Embers at Galdrilene (63 page)

Mckale chuckled. The deep timbre of it warmed Maleena’s insides. “Not pleased?” He shook his head. “That’s a bit of an understatement don’t you think?”

Maleena looked between them. “Why?”

Serena nudged the cup. “Drink. Kojen and the Shadow Riders all came out of the Kormai to retrieve you, which we weren’t about to let happen. We arrived just in time to help Kellinar and Taela. A full-fledged battle ensued. Several mages were killed. Two Shadow Riders and their dragons were killed. We were outnumbered by Kojen, though. Mckale was able to wake you and you wove together Kirynn’s and Kellinar’s powers. Kirynn used that to create a firestorm that killed a good many Kojen and chased away the Shadow Riders and their dragons. It gave us enough time to escape.”

A sinking feeling settled in Maleena’s stomach. “What happened to Emallya?” she asked again.

“She suffered a wound that would have killed her if she didn’t have the benefit of magic trained healers. As it was, it took the combined magic and strength of Bardeck, Gideon, and myself to heal her fast enough to keep her alive.”

Sadness washed through Maleena. Lives lost, people injured, all because of her stupid mistake. She reached out for Nydara and found images of the battle in her mind. The horror of it brought tears to her eyes..

“Will Emallya live?”

Serena hesitated, worry written on her face. “I believe so. She has held on this long, but she has yet to awaken. Nothing is certain.” She looked at the cup. “Drink.”

Maleena looked down. Her stomach turned. She didn’t feel much like drinking anything now. Worry filled Mckale’s eyes and she knew he could feel her distress. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her emotions. He had already spent enough time worrying about her.

“You need a distraction,”
Nydara sent.

“I’m not sure much could distract me right now.”

“I know the perfect thing.”

Maleena glanced at the dragon and saw a smug light in her violet eyes. What was Nydara talking about? She tipped the cup to her mouth but couldn’t make herself take another drink of the thick concoction. “Can I have some water?”

Serena took the cup and looked into it. “I suppose you’ve drank enough of this for now. I’ll be back in a few hours with more.” She took another cup and offered it. Maleena saw with relief it was filled with clear water. She took a deep drink, enjoying the cool, clean taste.

Serena picked up the tray. “I have to go check on Emallya. Bardeck is with her and he isn’t the best person to make objective observations. He’s too close to the situation.”

Maleena watched her disappear through the door then turned her eyes on Mckale. “I’m so sorry I caused all of this.”

“You didn’t cause anything. If you remember, we were planning on something similar to get the Ka’ti back. You only sped it up. Good things happened to balance the bad. Kellinar was able to get Taela and Paki out of there. And–”

“Kellinar and Taela are bondmates,” she finished for him. “I thought it was a dream.”

“Did I hear my name?” Kellinar poked his head around the door and then stepped into the room.

“Kellinar!” A rush of pleasure flowed through her at the sight of her friend.

He strode over and leaned down to give her a gentle hug. “It’s good to see you awake. I thought maybe we were going to have to have Kirynn light a fire under you to make you stir.” He stepped back, a smile on his face.

Taela stood quietly by the door. Maleena smiled when she saw her. “It’s good to see you are out of the Kormai. And a bondmate to my good friend. How will you ever put up with him?”

Kellinar coughed. “Well, she is as good with knives as I am.”

Maleena laughed. “Oh no, I guess you have to behave properly then.”

Taela smiled and walked closer. She glanced shyly at Kellinar. “I’m still wrapping my mind around this bondmate thing.”

A small smile tugged at the corners of Mckale‘s mouth. “Maleena and I traveled with each other for several weeks before I understood why I could feel her. At least you don’t have to wonder.”

“Told you, I could distract you.”

Maleena smiled at the dragon.
“A wonderful distraction it is.”

She turned back to Taela. “How is Paki? Is she settling into Galdrilene okay?”

“Oh she loves it here. Serena thinks maybe the healers can remove the last of the taint from her.”

“Really? That would be wonderful. I know Nydara cares a great deal for Paki.” Maleena leaned back against the pillows. She didn’t want to admit how tired she felt. How could she possibly be tired after sleeping for two days?

Mckale glanced at Kellinar. “Maleena is doing her best to hide the fact she needs more sleep.”

Kellinar nodded. “That’s fine. You get some sleep. Taela is supposed to go to the records room and see if she can help Anevay and Serena anyway.”

After they left, Maleena snuggled back down in the blankets. With Mckale at her back, his arm around her waist and Nydara in front of her in the doorway to the lair, she drifted to sleep.

Emallya floated through the dark. The cold seeping into her bones did nothing to dampen the fire in her abdomen or raging pain in her head. Bardeck was there in her mind, his magic in her body. It wasn’t enough. She floated further away from him, deeper into the darkness.

Light penetrated the dark. She stood in front of a translucent veil, the shifting landscape of Maiadar spread out beyond it. The cold and pain pressed on her. The veil offered sweet relief. Warmth and peace radiated through it. Through the welling tears in her eyes she saw Rylin. Standing in glorious beauty, her silver scales reflected the ambient light of Maiadar.

Rylin’s large, violet eyes filled with love...beckoned her, welcomed her. Emallya placed her hand against the veil. Slowly, it began to pass through. Warmth spread through her hand and down her arm as she pressed further through the shimmering wall. Her pain lessened.

Rylin reached her head toward Emallya’s outstretched hand. Eternity crept by. Emallya’s fingers brushed the glittering silver scales. Tears coursed down her face. To touch Rylin again. To be with her again. Only another step and they would be together forever, hearts and souls one again. For eternity.

Emallya couldn’t take the step. Something held her in the world of the living. It pulled her back through the veil. She spiraled back into the pain, the cold, the darkness. Rylin, her eyes full of love and sadness, receded and disappeared.

Heat spread through her abdomen and head. Bardeck’s magic, linked with Serena and another, pulled her back. Emallya wept silently in her head. She loved Bardeck. Loved him until she thought her heart would burst with it. But nothing could compare to her bond with Rylin, faded with death, yet never broken.

The horrible pain in her body gone, Emallya floated in darkness. She didn’t want to wake. It felt too much like the last time so many years ago. She would wake without Rylin in her head, in her soul. She wouldn’t suffer Separation this time. Even so, Emallya didn’t know if she could face it.

The warmth of Bardeck and Mernoth’s love surrounded her, their presence easing the pain in her heart, drawing her closer to the surface. Her eyes opened slowly. Bardeck’s grief lined face filled her vision. Sorrow filled his eyes. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

Her arm felt like lead, still she raised her hand to his face to trace the new lines she found there. “Why?”

“I didn’t realize until you were already healed what I was feeling. I felt you connect with Rylin. I felt your joy at touching her, and then the sadness when we pulled you away. I didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. I’m sorry I took you away from her.”

A sad smile tugged at her lips. She felt his deep regret, his love. Mernoth also filled her with so much love. “Rylin and I have waited over five hundred years to be together. We can wait a little more. She will always be there, waiting for me.”

Serena walked into the room, a tray in her hands. “Mernoth told Miya you were close to waking. I started to doubt you would.”

Emallya let her hand drop to the bed, too weak to hold it up any longer. “How is everyone else? Maleena? Did we succeed in getting the Ka’ti out? What about Taela and the draclet?”

Serena poured a thick liquid into a cup. “Yes. Bardeck and Mernoth came with Defenders.”

Emallya’s eyes jumped to Bardeck’s face in surprise. He smiled ruefully. “I’m afraid neither Mernoth nor myself were rational at that point. I felt your injuries. Mernoth was in a rage over it and I wasn’t much better.”

Serena smiled at him. “It was a welcome intervention. Anyway, Maleena is healed. She woke two days ago. Taela and Paki are safe. Two Shadow Dragons and their riders are dead. Kellinar and Taela are bondmates.”

Pleasant surprise ran through Emallya. “Two pairs. After all of this time, we now have two bondmate pairs.”

Serena smiled as she carried the cup to the bed. “Yes, we have two pairs, the Ka’ti and the dragons are all safe. We won.”

Emallya shook her head. “We won nothing.”

Serena handed her the cup, a furrow of confusion between her eyes. “But…we have the Ka’ti.”

Emallya took a small drink and sighed. “The Ka’ti doesn’t save the world. We have it back which prevents them from using it against us. Unfortunately like any vermin, Shadow Dragons mature faster than our dragons. They reproduce faster than our dragons. They don’t bondmate and don’t need that tie to lay eggs. No, sadly this is only the beginning. Remember, when they came at us here five hundred years ago, they were confident they would take Galdrilene. We were losing. Only a mistake in a weaving by a young Silver Rider ended the war the way it did. Had the Silver Rider not made that mistake, I can’t say the inhabitants of Galdrilene would have triumphed that day.”

She took another drink, handed the cup back to Serena, and lay back among the pillows. “I am too tired to drink more.”

Serena, her eyes sad and worried, smiled. “Rest then. There is plenty of time to talk about all of this.”

As the young healer slipped from the room, Emallya closed her eyes. Bardeck’s strong arms held her as she drifted back to sleep, the feel of Rylin’s scales still on her fingertips.

Anevay stood with Serena and Gideon on the inner terrace. She looked at the silver-gray draclet standing patiently in front of them. Although she really didn’t see the young dragon, she was too focused on the stain and how it attached to the draclet.

Serena narrowed her eyes, a small frown of concentration on her face. “I can see where it’s attached, but I’m not sure how to get it loose.”

Anevay saw it too. It clung weakly to the draclet’s soul. It shouldn’t be hard to dislodge once they knew how. “There has to be something in the scrolls or the Ka’ti.” She couldn’t believe the book with the golden Di’shan star was back. Such a beautiful treasure, full of magic and history.

Gideon nodded. “Let’s look again. Perhaps we have missed something.”

Serena shook her head slightly. “I’m not sure there is anything to miss. There are no records of this. How can there be a weave for something that has never happened?”

Anevay took a deep breath. Of course. They were searching the past for something that wasn’t there. However, all of the weaves in the scrolls and the Ka’ti were created by people. At one time they didn’t exist either. “Paki, you can go. Thank you so much for your patience.”