39. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

I remember when I was young. Eons ago before the hunters found our world. When I did not know fear. I remember learning to fly. I felt strong then. Stronger than I have in a very long time. I hope that those are the memories that I re-live when I have left this place. Not these ones of fear and dread. I want to dream of flying.

~Sidon the Strong, A History of Magic and Dragons

Today, I didn't touch Cole even once with my spear. My body's black and blue again, proof of that training. That's what happens when you ask Cole to help you become faster. Every inch of my body regrets that request.

You'd think that wearing a twenty-pound coat would protect me as well as weigh me down, but it doesn't. At least, it didn't help enough to keep Cole's strikes from cracking bone. I'm still smiling at him as he helps me out of the training gear.

"Your body will get faster," he says. "Then the entire world will be in trouble."

I huff, but I'm proud of myself. All the times that Cole's sword hit me so hard that I wanted to quit, I didn't. I pushed harder. I swung harder. I'd thought I was strong when I was hunting outside of Blackgrove, but I didn't know what strength was back then.

Strength isn't how hard you hit. It's how many times you can get hit and still get up. It's how many times your body begs you to give up, and you refuse. I didn't quit even once; not even when my legs threatened to give out on me or my arms struggled to hold my spear.

"You mean that you'll be in trouble?" I ask. Cole's eyes sparkle even if he's not actually grinning. I can see the pride there. When we'd started training, I'd complained about him hitting me. When I'd watched him crush Lee's breastplate in Aerwyn, I'd thought he was cruel.

Now, I'd hope he would refuse to undo the strap on my breastplate.

I understand the cruelty of this place now, and I'm becoming strong enough to survive. "You'll have to train for a lot longer than this if you think I'm going to be worried about you," he says. "But the rest of the world won't see you coming."

I flex my fingers, and only three of them bend fully. Thank all that's holy for my Fae bloodline and the incredibly fast healing. Tomorrow, I'll wake up sore, but I'll be stronger, and all of my bones will be healed. All the bruises will be gone.

"Maeve," Cole says, interrupting my silent thanks to the dragons for giving me this wonderful bloodline. I look up at him, the smile still on my lips. "How would you like to have a nice evening out? There's a play…"

He seems unconfident. It's almost like he's not sure whether he should be asking. "A play? Like a theater with actors?"

"Sure. Something like that," he says. The way he says it makes me a little confused. What other kind of play is there?

Wait. Is this an attempt at romance? I keep catching glimpses of romantic gestures, and they seem at odds with everything else I know about Cole. "That sounds fun. I've only seen a few plays before, and they were all by traveling troupes of actors. I'm sure anything in Draenyth will be incredible in comparison."

"Good," he says. "Darian and Lee both want to go, and they thought you'd enjoy it. You probably don't know the story, but it's the classic Last Days of the Dragons . Slightly different from the history, but it's close enough you'll probably learn some things from it."

Oh. Not romantic. "Well, that sounds… informative. I'd love to go."

Before coming to Draenyth, I'd never have questioned whether Cole was trying to be romantic. He wasn't interested in me at all. The more time we spend at each other's side, the more times I question if that's changed.

His compliments. The way that I wake up with his hand on my arm. His single-minded focus on me.

The only thing that makes sense is the betrothal bond is pushing him to act differently. I don't think it's pushing me at all so why would it affect him like this?

Whatever it is, I try as hard as I can not to think about it. I need to focus on the important things like my training and not getting caught doing anything stupid. And maybe having a little fun while I have time left here in Draenyth. It won't be long until I have to leave.

I'm wearing the same dress that I wore to dinner with Casimir as Cole leads me into the theater. Cole offered to have a new dress made, but I like this one, and I think it's a shame that the only time I've worn such a beautiful dress is to dinner with his father, something I'd like to forget. Cole's wearing a simple set of coat tails with a crimson vest over a white silk shirt. And a smile. Since it's still rather rare, I make a note of it. Especially in public settings, Cole's cold and uncaring expression is so common.

Maybe it's because Darian and Lee are here tonight. We haven't seen them in a few days, and they look to be in better spirits than they ever were in Aerwyn. Wearing a gorgeous shimmering dress, Lee is like a spotlight. The fabric seems to shift and change colors as she moves. One moment, a piece of it is red and the next it's a deep violet.

Her long russet brown hair has been woven into a gorgeous, braided crown. She's moving erratically, which is always a good sign.

Darian is sitting on a bench outside the Luminous Spectacle, the theater we're going to. His short brown hair's chaotic, as though he didn't think to do anything with it. He really is the opposite of his twin, and the flat black of his tails, pants and dress shoes are so easily ignored.

"Evening," he says with a grin and stands up. "We weren't sure you were going to make it."

Surprisingly, Cole says, "It's about time that Maeve gets to do something fun in Draenyth."

I arch an eyebrow at him. Is this actually his idea of being romantic?

Darian stands up and leads the way into the theater, the Luminous Spectacle, a small building in the transition zone between the House of Flames and the House of Earth quarters. Thus, it has neither brown nor red on the building.

The Luminous Spectacle is a little different from what I'd expected. All the traveling troupes I've seen have set up their stages the same way. A raised platform with a set of curtains in front to hide what happens on the stage in between scenes.

Instead, a tiny set of theater seating rises around an empty space that looks surprisingly similar to a dance floor. To the side is a simple chair, and above the empty space is a glowing ball of light hovering ten feet in the air, illuminating the space.

The seating feels far more intimate than what I'm used to. While Cole sits on one side of me and Darian on the other, complete strangers sit in front and behind me. They make me nervous, but Cole wouldn't have brought me here if he thought I might be in danger.

The entire time that I've been in Draenyth, I've been sequestered away from the crowds of citizens. Other than a handful of times, I haven't been out to the open city. I've been in the Keep of Flames or outside the city to train with shadows.

Sitting beside so many strangers and expecting to watch a play has me on edge. I want to snarl at Cole for not letting me bring Vesta's knife. He's not nervous at all, though, so I clench my teeth and try to relax. There's nothing to be done, and it isn't likely someone will try to murder me with Cole right here. That'd be a death sentence for them.

A few moments after we're sitting, a Lesser Immortal moves to the chair beside the dance floor. She's a human looking woman with thin bits of scale running in patches along her skin. Along her cheekbones. From her elbows to the middle of her forearms. Patches on her bare shoulders.

And the scales glimmer in the light, a myriad of colors.

Her hair is a soft blonde with streaks of platinum in it. Even from where we are, her eyes are dramatic. Slightly larger than a human's, they draw the gaze. "Good evening," she says, her voice carrying throughout the room with no trouble, even above the soft chatter.

"A siren," Cole whispers to me. He's gotten into the habit of naming the beings we see so that I become more familiar with the world we're in.

The room becomes silent almost immediately, and she says, "Tonight at the Luminous Spectacle, we'll be showing The Last Days of the Dragons , an artistic interpretation of the days before the dragons left Nyth. Enjoy yourself."

My heart races as the ball of light slowly fades into nothing, sending the room into complete darkness. Then, in an instant, the entire room is lit up as five dragons the size of people stand in the empty space next to the siren. Made of different colored light, they're incredibly intricate. After seeing Darian's small light show about where Cole received his scars, I'd thought I understood what was possible with light magic. I didn't understand.

Every scale is there. Every single detail is crystal-clear. Red, Silver, Black, Brown, and Gold. The five dragons that didn't leave Nyth with their brethren. Inni the Destroyer. Sidon the Strong. Vyran the Black. Kasan the Lifegiver. And Calyr the Gold.

Each of them is made of pure light just like when Darian had created the figures to go along with the story that night in Aerwyn. These are professional, though. Where Darian's light puppets were beautiful, there was blurring. These are perfect.

"When Nyth was young, the dragons came," the siren says slowly. "Where dragons go, magic follows, and these dragons stayed for many years. Centuries. Millennia. Who knows how long they were here? Hundreds, or maybe thousands, of dragons inhabited this world, and the world grew around them. Everything was touched by their magic, some just a little, like humans, and others, like the Immortals, were created because of it."

She doesn't move. Her words aren't spoken with an emphasis like I'd expected from an actor. That's when I realize she's not an actor. She's a narrator. A storyteller.

This isn't a play. This is the most incredible way to tell a story ever imaginable, and I settle into my seat, a wide grin on my face.

"Then it was time for them to go. This world depended on the magic they gave simply by existing, and now that they were leaving, everything would die. The dragons understood this, and on the night that they were to leave, these five decided to stay."

Cole looks over at me, a smile on his face, and I know he's not excited about the story. He's reading the emotions I'm experiencing through our bond. This wasn't for my education. It was his attempt at helping me to have fun. This was his attempt at making me smile.

The siren continues to tell the story below us, and I reach out and put my hand on his. His smile deepens, and I'm glad I came.

For the first time since I met him, it seems like the weight on his shoulders is lighter. Between that realization and the beautiful story below us, I stop worrying so much. Maybe I can forget, just for a few hours, that there are important things to do.

It would be nice to forget that I could be surrounded by enemies.

I relax and let myself be sucked into the story being told. There's no need to stay vigilant of the people around me. I let my world become the one where dragons are kind enough to give themselves for the creatures that depend on them. The one where five dragons saved a world from starvation.

I don't separate myself from Cole. There are no obsidian towers in my mind tonight, but when I feel his mind brush against mine, I don't push him away. Maybe he's seeing a view of my mind. Maybe it's a world of trees and boar and shadows or maybe it's like his, a desert with winds carrying shadows that cut at anyone who steps into them.

Whatever it is, I let Cole traverse my mental landscape.

I smile because he deserves to be close to me. He's the only person in the world that I trust completely.