14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The House of Darkness will feed the Immortals. Their souls draw breath from the void, and the shadows will be the passage.

~Kasan the Lifegiver, A History of Magic and Dragons

I'm back in the normal world with grass under my feet, wildflowers brushing against my arm. The scent of pine boughs are in the air, and a baby drakeling is staring at me, its eye blinking lazily in the heat of the sun.

Her broodmates didn't survive their hatching because her mother didn't have enough magic to imbue all the eggs with enough power. She gave everything that she had to this one drakeling while it was in its egg. Everything.

I don't know how a drakeling told me all of this, but I'm the last person in the world to question what magical creatures can and can't do. What I know is that I believe it.

Strong hands wrap around my waist and pull me away from the drakeling. I don't struggle against the steel grip, but I can't stop looking at the creature.

"Its mother died to let it live," I whisper.

"What?" It's Cole's voice, but I'm barely aware of him. My mind can't stop seeing the sadness in the mother drake's eyes and hearing her final song.

I turn to face Cole as he sets me down. I explain what the drakeling showed me, and his eyes open wide. Darian and Lee listen at the same time, but they glance at each other, not saying anything.

"What is wrong with the world?" I ask. "You know what it is, don't you? There's not enough magic. That's why the animals aren't surviving. That drakeling's mother died to give it enough power to live. All of its brood mates died because there wasn't enough power to go around. What is keeping the magic from the creatures?"

Cole closes his eyes and shakes his head softly. "A very, very long time ago, the dragons decided it was time to leave this world. Only five stayed here. Four stayed and created the High Fae and then disappeared. The fifth is Calyr, and no one truly knows why he stayed. The High Fae were created to hold the power of these four dragons. To bind the magic of the dragons to this world and let this world continue to grow and prosper as it had while the dragons were here."

I blink. The High Fae actually came from dragons? That's not just a bedtime story? Cole continues, "Every two hundred years, the Painted Crown must be passed to the strongest High Fae from the next Great House upon the wheel to make sure that no single High Fae or Great House rules forever. To bring balance to the world.

"If the Painted Crown is held by the House of Flame, storms occur more often, there is more fighting, and everything has to struggle to survive a little more. We are the fire that purges the weak. When the House of Earth holds the Painted Crown, everything is more fertile. Everything is given the chance to thrive and heal. Like the rains after the fire that give first life to a forest after the destruction. Balance."

The somber look on his face becomes almost morose. "Thirty years ago, the leaders of the House of Flames and the House of Steel worked together to attack the Houses of Earth and Shadow in a single day. The goal was to make sure that only the leaders of those two Houses would pass the crown back and forth to each other."

Cole seems to struggle to explain anymore, and Darian finishes for him. "The House of Earth was wiped out completely. Every single member was exterminated. The House of Shadow's gifts allowed many of them to escape. There aren't enough of them to wage war on the other Houses, but there are enough that the Houses of Flame and Steel are constantly on alert for them."

I blink. "But I'm…"

Cole nods. "House of Shadow. Yes. It's why the harpies were sent after you."

"You were going to let me walk into Draenyth, knowing that everyone wants me dead?" I push away from him, and he lets me go. It's a good thing, too, because the thought of him touching me makes me want to lash out at him.

"Your scent is barely noticeable. There are ways to cover it up even more. No one would see you as more than a very weak Wyrdling, and as long as you're with me, you'll be safe."

I shake my head. "But how do I know that you're telling me the truth? Maybe there's a bounty on my head, and you're dragging me to Draenyth to collect it."

"Why would the Prince of Flames need to collect a bounty?" Lee asks. "If he wanted you dead, he'd just kill you."

I blink again, and I have to bite my tongue to keep from screaming. More lies. More secrets. Is that all there is anymore?

"The Prince of Flames?" I ask as Cole's shoulders slump. "Really? I assume it was your father who attacked the Houses of Earth and Shadows? Again, I ask why I should trust you?"

What was I thinking? I knew not to trust a Fae.

Cole shakes his head and huffs. "The last time I checked, you're the one who forced me to take you with me after I saved your life. While we're talking about that, why would I keep saving your life if I wanted you dead? Why would I be teaching you to fight? Wyrdling, you wanted to come with me, and I'm doing my best to keep you alive. I'm not entirely sure why I'm doing that, by the way."

"Because you've always liked a girl that wears pants?" Darian asks.

"Because you're a sucker for a damsel in distress?" Lee asks at the same time.

I glance at the two High Fae before my eyes settle on Cole again. They're all quiet as I watch them. I don't know what the right answer is.

"You didn't tell me why the drakelings don't have enough magic," I say, not sure I believe any of it. At the same time, he's right. I forced him to take me with him.

It's not Cole that answers. Lee grins in that awkward way that I'm quickly realizing is just her normal. "Oh, that's because the world is breaking, and no one's doing anything about it. But I'm not entirely sure there's anything to be done."

She puts her hand under her chin, a thoughtful look on her face. "See, there are four thrones, one for each Great House. No one can sit in the ones for Shadow and Earth, and ever since there wasn't a King to sit on those thrones, the world has steadily become more and more broken. At first, it was barely noticeable. But now…"

Cole finishes, "Now, there hasn't been a live Immortal birth in the last ten years. The Immortal animals have so few live births that each one seems like a miracle. The magical world is breaking because only two of the caretakers are still there."

I don't know what to say to that. Cole doesn't let me try, though. "I won't kill one of the only people that could sit on one of the vacant thrones."

My eyes open wide at that thought. "You… want me to become a queen?"

"Or your mother, if she's still alive. I don't know exactly what I was planning, but it certainly wasn't killing any of the few people left in the world that could help to fix things." He pauses for a moment and sighs. "Bringing back the House of Shadow is a long shot, and it's not something that we can act on since my father would murder you if he found out you were from that House. But it's important to keep you safe. If you're bound and determined to go to Draenyth, then I'm going to make sure you live through your little quest."

There's no way I could be a queen of anything. I'm still struggling very hard to just survive walking long distances. I don't think I'd survive even a day wearing any kind of crown. I made a promise to Hazel to fix her. That's what I'm going to do.

But it's impossible to ignore the drakeling's life. And no more Fae children? I'd say that this is a Fae problem to deal with, but it's not just in their world anymore. It's spilling over into the animals that I've spent my life around. Those turkey poults I found on the way to Draenyth. Those broken things that were born so wrong.

If it's spilling over into the human world now, after only thirty years, how terrible will it be in fifty years? In a hundred? Was I right in thinking the entire world was dying? And can I really walk away from that if there's any way to help?

But I'm just a stupid Wyrdling. I don't have the power it takes to become queen of the Fae. I've only just realized that there are Fae out there that aren't actively trying to eat humans. More than anything, I have to fix Hazel first. After that… maybe.

"I can't be what you're looking for, Cole. At least not right now. My cousin is going to die if I don't get to Calyr. I would love it if I could save the world, but this entire world of magic and Fae and Houses is all so new. Maybe after I've had more than a few weeks to get adjusted to it and my cousin's safe, we can talk."

Lee and Darian look at Cole, not trying to hide their confusion from me. It's not surprising since I still haven't actually been introduced to them. Cole doesn't look confused, though.

"That's fine, Wyrdling. I won't try to force you to become the queen of anything. I'm just trying to keep you from dying. Maybe I'll be able to convince you that the Immortal world is worth saving. If not, it's been… interesting."

That tingling runs down my spine, just like when I would hunt and know not to leave the safety of my hiding place. Something about what he's saying is off. I don't know what, but something is wrong .

I shake my head, not sure what to do. I'd thought… I'd thought that everything I'd been told had been wrong. That maybe Cole was a broody but otherwise good High Fae. He's done nothing that makes me suspect that he's got ulterior motives, but I can't shake that feeling. He's hiding something, and it's a big something.

What other choice do I have, though? I still have to make it to Draenyth. I still have to find Calyr. Cole's still the best option for getting me there safely. Especially now that I know that I'm officially one of the most hunted people in the world.

But can I trust him? Absolutely not.

I turn around and look at the drakeling. She's still staring at me, those big shimmering eyes calling to me once more. It's not nearly as strong a need to be near her this time, though. "What are you going to do with her?" I ask.

Cole's face loses that intensity, and he just shrugs. "Not my drakeling," he says.

Darian quickly says, "We were waiting for you to get here. We can let it go any time. I don't think she'll stick around now that she was caught once."

"Yes," Lee adds. "And now that you're here, if she decides to burn the village down…"

"You wanted me here to make sure that didn't happen," Cole finishes. Darian nods, and Cole sighs again. "Let's be done with it now rather than later. No reason to keep a drakeling penned up any longer than needed."

Lee and Darian grin at Cole. He just shakes his head and walks toward the pen made of crystals. I follow him while his friends step back, moving to the edge of the clearing.

"What are you doing, Wyrdling?" he asks as he gets within arm's reach of the cage. "You don't want to be anywhere near this thing when it's free. It looks cute, but they're nearly indestructible. The best I can do is keep it from damaging anything with fire."

I smile at Cole before turning back to the drakeling. "I have a feeling that you won't need to do that."

He frowns at me. Maybe I'm the world's biggest fool, but the only thing I've learned to trust is that instinct that's kept me safe all the years I spent nearly alone in the woods. It hasn't let me down yet.

Even with Cole, I knew there were secrets. I knew there were reasons not to trust him. But the drakeling? The only instinct I have is to free her.

Cole chuckles and shakes his head, obviously thinking that I'm crazy. He reaches out and pulls one of the crystals away from the others, and everything gets quiet. The drakeling presses against what was once a magical wall, and this time, her wing passes through it.

My eyes meet the drakeling's and she takes several steps toward me. She's enormous, yet so tiny compared to the stories about dragons. Her wings spread out nearly as wide as my arm span, but she looks solid. Like if a hound were made of stone. I wouldn't expect to be able to pick her up.

Yet, she's a dragon, and she's not much bigger than a hound, so she feels tiny.

The danger isn't her size, though. I know that. It's the fact that she breathes fire, can fly as nimbly as any large bird, and has scales harder than stone. Right now, though, I can't see her as dangerous. I squat down and put my hand out just as I would for any other animal I wanted to befriend.

Just like a hound, she steps toward me and sniffs my hand. Big sniffs that surprise me. Her scales seem to brighten, the muted grays suddenly seeming to shimmer in the sunlight. Then she walks toward me, no longer afraid at all, and presses her head to my thigh. No different from a puppy head-butting a human, the drakeling pushes me. Unlike a puppy, she's strong .

I fall over, and she's on me in an instant. Her wings close, pressing tight against her back as she lays down beside me and nuzzles my face.

Cole must not understand what's happening because, before I realize he's moved, I see that black steel sword of his come down hard on the drakeling's head. It does absolutely nothing. The drakeling barely seems to notice.

She just presses her head against my shoulder and… hums. It's a song not all that different from the one she showed me. Except that there's no sadness to this one. It's exuberant. It's the opposite of the one her mother sang. It's a song of life instead of death. I freeze.

So does Cole. The scent of warm, musty earth fills the air alongside the drakeling's song. Calm and soothing, I can't help but relax. To smile. To breathe air and exist. Even though a literal tiny dragon just knocked me down and is aggressively rubbing her snout against me.

Like a puppy. Like an enormous, scaled hound that can breathe fire and roast me alive with a thought. Yet, every ounce of fear and suspicion in me is fading, and I'm left not wanting to move.

I run my hand over her cheek, not really knowing what else to do, and I'd swear that she smiles at me. Then she rolls over—which is a surprisingly comical movement for a hound-sized dragon—and stands up. She shakes her body, and the soft gray membranous wings crinkle. She takes another look at me, and she leaves me with a single thought.

Zephyra.

Then she leaps into the air and her wings carry her high into the clouds. "Who knew that drakelings had so much in common with hounds?" Cole mutters.