Dragon Aster Trilogy (12 page)

On having reformed the glass with his aeri fire into a statue of what he remembered Serena looking like, Loki turned it around in his hand to ensure it was accurate. “Can I meet her? Or is she off limits to me too?”

“When she has had more of a chance to grow accustomed to what we look like, maybe,” Lintrance replied as he inferred to the green birth markings on Loki’s face.

Loki only got a gentle carrying grip on the statue and left the room without saying anything to counter.

Lintrance looked back at the General one more time, before leaving to find where Dyaus’ fire breather of an Ancient had wandered off to. Before someone else might.

Cirrus calmed down somewhat with the Elder meeting being over downstairs. He escorted Sybl to her room for the night and went inside first. As Lintrance’s psi touched his that his uncle’s Ancient was on the loose, he felt like he was under attack from every room. He looked to Sybl as she set her new festra on her dresser. “I wonder if your trick would work twice on the old dragoon.” If anything, Cirrus wanted a shot at Lintrance for unleashing such a dangerous, unaccounted for detail by his plan.

“It was a lucky shot,” Sybl said humbly and went into the other room. She got dressed into her nightclothes, and then came back to go to bed.

“You’re also the only one to strike him on your first try. Personally, I wanted the broadsword.”

“That thing was way too heavy, but I guess being able to manipulate air would it lighter for you?”

“If he ever lets me touch it. I swear he keeps it right there on the wall to remind me of the fact I didn’t best him on my first try.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Fifteen years ago when I was little taller than the sword, just like you.”

Sybl smiled at what her imagination guessed him to look like as a teenager, before he fixed it with his psi to what he really looked like. “You were so scrawny...”

“I know... Embarrassing when your last chance at seeing otherwise says the same thing everyone else has.”

“Just don’t pull up any of my baby pictures out from my head, and I won’t say anything.”

“Fair enough.” He smiled and touched the wall with his hand, draining the aeri into himself to darken the room. “I’ll be outside if you need anything.”

“I feel bad that you are watching my room like this...”

“I don’t mind. Besides, I find your Dreams interesting.”

“You’re spying on my Dreams?”

“Well—” Cirrus cleared his throat. “Only the appropriate ones. I don’t wish to lose your trust.”

“Uh huh... So what did I Dream yesterday?” Sybl said, as if asking what she ate for dinner last.

Cirrus receded into his thoughts, trying to turn the answer into something other than what it truly was.

Sybl crossed her eyes impatiently. “Well?”

“I don’t exactly know how to explain it to you.”

“You can’t explain one of my own Dreams to me? I thought you were my Ancient?”

Cirrus blushed red and turned around to hide it.

“You know what? Never mind.” Sybl rolled over, turning her back to him while pretending to be upset. “I’ll remember eventually.”

Cirrus left knowing that there was a very good chance she would, and closed the door behind him. He settled his back to a sit against it as he waited for her to go to sleep, but now she was upset about something else. She was back on her feet, trying to make the aeri stream on the walls glow brighter by splashing it with her hand. It was genuine as she didn’t seem to like the dark.

He caught her eyes through her psi and found it interesting enough that she had next to no night vision. Touching the base of the door, he let his aeri fuse with the draft as he guided the wind to the stream of water. It bubbled when the air fused with it and became brighter.

He smiled when she jumped back, as if electrocuted by brilliance on her part. Cirrus wasn’t going to take away any of her victories, as she went back to bed and curled up under the blanket. But before his hopes could get any higher that she might actually stop long enough to allow him some time to think, her psi touched his.

“Thanks.
”

Cirrus was left curious to how she had found him out.

“You made the water smell like lavender.
”

I did not,
Cirrus retaliated.
Besides, humans can’t smell that well.

“You should be purple.
”

He rested his head against the door with the impossible amount of patience he had for her.
Why should I be purple?

“Because lavender is purple.
”

I’m not purple or will be turning purple anytime soon. Are there no white flowers on Earth to compare me to?

“Umm...
”

Cirrus crossed his arms in anticipation of victory. There had to be a white flower on such a huge planet, somewhere.

“Yeah, but daisies and wildflowers don’t really smell like anything.
”

He dropped his head to his chest in defeat. First the terror known as the White Death, then Cursed and now a failed wildflower. Cirrus didn’t know how much more out-of-touch he could get with himself before he forgot who he was altogether.

When he lost her psi for a moment, he soon found it again as her mind drifted closer to her Dreams and possibly some answer to what they should do next. Now if he could just stay one step ahead of her returning memories, he might have a chance against his fairy yet.

He closed his eyes as he tried to separate the estus energy and its negative emotions from his soul. He didn’t need to search through its darkness for anything, anymore. Yet it still pulled his mind into a trance and into the Threads of memories from his past.

He found himself before an intact Fay Wall and behind Nafury, as the dark brown, deformed dragon sat before it. His wings hung at his sides with un-healable tears throughout them, as if his Ancient was the survivor of a war that no one knew of. His back was deeply scarred with the lashings Simera had given his soul. They were severe enough to mirror onto his Ancient.

The memory of the Prince’s face turned to look at him before he could somn. Nafury caught Cirrus’ look of pity before he could hide it in his dragon form. Not that it would matter now.

‘Can you see it?
’

See what?

‘Our kind has struggled for centuries to gain the blessing of Aragmoth, yet he has done nothing but ignore our prayers. Even his wing tries to fold its touch away from us.
’

You’re tired and need to rest.

‘If we brought the Asterian Caelestis here, he would not be able to ignore us any longer. This can be the only reason why I was made to look like this. It’s all a test.
’

You are still beautiful, Nafury. Stop talking like you’re different.

‘I am not beautiful, and you can hide your soul within your somn all you want. I was old enough back then to remember what you look like. You insult me by thinking I can’t see your intent to try and make me feel better.
’

That’s not true.

‘We are all beautiful in the eyes of those who love us, and I can feel your love for me more than anyone else’s. But if I had her love, then there would be no need for anyone to pity me. I would have everything I could ever need. Only fools look down on those blessed by Aragmoth, and she can set me free. Help me bring her here, Cirrus.
’

The only way to her is the Gate in Mer City and she would die from the pressure.

‘Not if inside one of our somns. But she would never see past this deformed monstrosity I have been made into to give my love for her a chance. I can’t do it alone.
’

Nafury just stop! It’s too dangerous, and I can’t—I won’t do this.

‘Then you are no different from the rest of them!’
Nafury snapped angrily back at him, bringing his teeth back together in a clash of unevenness and pain.
‘You claim to love and care for me, yet you hide under the shadow of doubt my father casts over everyone! You are nothing but a lie!
’

Cirrus braced himself as the brown dragon came down the Great Hall for him, before Nafury’s Ancient went through him and he woke with a start. He caught the closest thing to him, but who he caught cried out in a fright. Sybl pushed him off of the side of the bed and to the floor, where he landed with a crash.

He regained his full awareness when Sybl got up from the bed and looked down at him. Her infuriated blue eyes looked just like Nafury’s when he got angry.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

He didn’t know what he had been doing while unconscious, as his Ancient had already fled from her wrath with the answers he needed right now. So he just lay there as he tried to figure it out from her by best guess.

“GET OUT!”

He couldn’t move as one of her thoughts struck him like a knife to the side to add to the pain already paralyzing his back. “I would never do that to you—I just fell asleep.”

“Where you then sleepwalked into my room and put your hands on top of me? Do I look like a complete idiot to you!?” Sybl shouted at him.

Cirrus trembled when her rage refused to die down and left him refusing to leave with her thoughts on him so wrong. But it was too late to try and do anything to calm her down when the door opened, and Kayla stepped in.

“What is going on in here? What are you doing, Cirrus?”

“It was an accident.”

“Dragoons don’t accidently molest females.”

“I didn’t try anything!” Cirrus retaliated with a raised voice. He hated Kayla. If she hadn’t been born a daoran he would have dedicated his spare time to making her life a living hell.

“You have some nerve shouting at me like that. Now get out of this room before I have you disciplined for this!”

Cirrus got to his feet as he had little position to argue against the High Priestess’ daughter, and left to take out his anger elsewhere.

Sybl calmed down somewhat as the daoran’s grey eyes focused from Cirrus’ leaving back to her. She was pretty and looked a bit older than herself, as her long purple waves fell over her slim figure and yellow dress.

“Are you alright?” Kayla asked as she walked over.

“I think so.”

“The dragoons these days are worthless aside from being on a battlefield. I’m Kayla,” she said as she held out her hand to her. “Daughter of the High Priestess, Yri.”

Sybl took it and shook it in turn. “Sybl.”

“Well, that explains why there is so much interest in you. These are Healer lines,” the daoran said as she caught her handshake and looked at Sybl’s palm.

“Healer lines? What do you mean?”

“It means you have the ability to use your energy to mend wounds. But despite that, I see nothing of the Suzerain Continent in your mind,” she continued as she looked into Sybl’s eyes. “Interesting.”

Sybl looked away, uncomfortable. She didn’t like her soul being scanned from her eyes-out.

“Don’t be scared of me, I don’t bite,” Kayla said with a sly smile that might suggest otherwise. “You look like you could use a warm bath to calm down.”

Sybl wasn’t given the chance to argue as she was led off by her arm from the room and downstairs. “Wait—I don’t need a bath, really.”

“Nonsense,” Kayla replied, before reaching the bathing room and looking inside. When it proved to be empty, she hauled Sybl inside and locked the door behind them.

Sybl gulped as she looked at the cavern’s wall, where Kayla’s purple Ancient watched under the green vines it wove together. She was trapped.

Kayla began to undress before heading over to the small waterfall and the pool it fed. “Were you going to bathe with your clothes on?”

“I’m sorry, no offense, but I don’t feel comfortable.”

“Am I not female enough for you?”

“It’s not that—” Sybl was cut off when the vines came for her and caught her clothes, before yanking her out of her nightclothes and undergarments against her protests, until she was left standing completely naked. Now left without any other choice but the water for cover, she waded into it.

“If you truly want my judgement, it lies entirely with your hips.”