Page 76 of Wings of Frost and Fury
We return to Ashvelon’s cave, and I take the time to purge my crystals and collect the rest of the things I’ll need for the enchantment. Before long I’m on Ashvelon’s back again, talking aloud about how I plan to proceed. He listens until I get to the part where he’ll be engraving the spell in stone for me.
“Why do you need me to engrave it?” Ashvelon’s voice is a growl of disapproval. “I thought you said it was a small one.”
“I decided it should encompass all the dragons, not just Kyreagan.”
Though he doesn’t reply, I swear I can hear reproach in the very cadence of his beating wings.
“I’ll be alright,” I tell him. “I drank more of the tonic, and I feel much better with the Mordvorren gone.”
Still he does not speak. He flies inexorably toward Kyreagan’s cave.
I can’t stand the silence between us. “Stop worrying, pet. It’s nowhere near as complicated as the other enchantment. This charm simply allows dragons to summon or dispel their horns, claws, and any other remnants of their dragonish selves that might linger when they transition to human form. It’s a useful spell for everyone and vital for Kyreagan, since he has to look wholly human when he goes to rescue Serylla. So romantic, really. The dragon going to rescue the princess he kidnapped. It’s quite poetic—”
“I want you to besure.” Ashvelon cuts me off.
“What do you mean?”
“I want you to be sure that this will not send you into a paralyzed state like before.”
“Don’t worry, darling, I’ll survive. I have to keep plaguing and torturing you, after all. It’s my new mission in life.”
“It’s not a joking matter.” The pain in his voice wipes the smirk from my mouth. “I can’t bear it, Thelise. I almost lost you. Don’t ask me to endure that again.”
I lean forward, pressing a hand along his neck. “I’ll be alright, Ash, I promise. I might be tired afterward, but this won’t kill me or send me into a trance. It’s a tiny addition to the existing spell, like a thin layer on top. Like an extra dollop of icing on a thick, multilayered cake.”
“Cake?”
“Yes, darling, cake, like the slice you had at my cottage, only this cake is far bigger, and all I’m doing is garnishing the top.”
He rumbles, but he relents. It’s not like he has a choice, anyway. He’ll do what I want—which is why, as our future unfolds, I will have to be careful not to make careless decisions that will hurt him.
We land in Kyreagan’s cave, which is quiet and partly sunlit. He hasn’t yet returned. It’s the first time I’ve been here, and the first thing I notice is how neat the place is, unlike themessy, cluttered space Ashvelon and I share. I make a mental note to work with Ashvelon on tidying our cave, now that I’m no longer on the brink of death.
“By the Bone-Builder,” Ashvelon says quietly. “Look.”
In the enormous, neatly-woven nest, two eggs are nestled. One is iridescent violet, the other a marbled blue. They shine softly in the ambient light from the cave entrance.
My throat tightens. I take off my leather bag and let it drop to the floor as I approach the nest.
“Serylla made these.” I can’t speak any more words; they won’t move past the lump in my throat. Tears gather in my eyes, and I blink quickly to dispel them.
I’m tired. I’m weak. That’s why I’m becoming overwhelmed at the sight of two dragon eggs.
“They look smaller than the ones I saw last mating season,” Ashvelon comments.
I swallow and manage to speak. “They’re supposed to be smaller, so they won’t hurt the women.”
“She carried two of them for him,” Ashvelon says. “Beautiful. You did this, my love. You gave Kyreagan this gift.”
“I’m not sure he realizes that.”
“He does. I know him, and I know that one day, he will express his gratitude more clearly. But he can only hold one thing in his mind at a time, and right now, that thing is the Princess.”
“The mother of his babies,” I murmur.
I knew what I was doing when I cast the spell. I knew I was trying to save the dragons in the best way I could, while also minimizing any emotional or physical harm to the women. I knew my task was to preserve an entire species.
And yet I never fully realized what that meant until now.
