Page 85 of Terragnata and the Heir of the Earth

My breathing grew labored, for whether or not it was Ezren mattered little. The Talpa was the exact image of his body, and mine had no choice but to react.

The creature tittered to itself. “I think you know the truth, for you have seen his soul. Perhaps not for the first time. And by seeing, you have been seen, human one.”

I fought the dueling urges to flee or leap on the non-Ezren Ezren. And then it was a foot from me, towering in the way he always had. While my female instincts roared, my Fae senses also sniffed out the creature’s underlying scent. It was not Ezren’s smell of piñon and strength and damp forest. It was a mix of burning fear, and underlying suffering. My longing turned to concern. I took one of its hands and it jerked back, but I held fast.

“Whom do you serve?” I knew it was not a free being. It stank of fear and misery—and I’d read the Fae often forced the lesser Faeries into servitude.

“I, I am bound to no one, peasant,” it snapped, snatching its hand from my grasp. At once, I knew I had gained ground.

“How long?” I asked again, not breaking its gaze, willing myself to see beyond the blazing green eyes that sent flames into my low belly. “How long have you been captive?” I searched there, latching on to the string of pain I found behind the fire.

Its eyes darted once more, and for a brief moment they were no longer emerald or Fae but large dark orbs, terrified. But then he was Ezren again, resolved to regain the upper hand.

“You know nothing of what you speak. I hope it will bring you great pain, to see your death brought ‘round at the hands of your lover,” it hissed.

But before he could draw his blade, I said, “Tell me how to free you, and I will do it.”

It froze, unmoving in Ezren’s form. “That is no small offer, Princess. You know not what you suggest.” His voice was dead quiet, his eyes flickering between his true form and his Fae figure.

“Enlighten me, then.” My heart pounded, sensing this would end either in battle or something worse.

“Only my master can free me,” it said, its voice thick with an unnatural lilt. “However, a new master can replace my old one. Should someone wish to take the place of my master, they must transfer me their lifeblood in more quantity than what I currently feed on. This is difficult and requires much suffering. It will also likely result in loss of several years of life, the exact amount unknown.”

I pushed out a deep breath, tempted to fight the creature instead. Something inside me said the sacrifice was worth it, for flesh pain is fleeting, and the true feeling of freedom is not.

“I know as much as anyone the importance of liberty,” I breathed. “I will do it, Talpa, and then I will release you. But before I do, I would like to see your true form.”

It stared at me in disbelief at first, but then it shifted, beginning with large, shining eyes. The rest of its body changed, and it shrank to half the height of when it took Ezren’s form, its neck just peeking out of the water. It had thick leathery skin, wide pointed ears, and might be considered ugly if not for the large innocent eyes of extraordinary depth that peered up at me.

And then Ezren suddenly returned, for it seemed to be pained in its original form.

“How do I give you my lifeblood?” I asked the creature.

It blinked. “I just need to drink from a vein.”

I waded back to shore, the creature following me. After a quick surveying of the moonlit surroundings, I undid the front of my leathers, removing Ezren’s dagger.

I turned to face the Talpa, and it gasped. “What?” I whipped around, palming the dagger and searching for whatever surprised the creature. But I saw nothing, and when I looked at Ezren’s form once again, it fixed its gaze on the hilt of my weapon.

“Where did you get that?” it whispered.

“It was a gift. Why?”

“I have not seen a Dragon’s egg in a millennia. I thought they were all lost.”

“A Dragon’s egg?” I cocked my head.

“Yes, on the hilt,” the Talpa replied, as if I was the oblivious one.

“You mean the emerald,” I corrected.

“No! That is no emerald! Can you not see it blazes with the fire of a Dragon? That, right there, is a petrified Dragon’s egg. There is no shell, it likely dissolved over many thousands of years. I imagine you have kept such a possession hidden from other Fae folk. For if you had not, it likely would no longer be yours.”

I searched for some unborn Dragon embryo inside the gem. When I examined it, I only saw a shining flame within the green stone that wasn’t really a stone after all.

“Well, I suppose I owe you a debt for the education,” I muttered.

An eerie grin spread across its features, like it knew I was about to repay that debt ten times over. I ran the dagger acrossmy palm. I made a fist, squeezing hard to draw the blood to the surface of the skin. And then I raised my hand to the Talpa.

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