Page 78 of House of Embers
“It must have been stored in the crystal.”Tieran put his claws through the head dragon, and the image puffed like smoke.“When I touched it, it felt like tendrille.”
“But it was white.”
“Pure tendrille can be any shade from white to black. Most of what is mined is gray or black. White is incredibly rare. It is usually from thedirect strike of the gods. I didn’t know it could even be as large as the one we touched.”
The lead dragon roared at another smaller dragon who had entered the chamber. Fire bloomed. Many ducked in terror at his ferocity.“We cannot lose to these Fae invaders. They may have the numbers and their elemental magics, but they are not gods. They do not determine our fate, and we will not suffer their disgrace on our island any longer.”
“Yes, Ferrinix,”the smaller dragon said, groveling before the larger dragon.
Kerrigan’s mouth dropped open. “Ferrinix?”
Tieran was rigid.“The great one.”
“Scales, are we at the beginning?” she whispered, her gaze surveying the room with new purpose. “This is during the first war, before the Irena Bargain.”
“I think this is the Irena Bargain,”he said as Ferrinix sent all his generals from the room.
Kerrigan shook with utter shock. Ferrinix had captured his memory of what had happened during the Irena Bargain in a crystal. Why would the dragons hide this? And how was this the soul part of the test?
She had heard so many versions of the Irena Bargain over the years. Some part of her had started to doubt that any of them were true. Could this be it? Would she finally find out what had happened? Get the information from the source? Or was this just another version only told through the great dragon’s eyes?
Time skipped forward—more dragons dead on a battlefield, long-range weapons and magical entrapment demolishing their forces. Kerrigan guessed the dragons were doing the same amount of damage to the Fae, but any loss on either side was a tragedy. This was why the Society had started, even if she despised what it currently stood for.
Night fell. Troops returned to the mountain. The Fae camped at the base of the lake. It ran red with blood.
Ferrinix sat on the banks. He waited and watched. These creatures were supposed to have remained in Alfheim. He Who Reigns was not supposed to send more to these shores. This wasdragon domain. Humans had lived here first, but they now worshipped the dragons. As they should.
Kerrigan knew all this as if she were inside Ferrinix’s head. The ache he felt at being deceived by the one who had sent them here. He Who Reigns was the most devastating being in the known universe and Kerrigan’s grandfather. She was glad to have never met him. If all the Doma and dragons knew to fear him, it would do her no good to meet the monster.
Ferrinix didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to protect his people. He did not want to consort with the Fae. He did not want to cede land to their kind. They bred quicker than dragons and would soon take over the world. He didn’t know how to stop it without wiping them clean off the map. It was the only way.
With his decision made, he turned to leave. A shift in the winds to the northern bank made him turn. Out of the darkness, in a cloak of shadows, a maiden stepped out of the nothing to stand before him.
He had never seen this power. The possibilities were terrifying even for a dragon.
Irena stood before him, more beautiful than even history could depict her. She looked shockingly like Titania. If Kerrigan had not stood in the presence of the mother of the Fae, she would have thought IrenawasTitania. But as she neared Ferrinix, Kerrigan could see the slight differences. Her hair was more white than blond, her features sharper than Titania’s full face, her eyes keener, more cunning, but less all-knowing. She wore all black like an assassin ready to take out her mark. The shadows of the Ollivier line swirled around her hands.
“What are you doing here, child?”Ferrinix asked, exhaustion in every line of his features.
“I have come to end it,” Irena said in her melodic tone.
“You think that killing me, if you are even capable, would be enough to end this? Your people are a plague on our lands. Another ruler will rise up. Another dragon will take my place. You will lose.”
“Where else do you think we can go?” she demanded.
“I do not care.”
Irena took another step forward. She had no visible weapons on her. Was she there to kill Ferrinix? Was she the assassin that one of the tales had set her up as?
“You should care. We could be allies.”
Ferrinix rumbled, the red flush of fire against his throat.“Allies? To our enemies?”
“We do not need to remain enemies.”
“That is all we are.”Ferrinix looked down his snout at her. He was tired. He doubted this small thing could kill him. But wouldn’t it be glorious to have one last fight with the shadow thing at his feet? Maybe it would determine the end of this war.
“We are the same,” Irena said. “We were both cast out from our homelands. We can no longer claim Alfheim. The Doma have sent us on. We have nowhere else to go. Let us lay claim to this land together. Let us ally.”
