Of Blood And Fire by Ryan Cahill (best color ebook reader txt) 📗

for my anger.” Therin paused for a moment, staring off into the sky above. “You nearly died, Calen. You would have if I hadn’t been there. Drawing so heavily from the Spark with as little experience as you have is dangerous beyond words. With Valerys at your side, you have the potential to be powerful, but right now, you are not. It is my fault. I should not have shown you the path without first teaching you how to walk. From now on, after your training with Aeson, you will train with me. Understood?”

“Yes,” Calen replied with all the enthusiasm of a pig facing slaughter. Just the thought of touching the Spark again made his knees quiver. He had never felt a weakness like that before, as if his body were too weak to keep a hold on his soul. “Therin, can I ask you a question?”

Therin’s eyes narrowed. He nodded reluctantly.

“What does ‘Rakina’ mean?”

Therin sighed. He seemed uncomfortable at the very mention of the word. “Why do you ask?” Calen got the impression that he already knew.

“The elves all refer to Aeson as ‘Rakina.’ What does it mean?”

Therin hesitated, leaving Calen uncertain whether he should have asked at all. “‘Rakina’ is a word of the Old Tongue. It means ‘broken,’ or more correctly, ‘one who is broken.’”

Therin’s answer only led to more questions in Calen’s mind. “Why would they—”

Therin interrupted Calen with a hand in the air. “It is Aeson’s story to tell, but I feel it is something he may never do. It may anger him for me to tell it, but so be it. You deserve to know the people to whom you have given your trust.”

Therin pulled his horse in closer to Calen’s. He watched as Therin drew from the Spark, but he was too quick for Calen to follow what he did.

“A ward of silence,” Therin explained when he saw Calen’s curious face.

Aeson and Vaeril’s heads spun as soon as Therin erected the ward. When he realised that it was Therin, Vaeril flicked his head back to the road ahead of him, not wishing to pry. Aeson was not as quick to ignore the ward. His gaze lingered on Therin and Calen for longer than was comfortable before feigning disinterest. It was apparent to Calen that they felt when Therin drew magic from the Spark. He felt something too, just a tickle at the back of his mind, but it was there.

“Now we can talk,” Therin said. “I will likely have to explain to Aeson why we are warded, but I will deal with that later.” There was a moment’s pause. “A long time ago, Aeson was a Draleid.”

Calen felt like his heart had stopped beating.

“Aeson is a Draleid?” He couldn’t stop the words from leaving his mouth. He hadn’t realised it until that point, but even surrounded by friends, he felt alone. He had Valerys, who gave a rumble of objection at the thought of Calen feeling alone, but it was not the same. He needed someone who could talk to him, guide him. Tell him what to do next. Ever since Valerys hatched, people looked at him differently. Not Dann – he was still the same – but everyone else did. Therin, Erik, Dahlen. These elves, whom he had never met before, swore an oath to protect him with their lives. It was as if when people looked at him, they saw someone different than he did when he looked in a mirror.

“He was a Draleid, Calen.” Loss consumed Therin’s eyes. “Aeson’s dragon, Lyara, was killed in the years following the collapse of The Order. She was hunted by Fane and his Dragonguard.” Therin spat out that word, as if it left a foul taste in his mouth. “Aeson barely escaped with his life. Even then, parts of him died with her. That’s what it means to be Rakina, Calen. To be broken.” Therin wiped a tear from his left cheek. “The bond between a dragon and their Draleid runs far deeper than could ever be explained. I’m sure you feel it by now, Calen, but your souls are not just entwined; they are as one. Who you are as a person changes Valerys, and who he is changes you. At your very core. I see it in you already. But when you blend something so completely, it is impossible for it to return to what it once was. Two souls blended together are not the sum of their parts, but something new entirely.”

Calen couldn’t help but look back at Valerys, who sat behind him, curled up in a ball, his head resting against Calen’s back. Had Valerys changed him?

“When a Draleid loses their dragon,” Therin continued, “or a dragon loses their Draleid, they lose parts of themselves. They can lose the ability to draw from the Spark. They can lose fragments of their personality, emotions, connections. They can lose the will to live.” Therin exhaled deeply. “Rakina may mean ‘one who is broken’, but among the elves, it is a mark of respect. It also means, ‘one who survived’.”

CHAPTER 25

A Deep Cut

A shock bolted up Ella’s back as the wagon hit yet another stone. She rubbed her back, attempting to provide herself with some kind of relief. Rhett smiled at her. She jolted forward as he dug his thumb into the aching muscle, arching her back in a mixture of pain and relief.

“Not long now,” he laughed. Whenever he laughed or smiled, he did it with his eyes.

When Rhett showed her Tanner’s letter in Midhaven, she had no idea what to think at first. They didn’t have the money. They had talked about it before. That was why they chose Falstide; tickets from Gisa would cost an arm and a leg. Or more.

The idea of arriving in a new city already indebted to someone was not an idea that she liked to think about. This was meant to be a new start for them, somewhere to build their