The Faded Dragon by Cameron Michaels

Author:Cameron Michaels [Michaels, Cameron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cameron Michaels
Published: 2023-02-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Day thirteen of the fifth month.

Gwendall sat in her usual place in her armchair before her open chamber window, the late evening sun shining through. The cold wind slipped in, leaving her shivering but still comfortable. The chilling temperatures of Norvad were a luxury to her, especially after all those years in the Dirtlands.

She looked down into the Norvad capital like a queen overseeing her people. Zerah is truly a beautiful place. But despite all the luxuries she had been given, no smile graced her face. It remained emotionless, unwilling to show any signs of joy or despair. It was all the same to her. Friends, family, war, lies, loss . . . It all blended together in her mind like a grey cluster of weariness. But among all the swirling and confusion, two separate thoughts reached the surface.

First, there was Borhiim. The image of his figure standing on that balcony all those months ago, his hand outstretched, refused to let go of her. He had begged her in the sincerest of ways, and still she had left him there. If it had been less than a month before then, she would have gone to him without a second thought. For the longest time, it was nearly all she could think about. Now, she was haunted by endless dreams of his lone form, standing in the darkness, reaching out to her. Perhaps everything she assumed was wrong. Perhaps Borhiim really was everything she hoped he was. And perhaps . . .

No.

There was a second thought, and it steadily grew stronger than the first. Her dead brother cried out to her in her mind. She could faintly hear his words speaking to her. All day they repeated in her head, pleading for vengeance. They had started after she had been shown his bloodied ax blade back in Valia, and at first, she ignored them until they started to get louder. She had covered her ears and screamed in the night, but still, the voice was ever-present. Now, sitting in the middle of the day, watching the people go about their business, she had grown accustomed to the sound. Her reaction had started as reluctance, then uncertainty, and today it was weariness. The screams had finally dulled into whispers. She sighed in relief.

She turned when a knock came at her door. At last, a smile lifted her mood. She spun back to her original position and sat comfortably in her red armchair. “Come in, Rorgan,” she said.

The door opened slowly, and the young man stepped into the room. “You knew it was me?” Rorgan asked.

“Oh, please,” she responded with a chuckle, “who else comes to see me?” The whispers in her head faded into nothingness. Her mood had finally lifted, and it felt good.

“Come now, my lady,” Rorgan said, striding to her side. “You make yourself feel so unimportant.”

“Aren’t I?”

Her gaze rose to meet the deep blue eyes staring at her from above. Looking hard enough, she thought she spotted a hint of purple skirting across the edges, and then it was gone.

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