Page 8 of Dawn to Dusk
“Why are you encouraging her?” The dragon grumbled.
“She is going to do it with or without our approval. Might as well make it less dangerous.” Calida told him.
Esmerey smiled at Calida. She glowed with happiness and a pained wistfulness. “I miss you.”
“Aww.” Calida wrapped Esmerey in a bone crushing hug. “I miss you too.”
Amusement tilted the dragon’s lips, and he looked at them like I would if my family was together again, like everyone was finally where they were supposed to be.
“Okay.” Calida backed up. “We have a scared family to find. Let me work the rumor mill. Go find a disguise in my closet and get something to eat.” Then she sped out of the house without looking back.
Esmerey did as she was told and went into the kitchen. She made a plate and handed it to me before making another one.
It took way too long to finally recognize the dragon. Drakko, the dragon king. I only ever saw him in dragon form, but he looked enough like his father to make an educated guess.
“What are you doing here?” I asked the dragon.
“I live here.” A deep warning laced his words.
“No. I mean…alive. A hunter killed you.” Wait one minute. I looked over to where Esmerey was pointedly avoiding making eye contact with me. “Esmerey killed you.”
“Sure did.” He agreed, walking towards her. He pressed a brotherly kiss to her forehead to make her smile. He pinched her cheek, and she batted him away. “Bloodthirsty killer, you.”
“How have you been, Drakko?”
“It has been quiet without you around.” He teased her. They fussed with each other while Esmerey insisted she make his plate. He gave up, leaning against the wall. “Bossy. The whole lot of you.”
She grinned at him and stuck her tongue out. She was comfortable here. This was not the same uptight woman who never said or did anything without a direct order. This was not the hunter I knew.
“How do you two know each other?” I asked. A knot of uncertainty grew in my gut, and I didn’t like it.
“Esmerey hunted me down in Dragon Valley. She offered me a way to get the council off my back, and we went on a wild adventure together. She brought me here for safekeeping, and I realized Calida was my mate. We have been friends ever since.” He smiled, remembering fondly.
“She what?” That scenario sounded too familiar.
“Here’s your food.” Esmerey handed him a plate and cleared her throat.
“Esmerey!” He scolded her. A growl rumbled his throat, and she shook her head no. We ate in silence while Drakko tried to tell me something with his eyes that I couldn’t interpret.
Esmerey wrapped her hair in a shawl, so her haircut would not get any attention. Witches only ever cut their hair if they are ‘leaving their dishonor.’
I was there on the battlefield that day where she announced she would no longer support the council and used her wyretooth dagger to shear her hair off. Before her hair even hit the ground, her sister attacked her. We all stood there dumbfounded as Smerthna went after Esmerey like a wild woman. When that didn’t work, she ordered the armies to stop attacking the faction and demanded they pursue Sunshine instead. It felt like a con, who would attack their own sister like that?
Calida came back in and patted my back, flashing me a kind smile. “The safe house in Bask was raided yesterday, but no one was there at the time.”
“That safe house has been compromised.” Esmerey frowned, crossing her arms; not happy with the development. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the ground.“Pylo didn’t raid the daughter of a councilman’s home for fun. He knows.”
“Finding another trustworthy stop in Bask is not going to be easy.” Calida’s face twisted up. I must have looked confused, because Calida looked at me to explain. “The closer you get to Bask, the more loyal the witches are to Ira.”
Esmerey’s lips tensed, and after a moment she sighed. “Give me some time. I’ll see if I can come up with a replacement.”
“If anyone can, it's you.”
She hugged the couple goodbye and led me back into the forest. I trailed behind her with that nagging feeling pestering me. Nothing about this made sense. Why did she lie to one and save the other?
“Sunshine, when was the last time you killed someone?”
“I killed those karnethea last night.” Right back to that flat tone again, as if I hadn’t heard her speak with emotion only moments before. The empty sound irritated me even more now.
