Kindle the Flame (Heart of a Dragon Book 1) (19 page)

A deep, rolling growl came from the Dragon's belly, and the wings flapped once. More smoke curled up from his nostrils, cloaking Kinna's arm. The snout was hot to the touch, but not burning, and Kinna was dizzy with euphoria. Her fractured heart that had struggled with belonging slowly began to pull its jagged edges together.

“How under the Great Star did you get him to do that?”

Ayden's voice startled both of them. Kinna jerked her hand back, and Chennuh lurched away, his still-healing wing trailing behind him.

“You scared him!”

“I scared
him
?” The clouds had uncovered the moon's glow and Ayden's eyes flashed silver lightning at her. “I woke up to discover you were gone, heard your singing, and came down to find you nose to nose with a beast that could have been just a smidgen hungrier and opened his huge maw for you to fall in.”

Kinna shook her head. “He wouldn't do that.”

“How do you
know
he wouldn't?” He jerked his arm toward Chennuh where the Dragon had curled up against the opposite side of the canyon.

Kinna shrugged. “I just do. I have a sense.”

“You have
no
sense, Kinna! You didn't know. You might have died. You just took your life in your own hands and... ” He stopped, running his glove through his hair.

Kinna scrambled to her feet and straightened her gown with an irritated jerk. She stalked toward him, her hands balled into fists. He was ruining the moment. She had finally connected on some deeper level with Chennuh and had begun to find herself again. “And what, Ayden? All right, I might have died. I knew I wouldn't, but that doesn't matter. Chennuh may have belched a fireball and hit me in all the wrong places, and I might have burned to death. What's the real problem here?” She reached out, gripping his glove, even when he tried to pull back. “Are you jealous of my time with Chennuh? Is that it? If that's the case, you can have the Dragon. I'm not from the Clan; I can't achieve
psuche
with him anyway. Go ahead and achieve your
psuche
, and may you be very happy together.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks, and her thoughts scattered before what she really wanted to say. “I'm glad to know that the Dragon is all you care about.”

“All I care about?” His mouth snapped shut, his lips pressed together. Kinna felt the fury of his gaze, slowly changing its intensity from anger to despair to pain to fear to a depth of emotion that wouldn't play out in words.

That nameless emotion filled the space between them, settling there, silent.

Kinna had not released his glove. Slowly, she brought his hand up, uncurled his fingers one by one, her hand brushing over the leather that covered them. He tried to pull away, but she tightened her grip. When his hand was splayed open, she traced her fingers from the palm to the outer edges of each one, blushing in the darkness, wondering what he was thinking. Taking a deep breath, praying for courage, she bent her head and touched her lips to the palm of the glove. She raised her eyes to meet his.

He stood unmoving, his gaze unreadable in the moonlight, his breath coming in short, sharp spurts. Slowly, he pulled his hand from hers and gently closed her fingers over her palm, returning her arm to her side. He let go and took a step back, pulling in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “It would never work, Kinna.”

His cold, silver eyes surveyed her, and the tentative foundation for Kinna's dream castle crumbled into dust at her feet.

Of course, it couldn't work. But Kinna had gone too far. She had allowed herself to acknowledge the feelings that had spun her in their web, and now there was no way to free herself from the silken, deadly entanglements.

She'd lost something before she'd even found it.

And the pain of it rent her heart in two.

A
yden struggled
to forget the night on the ledges when Kinna's eyes had burned an emerald hole into his heart. To think of anything besides the reality that stabbed him every day was malicious punishment. He couldn't have her, not ever, so he practiced burying his feelings deep, deeper than ever before.

Life in the Rue Ridges gradually took on a routine. Snow blanketed the ground for weeks on end, so Ayden found it more difficult to cover his tracks when he went to steal cattle from the Griffon Pass. Still, it was a necessity.

After the first visit and Kinna's near-death experience, Ayden refused to allow her to accompany him. “Griffons will more easily spot two than one anyway, Kinna,” he said as he meticulously looped the whip across his shoulder next to the quiver of arrows he'd made.

“But—”

“No.”

Kinna's eyebrows lowered over her spectacular green eyes. “Did anyone ever tell you that you bear a resemblance to my father's mules? Particularly the back ends.”

“Kinna.” He met her angry gaze without flinching. “I. Don't. Want. You. Along.”

“Are you so afraid that I'll mess things up for you?” Her eyes flashed emerald fire.

Ayden shook his head. “No. But you'll be safer here.”

“Safer? With only Linc for company?”

“I can hear you,” Lincoln piped up from where he leaned over a stick, whittling small white shavings onto the ledge.

“Sorry, Linc. I didn't mean it.” Kinna glanced at him, but her face was still flushed with resentment.

Ayden picked up his bow. “Look, Kinna, you came down here looking for Chennuh. You decided to winter in the Rues, and you've done a decent job of it, too. But in the spring, I plan to return you to your family, and I prefer to return you alive.”

Her green eyes snapped. She whirled away and jumped to the next ledge, from there making her way down the canyon toward Chennuh.

Ayden watched, his jaw cramping. He made a conscious effort to relax it. Lincoln offered him the dagger they'd gotten from the Griffondimn, and Ayden slid it through his belt. He nodded once at the orange-haired Pixie. “You keep the other knife. I'll be back after a while.”

“She'll forgive you eventually,” Lincoln said as he tossed the stick to one side. He flopped onto his back, his knees in the air. “In the meantime, keep your fights to a dull roar. I need to sleep for a bit.”

One corner of Ayden’s mouth lifted. “Try not to do anything too strenuous, Pixie. Wouldn't want to tire you out.” He turned and climbed over the canyon wall, beginning his steep descent to the marshland floor, his feet carrying him one way while his thoughts remained in the canyon.

L
incoln still brought
fish from beneath the ice in the creek every day, and occasionally, a flock of wild geese flew across the mountains to the warmer Forgotten Plains. Ayden had brought down the bird at the front of one flock with a well-aimed arrow, and he'd taken satisfaction in the well-crafted bow he'd made.

When he wasn't hunting or working with Chennuh, he was target practicing, determined to master the feel of his new bow. When he grew more comfortable with that, he turned his attention to blade throwing. To his chagrin, he found that he'd grown rusty during his years in Tannic's keep. It irritated him that Lincoln actually hit his crude targets more often than he did, and the Pixie didn't let him forget it, either.

Lincoln would pepper the air with comments like: “You know you'll make your mummy cry with a shot like that.” Or worse, “No wonder they stuck you in the Dragon keep. You'd never make it in the King's army with a whiff like that.” Or worst of all, “Come on, Ayden, how are you supposed to make a favorable impression on the only female present when you keep trying to nick her face with your blade?”

Both Kinna and Ayden had blushed at that, and Kinna had stomped off to the canyon floor where she spent most of her time now.

That was another thing, the ridiculous delight Chennuh and Kinna took in each other. The Dragon could have been any fox-hunter's faithful hound. The beast actually followed Kinna across the canyon floor, his great lumbering head swinging side to side in puppy-like adoration.

Ayden struggled to set aside his own plans for the Dragon. When he'd followed him into the Rues, he had planned to tame him, perhaps even to achieve
psuche
with him, to guide him back to The Crossings and to destroy the King.

But things weren't working out according to plan. Kinna had shown up out of nowhere, carving havoc in his plans. He was jealous of the Dragon's close relationship with Kinna. It wasn't fair—she was a Pixiedimn; why couldn't she achieve
psuche
with Lincoln and leave him and Chennuh alone?

He pressed on through the woods, carefully burying any deeper feelings that touched on the blazing-haired girl. A tree branch snapped beneath his heavy step, and he stopped to pull in a calming breath before treading more gently.

In the spring, after the Tournament, when he would drop Kinna and Lincoln off at the Pixie Clan, he would take Chennuh and trek his way through the Rue Ridges to peace and a solitary existence far from anyone. He would achieve
psuche
with the Dragon, and he would carry out his original plans as he had intended before a fire-haired siren had invaded his life.

He had to go farther in his efforts for more meat this time. The closest pastures to the woods were now guarded by sentries and an occasional Griffon. Ten fieldspans farther afforded him more safety, but it meant not returning to camp until the next day.

He finally arrived back at the marshlands and butchered the cow. He tried to do it when Kinna wasn't around; she hated to watch the death of any creature. He himself didn't care to watch the life fade from the cow's eyes, but once the job was done, he was glad for the meat for Chennuh.

It took him two days and several trips up and down the canyon walls to finish cutting and storing the meat in the snow along the base of the cliff. When he returned to the top of the canyon to stay, he placed his weapons along the top ledge, making a mental note to sharpen them before nightfall.

Lincoln had already started on two of his arrowheads. “How many did you bring this time?” he asked, glancing up.

“Just one.”

“One's more than none,” Lincoln said cheerfully. He flipped the arrow up, inspecting the head's sharp angles carefully.

“How very observant you are, Linc.” Ayden lowered himself onto the ledge, picked up the knife, and dug the blade into a birch bough. The edge nicked the wood shavings with dry
shwnks
as he whittled yet another arrow for his quiver. He stole a glance down into the canyon where Kinna stood, tossing leftover fish to Chennuh.

“You know it's positively nauseating watching you both eat out your hearts for each other,” Lincoln commented as he set the arrow aside. He flexed his fingers.

Ayden jerked his gaze over to the Pixie. “We're not...”

Ayden returned his attention to the stick, determined to ignore the Pixie.

“Is there no way to break the curse?” Lincoln slanted a sideways glance at him.

The curse. The pain of Sebastian's magic came flooding back to his dark memories. He shrugged, loosening the taut muscles of his neck. “If there were a way to break the curse, I'd have found it by now.”

“Would you?” An orange eyebrow rose on Lincoln's forehead.

“Yes, Pixie, I would. Do you think I enjoy this? That I am thrilled to have the power to kill someone by simply brushing my bare skin against theirs?”

“No, I don't.” Lincoln turned to face him, and his normal, lighthearted expression had changed to one of gravity. “Have you tried
taibe
?”

Taibe
, the ancient magic, had begun in the mountains of the Seer Fey, but had expanded to other creatures and humans as the Fey taught their arts to those who sought their help. Ayden could see little good in it; it was what had started his misery. “What are you saying?
Taibe
was what introduced the curse in the first place. I prefer to stay far away from that dark magic.”

“I'm saying, Ayden, that since
taibe
gave you that curse, perhaps
taibe
is the one thing that could destroy it.”

Ayden stared at Lincoln, his mind spinning in circles. “I know only one
taibos
, Pixie. The one who did this to me.” Ayden tossed the stick to one side in frustration, his attention riveted to Lincoln's face. “Unless you're saying you are a
taibos
. Linc, are you?” Desperation laced his words. “But I thought that most of the
taibe
had been left in Lismaria.”
With one notable exception.
He thought again of Sebastian's angry, hate-filled face, the black swirling curse that had gathered above his head.

Lincoln stood and pulled his mantle closely around himself. He turned his gaze toward Kinna, avoiding eye contact with Ayden. “It's true. Many of the
taibe
refused to make the journey. Though the new King practiced their arts, he was too unstable, too much of a risk for them to claim him.”

Ayden stared at Lincoln in awe. “You know that Sebastian is a
taibos
?”

“Aye.”

Ayden blinked, slowly shaking his head. “He was the one who cursed me. If the
taibe
remain in Lismaria, how—”

“I know of another one. Here. In West Ashwynd.”

The weight of Lincoln's words settled deep into Ayden's inner being. For the first time since his childhood, a tiny spark of hope flamed in the darkness. “Who is it?”

“Someone who will help you, should you have the courage to meet her.”

A
yden thought
over his conversation with Lincoln for days that turned into weeks. Chennuh was nearly healed now. His wings created the downdraft that he needed to leave the canyon floor, but he tired easily and had yet to clear the top ledges of the canyon.

As soon as he was completely healed, Ayden wanted to take Lincoln up on his offer to guide him to the
taibas
. Kinna frowned upon the idea. “What if she makes it worse? What if she doubles the curse instead of taking it away?”

Lincoln shook his head. “She won't.”

“How do you
know
she won't?” Kinna planted her hands on her hips. “For all we know, she could. And what are we going to do with Chennuh? We have to be so careful taking him into civilization again.”

“Mirages are rare; they're not extinct,” Ayden said.

“I know that, but if the King sees him...”

“I hope the King
will
see him. We're taking him to the Tournament, getting him entered in the lists.”

Kinna gaped as she stared at him. “Have you lost your mind? First, that's the Dragon we
stole
from the keep, and second, he'll hang you. Or—behead you or something. The point is, Ayden, it's stupid. What are you thinking? Why under the Stars would you even consider such a thing?”

“No reason that I need to tell you.”

Lincoln rolled his eyes and turned his back, moving down to the next ledge.

Kinna's face reddened. She planted her hands on her hips. “If I'm going, you have to tell me a reason. I deserve to know why you're being an idiot.”

Ayden flushed. He couldn't tell her his reasons. If he mentioned that his goal for years had been to train a Dragon and to gain access to Sebastian's presence, Kinna would see him for what he truly was—a young man twisted by the disease of vengeance. For the first time, he felt shame. He pushed it aside.

“I never said you had to come.”

“You plan to leave me here in the middle of the Rues while you go galavanting off to The Crossings to get yourself killed? Well, you have got another thing coming.”

“I told you I'd drop you off with your Clan.”

“You'll do no such thing. I'm coming with you.”

Ayden hid a smile. Just like that, she'd agreed to his scheme. “It might be a little intimidating, you know. Sure you're up for it?” he taunted.

Kinna snapped her braid over her shoulder. “If I'm up for it?” she steamed. “Just try to stop me.”

“Wouldn't think of it,” Ayden mumbled.

She whirled on him. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“I should think not.” Her green eyes narrowed suspiciously; her cheeks flushed with color.
She's beautiful
, Ayden thought helplessly.

Perhaps—perhaps if Lincoln proved correct, if he could find this
taibas
, could reverse the curse, perhaps he would no longer have to face the long, lonely future as a pariah of society.

Perhaps ... he would taste the flames of love as well. Kinna turned away, and Ayden buried his thoughts deep inside where no one else would see them.

“
A
yden
, what are you doing?” Kinna's voice turned him as he stood on Chennuh's massive shoulder. She ran across the canyon floor toward him, her green eyes huge, her hair a swirl of flame behind her.

“I'm going to try to ride him. That is, if I have your gracious permission, m'lady.” He gave a mocking bow and watched her cheeks flush with anger.

“He's not ready.”

“He
is
ready.
You're
not ready.”

“You'll hurt his wing.”

“Kinna, I would never hurt a Dragon.” He jumped off Chennuh's back, his boots thudding into the hard earth. He walked toward her, swallowing his own fear, and slowly reached out his gloved hand, tilting her chin upward. She didn't flinch at his touch. Warmth spread through his chest. “Just like I would never hurt you. Can you trust me?”

He allowed himself to drown in her gaze, the green in her eyes reminiscent of the ocean's murky depths. As many secrets lurked in those green orbs as in any body of water the world over.

She blinked and nodded. “O—Of course, I trust you.”

He let his arm drop back to his side. A long silence stretched, pregnant with possibilities. Ayden took a deep breath and released it. The moment passed as a sudden vision of ash-gray cracks traveled across her face, shattering it into a million gray flecks and puddling to the ground. He took a hasty step backward.