Page 18 of Shade of Ruin

Cole is the only reason I’m not dead. Twice now. “Take all the time you want. I doubt your emotions would survive me saving you for once.”

He laughs. What’s different about this compared to our days and days of silence while walking? He was smiling when he saved me. He smiled when he fought with the harpies. Now he’s happy, too.

But when we eat, talk, or walk, it’s like there couldn’t be a more miserable person in the world. Every noise from me is annoying.He hasn’t complained at all even when he feels exhausted since we started flying.

“Wyrdling, the day you save my life is the day that the world really has turned upside down.” He pauses for a moment before saying, “You know, I’m a little surprised at you. Why did you try to get to that boy?”

It’s a sobering thought. In all the chaos and terror of nearly dying myself, I’d forgotten the child. “Because he…”

“Was going to die? Of course he was. He was bait for us.”

“So? That doesn’t change anything. How did younottry to save him?” Now that I’ve had a few moments to breathe, the realization that the little boy is dead hits me hard. Harder than I’d have expected. I’d done everything I could to save him. I’d put myself at risk, but it wasn’t enough.

Just like with the baby turkeys and the starving wolves, I want to help. I want to make things better, but these aren’t things that someone like me can deal with. Only someone with genuine power could do that.

I hate it so much. I grit my teeth and wish there was something that I could do. This isn’t as simple as that. These are things that are wrong with theworld. I’m just a stupid Wyrdling.

Cole shakes his head as he turns east, heading off the path. Far in the distance, I can see the ending of the Nothing. The ending of the white clouds that cover the ground. “This is a human weakness, Wyrdling. You’re not in that world anymore, and you’d do well to stop thinking like them. Think of how people will use something against you before you react. People die. That’s a simple fact, and the only actual goal you should have is to make sure it’s not you that dies.”

“You’re telling me you’d have let that child die?” I respond. “That you’d leave him there?”

Cole doesn’t respond for several long moments. “Maybe. I certainly would not have gone after him as you did. Maybe I’dhave flown. Maybe I’d have called him to us. There are plenty of things I could have tried, but I wouldn’t have attempted to catch him that close to the Nothing. Don’t even try to tell me you didn’t know that it was dangerous. You saw how it was trying to catch you, and you kept going. You let yourself fall into the most obvious trap. It’s a good thing I had enough sense not to follow you. We wouldn’t have had time for me to grow my wings if I’d done the same thing as you.”

That thought’s terrifying. We would have died. I just couldn’t imagine that baby dying. The Nothing got him anyway. I’ve been surrounded by death all my life. It’s not a new thing. I kill animals regularly, but children…

I think I could have handled seeing a man or woman die. If it had been a grown man being used as bait, I could have accepted Cole’s criticism. But a child? No. I had to go to him. If I were in exactly the same position, I’d probably do the same thing. My heart is breaking thinking about him. He didn’t deserve this.

I know that no matter what happened, I wouldn’t have been able to protect him. Maybe Cole could have, but I’m in a world of magic, and I feel absolutely useless. “I know you don’t enjoy talking to me,” I say as I make a decision. “But maybe you wouldn’t mind teaching me some things. How to move like you. Maybe how to do magic? I… I don’t want people to die because I’m acting like a human would. I don’t want children to die because I’m too weak to protect them.”

Cole is quiet for a while, his enormous eagle wings gliding toward the area not covered in the unnatural mists. “It’s going to be painful. I’ve never taught someone who wasn’t even fully Immortal. I think you’re going to get hurt. Regularly.”

“I don’t care,” I say. “It seems like I heal quickly.”

Cole chuckles. “You’re the strangest Wyrdling I’ve ever met.”

I’m okay with being strange. It’s all I’ve ever been, after all. As long as I’m strange and alive andstrong, I think that will be fine with me.

Chapter 10

We made a mistake staying here. It is a hard truth, but it’s one we have accepted. We’ve never stayed anywhere long enough for the world to change around us. The five of us cannot hold enough power to maintain this world, but the ones that follow us are too close for any more of my kind to stay. We must find a way to anchor the power. We should not have rested as long as we did.

~Vyran the Black, A History of Magic and Dragons

Sticks. That’s whatCole’s decided to teach me to fight with. Not my spear. Not his sword. Sticks.

And he was not wrong. They hurt so much worse than I’d imagined. I’m holding a three foot long branch in each hand, and Cole is standing directly beside me. One hand moves to my wristwhile the other moves to my hip. I don’t let myself look at him as he slowly shows me the minute difference between a good swing and a bad one.

His body is hot against mine. Not like when we were flying. That was… functional. This is something almost erotic. His cloak and armor are on the ground, and he’s wearing a thin tunic which is tight against his swollen muscles.

I’m glad that I’ve discarded my ripped and torn set of clothing in favor of my extra set. If I hadn’t, his hands would touch far more of my bare skin, and I don’t know how well I’d have handled that.

“Everything starts at the hips, Wyrdling. Everything.” His nails dig into my hip, and a shiver rolls through me as he twists my body. “Then you swing. Your power comes from the hips. Your arms just direct it.” His body presses against me as he moves my body, and his heat radiates through me, passing through our thin clothing. A throbbing, pounding sensation that has me struggling to think clearly. I have a hard time not focusing on those fingertips pressed against such a sensitive place.

I nod to him, and he goes back to his place in front of me, my personal sparring dummy. I’d asked if I could try swinging against a tree. Cole had said that was a waste. This way, if I do something wrong, he’llremindme. With his own wooden stick.

I twist my hips like he showed me, my right stick striking out toward his shoulder. Cole blocks it easily. “Again,” he commands, and I swing. Again and again. Each time, my left hand drops just a little. “Your guard,” he reminds me. I quickly lift it back into place, even though my left shoulder is getting tired.

I keep practicing the motion, and suddenly, Cole swings his own stick toward my left shoulder. It’s the exact same movement I’ve been making, and my stick is too low. I try to bring it up toblock, but I’m too slow, and his stick connects with my shoulder with a sharp crack.

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