Of Books and Paper Dragons by Vaela Denarr

Author:Vaela Denarr [Vaela Denarr, Micah Iannandrea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vaela & Micah Books
Published: 2023-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Reading in the bookshop somehow did more for Yirrin’s constant migraines than all the medicine their palace was filled with. The dull pounding against their skull rarely fully went away, though some days were better than others. At this point, Yirrin had gotten good at ignoring the soft thrum at their temples. But being here, in the shop, strangely helped. Maybe this was what they’d been missing? Just peace and quiet without constant reminders of their work? Or maybe it was the company. Their palace could get lonely when they read. Somehow, it made immersing themself in a book a chore, rather than relaxing.

“Aw, are we not company enough?” Sulaar asked, pouting softly.

Yirrin rolled their eyes. “You know I didn’t mean it that way.”

“And you know I was joking. So anyway…” Sulaar huffed softly and lay down in their nest of silk and pillows, far away in Oasis, surrounded by plants and water channels. “How’s your little project going?” They reached down into their treasure pile and picked out a few bars of silver and gold. The gold melted quickly in their mouth, and their teeth cracked the other bars as they chewed.

Yirrin hummed softly and turned the page back, realizing they hadn’t really absorbed anything they’d read in the last minute. “It’s going well. I think Voa and I are making progress. She seems a bit less… nervous around me.” Sometimes she was a little reverent still. Yirrin disliked that. It was getting better, though.

“Ah, yes. And you’re making great strides with Jet.”

They frowned at their sibling. “If you weren’t so far away, I’d bite you.”

“Oh, so it’s funny when she does leg puns, but not when I do it? I see!” Sulaar huffed in mock offense and flared their frills as they rolled around in their nest, getting comfy. “Just you wait and see if I ever share a pretty gem with you again!”

“What are you two yammering about?” Kaenan interrupted Sulaar’s sulking with a huff.

Sulaar whined and latched on to Kaenan. “Yirrin doesn’t love me anymore!”

Yirrin felt their sibling’s eyes on them. Kaenan huffed. “Damn. I always knew Sulaar would be the first to go. Never thought it’d be you though, Rin. Just going right for the throat.”

A deep sigh escaped Yirrin. “I love you two,” they said to their lovable, annoying siblings, trying really hard to remind them and themself. “I really do. I want you to know that in case I forget and smother you both in your sleep.”

“Don’t use a pillow, it doesn’t work.”

Yirrin and Sulaar both blinked slowly and looked at Kaenan. Or at least focused their thoughts on them, suddenly a little alarmed and attentive.

Kaenan huffed. “Oh, so now I’m the weird one for knowing things! It’s not like we all hoard knowledge, not at all!”

As much as Yirrin shook their head at their siblings, they couldn’t deny how happy they were to have them. Their link made their lives a little less lonely and miserable. They hadn’t meant to live apart from one another.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.