Page 52 of Wings of Frost and Fury
“I’ve always felt a kinship with the young prince Varex. He lost his mother, the Bone-Queen, in a terrible way. We endured a similar pain, and I believe he felt some guilt, like I did, at not being able to save his mother. But I know there was nothing I could have done. I was only ten years past hatching, quite small and weak, not very good at fighting. The prey I killed that day was a young goat with a damaged leg. Not much to boast of. I would have been helpless to the hunters.”
My thumb strokes along her eyebrow. I like the thickness of her brows, the confident arch of them.
“You didn’t tell me what happened toyourmother,” I continue. “I assume she is dead, although I have heard that sometimes human parents abandon their families. Either way, you have all my sympathy. Know this: I will never abandon you. When I die, it will be in your service.”
A tear slips from the corner of her eye, and I’m instantly repentant.
“I’ve made you sad. Fuck… I will try to think of something amusing. A joke. Humans like jokes. I heard the Vohrainian soldiers tell a few. There was one about a bard, a priest, and a knight entering a tavern, but I can’t recall the rest. Ah, I just thought of another one! A man once told his wife, ‘I challenge you to tell me something that will make me happy and angry at the same time.’ The wife thought for a moment, then said, ‘Your cock is bigger than your brother’s.’”
There’s a change in her breathing, a soft sound from her parted lips. I’m not sure if it was an attempt at a sob or a laugh.
“I don’t see the humor in it, but perhaps you do,” I say. “Dragons do not usually tell jokes. We craft riddles occasionally. Here’s one: What must be given before it can be kept?”
I wait a moment, watching her chest rise and fall quicker. Her eyes brighten, the lids lifting. She’s regaining some control,and she knows the answer to the riddle. She desperately wants to say it.
I grin. “You have no idea what the answer is, do you?”
Her chest heaves again, and she blinks.
“Perhaps you’re not as clever as I thought. Too bad.”
A hiss of protest issues between her teeth. It’s a good sign that her spirit is as strong as ever.
I could keep goading her, but I’m not sure that would be good for her body. The spell drained her, and she must take the time to fully recover.
“Rest easy, my darling,” I tell her. “I’m only taunting you a little. I know you know the answer. You are the most intelligent human I’ve ever met.”
Her breathing slows, and I can sense the easing of her tension. I stroke her temples, her forehead, her hair. “Hush, beautiful. Let your body recover.”
I can’t think of any more riddles or jokes, so I tell her about the Resting Cliffs, a place all dragons know, the point along the coastline of Elekstan where we prefer to enter the mainland. It lies in a direct line between the western beach of Ouroskelle and the capital city of Elekstan.
“The cliffs are so named because when we come to the mainland, we often land there to rest for a moment, since the area is both elevated and isolated. When we return to Ouroskelle, we like to catch the wind streams that flow from the top of the cliffs. Besides that, the area is beautiful. We like the way the faces of those cliffs sparkle in the sunlight. In fact, one of our Elders wrote a song about the Resting Cliffs.”
To pass the time, I sing the long poem to her in Dragonish. After another hour, I shift our positions, lying on my back with her body draped against my chest. Night air wafts through the cave, its breath chilling my human skin, so I fold the edges of the blankets over us both. In that cocoon of warmth and comfort, I sleep.
I wake to the sensation of slim fingers gliding over my chest. “Ashvelon,” Thelise whispers.
“You can move.” I rouse myself and collect her fingers in my hand. “You can speak again.”
“I’m starving, Ashvelon. And I’m thirsty. I’m not strong enough to get the things myself.”
“Say no more.” Carefully I move her off my body. Then I scramble out of the blankets and lunge from the nest much too quickly—my feet stumble over each other and I fall headlong.
Thelise gives a startled little laugh, then exclaims, “Are you alright?”
“Never fucking better.” I manage to climb to my feet. “Which bag is the food in?”
“There’s some in each of the bundles. Just find whatever you can.”
I hunt through the nearest bundle and return to the nest with several items. Thelise looks at them, then arches a brow at me. “That’s a bar of soap.”
“It smells good.”
“Yes, because it’s apple scented.”
“Why?”
“Because…” She sighs. “Let’s see what else you’ve got. Lip stain, a sponge, and a bottle of pain tonic. Darling, these aren’t edible.”
