Page 72 of House of Embers
“Sure does.”
Just as Dalrig got near to grabbing Tieran’s tail, Tieran executed a perfect barrel roll, his wings folding around his body. One second, he was there, and the next, he disappeared entirely into cloud cover.
He was just gone. Kerrigan covered her eyes with her hand to try to find where he was. She and Gelryn had prepared for the tests, and she had to trust that he knew best. Even if her stomach was in her throat and her worry for Tieran was almost oppressive. He could do this on his own. He didn’t need her help. Not for this test at least…she hoped.
Dalrig roared in frustration, following him into the clouds. That was a bold move, as neither of them could see their opponent. But Tieran had led him in there on purpose, of that she was certain.
A hush fell over the audience when both dragons disappeared. Kerrigan held her breath—Tieran could do this. She just had to keep reminding herself of that.
“Come on,” she hissed. “Come on.”
Audria bounced on the balls of her feet, her expression showing she was rapt with attention on the clouds overhead. “Where’d they go?”
“There!” Lowan shouted as Dalrig blasted out of the clouds.
He fell backward, his wings open wide as he fumbled in the air. It looked so unnatural to see a dragon struggling to fly. But he was scrambling to get himself turned around despite the blood streaming out of his chest.
Then Tieran appeared above him, diving straight for him. He got his claws into his chest, which he must have already done in the clouds. Dalrig screamed in pain as Tieran all but rode him toward the lake. Tieran bent his neck so he was looking the larger dragon in the eye, as if he were conveying something to him. Then his jaws sank into Dalrig’s throat and he pulled back, ripping the other dragon’s throat out.
Tieran’s wings jerked open wide just before the lake, flying up and over the other dragon. Dalrig crashed into the water. His body went flying for a half mile, sending waves of water across the lake and over some of the hatchlings.
A cheer went up as Tieran flapped higher above them, victorious.
Kerrigan, Audria, and Lowan screamed for his victory. He looked fearsome up there above so many of his kind—a smaller dragon with blood and guts all over his stomach as he held his head aloft. He had been hated and vilified by his own kind, and now they were cheering for him.
The attendant came to Kerrigan’s side. “We’ll proceed to the next test. If you’ll come with me.” Audria moved to her side, but Cathia shook her head. “Just her.”
“I’ll be all right,” Kerrigan assured her, squeezing her hand again. “Go see Evien.”
Then she was traipsing up the rocky route that led back to the mountain. She climbed a steep set of stairs that they had taken on the way down to the lake. Her legs burned when she got to the top.
“What’s next?” she asked Cathia at the summit.
“Mind,” she said.
Then she swung a bat at the back of Kerrigan’s head. Kerrigan gasped as she fell to her hands and knees.
“What—”
The bat came down a second time, and Kerrigan fell into darkness.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The Mind
Kerrigan woke in a dark room, lying on the ground with her hands before her in magic-dampening shackles. She guessed they weren’t going to take any chances on the communication issue.
She wasn’t gagged, so she could scream. Little that would do her. She could practically feel the oppressive weight of the mountain around her. The House of Shadows had another name for the Holy Mountain—Nineveh. The twin peak to their Ravinia Mountain. And while Ravinia had been mined for all its tendrille years before, Nineveh hummed with it.
Tendrille was powerful enough in this quantity that she didn’t need magic to feel its presence. She might not have even needed the shackles to dampen the magic. Tendrille was immune to magic. Putting shackles on her in a room that was immune to the stuff was probably overkill, but who was she to judge?
With a wince, Kerrigan lifted herself to her elbows and looked around the room. It was large enough for several dragons to comfortably fit with two large exits covered by tendrille-enforced doors. The room itself was bare, save for some food and water on a platter on a small wooden table and a chamber pot across the room. Not even a book to read or a chair to sit in. Great.
Her head ached from the attendant who had tried to bash her brains in. She came slowly to her feet, wishing she’d had Audria with her. Audria might have been a shit healer, but she was better than no healer.
Now that Kerrigan was standing, she saw there was one other thing in the room. She headed toward the table and grabbed the sole piece of paper.
The Threefold Test
