Page 64 of Dreams and Dragon Wings
Air races past, seeking to pitch me into the open sky. Behind me, my mother and Lord Reginald cry out.
No!
I freeze, fearing the worst, my heart leaping into my throat.
But when I catch sight of them floating away, gently carried through the rain by bubbles of Air that bear them downward toward the twinkling lights of Spindleton far below, I can breathe again.
They will be safe. They can retrieve my father and flee to Cindralune. I will find them one day. Later. After I do…this.
I fling my arms around my dragon king’s neck and squeeze tight, refusing to let go. I am exhausted. Confused. Frightened. I have been kidnapped. Held prisoner.Attacked.
But I do not care. None of that matters right at this moment.
Bene is in pain. Heneedsme. And I refuse to let him bear this burden alone.
Bene, answer me, I shout down the thread of Mind still binding us.
The wall keeping me from his thoughts lowers just enough for him to growl back,“Your place is with Lord Reginald. With your family.”
Fresh agony ripples through that opening, small though it is. An agony that makes my breath catch. My head spin.
How can he still be so desperate to be rid of me even though he can surely sense that I do not care about the curse? That I am prepared to fight for our friendship?
I hook my feet behind the joints of his wings and dig my fingers under his scales as he twirls through the sky, trying to fling me off. My stomach lurches. Rain slicks my hair to my face, obscuring my vision.
“My place is with you!” I scream aloud, hanging on for dear life. The earth and the heavens swap places, tumbling one over the other in a sickening display.
Nausea grips me. “Stop trying to push me away, Bene! You are my friend! Let me help you!”
But I don’t know how to help him. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now. I know what I am, but what does it mean?
What does it mean to be aTherya’kai?
How does one be a Queen of Flame?
Suddenly, my perch on Bene’s back feels more secure. My fists now clutch a leather harness strapped around his shoulders and neck rather than mere scales. Beneath me rests a saddle with a deep seat and stirrups for my stocking-clad feet.
My dragon king roars in irritation; the sound booms in my ears, drowning out all else.
Righting himself, he flies into the wind, pelting me with more rain.
Glorana races alongside us, saying nothing.
But I somehow know I have her to thank for the aid.
I understand now why you lied to me!I shout across the bond, refusing to let him shut me out any longer.I am not angry with you.
That is a lie.
I am a little angry with you,I correct.But we can talk about it later. Right now, just… let me in. Tell me what to do to ease your pain, and I will do it. Let us try to break this curse together!
“Leave!”he half-snarls, half-sobs through the link.“Please, leave me be. Let me die with you remembering me as I was rather than as I am.”
His hurt, his fear—they are like twin daggers piercing my heart. I know the full extent of it without him having to say it. I can sense it just as surely as I can feel his pulse:
He wishes to die my hero rather than live even for a single moment as my villain.
My grip on Bene’s harness tightens even as my resolve wavers. Would that not be the loving thing to do? To honor his wishes? To let him die on his own terms?
