Dragonfire by R. Dugan

Author:R. Dugan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: R. Dugan
Published: 2022-04-25T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

IT WAS A relief to be out of the Den, the cabal’s overwhelming attention and the flurry of letter-writing traded for the night’s cool embrace. The familiar damp, clean scent of Hellidom, home and haven for a decade, washed Maleck’s senses as he picked his way up to one of his favorite pools near the base of the falls.

He’d never told anyone about it. The rim of rock filled to its brim every few days with the Nior’s spray, offset some distance from the full body of the falls and sheltered under a broad swath of high ghostplants; but with those shifted aside, one could see down the sweep of the valley, across the glittering ghostlit expanse of Hellidom, all the way to the forest beyond. He’d come here often to think over the years, to escape Tatiana and Quill’s hectic energy, Ariadne’s palpable concerns, the weight bearing visibly down on Thorne and Baba Kallah’s shoulders. He’d retreated to its sanctuary more times than he could count when Aden had left for Siralek.

He sought its refuge now, bearing the unease of Cistine’s plans and his own part in them across his shoulders…and the prickling aftertaste of that new augment she carried.

Its stain slathered across his skin though he’d hardly touched it, and that over an hour ago. He nearly welcomed the icy shock of the late-night air chasing it away when he disrobed and slid into the water; fighting to level his breathing at the penetrating chill, he crossed the pool in one stroke and laid aside the ghostplants, streaking soft pinkish-violet sap along his forearms. Folding them on the rim, he laid his chin on his elbow and watched the city spread out below, his thoughts churning.

He wished he’d offered Cistine some reassurance before she finally left him for bed. But that augment’s power had muzzled him, the sheer depth of its darkness eye-watering and terrifying, tying his tongue. No wonder his brothers wanted it…and no wonder she feared having to use it. If she broke the seal and unleashed that might, he had no idea what would come.

But it did not feel right. It felt world-ending, whatever waited inside that flagon—the only one of its kind.

He tried to pray she would never have to use it, but the words wouldn’t come to his darting mind.

A twitch of shadow rippled below, following the same winding, inarticulate path he’d taken to arrive here. He didn’t need a glimpse of red hair or two-colored eyes to know who approached; the distant smell of rose and leather already told him.

He turned, spreading his arms on the stone, watching guardedly when Ashe emerged through the ghostplants, painting shimmering streaks of peach, lime, and lavender on her hair. “Well, this is nice. Why haven’t we been up here before?”

His heart galloped at the thought of bringing her here in those early days when she was still utterly beyond his reach, a wary, furious Warden with a shrapnel wound and a mouth full of razored insults.

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