42. Bree

42

Bree

No one noticed when I rose and left the table.

I paused at the entrance to the Talon meeting room. Through the milling crowd, I watched the two dark heads bent over the table.

Tyrez and Treyton. I had a sudden flash of Mykal's young face, still rounded in boyhood. So much like Riggs's…

But Mykal's boyhood had now been taken from him.

My heart squeezed hard, and I worked to keep my pain from shooting along the link to Riggs. He had just delivered another group of defecting warriors to the amphitheater. He had enough on his plate, and there was nothing he could do about this.

There was nothing I could do about it, either. Not yet, anyway.

Worse yet, my terror surged at possibly losing Caliel. Before Cara could look up, I vanished out the door.

It wasn't just my worry that encouraged me to flee—as my panic for Caliel rose, the walls seemed to close in on me.

I needed some air.

Unfortunately, even though he'd just Jumped back to the Dragon realm, my flight was immediately noticed. Where are you going, Venus?

Just taking a break, Michelangelo. I'll be back shortly. And then we can discuss why you named me after a turtle.

You are forgetting—she's a very sexy turtle, he consoled. I just need to know, are you okay?

As good as I can be.

We'll get Caliel back, and then Cara can heal him.

I had my doubts that she could, but he was worried too. Yes. Tez can help him hold on until then. I added, I could use some thinking time. I'll just do a bit of exploring, then I'll be back. I offered a slow mental stroke that smoothed the jaggedness of his worry and got him thinking of other ways to relax. If only he wasn't busy saving the Dragon Empire…

I pulled away, leaving him with a mental laugh that didn't reach my heart. I was already a ways along the hall and realized I hadn't been paying any attention to where I was going.

I approached a Centaur carpenter. I didn't know him, and hoped he didn't know me, either.

I explained what I wanted, and he grinned. "There are gardens right on the ground level. No idea how he pulled it off, but they are stunning. A relief after all this rock."

"He" had to be Nikolai. The Centaur gave me directions, but after descending the ramp, I had to ask another workman when I took a wrong turn. I finally felt the breeze moving along the corridor.

Expecting foam and waves, it shocked me to walk through an entrance festooned with vines, to enter a garden.

It was a real garden. The long evening shadows from the cliffs cut off much of the sunlight, but plants softened every surface, and I could barely see the rocks behind them. The path beneath my feet was sandy, but the bushes seemed well-rooted in soil. There were even trees that towered overhead. Surely, they were many years old?

Bewildered, I wandered the path. I could hear the wild crashing of the ocean, but it was muted. The entire garden seemed framed in sculpted stone that formed a barrier and kept the wild waves at bay.

In the center of the garden was a pond. Lilies opened their petals to the sun, and reeds swayed gently in the breeze.

"We'll have to bring in the animals," rumbled a deep voice. "I brought the seeds from Cara's garden."

I spun to see Nikolai's large form reclining on, of all things, a hammock. It was surrounded by other incongruous bits of garden furniture. Nothing matched, it had clearly been scrounged. "Aria and Lucas are there now," he paused, and his eyes flashed. "Encouraging butterflies to come to a new garden, I believe. At least, that is what they are supposed to be doing. Nettie has them rather sidetracked."

"This is—remarkable," I said. The word didn't do it justice. He'd grown all this—from seed? "The entire place is incredible. Your talents are impressive."

He sighed. "What they are, is scary. Every time I tap into the maelstrom, it tries to control me and break free. If it wasn't for my mates and Cara, things would be very different."

I gestured to the flowering vine that hung over me. "You are creating such beauty. You should be proud of that."

Nikolai's pale eyes shone. "I am." He tilted his head and gestured to the recliner beside him. "Come. Sit. I apologize for the decor. I tried growing some moss seating, but I couldn't keep them dry enough. People were getting wet butts. No one wants a wet butt."

I couldn't help but let out a laugh. It was only a short one, but it was genuine, and it made me feel a little better. I took a seat at the table, and Nikolai moved from the hammock to sit across from me.

"You are worried about your mates," he said, unexpectantly.

"Are you telepathic, too?" I asked.

He laughed, a low rumble. "No. But I am Liberi, and I read energies well."

"With everything I have living inside me, I'm sure mine is pretty chaotic," I confessed.

"Cara has told me some of your story," he stated. "What Isobel did to you is both disturbing and astounding."

"Well, it might be astounding if I had any control over it," I said. "But as it is, it is more disturbing."

"You have your equine, and the Ice Drake, is that right?"

"I used to have Caliel's Gryphon, too."

His eyes narrowed. "I sense another within you."

I regarded him with surprise. "Maybe my Dragon? I think she's there, but haven't seen any clear evidence yet. In fact, lately, even my Ice Drake has been pretty quiet."

"Do you mind if I read you?" He extended a large hand.

I regarded it nervously. This man was so powerful, and the tales I had been told were scary. Yet we were seated here in this garden, and I sensed his pleasure in it. The Perditor was supposed to be all about death, but this man relished creating life instead.

I met his eyes and witnessed the gentleness within him. His kind usually had cold and remote expressions, but Nikolai's entire face was so alive.

I took his hand.

Instantly, a warm pulse of energy flowed from him. I almost pulled away, but as it spread up my arm, it relaxed me. Until my entire body sagged, and my eyes blinked slowly.

I didn't know how much time passed before I met his gaze, and he smiled.

It was a radiant expression, full of hope. And I found myself smiling back.

"Your Dragon is most definitely there," he told me, "along with a few other things. Waiting, they are. For another."

"What else did you see?" The words came slowly—I was having trouble focusing.

"That will become apparent in its own time," he stated.

Great. The last thing I needed were more damned mysteries. But I couldn't bring myself to care, really. I was floating on a cloud of not caring.

Nikolai rose and tugged on my hand. I followed him to the hammock, and he encouraged me into it.

Once there, he let me go. It swung slowly, rocking me back and forth. I blinked again.

"Sleep, little Dragon," Nikolai's voice suddenly seemed to be coming from far away. "You are safe here."

I closed my eyes. The garden, the rock, and the sounds of the ocean spun away…

I was flying.

It was at once familiar, and not. My body did not feel like that of a Gryphon's, and I glanced at myself—and saw Dragon wings.

Had I embraced my Dragon? Or was I Riggs? The scales didn't seem to be a solid color, but rather flickered with different ones, like they couldn't make up their mind.

The clouds roiled, and the wind made flight difficult. Lightning flashed across the sky, and thunder boomed.

Below me, foam whipped off thrashing waves. I saw the beach—and upon it, something my mind struggled to define. Something huge, much bigger than a Dragon, with a head that seemed amorphous—it changed back and forth, the bones moving like lightning.

Then, a swirling mass of cloud enveloped me, and when it cleared, the waves, the beach and the beast had been replaced by a writhing mass of bodies locked in combat. I saw Sabres and Dires fighting what looked like mercenaries.

In the sky above them, fought Dragons.

Ice chased down my spine. Dragons were fighting Dragons. Their enormous forms tangled and tore at each other, while lightning struck their muscular bodies, and a bolt of fire shot through them. One entire side of the battle was lit with blasts of crimson blood energy.

Somewhere in all that, was the Trinity.

Despite the tumult, an invisible call drew me onward. As I looked ahead, I saw him.

His narrow head rose above the battle on a serpentine neck, with metallic feathers that gleamed blue and green in the moonlight. Not winged, but he had limbs ending in wicked talons. His eyes glowed turquoise.

Tez.

A phalanx of smaller Dragons came at him, each carrying a rider. The narrow head swung straight to them, the toothed jaws opened—and what issued forth was so high-pitched, I could barely hear it from where we flew.

The effect on the Dragons it hit was immediate—they screamed, and their wings flapped in an uncoordinated fashion as they fell from the sky. The instant they hit the ground, the Sabre and Dires swarmed over them.

We were close now. Screeches rose above the tumult—and along one edge of the battle, stood Finn's Drakes. Fire and Earth and Storm—but there were two more than there should be. I counted two Storms, and two Fires…

Then a Dragon rose above the battle. Scales gleamed purple and black in the moonlight.

Razir.

A crimson bolt of lethal energy blasted toward him…

I awoke to a thundering heart that almost obliterated the crash of the waves.

Breana? Was that just a dream?

Riggs. I should have known he'd be following along.

No. I think it was a vision.

I hadn't had many lately. But as much as I wanted to discount it as a nightmare, it had all the hallmarks of one.

One hell of a vision, he said.

I sensed that he was back in the command center and struggled to put it behind me. Are you done Jumping?

We've pushed Riley as far as we dared, but we put a substantial dent in the group hidden in the mountains. He sounded inspired.

Nikolai was gone, so I lay in the hammock and let the ocean's rhythmic tumult slowly soothe away my terror. I knew the drill. I needed to sift through the mess and come up with the important bits.

What the hell was that huge creature on the beach? My stomach clenched as I rolled out of the hammock and strode through the garden, impervious to its beauty as I fixed as much of the vision as I could in my mind.

Find Ash, Riggs suggested. After a moment, he added, Tyrez says he's out flying. Maybe he can help interpret this. Another moment passed. He's now heading your way and will meet you in the library.

There's a library?

Of course there's a library, he answered, not without a burst of humor. And he showed me the route from the main entrance.

Now I only had to find that front hall…

Can't help you there, he said . I have no idea where you are.

Neither did I. Where was a carpenter when you needed directions?

Ash was already waiting for me.

The room's large windows let in natural light, which illuminated the walls lined with stone shelves, but they were, as yet, mostly bare. Stacks of books lay on the floor, waiting to be sorted.

As I entered, the Oracle seemed to be picking bits of greenery out of his hair.

I glanced out the windows and could hear the wind howling against them. "You were flying in this?"

He nodded. "It's good for me. I didn't learn to fly until relatively recently, and the winds here are so chaotic that a little goes a long way to developing your reflexes and muscles." He grimaced as he removed a big chunk of what I identified as seaweed from his golden locks. "So long as you don't collide with the cliffs, that is. And there are more of them than there used to be. Returning to ground still tends to be a bit interesting. Fortunately, I crash landed into the ocean."

He dropped the seaweed, and his pale-gold eyes locked on mine. "Tyrez says you had a vision?" He gestured to the table in the center of the room. "Let's see what we can make of it."

I sat down opposite him and began to describe it as best I could. When I was done, he rose and paced to the windows.

When he didn't say anything, I prompted him. "Does my vision mesh with anything you've seen?"

He sighed. "I haven't seen the monster you described. The timelines may be too flexible yet to show it. But the rest—yes. Yes, it does."

I reconsidered the scope of the armies I'd seen. "Were those the Legion Dragons?"

He nodded. "On both sides. Dragons fighting Dragons." His voice reflected his horror.

As he wasn't offering his information as freely as I wanted him to, I prodded. "Does Daize really have that many to fight against us?"

A pause, and then, "The most likely timelines indicate that he does."

I couldn't imagine what it must be like, seeing many possible futures and not knowing which would be the right one. But there was only one question I wanted the answer to, even if I didn't expect to get one. "Will we win?"

He replied with another question. "Do you know where this battle took place?"

I chastised myself. How could I not glean the most important detail? Riggs mentally joined me in rehashing the vision, perusing the details of the terrain. When we reached a conclusion, my entire gut was one big knot.

Are you sure? I asked Riggs. But I'd been there, and I was.

So instead of waiting for his answer, I met Ash's gold gaze. And told him.

His lips tightened. And then he moved to the entrance. "We need to go after Victor. Now, before he's ready to come after us."

Which was an answer, of sorts.

As I followed Ash out the door, Riggs summed it up with one line. Just not the one we wanted to hear.