Ashes And Spirit (Book 3) (5 page)

“You will not. You will behave like you are supposed to.”

Her amber eyes turned icy. “Do stop whining, Mannoc, it is grating on my ears.”

He wasn’t whining, but Kirynn felt the first sense of emotion while watching his face turn an interesting shade of red at the implication. Satisfaction threaded its way through her along with a sense of relief. She was finally beginning to thaw.

Arlenyi gave him the same kind of down-her-nose look that Kirynn had seen Taela use on people. The one that said the person it was directed at was the dirt beneath her shoe. “If it displeases you so to see me dressed like this and taking part in learning the use of weapons, then perhaps you should seek out one of the many simpering harlots you take to your bed while I sleep alone.”

Mannoc sneered at her. “You will never be any good at this. No more than you are at pleasing me in bed or any other area of my life.”

She gave him a mirthless smile. “I fail to please you? How did Di’shan Kirynn put it that night at the ball? Oh yes, I believe it was, ‘you could not find it with both hands and a map.’ So the feeling is mutual, husband. Unlike you, I have enough honor to never take another to my bed in order to find out if another man could do better and maybe show me what ‘it’ is, since I have never had the pleasure of finding out with you as a bed partner.”

Mannoc stared at Arlenyi as if he’d never seen her before in his life. Maybe he hadn’t. It was nice to see that all the ladies of Shadereen weren’t the brainless twits Kirynn had taken them for at first. Mannoc snarled and swung his hand at Arlenyi’s face.

In one smooth motion, Kirynn raised the bow and loosed the arrow. It pierced his palm right through the middle. Mannoc shouted curses and cradled his hand near his body while drops of blood stained his shirt. He shot her a venomous look. “You will pay for this.” His eyes were full of disgust when he turned back to Arlenyi. “You both will.”

No one moved as the lord strode from the yard. After several minutes filled with a heavy silence, Mendoc stepped toward Kirynn. “That was a good shot.”

“It was a horrible shot. I was aiming for his head.” Kirynn took a deep breath and sighed. “I guess I need more practice.”

Arlenyi smiled. “Horrible shot or not, I thank you.” With a shaky hand, she turned and reached for one of the wooden swords “I think I would like to learn this one first.”

Kirynn nocked another arrow and sent it toward the target, hitting it squarely. Maybe she had more emotion back than she realized. If she were as disconnected as she had been during battle, the arrow would have likely landed true. Somewhere inside the doors were opening again, which was probably a good thing. Whether or not Mannoc was the hind end of a donkey, it wouldn’t have gone over well if she’d killed him at this point. Even if he did deserve it.

Vaddoc sat on a tall rock watching Syrakynn and Namir set the large sand spiders on fire before snapping them up and eating them. They both claimed the spiders tasted better cooked. He had to agree. They had a mushy and somewhat liquid texture inside when raw.

The wide-open desert spread out around him, only tall cactus and scrubby bunches of brown grass broke up the scenery. Below him, Kirynn practiced shooting lizards and spiders stirred up by the dragons. Arrows zinged through the air, impaling the creatures eight times out of ten. A number he knew was unsatisfactory for the driven woman.

One of Kirynn’s arrows struck a large lizard. Half a second later, the entire arrow burst into flames. The smell of cooked lizard flesh filled the air as it burned from the inside out. Vaddoc stared at the reptile in shock. “What in the name of the Fates?”

She flashed him a grin. “It’s something I’ve been working on. This one is better.” Raising the bow she let another arrow fly, this time at one of the huge spiders rousted out of its hiding place by the dragons. The arrowhead pinned the arachnid to the ground. For a moment, nothing happened then the spider exploded in a shower of parts.

“That weave doesn’t always work. Sometimes it just burns like the other one.” Kirynn nocked another arrow and took aim at another target.

Stunned, Vaddoc watched the display. “What made you think of such a thing?”

She shrugged. “Since my aim isn’t perfect, I wanted to make sure my arrows would still be deadly, even if I didn’t hit a vital organ.”

It made sense, even if it did seem brutal. Then again, after what happened in Trilene, what did he care how a Shadow Rider died? Anything that made sure they were dead was good with him.

“Are the ladies still coming to the training yard?” he asked when she paused in her live moving-target practice.

“Every day for the past week. There are more of them now. All of the wives of the Council of Seven and several of the younger lower-ranking women. There are also about five young women from the common people who have requested and been granted training.”

Vaddoc stared at the dragons for a long time…“Shadereen changes.”

Kirynn shrugged. “Everything changes; it’s the only thing anyone can count on.”

Vaddoc nodded but didn’t respond. The changes in Shadereen were easier for him to swallow than others. His time spent in Galdrilene had opened him up to most of what was happening in his birth nation. The other changes though, those tried to strangle him.

His father and older brother had both been killed by Kojen. Lenyi, the first woman he had ever loved was killed before his eyes by Kojen. How was he supposed to look at a Ke’han and see anything but a Kojen? They were different, Trilene had proved that and yet he couldn’t get past the way they looked. Working with them was now part of his duty and he wouldn’t fail in that, but would he ever trust them?

Namir raised his head and looked in his direction.
“The Ke’han are as different from the Kojen as you are from the Shadow Riders. They will not betray you.”

Vaddoc didn’t bother to answer; the dragon knew the thoughts that filled him. He turned away from the amber eyes of the golden dragon. If only he could see it the way Namir did.

T
he familiar crescent of Galdrilene’s caldera ridge filled Taela’s vision as Paki came through the Slide. So much had changed it felt as if they were gone forever. She blinked back the tears that welled unbidden. Anevay wouldn’t be there when they landed. In New Sharren, she’d been able to ignore the empty spot in the bond. Able to bury herself in helping others and pretend it was all a bad dream, and that Anevay was back in Galdrilene working on her weave.

She wasn’t though. It was a silly thing to try and pretend. Taela knew that rationally. Her irrational heart, however, had wanted to hide from the pain as long as it could. She swallowed the lump clogging her throat and wiped away the tears that leaked down her cheeks. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her chin and blanked her mind of everything. For now, she wouldn’t think about it.

Paki touched down just ahead of Kellinar and Shryden, her landing made awkward by the heavy load of the dragon’s nearly developed young in her belly. It wouldn’t be long now. Soon, Paki would lay the second clutch of eggs in Galdrilene. It could only be hoped with the changing world fewer eggs would die.

Mckale strolled out to meet them. For a moment, Taela felt a flash of surprise at seeing him instead of Bardeck who had never failed to greet riders as they landed. The loss and sadness tugged at her, and she fought to ignore it.

She unbuckled the safety straps and slowly slid from the saddle. Mckale smiled, his silver eyes warm. “It’s good to see you both again, you’ve been missed.”

Kellinar returned the smile although Taela felt the heavy sorrow her bondmate suppressed. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I hear we have a new rider.”

Mckale nodded. “That we do. A young woman named Liora. Mage Councilor Amariel has taken to finding any called by the song since Maleena needs to stay closer to home. Maleena feels them and senses their general area then Tellnox and I take the Mage Councilor there to locate the possible new rider.”

Taela smiled to herself as she watched her friend, so obviously comfortable in his role. With all of the other mature dragons and their riders scattered, Galdrilene had turned to Maleena and Mckale to fill the roles left behind by Bardeck and Emallya. It looked like they were handling them well.

“You might as well take some time to wash up. Kirynn and Vaddoc haven’t returned from Shadereen yet.” He glanced behind them. “Where are Jocelynn and Varnen?”

Kellinar pulled Shryden’s saddle off so the dragon could swim in the lake. “They had a couple of things they wanted to finish. They should be here before the end of the day.”

“I have a few things to do before I visit the baths,” Taela said as she loosened the straps then hefted Paki’s saddle into her arms.

Kellinar nodded and carried the blue’s saddle toward the equipment cave. “I’m going to hit the baths then I’m headed down to the docks to…do some things.”

Mckale nodded and said nothing, though Taela sensed he knew they were avoiding facing the inevitable. He was right in one sense, in another they were handling it the best they knew how. She stowed Paki’s saddle on its rack and untied her small pack.

Kellinar slung his pack over his shoulder and dropped a brief kiss on her lips. “I’ll see you at evening meal.”

Taela nodded and watched him leave the cave. Taking a deep breath, she too left. It really wasn’t a long walk to the records room though this afternoon it seemed altogether too long and too short at the same time. The fragrance of roses in full bloom wafted on the warm breeze through the Great Hall as she walked down it to the small hallway.

She stood in front of the closed door for several minutes, trying to stamp down the foolish hope that Anevay would look up from where she sat at the desk, surrounded by scrolls and notes. Taela had spent the briefest of times in that room after the battle at Trilene. She’d merely glanced at the notes Anevay had left, careful not to touch anything. Her mind had been in such turmoil, nothing in those notes had made any sense. Maybe they would now.

Taking another steadying breath she lifted the latch, pushed the door open, and stepped into the room.

Only a few light orbs glowed fitfully, casting deep shadows over the room. No candles burned on the desk. Though scrolls and notes still sprawled across it, just as Anevay had left them, her bondsister wasn’t there. Grief closed around her heart, clogging her throat as tears burned her eyes. Silly. She had known Anevay wouldn’t be here. Still, a part of her couldn’t help hoping. Now the empty room confirmed it.