Page 150 of Of Empires and Dust

“It has a strange way of showing it.” Dann picked up the skin full of mead and offered it to Lyrei.

She took it without question, popped the stopper, and drained a mouthful, wiping her lips with the sleeve of her tunic.

“It’s Lasch’s mead,” Dann said, watching her drink. “He said it will only keep for a few days, so I guess we’d be fools not to finish it.”

To Dann’s surprise, Lyrei stepped towards him and reached out with her free hand, gently brushing her fingers over the twisted scar across his shoulder.

Dann made to speak, but no words came forth.

Lyrei’s touch was warm against his skin. “This was from Belduar?”

“Mmh.” Dann relaxed his shoulders, looking down at the pale flesh that marked him. “The Fade’s lightning.”

“The one that killed Elissar…” Lyrei looked up, her golden eyes staring into his. She turned and sat on the ground, pulling her knees to her chest, her back pressing against the side of the cot.

Dann joined her as she took another mouthful of mead.

“When I said we’d be fools not to finish it,” he said, snatching the skin from Lyrei, “I did meanwe, not just you.”

They sat there, drinking and saying very little until the skin was empty and Lyrei had fallen asleep, her head resting on Dann’s shoulder. He could feel the rise and fall of her chest with each breath, her cheek nuzzling into him. He was so worried about waking her that he didn’t move for what must have been the better part of an hour. If there had been a competition for best impersonation of a statue, he would have won. But then, eventually, as his back started to ache and the muscles in his side cramped, he shifted gently and scooped her up in his arms. She was heavier than she looked.

As Dann stood, one arm under Lyrei’s back, the other under her knees, he cradled her head to his chest. His heartbeat quickened. For some reason, holding Lyrei in his arms was more nerve-inducing than charging down a Fade.

He drew slow breaths, being careful not to wake her as he lay her down on the cot and pulled the blanket up over her shoulders.

For a moment, just a fraction of a second, as he looked down at Lyrei, the mead dulling his senses, he saw Alea. A lump caught in his throat. Dann had spent so long with the two sisters, he’d almost forgotten they were twins. To him they had never been difficult to tell apart, not even in the slightest.

Dann brushed a strand of hair from Lyrei’s face.

“I would have taken her place if I could have,” he whispered. And he would have. In a heartbeat. “I’m so sorry.”

Dann scanned the tent, spotting a pile of blankets stacked in the corner behind a candle. He’d have to let Nala ride Drunir for a while the next day.

He spread one of the blankets out on the ground and rolled a second up as a pillow, then lay down and pulled the third up over himself. He didn’t mind sleeping on the ground; he’d done it a hundred times, and the mead would dull the discomfort anyway.

Drawing a long breath into his lungs, Dann glanced at Lyrei. The elf let out a soft groan, shifting in place and pulling the blanket tighter over herself. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life.

He rolled fully onto his back, clasped his hands behind his head, and stared up at the tent’s canopy for a moment before closing his eyes. He knew what he’d dream of that night: catching that damn bird.

Chapter 34

Forward, Brother

12thDay of the Blood Moon

Fifty miles west of Narrith – Winter, Year 3081 After Doom

The wind ripped at Aeson,crashing against him as he sat behind Calen with one arm around the man’s waist and the other gripped firmly around a horn protruding from Valerys’s neck. The dragon’s warmth seeped from his scales into Aeson’s body, but even still Aeson wove threads of Fire through his extremities to keep them from freezing. Threads of Air swirled around him, holding the worst of the wind at bay while his entire body shook and his eyes watered any time he lifted his head from Calen’s back.

Aeson had never flown with any dragon but Lyara. He had always had the bond to protect him, always had her scales moulding to his shape. Flying with Valerys still had that same sense of wonder, but it also gave him a new appreciation for the sheer power of the creature beneath him. Every beat of Valerys’swings sent vibrations through Aeson’s bones, and he could feel the dragon’s muscles rippling against him.

A weightlessness set into his stomach as Valerys lurched upwards, angling his wings and catching a vicious current of air. Aeson drew deeper from the Spark, holding himself firm to Valerys’s back while holding on to Calen for dear life. He lifted his head to see the dark sky for only a moment before the clouds enveloped them.

Roaring wind filled his ears, and dark clouds obscured his vision, the air damp and heavy. And then, in a burst of motion, Valerys shot upwards and the world erupted in a deep crimson light.

The Blood Moon hung in the sky, clearer and more vivid than Aeson had ever seen. Dark patches marred its surface, and a faint crimson mist fell towards the world as though the night itself were bleeding.

For a moment, the dragon hung in the air, the world seeming almost peaceful, and then he angled his wings and swooped down. Valerys soared parallel to the luminescent ocean of dark pink clouds that stretched into the distance, illumined by the light of the Blood Moon as though a fire raged beneath them.

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