Page 464 of Kingdoms of Night

“She wanted him to think the memories were his,” Tanis whispered. “She aged him long before he was ready.”

“What do you mean?” Rowan sank down beside his sister, both elves at her feet as though they were worshiping her.

“If he absorbed the memories, then he will think back to them as though he lived them. To that dragon, he will consider himself to be centuries older than he is. It will make him angry.” She shook her head. “No, that’s not the right term. Worse than that. Imagine yourself now, trapped in a body that doesn’t do any of what you expect. A body that is much younger and less prepared for things you know how to do. And then imagine seeing the world through young eyes one day, and then in the next, only seeing it through the eyes of someone who has lived for many centuries. It is cruel.”

Aster stood, shaking her head and pacing through the cabin. “She said it was a mercy for him. She said it was necessary when I questioned it. Now I feel as though I should have fought on his behalf.”

“You would not have changed her mind.” Tanis knew that the crimson dragon was doing whatever she could to protect the young crimson dragon. “Did she say anything else?”

“No. Only that her fears were for her son.”

Tanis remembered him. She’d seen the memory when he had first hatched. “A handsome child,” she muttered. “He’ll have a lot of responsibilities weighing on his shoulders.”

More than he deserved. It would be up to him to keep their people alive and well. Tanis certainly couldn’t from this far away.

“Maybe there are more eggs?” Aster asked. “Perhaps you weren’t the only one to lay a clutch before..”

“We can only hope.”

She stood and felt like she was years older. Everything in her body ached. But mostly, she supposed, her heart.

Tanis rubbed a hand over the spot that hurt the worst and shook her head. “I never thought I’d see the day when I prayed for more dragons. I took such a life for granted and now... Now it’s all gone.”

The two elves beside her were the kindest individuals she could ask to help her. They were so sweet and so thoughtful, but they weren’t her people in the end. And that made it hard to know that there were two of them and only one of her.

“You’ll want to eat, Aster,” she muttered. “Let me find you something. We’ll prepare more food for the winter now that you’re here.’

“Actually...”

The long pause made Tanis turn to look at the other woman, who had been nothing but supportive. Aster wasn’t looking at her, though. She was looking at her brother.

The elf took a deep breath, then continued. “I saw what the mortals are doing in Umbra. So many of them hate our kind. They aren’t only hunting dragons. They’re hunting elves, dwarves, everyone they can get their hands on. It’s going to become a war. I can see it already. There has to be someone to fight back. Someone to lead our people into a rebellion.”

Rowan’s mouth had fallen open. “And you think that person is you?”

The words lit his sister’s soul like a spark to tinder. Aster squared her shoulders. The muscles of her jaw jumped. Finally, she ground out between her teeth, “I think I’m suited to it. I’ve seen what the humans have done here. So few of the creatures have seen what can really happen. I won’t let them all die like our friends here.”

“So what? You came all this way, just to tell us you are leaving again?” He threw his hands up into the air.

But Tanis could already see his sister’s answer. That’s exactly why she was here.

Aster still felt some connection with the dragons. She thought she should bring the message to Tanis, because that was the right thing to do. But she wasn’t going to stay. That had never been the plan.

Suddenly feeling out of place, Tanis made her way to the door. “You two can talk things out. I’m going to get more wood for the fire.”

“There’s plenty in here,” Rowan snarled.

She looked over her shoulder and met his gaze. He was afraid, she realized. Afraid that Tanis would leave. Afraid his sister would die without him. Afraid of what this world had become and how they couldn’t stop it no matter how hard they tried.

Placing her hand against the door, she gave him a single sharp nod. “Talk with your sister, Rowan. You can find me later.”

And so she left the two elves behind, knowing full well that she might lose him.

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

CHAPTER 16

Rowan looked at his sister and felt himself torn in two. He wanted to go with her. Of course he did. What she had planned was a ridiculously honorable choice, very self sacrificing, but he knew that she would work herself to the bone until it was all said and done. That didn’t mean it was the right choice for her, though. Someone had to look after her like he had to look after Tanis.

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