Page 81 of Deadwood
I inwardly cursed. That was her only way home.
Her eyes went wide, moving from Hanklie to me. “The bridge is gone?”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions here,” I said hesitantly. “I’ll send Vulcan that way to check it out. I’m sure it’s all a misunderstanding.”
Hanklie shook his head. “All due respect, sir, but Meritum showed me.”
“Showed you?” Auria repeated.
Hanklie nodded frantically, his hair sticking up every which way from the wind. “Flew me right near it. On the desert side, of course.”
“You can ride dragons?” Auria exclaimed. She looked pale, whether from the information or the chaos of the caves, I wasn’t sure. But this wasn’t helping her recovery.
“Hanklie,” I cut in, giving no room for argument in my tone. “Thank you for reporting this to me, but I can take it from here.”
He nodded. “Yes, sir. I’ll be on patrol if you need any more information.” He headed back out the way he had come, leaving Auria gawking at me.
Everything was crashing around her all at once. Today was too much, and I could see it in the bags under her eyes and the way she looked like she was trying her damndest to process everything.
“Bowen,” Siara started, coming closer to me.
“Not now, Siara,” I snapped, and she backed off.
Auria looked like she’d been struck by lightning, her mind practically spinning in her eyes.
“Would you like me to walk you home?” I asked, ignoring the others as Siara, Flynt, and Raiden started mumbling about what the bridge being down meant.
She blinked a few times, and in the flickering lantern light, her skin looked like it had a sheen to it. With a small fever, she shouldn’t get worked up. It’d only make it worse. If she wanted to stay and discuss it, that’d be her choice, but I wanted to give her the option.
Auria gave a small nod in response, the green around her pupils looking brighter than before. Without thinking, I reached for her face covering and pulled it up over her nose, then did the same with mine.
I didn’t have to say the words to the others for them to know we’d talk more about this later. Doing it in the infirmary wasn’t the most ideal place, and while the bridge falling caused problems for all of us, it could wait.
I held the door open for Auria, letting her pass through. As soon as the wind hit her, the hairs that had come free from her braid whipped around her face. She was wearing a dress that left much more of her skin showing than I’d seen before, which had been a surprise at dinner. As King Tenere’s daughter, I would have thought she’d prefer to stay as covered as possible. It seemed the princess was more daring than I’d originally thought.
We walked in silence. It was no use to try to speak over the howling storm. Dust kicked up everywhere, bits of magic caught in the mess whizzing past our ears like whistles on the wind. Magic took its form in many different ways. It flowed through rock like a stream or was hard like stone itself. Some of it gathered in big chunks or large rivulets, and others were so small, the common eye could hardly see it. Sometimes it hummed or had a melody much like a flute, or it was quiet, stagnant. It was like a living creature in that way—taking on different personalities. Even magic of the same type behaved differently, depending where it was found. Most of it varied based on the region it originated, like fire magic from the underground mines near Devil’s Peak or healing magic from the Hollows. Most was found in mountains, caves, or underground, or where it would sometimes form near bodies of water. It found its home and where it wanted to grow, and it was respected. At least, it had been, until humans used it for the wrong reasons. There was no mistaking the inky black current of dark magic, the substance itself looking as if it was on a search to destroy, weaken.
We approached the house Auria was staying in, her dress moving wildly around her boots as she trudged up the steps. She opened the door, and I waited for her to disappear inside, but rather than closing it behind her, she faced me.
“Would you like to come in?” she asked, raising her voice over the storm.
I hesitated a moment, taken back by her offer, then nodded. I’d expected her to want to be as far away from me as possible, not to continue our time together. I stepped inside and made sure the door clicked shut before turning to find she’d barely moved away. Our chests were now mere inches from each other.
I couldn’t see the bottom half of her face due to the mask, but her eyes spoke volumes. She was perplexed by what had happened, while I was confused for an entirely different reason.
Frustrated with the fact that I could get lost in her so easily, I stepped away, pulling my bandana down. “How is your ankle?”
She untied her own, holding it in front of her with both hands. “Better with the healing vial Doctor Quinn gave me.”
“Good,” I replied.
“You said the dragons wouldn’t harm me,” she started.
“They won’t.”
“But the one in the caves, it seemed like it wanted to.”
I moved to the small living room off the foyer, taking a seat on the couch. Explaining this to her when she had not a clue about any of it was not how I had expected to spend my night, but I should’ve known she’d be curious.
