Page 49 of Oath of War
‘Your dragon will recover,’ Vahin said aloud, his voice weary yet steady. ‘If he could feed, he’d be healed by now, but I’ve helped him enough to mend his wing.’ To me, he said, ‘It was carnage, Orm. The riders couldn’t even manage a formation when the spectrae first attacked. Apart from those of us at Varta, no one else believed the Barrier could fall, and these fools paid the price.’
Adam stood gaping. ‘Gods, he cantalk.’
‘Yes. I can,’ Vahin replied before turning his head towards me and gesturing to the injured dragon. ‘I saw what happened in Meleki’s memories. This was no random attack, Ormond. They came in calculated waves, the spectrae testing the defences before the army launched their full assault. This was planned.’
‘Yes, that’s how Meleki was injured,’ Adam confirmed. ‘We were dealing with a group of ghouls when two strigae came out of nowhere, and one dragged their claws through his wing.’
I sighed, rubbing my neck as I addressed Vahin. ‘How long until Meleki can fly?’ The injured dragon’s wing was knitting together at a glacial pace.
‘Bring him meat, and it’ll go faster. He’s been starved for the last couple of days, and I’m still drained after our flight.’
I could sense how concerned he was for the much younger dragon. ‘Adam, is there anything left?’ I asked. Much to my relief, he nodded.
‘Yes ... well, I think so. I was searching for the key to the pantry when I found you. I don’t starve my dragon, sir, Iswear. The other monsters ... they only left this morning, and I was waiting to see if they would return. I should have gone earlier, but—’
‘It’s alright, Adam,’ I said, patting him on the shoulder. The kid had seen things that would break even the toughest warriors. I couldn’t blame him for wanting to wait until the danger had passed.
After a quick run to the kitchens, we’d returned to the cave with two pig carcasses. I sat inside, watching Vahin feed himself and the younger dragon, Meleki, while I shared my rationswith Adam. Luckily, Meleki could now move his wing and was stretching it out slowly, testing the membrane.
As we ate, I passed Adam my Commander’s ring. ‘This will open every door for you—do not lose it. When your task is done, go to my family’s house in the capital. You’ll be safe there.’
He clutched the ring tightly, nodding. ‘Yes, sir. Meleki and I will do our best.’
I sighed, hoping I wasn’t sending the kid to his death—but we had to warn the other dragon riders, and I had a promise to keep.
‘Go. Your dragon is fed and rested. I have to leave for the capital now.’
Adam shook his head, pointing to runes over the entrance to the caves. A ring of old protection spells carved into the stone shone dimly with a blue aether.
‘You can’t go now, my lord. The spectrae are already here, and those glyphs are the only thing stopping them from feeding on us. If you go now, they’ll tear you and your dragon apart. You’ll have to wait until morning, sir.’
‘What? I don’t have time for this,’ I said, rushing towards the entrance with Vahin on my heels.
My dragon stretched his wings, ready to leap into the sky as soon as I climbed into the saddle, but as I looked up, all hope died, leaving only pure, blinding rage.
The sky was a seething mass of spectrae, their ghostly forms swirling like an endless plague. Breaking through them would be impossible. I would not be returning to Truso in time to support Annika.
Frustration boiled over, and I paced the cave like a caged beast. The reasonable part of me, the part trained for battle, knew all too well that we couldn’t escape their piercing tendrils, even if Vahin took us high above the clouds. But the man forcibly separated from his love wasraging.
Adam curled into Meleki, and from the worried looks he gave me, I knew he must have been terrified by my lack of restraint.
Vahin, however, was silent. Ever since we’d seen the spectral horde overhead, he’d been sitting at the cave’s entrance—as motionless as a marble statue—looking at the sky. His mental barriers were raised, cutting me off from his thoughts. The absence of our connection was a cold void in my mind, amplifying my sense of helplessness.
‘Vahin?’ I approached him, placing a hand on his long neck to draw him back from wherever his mind had wandered.
Otherworldly light blazed in his blue eyes, and I felt it then—not the comfortable touch of a dragon soul I was familiar with, but an infinite, weary spirit filled with grief and fear I now intimately knew. I stepped back in shock at the power radiating from him, and he turned his head back towards the sky.
‘Leave me be, Ormond. I’m trying to protect you. You wouldn’t be able to bear it,’ he said with such heavy emotion that I couldn’t turn away. Instead of abiding by his wish, I stepped between his front paws, drew my sword, and knelt with the naked blade across my knees.
‘I don’t need your protection, Vahin. I need you. And you need me. Don’t lock me out. I know you are mourning, and I know we both love her—’
‘No, Ormond. You do not know.’ He paused, his pain spilling over. He shifted closer, lowering his head until I felt his warm breath on my neck. ‘My kin are dead, senselessly slaughtered by that human mage’s creations. Yet here I am, bonded to not one, but two humans. My fury at— no, myhatredfor your kind wars with the love I bear for you and my Little Flame. It is tearing me apart, and, for once, I don’t know what I should do. I almost wish I’d never met her ... never awakened.’
The thought was a tortured whisper, and I clenched my jaw and opened my soul to his pain. ‘You are the best of us, Vahin,’I said, forcing our bond wide to help my oldest friend share the burden. ‘Now let me help you.’
He released a plume of smoke, the emotions he could no longer suppress flooding out like a torrent.
‘Pray to your gods, Ormond. Pray that Annika survives tomorrow. Because if she doesn’t, I will unleash destruction on this world until there is nothing left but dust.’
