Page 37 of Born of Blood and Ash

I tipped forward as Ash rose. He took one last drink of wineand then moved the table back a few feet with a wave of his hand. Scooting tothe edge of the couch, I tried to see around him as he cracked open the door. Anew smell wafted into the chambers—a wild, earthy aroma mixed with somethingsweet.

I knew that scent, even though I’d never noticed it before.It belonged to the draken, as did the sense ofawareness. I stood.

“Sorry.” The far-too-serious voice for one so youngconfirmed what I felt. “Nek is doing patrols. I’ve been trying to distract her,but she got away from me.”

Before either Ash or I could respond, a small,greenish-brown blur of scales and thin, leathery wings darted around Ash’slegs. The small draken launched herself a good fouror five feet into the air—

Panic exploded. She was only four years old and unable tofly. Not that it stopped Nektas’s daughter fromtrying. Repeatedly. I shot forward, catching her around the waist just as shestarted to plummet back to the hard stone floor. One wing whipped around,catching me in the side of the face. The slap stung, but how she clung to memade up for it. Her embrace was strong and at odds with her slight weight, butgods, it was one of the best hugs I’d ever received.

“Jadis.” I laughed, jerking my head back from her flailingwings.

“I think someone missed you,” Ash remarked, his voice warm.

Jadis gave a muffled chirp as she grasped onto my hair withher tiny, clawed fists. The tug sent a fiery wave of tingles across my scalp,but I honestly didn’t care as I held on to her. She wasn’t trying to hurt me.Plus, Nektas had said that my hair likely remindedJadis of her mother. She’d only been two when Halayna was killed. Not nearlyold enough to build a wealth of memories to look back on when she missed hermomma. I held her tighter.

“And I also think this one may not have tried all that hardto stop her,” Ash added, his arms folded over his chest as he looked down atReaver.

The shaggy-blond-haired draken’scheeks pinked as he stared at the floor. He wore loose pants and a sleevelesstunic the color of cream. At the moment, Reaver looked like any mortal child,except for the vertical pupils and the somber seriousness of the old soul hecarried.

Life had not been easy for either of them.

While Jadis had lost one parent to Kolis, Reaver had lostboth of his before he was even old enough to hold on to his mortal form. They’ddied defending the Shadowlands after Kolis grew angry with Ash for notresponding to his summons quickly enough. Did Reaver have any memories of hisparents? If not, I knew what kind of aching emptiness that left behind. I hadnone of my father.

I drew my hand down Jadis’s back, her scales dry and smoothagainst my palm. I couldn’t help but think of how they continued to experienceloss. Ector. Davina. Orphine. Both she and Reaver hadlikely been close to them. Perhaps even thought of them as family. A wealth ofemotion swelled in my chest. They had already suffered far too much senselesscruelty and loss.

I glanced at Ash, finding him watching me with a gentlelook. Figuring I’d been projecting again, I cleared my throat. “Hi, Reaver.”

“Hello.” He dragged a bare foot across the stone floor infront of him. “How are you feeling, meyaahLiessa?”

“You don’t have to call me that. I’m Sera to you.” I pattedJadis’s back as she wiggled as wildly as tree bears were rumored to do. “And Ifeel fine.”

“I told Jadis that she’d be able to see you in the morning.”His fingers were curled around the hem of his tunic so tightly that hisknuckles had bleached white. “We felt you when you woke up. Nek told us to giveyou guys some time, but Jadis has been scared. She didn’t know where you went,”he said, his voice carrying hints of frustration and fear. “No one would tellus where either of you went or let us see you when you returned.”

I lowered my chin to the top of Jadis’s head, my heartaching at the fine tremor in Reaver’s voice. “They didn’t want you to worry.”

“But we did worry.” Reaver’s head lifted then, his cheekseven redder, and his eyes, now as blue as Jadis’s, glistening. “And even thoughno one would say it, I know it was him.” His hands balled into fistsas he looked up at Ash. “I know he took her, and then he took you.”

Jadis squirmed, twisting her long, slender neck towardReaver.

“And we didn’t know if we would ever see either of youagain.” Reaver’s voice trembled and cracked. “If you’d leave us like—” He cuthimself off, his pointy chin jutting out as he clamped his jaw shut.

“We’re not leaving you.” Ash crouched before him so theywere as close to eye level as possible. “Hear me? We will never leave you.”

Reaver gave a quick, jerky nod while Jadis planted her handson my shoulders and pushed. She squawked—

My head whipped toward hers in surprise. She had made asound that was nothing like any language I’d ever heard, but I swore Iunderstood her clearly. She’d said, “down” in that sweet, high-pitchedvoice of hers.

I stared at her. There was no way I’d heard that. Ash hadsaid it took him days to understand the draken.

“Sera and I are okay,” Ash said to Reaver. “You feel that,right?” He pressed his palm against Reaver, the width of his hand nearly thatof the draken’s chest. “You can feel her rightthere.”

Reaver nodded.

I straightened, still holding on to Jadis. The draken wasn’t a fan of me holding her the way I was.Straining, she pushed harder against my shoulders.

“She’s not going to leave you,” Ash told him, keeping hisvoice low. “Neither will I.”

Reaver’s head jerked up and down, but that red flush nowstained his throat, and his entire body trembled. He folded his arms tightlyacross his chest and hunched his shoulders.

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