Chapter 17

DAELLA

“Here.” Rivelin handed me a sturdy pair of boots to replace the ones I’d soaked. He then grabbed a leather satchel from a hook beside the door and started filling it with a compass, a couple of canteens, and an emergency kit.

I watched him curiously. “I have some questions. First, you seem to have an unlimited supply of women’s clothing that fit me perfectly. Second, how far are we traveling exactly? If we’re going far, I’ll need to pack salt and some kind of waterproof tent, if you can find one.”

“I told you. The clothes are all from Tilda, who is about your size. I’ll introduce you next time I see her. She won the Midsummer Games a few years back, and she asked the island for an endless wardrobe. She only ends up keeping half of it.”

Well, that certainly explained some things. “Not particularly useful compared to the running water.”

“It’s keeping you clothed, isn’t it?”

“You have a point.”

Rivelin vanished into the kitchen. Clattering and thumping followed. When he returned, he carried a pouch of salt, some stale bread, and dried meats, which he unceremoniously stuffed into the pack with the other supplies.

“You didn’t answer my second question,” I said.

“We’re going to the base of Mount Forge. It takes me less than a day to get there and back if I don’t run, but I don’t like going out there unprepared. Shit happens.”

“That explains the boots.”

“Are you up for this?”

I glanced down at the welts on my arms. They were still inflamed, and I was tired, but my curiosity had given me an extra dose of energy. “I can manage.”

The elf attached a bedroll to his pack, then handed me a second one to carry along with a small tent that didn’t look nearly waterproof enough. Without any more explanation, he moved to the door and motioned outside. I went along with it, though I found the entire episode increasingly odd.

I jogged down the steps and called out over my shoulder. “The Fildur Trial is starting today, right? Should we really go on a mountain hike that could take all day?”

“This is important.” He joined me on the dirt-packed road. “We’ll focus on the competition when we get back.”

“It’s more important than winning the Games so you can protect this place from Isveig?”

A moment passed before he answered. “No, but it’s connected. Just come with me, Daella. I can promise that you’ll want to see this.”

I was exceedingly intrigued. Whatever this was, it must be big indeed. I thought back to his disappearance the other night. He’d returned smelling of dragon magic—reeking of it, really. Was that what he wanted to show me? Had he gone to Mount Forge that day? Admittedly, that put a slight waver in my step as I followed him out of the village, heading in the opposite direction from where I’d first arrived. I had no idea what lay ahead. If there were any Draugr in that mountain, they would want to stop me from reporting them to Isveig. Was that was this was? Rivelin realizing he needed to hand me over to them?

If only I had my mother’s dagger.

We followed the path out of the village and into the forest beyond, Skoll scampering along beside us. The trees were full of birdsong and thick humid air that wrapped around me like a gentle hug. The brush rustled as rabbits and deer bounded deeper into the woods. Rivelin and I fell into a companionable silence only interrupted by the occasional thump of the satchel against my back. And even though I had no idea what lay ahead of me, the fresh fragrant air settled my nerves in a way that only being outside amongst the elements ever had. Even some of the residual pain from my welts faded.

After a few hours, we crossed a small wooden bridge over a river and reached the foothills. Up close, the mountains were breathtaking. Low-hanging clouds scuttled across the jagged peaks, where the rich, verdant moss was lit up by the afternoon sun. There wasn’t a speck of snow in sight.

The tallest mountain was flat on the top, and a plume of smoke curled from within. It was a volcano, I realized, just as a blast of dragon magic hit me: sulphur, salt, leather, and dust. The sight before me blurred as dizziness clouded my eyes.

“No,” I choked out, stumbling away. “Why have you brought me here?”

To cause that potent of a scent, there must be hundreds of Draugr in these mountains. Thousands, perhaps. I’d never experienced anything like it before. No wonder I’d smelled them all the way back in Wyndale. Terror buckled my knees as I tried to run. I hated cowardice, but I wasn’t a fool. I couldn’t fight this many, especially unarmed, especially if they were as powerful as they smelled.

“Whoa, whoa.” Rivelin wrapped an arm around my waist and tugged me into his side. I tried to squirm away, but his grip was firm. “Calm down. Nothing here will harm you.”

I trembled and closed my eyes. The memories threatened to drown me beneath their weight. “Let me go. If you have any kindness in your heart at all, don’t make me face all these Draugr. They’ll know who I am, just as you did. And they will kill me.”

“There are no Draugr here, Daella,” he said softly. “I was telling you the truth. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

I flipped open my eyes and tried to wrench away, but he still held me tight. Steam hissed between us, but for once I didn’t revel in it. I just wanted to get as far away from him as I could.

“My nose has never failed me. There are hundreds nearby,” I said, tensing as I took another whiff. And yes, just there. It was coming from beyond the foothills, near the base of the largest mountain. Where Rivelin had mentioned we were headed.

He steadied me. “You’re smelling dragons, Daella. Not users. Dragons.”

My entire body tensed. I gazed ahead at the looming mountain and the smoke puffing from the volcano’s summit. The heat seemed to throb like a living thing. When I’d first arrived on this island and scented the dragon magic, I’d thought there could be dragons nearby, but I hadn’t truly believed it. Deep down, I’d doubted their existence in this place. Years ago, Isveig had his mercenaries kill them all. And they were the one thing he’d never ordered me to face.

“How is this possible?” I whispered as Rivelin finally loosened his grip on me.

“Just as hundreds of elves, dwarves, pixies, and humans escaped the Grundstoff Empire, so did dragons. They made this their home.”

“Hundreds?” I asked incredulously.

“No. Just four.”

“And they’re in that volcano.”

“There’s a cave at the base of Mount Forge where they sleep. They like the heat.”

I took a step back. “Their power is dangerous.”

“It’s dangerous when others try to bond with them and use their power as their own, but no one here does. We leave them in peace.”

“No, you don’t.” Narrowing my gaze, I put some space between us. “The overpowering scent of them in your blacksmith shop proves otherwise. You come here all the time. This must have been where you vanished to the other day.”

I waited, my breath held in my throat. Rivelin’s hands tensed as he gazed down at me, and the soft breeze rustled the silver hair that hung to his shoulders. The elf who stood before me was the answer to all my problems. I’d been sent here to find someone steeped in dragon magic, and here he was. At the end of Midsummer, I could return to Fafnir and trade his freedom for mine. He was the enemy I’d been searching for, and I’d known it the second I’d laid eyes on him. At long last, I had the proof.

So why did it all feel so…wrong? There was no happiness, no relief. Just a grim resignation curling around my heart.

“Yes, I come here to visit them. At least once a week,” he finally said. “They’re my friends, and I vowed to protect them.”

I swallowed.

He continued. “Their cave is only another half hour’s walk from here. Come with me. Let me introduce you to them.”

Skoll trotted toward me and nudged my leg with a whine. I frowned down at him. “Not you, too. I thought you were on my side.”

“See, Skoll trusts the dragons. He wouldn’t encourage you to go with me if he thought it would put you in harm’s way.”

I couldn’t believe I was taking the word of a fenrir over my own instincts.

“This could be some sort of trap,” I said.

“If it was a trap, you’d already be stuck in it. Dragons fly fast.”

I frowned but made no attempt to argue.

“So you’ll come?” Rivelin asked.

I motioned him forward. “I will approach. Cautiously. But any sign of trouble, and I’m gone.”

* * *

As promised, we reached the mouth of the cave not long after crossing the bridge. The pungent scent of dragons rolled toward me from the shadowy depths, like vicious waves on a stormy day. I clenched my jaw against the force of it, trying to ignore how it dug into my bones and called for me. I did not want to go any closer, but still I followed Rivelin inside, warring against the instinct to run.

Water dripped from somewhere deep within the caverns, and a thunderous heat throbbed against the walls. I stilled as I caught sight of four sleeping forms curled up along the far side of the cave, where a rocky overhang served as a shelter. They were larger than horses but only just. Laying on their backs, their round scaly bellies faced the ceiling above, revealing sleek, glowing gemstones—each one had its own unique coloring. Sparks shot into the air as they breathed, before drifting back down around them like falling snow.

“They’re so…small,” I whispered, my voice echoing. “For dragons, I mean.”

“They’re young and still spend a lot of time sleeping,” Rivelin said softly. “I found them just after they hatched. Fourteen years ago. They won’t reach full maturity until they’re thirty.”

Like elves and orcs, dragons could live for centuries. Or they had, before Isveig had killed them all. Killed them because they were dangerous, and their magnificent power caused those who bonded with them to lose their grip on their souls. The magic burned them up, along with anyone else in their vicinity.

I turned away. “I knew you were doing something like this. You act like you’re this noble, protective man, but you have dragons, and you’re hiding them from the empire.”

“Because Isveig will kill them,” he said, a sneer curling his lips. “And you have no place to tell me what’s moral or not.”

I flinched. “You going to call me a murk again?”

“If the shoe fucking fits.”

“Dragons are dangerous.”

He jerked a thumb toward the sleeping creatures. “Do they look dangerous?”

“Well, not yet, but—”

“If you could leave now and tell your emperor about this, you would, wouldn’t you?”

My mouth dropped open, then I snapped it shut. I didn’t know how to answer that question. Everything I’d seen and heard throughout my life screamed at me that this was wrong, that it needed to be stopped. But it was so impossibly hard to reconcile all that with what I’d seen since arriving on Hearthaven. And with the people I’d met in Wyndale—barring Gregor, of course. These people weren’t wild and dangerous. These dragons were peacefully sleeping youngsters. No one was burning anyone up in a fit of uncontrollable rage. Yet.

I heaved a sigh. Why did this have to be so damn hard?

“I don’t know. Maybe,” I finally said.

A low growl rumbled from the back of Rivelin’s throat. He took a step forward, and I took a step back, but my retreat was halted by the sleek stone wall of the cave. He leaned in and palmed the rock beside my head, his narrowed eyes churning with anger.

“I knew there was no getting through to you.” His hot breath caressed my neck. “I hoped if you saw the dragons with your own eyes, something might thaw in that ice-cold heart of yours. But no. You’re too stubborn for that.”

I lifted my chin. “Don’t act like you know anything about me.”

“I know you hide your truths behind a false smile. And I know you’d rather bite off your own tongue than admit you were wrong.”

“Well, I know you’re an insufferable bastard.”

“Unfortunately for you, this insufferable bastard is your ticket out of here. And right now, I’m not feeling particularly generous.”

I shoved at his chest. He didn’t budge. “Move.”

“So you can kill innocent baby dragons?”

“Fuck you.”

I glared up at him. His face was only inches from mine, and I could see every fleck of gold in his eyes. With his chest pressed tightly against mine, there was nowhere I could go. Nothing I could do but lift my chin in a silent challenge. He shifted against me, the ridges of his muscular chest hard and unyielding against the softness of my breasts. I hated that I noticed, and I especially hated how close his mouth was to mine and how the steam rising between us made something spark deep within me.

A spark of anger, of course. Nothing more.

My heart pounded when his eyes darted to my lips. His entire body tensed, and I stopped breathing. His face inched slightly closer. Our noses brushed.

Steam stormed between us.

Rivelin took a wide step back. “This was a mistake.”

He could have been referring to so many things, but I didn’t need to hear which one. He was right. Everything about my time on this island had been a mistake. I needed to get out of here and never come back.