Page 52 of Beautiful Beast

I wouldn’t remove the magic, but it was possible. The only dragons who could remove the bind on Endre’s power were the Elders themselves.

They promised they would, after a century of punishment.

It had now been three.

Endre had more grace and patience than I ever could. I would have burned myself alive in an attempt to get free a long time ago had I been bound like him. And both Zovai and I would never be able to make up for the fact that he took the punishment for the three of us. Spared us that pain.

We kept our power low out of respect.

“I will relay it,” Idroal said, bowing. Then they paused. “May I speak freely?”

I laughed. “Do you ever do anything else?”

Everyone laughed with me. It broke the tension just enough, and Zovai sat down. “Go ahead.”

Idroal paused, staring into the flames for long moments. I knew better than to interrupt their thoughts. “What you are experiencing was once not so uncommon,” they finally said. “In spite of what Soza attempted, do not hold yourself back for fear of appearance or disapproval. Not that you would,” they smiled sadly.

It was easy to forget Idroal’s age. They were older than the three of us, and had chosen Skalisméra as their home, though they would be welcome in the highest reaches and towers of Doro Eche. They preferred it here, and even the Elders did not dispute it.

“What do you mean?” Zovai leaned forward. “Which part of this?”

“The truth of our past has long since disappeared,” they said. “You know it as well as I. But there are those of us who believe it is no accident we are born with two forms. Nor is it an accident that the scraps we have of before the Fall there is only evidence of the winged one.”

My eyebrows rose, and I glanced at the others. They looked as cautious as I did. It wasn’t hard to see there were gaps in the knowledge of dragons and their path through this world. But to tug at the fraying threads was a different thing entirely.

“And what do you believe?” I asked.

Their eyes flicked to mine, worried.

Z’s power swirled through the room. “We will not repeat this conversation to the Elders, nor to anyone who means you harm, Idroal.”

“I believe these forms were adopted after the Fall. A way not only to blend in and not terrify the humans, but also to ensure our own survival. United we succeed, divided we fall.”

The old saying was long out of date, though we still held to it. I doubted very much the Elders still regarded the phrase with any respect. But true unity between the two species? If that were the case, the world would be very different.

Endre shook his head, following the same line of thought. “There are no hybrids,” he said, staring at the flames as if he would find the truth in them. “If there were, surely we would know.”

“There are no hybrids in the traditional sense no,” Idroal said. “But that is because the offspring are either fully dragon or fully mortal. Not because there were no unions. There were other signs that could easily be ignored. Or hidden.”

We’d all been alive before the war that split the world apart. But even in those hazy memories, I did not remember seeing humans and dragons together. Not in that way. Not in anything more than an occasional tryst.

Zovai asked the question ringing in my mind. “Was this common? I do not remember it.”

“Common? No. But it was possible. It naturally ceased during and after the war.”

I made my way to the couch and sat, basking in the heat of the fire. It could be a little hotter. I pushed my power toward it and urged it to burn brighter. No dragon would ever say no to more heat.

Silence filled with nothing but the crackling of flame stretched out. I shook my head. “Why are you telling us this, Idroal?”

It was then they shook their head. “I cannot speak more.”

A sinking feeling clung to me and dragged its claws down the inside of my chest. “I assume we cannot dissolve that restriction?”

“You cannot.”

Which meant that the Elders themselves had placed the binding command. “Is it why you choose to live here and not the capital?”

They inclined their head. “One of many reasons. I genuinely prefer to be here, near the sea, away from the politics of Doro Eche. But I also enjoy not being monitored so closely.” They paused. “Think about what I’ve said. That’s all I can ask.”

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