Chapter Forty

C HAPTER F ORTY

The air is brisk and harsh today.

I’m feeding some of the dragons cooked meat. The Ardenti seem to prefer it raw, likely due to their ability to burn it themselves. Fernah enjoys it when I feed it right into her mouth, and I chuckle as she swallows. She seems harmless, though she could so easily have bitten my hand right off.

Everyone else is in the castle fields. Freya is with Iker, laughing at his jokes and smacking him across the chest at whatever foolish thing he might have said. Leira and Aelle are in their own romantic embrace, though their gazes seem sad as they stare at the dried-up trees. I think about telling them what Aurum told me once – that they killed his witch. But then that would be going down a path I shouldn’t tamper with since Aurum is no longer here.

On the right, Idris is petting a dragon he has recently gotten close to – an Umbrati named Enox, covered in deep purple scales. The male dragon is the only creature that can make Idris laugh more than once within five minutes.

‘What are you, the dragon’s personal slave now?’ Rydan laughs while walking towards me from the right, with Link and Tibith beside him.

I huff, contemplating whether I should feed Rydan to Fernah. ‘Better than ever having to be your slave. I’d rather deal with the dragon’s droppings.’

Link chuckles, settling down on the crisp yellow grass, as Tibith approaches me.

‘Is there bread in there, Mrs Nara?’ He stands on his tiny paws, trying to look inside the bucket I’m holding.

I raise it higher, not wanting to make him queasy from all the fresh meat. ‘Sorry, Tibith.’ I tilt my head apologetically at him. ‘I’m sure Darius will get you some.’ I cast a glance out into the fields, finding him right away as he strolls out of the castle garden doors, freshly bathed and wearing a black cotton shirt as if it were not cold outside. Dragon pig , I think with a smile. ‘There he is now.’

Tibith gasps with delight just as Darius spots me from afar. The side of his lips tilts upwards, reminding me of last night’s activities .

I burn bright red.

‘Darry, Darry, Darry—’ Tibith rolls around me before catapulting himself towards Darius.

I watch the tender moment of them reuniting as Darius laughs, drops onto the grass and takes Tibith into his arms.

Joy permeates the recesses of my heart, causing its rhythm to beat more vividly than ever. And when Darius’s eyes find mine, my heartbeat intensifies.

I place the bucket down with a smile and take up a spot between Rydan and Link. Tibith has now retaken Darius’s attention, pouncing on him.

Fernah’s whelps circle me, Naryx pulling at my boot while his sister Zuru growls at him. I’m smiling blissfully at their interaction. A sibling bond always gets to me.

‘Have you gone to see Sarilyn yet?’ Rydan asks me, taking a wad of grass into his hands.

I drag back a breath, the cold air prickling my skin like tiny needles. ‘I’ve been doing my best to avoid the dungeons,’ I say.

The first night Sarilyn was incarcerated, Darius and I spoke for hours about what we should do with her. He hates her for every suffering she has put him through, even worse when he knows what I went through with her. Yet . . . I can’t imagine I would be satisfied if she was to die.

I should despise her, but all I feel is pity.

The promise I made her the day before I fought Darius at the arena tastes sour in my mouth. I remember how I wanted to put her through the same payment I’d received from her long ago.

‘Lorcan told me she’s been asking for you.’ Link leans forward, capturing my attention.

‘Did he?’

He nods.

‘I can’t imagine she wants me for anything good,’ I mutter, gazing back at Zuru and Naryx, then towards Tibith and Darius, still play-fighting in the grass.

We’re quiet for a few minutes, the three of us staring out into the fields.

Finally, the silence starts to get to Rydan. ‘You know what sucks, Ambrose?’ he says. I cock an eyebrow in his direction. ‘Feeling like you equate to nothing.’

I frown. Where has this come from? ‘You don’t honestly believe that about yourself, do you?’

Rydan answers me with a shrug, twirling another wad of grass in his hands.

‘Lorcan shouted at him,’ Link tells me. ‘He is just taking his words too literally.’

I shake my head. I’ll have to talk to Lorcan later about fixing his patience with others, or with Rydan in this case. No one gets on Lorcan’s nerves more than Rydan does. What Lorcan fails to notice is that it’s Rydan’s way of showing affection.

‘It’s not because of that,’ Rydan mumbles, his already pouty lips jutting out as he stares at the grass. With a sigh of defeat, he looks at me. ‘You’re going to be queen someday alongside Darius.’

My stomach dips at the image of me wearing the crown Hira had shown me.

‘Freya is a witch and learning new ways to cast spells with Leira and Aelle. Your brothers are content just seeing you thrive; Link can’t stop kissing Illias in every corner of this castle—’

Link turns bright red, choking on his saliva, but Rydan doesn’t seem to care.

‘The Venators and shifters are . . . ’ He pauses and grimaces. ‘Well, they’re not exactly getting along, but that will likely sort itself out, and I am just here, annoying everyone with my presence.’

Link and I share a glance, guilt weighing us both down.

‘Rydan,’ I say softly, planting a hand on his shoulder.

‘I don’t want to lead,’ he confesses quickly. ‘And I don’t wish to become a ruler of anything. But I do want to be something.’

I find myself rubbing my hand along Rydan’s back and nodding. I know that feeling all too well. At least I did when I left Emberwell to go in search of the Elemental Stones.

‘Why do you think I joined the Venators?’ he adds. ‘I mean, yes, I hardly took it seriously, but at least I wasn’t nothing back then.’

That seems to be the story for many who joined the Venators. What Rydan needs to understand is that he has never been just nothing .

I remember the moments he would sneak up on me, figuring certain things out that I would have missed, or calculating what move to do next up against another trainee. He always knew what he was doing; he protected me from bullies, and he didn’t leave me when he found out I had gone against Sarilyn.

The flap of a crimson dragon wing from the corner of my eye makes me look to my left. A few of them are brawling, baring their fangs. Then I feel a tickle of fur on my free hand, and I know it is neither Zuru nor Naryx. I glance down and see a scarlet songbird nuzzling its head against my fingers.

I smile. It shouldn’t be here; it should be hidden in the woods and the trees with its family. But quickly, I realise that I am family to most animals out here. With the grass becoming inedible for animals and leaves slowly dying, creatures are seeking me for guidance.

Puffing my chest out, I return my gaze towards Rydan. If my future is to protect life, so could his, in many other ways I might not be able to. ‘Have you ever considered becoming something along the lines of a Tracker?’

‘Tracker,’ he says slowly. ‘Like the phoenixes?’

I nod, allowing the songbird to perch upon my forefinger. Bringing it closer, I say to Rydan, ‘You are quite the solver.’

He grins, excitement returning to the deep brown colour of his eyes. ‘I am, aren’t I?’ But then his smile falls, as if he is realising something. ‘But Lorcan would sooner have my head on a stick than let me join the Trackers. I’d also need to be a phoenix to even enter.’

‘ Or . . .’ I release the bird into the air, hearing it sing as it flies. ‘He might be pleased to have someone at his side.’

Rydan shakes his finger at me. ‘That’s a good joke, Ambrose. At least you’re finally learning how to properly interact with others.’

I nudge his shoulder before noticing how quiet Link is. I lean forward. ‘What about you, Link?’

He purses his lips as the harsh air blows golden strands away from his forehead. ‘I’m not sure,’ he says. ‘I’m quite content where I am right now.’

‘That’s because you have someone worth being happy for,’ Rydan teases, but there’s a hint of jealousy beneath his tone.

Link frowns at him. ‘Not necessarily. Before you guys, I had no one. I was just some frightened orphan until I met you all. I’m just glad I’m not alone any more.’

His words have my heart twisting into a knot, and I look at him with the most loving smile before my gaze lands on his neck as he touches the necklace that Illias gave him long ago.

Rydan heaves out an explicitly long sigh and flops onto his back on the grass with his arms wide open. ‘Why must you always be so profound, Link?’

‘Because at least one of us has to be.’ Link grins at him.

Rydan chuckles, pounding his fist against Link’s side, and I laugh along with them. As I smack his hands, Rydan curls up into a ball, pretending he’s injured. Link and I are wheezing with laughter before the three of us settle down once again.

We each sigh with a smile.

Then, out of the blue, Rydan asks, ‘Do you think Sarilyn switched sides because she knew Nara was a Solaris reincarnation?’

My chest suddenly feels heavy.

‘Maybe,’ Link says, mystified.

‘She’s just doing anything to stay alive,’ I mutter, wishing we could go back to messing around instead of talking about Sarilyn.

‘Or she could genuinely know more than she’s let on.’ Rydan raises his eyebrows at me. ‘She did speak with a seer once, and they are practically impossible to come by unless you capture one of those creatures from Terranos.’

He’s thinking of the Galgr.

‘ Or . . .’ Link drags out the word. ‘If you happen to have a friend who is half witch.’

Rydan waves a hand non-committally. ‘A witch telling you a rhyme is hardly the same as a seer—’

‘Freya would slap you for that,’ Link comments, holding back a smile.

‘She’s become too comfortable with that hand of hers.’ Rydan shudders. ‘The other day she hit me because I asked her who she would rather bed, Iker or Idris—’

Oh, Solaris.

Link’s mouth drops. ‘Why in Solaris’s name would you ask her that?’

‘I was just trying to help. She has no idea both are pining for her and clearly needs a nudge in the right direction . . .’

Rydan’s words trail off when a distant rumble reverberates through the earth. The air vibrates with something ominous, and I clutch the dried grass as my gaze whips to the birds scattering from hidden treetops and the dragons, growling as if sensing danger.

The ground beneath us begins to shudder and convulse, and I take in a sharp gasp of air as Link and Rydan hold on to me. Darius is already running towards us with Tibith panicking on his shoulder. Idris is yelling my name, while Iker covers Freya with his body on the ground, and everyone else scatters inside.

I clench my eyes shut, unable to move from the ground. I hear faraway cries from the city, and I imagine the look of terror in people’s eyes as they stumble and seek stability from the things around them.

Our world is in ruins because of you!

Neither of you is fit to rule over a kingdom.

Tell me, if it means saving Zerathion, is the Golden Thief worth dying for?

My gaze snaps wide open at the last whisper of words inside my head, and then, as abruptly as it began, the trembling subsides, leaving a strange stillness in its wake.

Darius slows down to a stop, metres away from us, and I quickly rise to my feet, panting.

‘Nara?’ Rydan says from below.

‘I have to go,’ I rush out, my legs stumbling as I make my way towards Darius. He grabs me by my forearms and searches my face with furrowed brows.

‘Wait, Nara—’ Rydan says, his head peering down beside him. ‘The grass.’ He sounds bewildered, but there’s no time.

I look to my left as my brothers and Freya start jogging towards me. I face Darius, saying in a low voice, ‘If my brothers ask where I am going, just tell them I won’t be long.’

Rydan says from behind me, ‘Wait, Nara, the grass—’

‘I’ll be back soon!’ I yell at them, slipping away from Darius’s grip as I run off in the other direction.