Ashes And Spirit (Book 3) (69 page)

Emmaleen stretched and yawned then rolled over, her eyes opened. “I hungry.”

They both laughed, and Maleena pulled her into a hug. “Then we should do something about that, shouldn’t we?”

The little girl, over a year old now, nodded. She closed her eyes, snuggled up against Maleena, and then promptly fell back asleep.

“I guess we’ll take care of it later.” Mckale chuckled.

“It would seem so,” Maleena said, gazing at her daughter. A small sense of unease pricked at her mind when she remembered the Fate’s words. She shoved it away. The Shadow Riders were defeated. The other may not happen for a very long time. May not happen at all. It would not dampen the joy she found in this moment.

Loki limped along the hall until he came to the door of Kalila’s chambers. Taking a deep breath, he pushed through it. She turned from where she stood near her desk and froze. “Loki,” she breathed and crossed the room to wrap her arms around him.

He returned the embrace. At least she hadn’t run screaming. “You’re happy to see me?”

She pulled away and frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be? Do you know how long I stayed awake after the battle, waiting for the reports to come in, terrified you would be listed among the dead? It was bad enough to learn of Toren. I don’t know how I would have handled it if you had been on that list.”

“I…” Uncomfortable under her scrutiny, he stared at the floor before raising his eye to hers. “You aren’t put off by the lack of eye or the limp?”

A tender smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Don’t do that. Not with me. I don’t see your scars, only how handsome you are.”

Chagrined, he chuckled at the words. They were nearly the same words he had said to her in what seemed like an eternity ago. She stepped close to embrace him again. “Will you be staying for a while?”

“No.” He kissed the top of her head. “I have to get back to Galdrilene and finish recuperating. If I don’t, Serena may kill me.”

The furious look on Serena’s face when she saw him standing by Maleena at the lake was enough to let him know she might consider hamstringing him to keep him in bed.

“Come back as soon as you can?”

“Of course.” He smiled and stepped away from her. “As soon as Serena releases me from my bed prison, I’m yours.”

“Then hurry up and heal.”

Loki turned and limped out the door with his heart lighter.

K
ellinar reclined with Taela in his arms near the lake in the caldera. The soft air of early summer was filled with the scent of roses that bloomed all over Galdrilene. In the water, the newest hatchling played with the older dragons. He rested his hand on Taela’s extended belly and smiled when the baby moved beneath his hand.

Emmaleen ran by on her chubby little legs with squeals of laughter as Lenya pretended she couldn’t catch her while Mola dashed along beside them. Around him, his family lounged on the warm grass. Maleena and Mckale. Kirynn and Vaddoc—who on his own had managed to walk down to the lake for the first time since fall. Marcaius, Nira, and Dalynn, the new silver that was the binder of their tribond. It was strange to see a Red Rider with bondmates.

Varnen and Jocelynn as happy as ever. Loki, home for a visit for the first time in a month. Liora, Sumara, Serena, Arrah, and Belynn, as well as the three new riders who joked and laughed with each other. And Fara, who had hatched her dragon that morning.

The dragons sprawled across the grass, their colors glinting in the sun though most bore scars on their scales, evidence of the war they would always carry. Cat curled in the shade of Namir’s large body, content to sleep away the day.

Kellinar’s mind wandered over the past winter. Though everything wasn’t butterflies and rainbows, it was starting to come together. Hanover, Trilene, and Turindar had embraced the Guardians. Their reckless and selfish rulers had been unseated and punished for their crimes against their people. The dragons had chosen new leaders from those interested. Sehlas now guided Turindar again. Most of the winter had been spent trying to patch the world back together.

With Calladar unlivable and with so much of their population decimated, they had joined with Belan in rebuilding New Sharren. The merger had gone fairly smoothly. Shadereen too was rebuilding, though they hadn’t lost near as much.

After fighting alongside each other, the hatchet between Kanther and Boromar seemed to be permanently buried. The world wasn’t without its problems still, both human and natural, but at least there wasn’t a headsman’s axe hanging over them any longer.

He sighed in contentment. In this moment, with the breeze soft and cool, the sun warm on his skin and in the peace of Galdrilene surrounded by loved ones, life was good. Kellinar’s eyes drifted shut only to snap back open when he felt Taela stiffen and her stomach grow hard beneath his hand. It had been doing that all day except it was now happening every few minutes.

She shifted, and he sensed her discomfort. “Taela?”

“I think,” she looked at Serena, “I think it’s time.”

Serena smiled wide. “I knew it would be soon.”

Maleena came to help her friend stand and then she and Serena led her away into the Dragon Hold. Kellinar scrambled to his feet and stood there feeling useless. He knew they wouldn’t allow him in the lair. He jumped when Mckale clapped him on the shoulder. Kellinar hadn’t heard him approach.

Mckale chuckled. “I know the feeling.”

“What feeling?” Kellinar asked absently, his mind on Taela.

“The useless one. I’ve been there remember?”

Kellinar shot an anxious look at his friend, and Mckale shook his head. “Don’t worry, she will be fine.”

He spent the next two hours pacing the length of the lake, his mind focused on pulling as much of Taela’s pain as Shryden would allow. The dragon thought he was foolish for taking any. Childbirth was natural. Kellinar ignored the blue and the general ache that settled over his body from taking the edge off Taela’s pain. His pacing had brought him almost back to where the others waited, making good-natured jokes at his expense, when he sensed it. Frozen in place, he waited with his breath held for Paki to pass along the news.

The silver’s smug voice entered his mind,
“You have a son.”

E
mmaleen lay staring at the newly hatched silver draclet who was settled down to sleep after her first meal. How was it possible that such a perfect beauty was bonded to her? At nearly nineteen, she had almost started to think she wouldn’t be called. Until Lyra had begun to sing.

Sleep tried to pull her lids down, but Emmaleen forced them open to gaze at Lyra again. She didn’t want to stop, didn’t want to sleep yet. A yawn forced her jaw wide, though she tried to hold it in as she idly wondered who her shield would be. It irritated her that she needed one.

The lair wavered and disappeared.

She watched a young man with dark hair in the braid of a Boromari warrior walk into a cavernous cave, his silver eyes wary. The upper walls of the cavern were lined with massive shelves. On one of them perched a black dragon with a silver underside. By the dragon’s side stood a woman with eerie green eyes and hair the color of cold blood. The woman watched the young man too.

The black floor showed through his footprints where he crossed the thick layer of dust. In a depression in the middle of the cavern lay a gray egg. When he reached it, he stretched out his hand. His fingers brushed the shell. With a gasp, he dropped to his knees. Fissures ran across the surface of the shell.

The vision dimmed enough that she couldn’t see the color of the dragon that hatched. Then she was looking at the woman again who smiled and said, “Hello, Marek.”

The vision cut off abruptly, and Emmaleen bolted upright on the sleeping bench.