Page 105 of Draekora

Alex was more than a little creeped out, and it only became worse when Zaronia stretched out her wings and flew down from her raised perch until she came to a rest on the ground in front of the Meyarins. In between them was what looked like a large basin forged into thetraesos, but instead of it being entirely black like the rest of the rock, it had veins of glowing Myrox webbed throughout.

“Light for life,” Zaronia said like some kind of pledge—this time not in Meyarin, but in the scratchy, rumbling language of the draekons—as she ducked her head over the basin. As Alex watched, a massive silvery tear fell from her eye and dropped into the bowl.

One by one the draekons flew to the ground, offering the same ‘Light for life’ declaration before releasing their tears into the steadily growing pool and then flying off into the dark of the night.

I didn’t realiseTer’a Ora Vorrenwas a literal description, Alex called to Xiraxus.It reallyisa Pool of Tears.

TheZ’aoprovides the foundation for most of the Meyarins’ necessities in life, he responded, repeating what Aven had said as he spoke of what Alex now knew was Myrox in its liquid form—the tears of draekons.

And if there are no draekons in my future… Alex said, jumping back to their earlier conversation.

Then the Meyarins of your world would have no newZ’aoavailable to them, he answered. And without access to something so vital to their foundation, for their continued thriving existence, they would, essentially, be slowly devolving. Slowly dying as a race as their stores run out.

Alex suddenly remembered jokingly asking the Kyia of her time if she could take somemyraeshome with her.

‘Unfortunately, there’s very littlemyraesavailable to us these days,’ Kyia had said. ‘It’s a rare commodity amongst our race.’

Alex shared the memory with Xiraxus and followed up by saying,You think Aven pulled you to the future so you could, uh, cry for him?

I believe he wanted the tears of a draekon, yes, Xiraxus said.With a steady supply ofZ’aohe would be able to provide weapons for his growingGarseth; he’d be able to barter the worth of our tears with any of the other races across Medora and receive anything he wanted in return; he’d even perhaps be able to tempt others in Meya and sway them into his favour, if he was able to offer them something of such significant worth that they’d been living without for so long. People will do anything if they’re desperate enough. They will follow anyone, support any cause.

Alex shuddered as an image of Aven storming the palace came to mind. A few gifted humans and a small handful of faithfulGarseth, while not good, didn’t present much of a threat to the crown. But with the backing of an entire city of desperate Meyarins willing to rise up against their rulers if it meant access to the luxuries denied to them for so long, then Roka and Astophe’s lives would be in much more danger. Not even the elite guard could take on a whole city of revolutionists. Aven would barely have to lift a finger to kill his brother and father before claiming the throne as his.

Trembling at the visual, there was still something that Alex didn’t understand.Why you, Xira? Why not some other draekon? And how did he even pull you through theabrassato begin with?

Only two beings in all the worlds can access theabrassato manipulate or travel through space and time, Xiraxus said.Draekons and Tia Aurans.The Aven of your future had a Tia Auran in captivity—I saw her when I flew close enough for him to snare me.

He shared his memory with Alex and she gasped in recognition as she saw Lady Mystique bound by snaking black chords around her body.

That’s—That’s—

Aes Daega is Tia Auran, Alex, Xiraxus said.In your future she would have already met you in this past, so when Aven captured her and found a way to force her to do his bidding, I believe she deliberately chose to pull me through so that I would bond with you and bring you back with me, knowing that it had, to her knowledge, already been done.

As Alex looked over the thinning crowd of draekons still dripping tears into the bowl, she wondered if it was possible to have a brain aneurysm from an overload of impossibilities that ridiculously made sense.

This is madness, Alex said, even her thoughts sounding strained.

The good news is, he didn’t succeed, Xiraxus said.With the kind of power it would have taken for Aes Daega to pull me through, she won’t be able to repeat the process anytime soon with another draekon. And, if the Tia Auran of your day is anything like who she is here, I’d hazard a guess that she willingly surrendered herself to ensure your visit to the past. Bound bytraesoscoils or not, I wouldn’t be surprised if as soon as you arrive back in your time, Aven finds he is missing his powerful prisoner.

From what Alex knew of the ancient woman, she didn’t doubt Xiraxus’s assumption about Lady Mystique’s capabilities. And that was a relief, since she wasn’t keen on adding yet another name to her ‘to rescue’ list.

This hasn’t changed anything, Xiraxus said, reading her inner turmoil.Now you’re just better informed of Aven’s plan.

And that he’s desperate, Alex added,but I guess I already knew that.

Looking up over her shoulder again, Alex took in the relaxed, open face of the Aven who would one day become a monster. She just couldn’t figure out how things would go so wrong. Even now, passionate though he was with his anti-mortal ideals, there was nothingevilabout him. All he wanted was separatism from them, not to kill them. What would happen to make him snap and murder them all?

“What do you see when you look out there?” Alex whispered to the prince.

Standing so close, when he tipped his head down to her, they were barely a breath apart. Trapped with her front pressed up against the boulder, she still couldn’t put any distance between them, so she quickly swivelled her head to continue watching the ceremony, trying to ignore the heat of him at her back.

“I presume you don’t want a literal answer?” he enquired.

She nodded, watching as the final draekons shed their tears into the bowl.

“I see the Giving of Life,” Aven said quietly, his exhalation stirring the hairs on the back of her neck. “And I see the receiving of it.”

Choosing her next words so very carefully, Alex asked, “Do the draekons receive anything in return for their tears?”

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