She hastened to obey. The kestrel seemed to blur before her eyes, and then the open space in her bedroom was filled to near bursting with Cerridwen's beloved bronze form and blue wings. She was truly too big for this room now, yet she had come here anyway, instead of to the larger ballroom. She slumped to the floor as if too tired to stand, or even to lift her head.
Elizabeth sank down by Cerridwen's head and stroked her scales. “Oh, dear heart, what is wrong? Are you in pain?”
“Of course,” the dragon snapped, which was unlike her. “Flying for miles with a knife wound does that.”
“Then why did you not stay at the Nest with the healers?”
“And be scolded all day and night? Never! At least they will leave me alone here.” She lifted her head just enough to place it in Elizabeth's lap, the way she used to when she was smaller. Now her jaw hung over Elizabeth’s legs, but she still closed her majestic gold-ringed eyes with a sigh of relief.
Elizabeth kissed the top of her head – her very heavy head. “But why on earth were they upset with you?”
An annoyed puff of smoke emerged from her nostrils, leaving an acrid smell hanging in the air over her dragon scent of cinnamon and hot metal. “They say it was none of our business to fight the High Fae, that our first duty is to the Nest. Well, none of them have companions, and if they ever did when they were young, they have forgotten what it means! As if I should have left you alone to face an enemy you could not even see! Ridiculous. Pemberley is more my home than the Nest, where they are always annoyed at me.”
“What do you mean?” How could anyone disapprove of her wonderful, perfect dragon?
The dragon jutted out her not inconsiderable jaw. “They do not want to change, and my visions say they have no choice. They wish I had never come.”
“That is unfair! You did not ask to have these visions, or to have a mad French dragon emperor ready to attack the English Nests! That is what changed everything, not you.”
“What is that mortal saying? No one likes the bearer of bad news.” She shifted her body to one side.
Worried, Elizabeth asked, “Is there anything I can do to help? Clean your wound, or bring you some plum cake?”
Another sigh. “Plum cake would be lovely. And perhaps Chandrika could clean my scales? No one at the Nest does it nearly so well.” The idea seemed to cheer the dragon. “It is better for me to be here, anyway. We need to start your training.”
That was a surprise. “I thought we had already done that, before I went to France.” She had spent several days at the Nest, working with the dragons, learning what a companion needed to know. And being taught how to avoid ever using her mysterious Forbidden Talent, the one that shook the foundations of the world. The one that could destroy everything around her.
“Not that.” Cerridwen switched over to sending, clearly wanting privacy.We need to teach you to touch the foundations.
“What?” In her shock, the word escaped her aloud.But that is forbidden!
We must be willing to face danger in times of extreme need.Cerridwen sounded grim.
Now it made sense, at least of a sort.You have had a vision. Is that it?
The dragon raised her head just an inch or two, the tension palpable beneath her scales. Elizabeth, freed of the weight on her cramping legs, wiggled them to restore the blood flow.
They were lecturing me about that, too, saying they needed me to keep you from using your Forbidden Talent. I was about to promise them I would do so, and there it was.The foresight.
A flash of agony stabbed into Elizabeth's mind, just like when Cerridwen's foresight had come before. She did not know the details of the visions, only that they were horrific.I am sorry.She hugged her dragon’s neck.
Rana Akshaya wants you to do it, too. She asked me about it before, but I said no.
Had not the great dragon from India originally scolded Elizabeth for using that Talent? And now she had actually taken it on herself to comment on a mortal's abilities. Normally Rana Akshaya ignored all the humans at Pemberley, hiding away in her own rooms when she was not visiting the Nest. This training must be very important to her somehow.. But still, the idea of using her Forbidden Talent frightened Elizabeth.
And it would mean more time away from Jenny.
But if Cerridwen's vision was true, it might be the only way to save Jenny and every other baby in England.I would like to know more about what you have in mind before I decide. Perhaps when you are more recovered?
I will be perfectly well by tomorrow. Dragons heal quickly. And you promised me plum cake,she sent querulously.
Elizabeth scooted her legs out from under the dragon's head. “I will ask for it to be sent up now. And for Chandrika to join us.”
Good. I will sleep a little while I wait.The dragon closed her eyes.
Chapter 7
BythetimeDarcyreached the stable, he was footsore, chilled through, and covered with dirt. His coat was snagged in several places from encounters with twigs and brambles. He had done most of a circuit of the estate on foot, followed by Hercules, checking the wards the entire way. He did not understand them any better now, but he felt safer knowing they were in place.
