Seconds later, the bed groaned and sank under his weight. I’d been waiting for this. The obscurity of night bolstered my courage, and I asked my last question in a whisper. “How can I use my Phaetyn powers to heal a person?”
I knew from my mother’s tales that the Phaetyns of old could do this—though they were probably much stronger than I was. She’d never told me how, and I wondered if she knew.
He blew out a slow breath before he answered, “How do you heal the land, Ryn?”
I spit, bled, and sweat on it. Was he saying I had to put that on a person? Sick. “Hey, but if a Phaetyn is supposed to heal stuff, why is their blood lethal to Drae?”
“Phaetyn are life, and Drae are death. We are able to kill each other. It ensures balance in the realm.”
I thought about it. “But my blood doesn’t work on you?”
He chuckled. “Apparently not. I thought you were offering to heal me?”
Drak. “Yes, sorry. So, I can heal you—even though you’re Drae?”
“Perhaps. I have no idea. I doubt it would harm me, seeing as your blood didn’t.”
“Do I have to sweat on you?” The idea of running around and wiping my sweat on Irrik was immensely funny. Then another thought made me laugh out loud. “Or spit on you?” I pulled the blanket up over my mouth as I snickered with the thought. Pretty sure he wasn’t going to let that happen. Ever.
“I would have to ingest it,” he said, his voice as dark as our room.
Eww. “You would have to lick my sweaty body?”
That was disgusting. Like seriously . . . Then my mind actually went there, and I shivered. “But you kissed me before.”
“You would have to be willing to heal me,” he said, roughly. “I can’t take it from you. If I stole another kiss, I wouldn’t be healed unless you’re willing it to happen at that moment. Otherwise Phaetyn would’ve always been enslaved by man, right?”
“But the plants in my cell grew, and I wasn’t willing them to grow. I just cried or bled on the seeds.”
“I don’t know. I’m Drae,” he said, his voice tight with frustration. “My education is limited. I’ve told you what I know.”
I snuggled under my blanket with a yawn. I’d pushed him far enough. “Sorry,” I murmured, then, more quietly to myself, I added, “No need to get your aketon in a twist.”
The wind blew, and clouds skittered past the first of our twin moons. I sighed as the night brushed over me, absently scratching at my forearm. The night air up on the top of the king’s mountain was much cooler than in the valley, and I wished Irrik’s room had a fireplace.
“Are you warm enough?” he asked. “Do you need another blanket?”
I yawned again, but my muscles bunched with the cold. “Is there another? It’s really cold with the panels open, but I don’t want you to close them.”
The bed creaked, but he moved silently across the room, nothing more than a silhouette of darkness. The wardrobe opened, and seconds later a warm blanket settled over me, followed by a third blanket, which effectively trapped the warmth.
I sighed and stretched out beneath the covers. “Thank you.”
With the shadows reassuring me and the heaviness of the blankets warming me, I fell into a dreamless slumber.
27
Morning broke with golden light chasing the darkness from the sky. I sat up, and the covers puddled at my waist. I’d managed to stay on the couch all night instead of sleepwalking to the bed. Go me. My stomach rumbled a stern warning.
“I’m starving,” I said, stretching to look at Irrik’s bed.
The Drae was gone.
I tugged a blanket back over my shoulders as I rose to sitting and saw another silver tray on the table. Hopeful, I yanked the lid off. The smells wafted on the air, and I attacked the food with an intensity no one would be proud of.
After eating and going through my morning routine, I sat back on the couch to await the Drae. I didn’t have to wait long.
Irrik roared from outside on his approach, and I ran to the corner of the parapet to watch him land. Only, he didn’t. He beat his wings and hovered near the edge of his room.
“Am I in your way?” I asked, ready to duck back inside if he nodded. Could he nod as a Drae? Or did it make him all reptilian when he was in that form? He tilted his head at me, and I wondered what he was trying to say. But then I remembered I’d felt his thoughts before.
I reached and held my hand out, waiting to see if he would let me touch him.
Irrik inched to the side and brushed my hand against the smooth onyx scales.
Come. I want to show you something.
Come where?
He unfurled his right foreclaw.
“You want me to climb inside your razor-sharp talons?” He had to be kidding. I knew the stories. He could cut through trees with those things. And what if he dropped me?
I won’t drop you. Come on. You’ll like it. I promise.
Right. I climbed into the palm of his upturned claw anyway.
He tucked his wings when I was sitting cross-legged in his claw, and then we dropped. The air blew over me, warming as we descended into the valley. He spread his wings, and we soared. The last flight with the Drae had been short-lived but thrilling nonetheless. This one was magnificent. We flew over Verald, and as we circled the king’s Quota Fields, I saw patches of lush green there now.
That’s you. You’re doing that, Irrik spoke in my mind.
I couldn’t help the grin spreading across my face. I clambered up and stretched, standing on my tiptoes to stare through his curved talons at the beauty I’d brought to Verald. We flew in a circle, from zone to zone.
Every one that I’d visited was flourishing.
We soared higher. There was still so much barren brown. Occasionally, I’d spot a garden or cluster of gardens that held the same verdant qualities of the Quota Fields. I rested my cheek on his scaly hand, and when Irrik dropped lower, I recognized the homes Mum had taken me to. To help her move dirt.
I swallowed back the fierce burning in my throat.
It’s right that you miss her.
“She lied to me about everything.” What did he know? My heart ached for her, and at the same time I felt the sting of betrayal. “She made you kill her.”
Perhaps not for the reasons you think.
I wasn’t an idiot. “I know it was to protect me, but she still lied. I don’t even know if she was my real mother.” I felt hurt and betrayed still, but mostly I felt sad. I wanted to talk to her about what was going on. I wanted to hear her laugh. I wanted her wisdom.
You know she loved you. That should be enough for now.
“For now?”
He didn’t answer, and all too soon we turned back toward the castle. As we got closer, I saw horses lining up far below, the silent Druman in their navy aketons leading them. Between the horses, a single carriage sat awaiting its occupant, door open and ready. One of the horses nickered, drawing my attention, and a Druman sheathed a wicked blade in his scabbard next to the warhorse.
Pressing my hands to Irrik’s Drae skin, I asked, “Where are they going?”
Irrik shielded me from his thoughts. Like closing the folding panels in his room so no one could see into his private quarters, only he was shutting me out.
Where are they going? I thought at him, feeling a little foolish.