Mau had made short work of the archers, mauling one and then chasing down the other, who'd dropped his weapon and tried running off in terror. The Faelyr strode triumphantly back through the gate as the alarm bells ceased ringing. See? That wasn't so bad. It just so happens that the moment I showed up, those guys weren't interested in firing arrows anymore. Funny how that happens.
Minx was seized by an intense pain in her chest—the same she'd experienced earlier in the day. She wasn't sure whether the uncomfortable maneuver over the side of the wall had exacerbated it, but as she struggled to rein in her pulse she felt it was unrelated to her acrobatics. The ache was too high up, in her breast, and it wasn't the pain she usually associated with strained or injured muscles. She grit her teeth, trying to hide her pain from Mau and the Fae milling about below her. What is this pain? Why is this happening to me? Is it something serious? I've never felt anything like this before. It's like my heart is about to explode...
The pain lingered on, waxing and waning for close to an hour, and only began to fade when Kaleb returned from his scouting mission. At glimpsing him in the distance, the pain immediately started to subside, and she stood atop the wall for a few minutes, attempting to track his movement through the clouds. She finally caught sight of Kaleb's great shadow passing over the plains and rushed to meet him as he flew over the Trading Center and touched down within the square.
It was clear from the moment that Kaleb assumed his human form that he was worn out. He limped and staggered as though on the verge of collapse, and was drenched with perspiration. A handful of onlookers helped him to a seat in the medical tent and he was brought food and water, which he accepted sluggishly. Minx fought her way past the medical staff and made her way into the tent, not content to watch him being cared for from afar. “Are you all right?” she demanded, taking his arm and sizing him up. “What did you get yourself into this time?”
Kaleb nodded, lips quirking in a sleepy smile. “I'm hanging in there.” He took a long pull from the waterskin he'd been brought, then sighed. “I ran into the hunter again. I suppose I haven't learned my lesson...”
Minx nearly socked him in the gut. “You picked another fight with his forces? What were you thinking? They almost got you last time! Why do you have to be so reckless? It's like you're trying to throw your life away!”
The dragon shifter waved her off with a chuckle. “Hey, it was a close one, but I've survived twice now, haven't I? This time, I took a handful of their guys by surprise. It wasn't till the end, when the hunter and a few of his dark Fae archers showed up that I had a hard time. They ran me ragged, and for a minute there I didn't think I'd make it back to camp. But here I am.”
It hurt Minx to see Kaleb in this exhausted state. “I'll say! And what a sorry sight you are! You're going to get yourself killed playing these stupid games. I should tell my father to release you from scouting duties. This isn't working out.”
“Nonsense. A long rest and I'll be good as new.” He drained the remaining water and polished off the food in a few savage bites. Then, standing, he trudged out of the medical tent. “I'm going to brief your father,” he said to Minx, who was still tagging along behind him with a grimace. “After that, I need a little sleep. How about you? I imagine the next shift will be starting up soon, right?”
Soon enough, the next shift would be starting, it was true; she, Mau and Kaleb would be allowed to retire for the evening, and would only be summoned back to the square in the event of massive trouble. Nonetheless, she remained worried over his haggard appearance, and wasn't sure that a mere night's sleep could heal either one of them of all the wear and tear they'd accumulated. “Do you need help?” she asked, trailing him by a few paces.
“I'll be fine,” he assured her, starting into the High Council building.
Minx was used to worrying after her own skin, but concern for someone else's was alien to her. She was hopelessly caught up in Kaleb, obsessed with ensuring his wellbeing, and as she watched him amble off she had to restrain herself. He's worn out, but he doesn't need you to coddle him. Just relax. He returned safe and sound.
Kaleb spent a long while in the building, reporting off to Minx's father. It wasn't until after the sun had set and he'd told the whole death-defying tale of his most recent scouting run that he emerged—still threadbare and panting—from the building. He joined Minx in the square, wincing for the aching of his joints. “How are things?” he asked. “Ready to clock out?”
Minx was all too happy to relinquish her post to the Fae who were then seeking to begin the evening shift. “I'm looking forward to some rest,” she admitted, leading him from the square toward the border of Pan. “If Torrent will let us sleep all night, that is.” She knew full well that a serious threat would lead the sentinels posted at the watchtowers to call for reinforcements, and that her night's rest might be cut short as a result.
Without a word, Minx, Mau and Kaleb strode through the Trading Center and passed into the shadowed city of the Fae, keeping to the dirt paths between ancient trees. They made their way slowly toward Minx's place, but at the juncture nearest her humble abode, Kaleb unexpectedly turned off. “Say,” began the dragon shifter, “I know this sounds strange, but I want to sleep in the field. Is that all right with you?” He motioned up at the little tree-house he'd been using in recent days, adding, “It'll be more comfortable for me to stretch out, if you know what I mean.”
Mau, exhausted for the day's toil, crept up the steps and slipped into Minx's home without so much as a purr. The Fae huntress motioned to the wilds beyond her home. “Sure...” she began, “If you'd prefer to sleep in the woods, I don't see a problem with it.”
Kaleb wandered past Minx's place, his hands brushing against the storied trunks of age-old trees. “Thanks,” he said. Then, without warning, he donned his dragon form. The immense ruby-colored dragon snuggled up in the shade of Pan's timeless growths with a relish Minx had only ever seen in Mau, tucking his wings in tightly and settling onto the forest floor with a pleased sigh. She couldn't help but envy his comfort.
Kaleb was on the verge of sleep, and Minx knew how important it was for him to get his rest. Come morning, he'd be sent on more scouting missions, and his great strength would be called upon without surcease. Even so, she couldn't bring herself to leave his side. She watched as the fearsome dragon closed his eyes and wrapped his dense tail around himself. His scales locked into one another, forming a nigh impenetrable shield, and his breathing slowed. Kaleb exuded relaxation, with his horned head lowered to the ground and a wispy plume of smoke rising from his nostrils.
“H-Hey,” ventured Minx, standing at his side. “Mau went inside to sleep, but...” She hesitated, conscious of her needy tone. “Do you mind if I... stay out here, with you? I could spread out a bed roll of my own...”
To her surprise—and delight—Kaleb outstretched one of his massive, leathern wings, providing her with a place of her own. Minx drew near to him, settling against his ruby bulk. The great wing was lowered, fully ensconcing her and providing a shield from the evening wind. The Fae huntress pressed herself tightly against Kaleb's rigid armor; the place he'd allotted was warmer and somehow softer than she'd ever imagined. Minx relaxed beside him, thankful that she was able to remain so close, and found—with no little surprise—that sleep was not long in arriving.
Pressed to Kaleb, she was filled with a level of comfort and security she'd never known before. This was all she'd ever wanted; all day, she had pined for him. Now, to be this close to him, to sense him and to share in his every breath, brought her a joy and calm she could not express. Minx drifted off against the massive dragon promptly, slipping into the most delightful sleep she had enjoyed in ages.
And as her sleeping mind wavered between wakefulness and dreams, she recalled the honeyed story spread amongst the dragons—the story that Kaleb had shared with her. Once, a dragon and a woman—a Fae, Minx felt sure—had fallen in love with one another. When the woman had passed, the dragon
had spent the rest of his days mourning her, filling the place of her burial with tears. This story, though it seemed like nothing but a tender myth on the surface, smacked of something more real to her as she dove into sleep.
Maybe there's something to this old story, thought Minx as healing sleep overcame her. It isn't just a love story or a myth... It feels greater than that. It feels true to me. And this warmth that I'm feeling... this is the warmth that those lovers felt.
In days where true rest was rare—seemingly impossible—Minx slept peacefully till dawn, nestled against Kaleb's side.
Chapter 18
Her eyes opened to the powdery light of a new day. Golden rays of sun filtered through the canopy left the dewy grass shimmering, and overhead the morning birds had emerged from their nests to sing. She had slept deeply—so deeply, in fact, that she hardly felt like the same person who'd settled against Kaleb the night before. Her mind was clear for the first time in days, washed clean by hours of restorative sleep.
She sighed and leaned against him, simply relishing his presence. The ache she'd been grappling with in her breast had completely faded, which seemed to confirm something she'd come to suspect subconsciously. The pain only turns up whenever Kaleb is gone. It's like my heart can't stand being away from him. The greater the distance, the longer their separation, the worse the pain became. Having spent the night at his side however, the pain seemed like nothing but a bad dream, an illusion.
Minutes passed before Minx finally sat up and wiped at her eyes. The dragon shifter stirred to her back, and from nearby came Mau's familiar purring. Minx found the Faelyr stationed in the grass a mere few feet away. Though she'd gone up to Minx's place to sleep the night prior, she'd apparently gotten lonely and had crept down to sleep with the two of them.
Something in the peaceful morning setting captured her attention above all else, however—and when she was certain she wasn't dreaming, she sat up with a gasp. “K-Kaleb,” she stammered, reaching behind her and nudging the dragon roughly. Minx blinked repeatedly, staring down at her hands, her body. She then whipped around to glance at Kaleb, panicked.
A blue, ghostly fire burned around her.
It did not burn her, nor did it seem to carry any warmth, but its spectral glow was so shocking that she could hardly find the words to describe it as Kaleb fully awoke. Even Mau, still slumbering nearby, was wreathed in the bluish glow. The Faelyr didn't notice it, and her silvery fur didn't burn despite the flame's presence all around her.
Am I dreaming? What is this? It struck her as something supernatural or hallucinatory; perhaps someone had cast a spell on her and Mau as they'd slept, or else this was some sort of nature spirit that had manifested in the night. She wiped her eyes furiously and pinched herself in the arm. This has to be a dream, right? Minx cleared her throat. “Kaleb... are you awake?”
The dragon shifter had indeed awakened, and was eyeing the dancing blue flame all around her with a mix of terror and dreamy amusement. “Uh... yeah,” he muttered. “I'm seeing it...”
Minx reached out to touch the flame, to wrap her fingers around the flickering tongues that rose from her every inch, but could make no sense of the phenomenon. What's more, as the minutes passed and the two of them became used to the sight, the blue flame began to fade away.
She watched as the glow finally died out and then stood up. Kaleb had returned to his human form, and was pacing amidst the trees, visibly baffled. “What do you think that was?” she chanced. “Some kind of spell?” Minx studied the forest, seeking out hostiles amidst the trunks. “Maybe Torrent or one of his goons cast a spell on us while we were sleeping? Or... was it a ghost? A nature spirit?”
“I doubt it,” replied Kaleb with a chuckle. “If it was a spell of some sort, it didn't seem to hurt you any. And I've never known a wild spirit to behave in that way... I'm more inclined to believe it was a dream of some kind. And yet... we both saw it.” He shrugged. “What I will say is I slept better last night than I have in a long, long time.” Here, he spared Minx a little grin—half embarrassed.
Her cheeks reddened as she replied, “Me too...”
That strange pain in my chest went away, and after remaining close together all night we awoke to this blue flame. That can't be a coincidence, can it? Minx pulled her hair back and began tying it into a fresh braid while trying to work over all that had happened. No... none of this is coincidence. I think it was supposed to happen. The fact that the pain stops whenever he's near... maybe it means that dragons and Fae are supposed to be together—that the distance between us will only cause pain. That old story may be true after all... Dragons and Fae complement each other, are like two sides of the same coin, perhaps...
“Well,” continued Kaleb, stretching, “it's a new day. Maybe we should head into town and see what's been happening all night.” He nudged the dozing Faelyr with his foot, snickering as she growled in her sleep. “Mau wants to sleep in, eh?”
Mau opened one of her eyes narrowly, glancing up at him and loosing another low growl. Would it kill him to let me sleep another hour?
Come on, Mau, began the Fae huntress, it's time to head back to Pandling Grounds. We can have some breakfast and catch up with my father. There's no telling what today will bring, after all. She waited till the grumpy Faelyr rose to her paws and then joined Kaleb as he started through the trees. “I didn't hear the call to arms last night; I guess Torrent took the night off, huh?”
Kaleb nodded. “Seems so. But then, it's Torrent we're talking about. He never takes the night off. He was up to something, I'm sure.”
“How will we beat him?” asked Minx, voice low. After the great night's sleep and peaceful awakening they'd enjoyed, it almost seemed unsightly to address war, violence and the countless problems her people had been struggling against. “He seems to be ten steps ahead of us. He stays out of sight except when it's convenient for him, finds a way to the lake even when our defenses are set up to prevent exactly that. How can we hope to defeat him when he outsmarts us at every turn and our people are suffering so greatly? If we had a few thousand soldiers to spare, maybe we could tire him out, run him down, but under the circumstances...”
Kaleb mulled this over for a long while. “The easy answer is that we have to stop reacting to him,” he responded after a beat, as the edges of Pandling Grounds entered into view. “We need to respond to his threats efficiently, rebuff his attacks and make use of our limited resources wisely. But when we overreact to his little attacks and provocations, we're playing into his hands. That has to stop if we're going to get anywhere.”
“While you were flying reconnaissance yesterday, you must have gotten a pretty good idea of how many warriors still remain, right? What are their numbers like? I've been worrying about that a lot lately. If they have a few hundred remaining, then maybe we'll be able to pull off a win.” Minx gulped. “If there are more... or if Torrent can get his hands on reinforcements from far away, then I don't see how we can succeed. Even if we use our resources perfectly, he can still wear us down if his forces are as big as I fear. So... What's it look like out there? Did you get a clear idea?”
“It's hard to give an exact number, but...” He paused, looking for some way to sugarcoat his reply. “We're definitely looking at numbers on the higher end. I don't know where Torrent is keeping some of his troops; he may have hidden whole legions in forests and cave systems on the fringe of the territory. I saw a lot of smaller groups wandering around out there—and some bigger ones, too. I would be shocked if there weren't more troops hidden away, scattered here and there, and it could be that he's purposefully underplaying his hand. It's possible—probable, even—that he doesn't want us to know exactly how strong he is until he moves in for the coup de grace.”
Before she could respond, Mau suddenly came to a stop behind them, her ears perking up and a growl rising up her throat.
Minx halted, too, turning to the Faleyr. What is it?
Listen, was Mau's only reply.
The trio stood in the shade of the woods neighboring Pandling Grounds, listening for anything out of the ordinary. The Faelyr's sensitive hearing had been the first to pick it up, but Kaleb and Minx were not far behind in sensing the sounds of battle breaking out just ahead, within the confines of the Trading Center.
The sounds of steel rattling against steel, of voices crying out in rage and anguish, began to emanate from the square. Minx turned to Kaleb, wide-eyed. “D-Did they break through? Are they in the square?”
The dragon shifter didn't respond in the affirmative, but the furrowing of his brow and the purpose in his stride was evidence enough that he feared as much.
He didn't make it but a few strides, however.
From a dense cluster of trees to their left, a lone arrow rushed out to meet him, and would have buried itself in his gut if not for the stopping power of his plate armor. Minx immediately prepared her bow, nocking an arrow and dropping to one knee. Mau, too, remained low to the ground, watching the surrounding woods very closely and anticipating another shot.
They didn't have to wait long to find the one responsible. From the shadows emerged a lone, lanky form. Dressed in militant leather armor and draped in dark furs, with a long bow clutched tightly in his fist and a savage smile across his gaunt face, was the hunter. The wild man peered at the trio with unveiled iciness, his bare, leathery feet pounding the forest floor with every forceful stride. “Haven't we met somewhere?” he began with a dark chuckle. “Why, yes, I believe we have, come to think of it!” He motioned to others yet hidden in the shadows, his smile fading and a terrible snarl issuing from his lips. “Lower your weapon, Fae—and all three of you had better not move a muscle.” He nocked a fresh arrow and prepared to draw his bow.
How to Save a Fae (Heir of Dragons Book 2) Page 15
