Page 96 of Dreams and Dragon Wings
Malice waits for a few moments more, a heavy silence settling between us. But when I do not say or do anything further, his mouth twists, a flicker of irritation passing across his face.
“Everyone out!” he shouts to his goblins as he makes for the exit.
They scatter before him like a flock of frightened chickens.
“Do not keep me waiting long,feyra,” Malice snarls at me on his way out, slamming the double doors behind him. The key scrapes in the lock, imprisoning me once more.
The moment I am alone, I sigh, exhaustion still weighing heavily upon me. I sleep so much, and yet I seem to be no better for it.
My eyes skim about my bedchamber, taking in every chest of what I can only assume are new clothes, every plate of food, every bucket of water. Am I supposed to use those buckets to drink or bathe?
Perhaps both?
However will I manage to carry myself, the buckets, and the chains binding my ankles all the way to the attached bathing room? I suppose I can use Air to manage the buckets. But Malice’s Spirit weave on the chains ensures I cannot use threads of Air to lift them.
The very thought exhausts me further, leaving me reaching for the nearest box at hand rather than seeing to the far more important matter of taking care of myself. I grasp for the jewelry box Rowan brought to me and drag it closer.
So many fine jewels sparkle within. Opals that shine like living flame. Pearls dripping in shadow. And many more gemstones I cannot recognize at first glance. Necklaces, earrings, bracelets. But when I finally reach the bottom of the box, my fingers brush against something that is not a piece of jewelry at all.
It is a jar. A small, green jar containing some salve. A note rests beneath it—a mere scrap of ripped paper with three almost illegible words scrawled across it in a shaky hand:
For the leg.
Rowan.
My heart swells. I hardly dare to believe it as I remove the jar’s lid and scoop up a bit of the salve with my fingertips.
Twitching aside my blanket and the skirt of my nightgown, I reveal the mess that is now my left calf. Angry red flesh swells around my wound. Puffy. Tender.
I bite down hard on my bottom lip, fighting to keep from crying out as I gingerly dab a bit of the salve on the injury. But I do not have to fight for long. The effect is almost immediate, to the point I cannot help but wonder if the salve is infused with a bit of Earth magic as well as herbs.
My eyelashes flutter as cool relief washes over me, as the redness of my skin lessens, as the heat dissipates, as the swelling decreases. My flesh does not immediately knit itself back together as it would have if Bene had healed me, but already I feel better. Stronger.
Strong enough to face what must come next.
Chapter 28
Benevolence
Istare down at my now-empty lap, my fingers twitching as I recall the sensation of Aurelia’s hair spilling through them. I touched her. I held her.
Aurelia was here. She was truly here.
“How was that possible?” Brisa asks, looking between me and her sister, as if we might know something she does not.
Glorana purses her lips, her eyes shining. Even now, standing on the precipice of death, she is ever eager to solve a puzzling equation. “I have a few theories.”
I roll to my feet, weariness already seeping into my bones from that small movement alone. I feel myself fading. Weakening. Even my inner dragon grows quiet.
I do not know how much longer I have left in this world.
Again, helplessness washes over me. What can I do forNa’theryanow other than pray for her success? I still have found no way to escape this prison. I cannot possibly help her from in here. And now Malice has Velda.
My heart aches to know that Aurelia feels so alone out there. But she’s not alone. She can never be truly alone.
The Aether is still with her. The Great Weaver still watches over all.
While Glorana launches into her various theories on how Aurelia came to find herself in this nightmare we all share, I stumble away, hunting for a quiet place. I find it where the roses grow thicker and even more wild—the approximation of the spot where Aurelia and I hid all those years ago on the day we first met.
