how much.”
Kelwin gave Tasis’s hair a gentle tug. “Take a short walk with me,” he said.
Tasis slipped off his lap, then took his hand to help him up. They kept that grip on each other as they crossed the room and stood at the other side to speak softly, foreheads touching.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more perfect match,” Evina said with a smile.
Zaree couldn’t have stopped the smug smile on her face if she’d tried. “I have,” she said. “But I’ll share him with Kelwin anyway.” She looked up as Nirena entered the room again and was reminded of something that had been bothering her. “Nirena, may I ask you a question? I’ve been having dreams about Triv, and—”
“I know,” Nirena said. “I sent them to you. Your brother has seen so many of these things, and I know he’s shared them with you. But I wanted you to see for yourself. I thought it might bring you comfort to see what it was like while there was peace in her life.”
And it had, really. Some of the dreams had been sad, but they’d all given her hope. “If Triv is the original bearer of the first twinned soul, wouldn’t she be my match as well?”
“In a way,” Nirena agreed. “But not as much as you would think. The best parts of the original soul ended up in Tasis.”
She couldn’t argue that in the least, Zaree agreed silently as she watched Tasis and Kelwin together. “Kel,” she finally called out. “We have to go.”
The two pulled apart, stared at each other for a moment, and exchanged a kiss that likely felt all too brief to them before rejoining the group.<
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“Kelwin,” Nirena said, cocking her head to look at the young elf. “Do you still have the shell the dolphins gave you?”
Kelwin gave her a startled look. “How did you…?” He broke off the words and gave a short laugh. “Of course you know.”
“Like the gryphon’s feather is proof that those of the sky have placed their trust in Zaree, that shell is proof that those of the sea have placed theirs in you. Use that wisely.”
“Is that what the feather meant?” Zaree asked. “I never did find out.”
Nirena gave her a smile. “We need to leave.”
“I love you,” Tasis said, looking between the two of them. “Both of you. Be careful.”
“Come,” Nirena said. “It is time.”
Zaree felt like crying when she found herself on the forest floor, the Maker in her dragon form sitting nearby. Nirena had shrunk herself to a much less massive size and was staring at her with sympathetic eyes.
“I know,” she said. “It’s never easy to leave loved ones behind.”
“You’re awake!” There was a thud next to her, and she looked up to find Reikos staring at her, his expression frantic. “I’m so glad.”
“Uhh….”
“Look, I’m sorry. I was kind of a jerk. I should have told you, and then I should have talked to you after what you told me. I’ve been talking with your friends and they said a lot of things that make sense. Most of all that you’re still you.”
“Reikos, stop,” Kelwin said. “All that’s about to be a moot point anyway, though I’m sure Zar’s glad to hear you aren’t an asshole.” He sat up, wincing a little. “I think I’ve been lying on a rock. How long were we out for?”
“Only a couple of hours,” Nirena answered. “If it feels longer, it’s because of the difference in the flow of time.”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“We saw Tasis,” Zaree added, letting Reikos help her up. “He and Rin are fine, if worried about us.”
“Did he come back with you?” Jorget asked. “Does this mean he’s awake?”
