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“Vanzir . . . what happened, happened. I forgive you. And I forgive myself. And that’s all anybody will ever have to know. I won’t let Smoky hurt you.” As I stumbled out of bed, Hanna shifted. “Why isn’t she in a bed of her own? She can’t just sleep in the chair.”
“She insisted on sleeping near you, to keep watch. I spiked her drink with a sleeping aid. The woman was worn out.” He gazed down at her. “She’s comely enough, but looks harsh . . .”
“She spent five years locked up with Hyto, doing his bidding, watching her son descend into madness because of the dragon. She has a right to be harsh.” I motioned for Vanzir to gather her out of the rocking chair and put her in the bed. He did so, covering her gently with the blankets. Then, as I wrapped the bathrobe around my aching body, we headed out into the main living chamber.
The smell of my love was everywhere—dragon musk, but this was a soothing musk, a gentle, loving scent. Smoky could raze a town if he wanted, but he was my love and my heart. Hyto was a madman. As I sought to unentangle the two in my mind—Smoky took after his father in looks—I glanced around the barrow for the wind-up clock. Here, time slowed, and electronics ceased to work.
Smoky’s barrow was located out near Mount Rainier, in a faerie mound—a barrow he’d co-opted from Titania for his own. Toward the back of the area he used for a living room, a dropoff led to a huge underground tunnel, through which he could fly in dragon form. To the right was the bedroom and bath, and to the left, a kitchen-dining area.
The furnishings were old, heavy wood, expensive antiques, and the scent of cigar smoke filled the air—Smoky was big on brandy and cigars in his own digs, though he abstained from smoking when around me because the smoke bothered both Delilah and me so much.
The scent of cigar was cut with the smell of sizzling sausage, and my stomach lurched. I realized I was famished. How I could be hungry after what I’d been through escaped me, but the fact was, my body craved food. As I achingly made my way toward the kitchen door, it opened and out came Delilah and Trillian.
“Camille!” Trillian dropped the plates he was carrying, and they shattered on the floor as he raced over to grab me up and spin me around. When I let out a shriek of pain, he immediately put me down. “Oh crap, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. My beloved, forgive me.” The look on his face was one I’d never before seen—a mixture of terror and joy.
Holding my sore ribs, I let him lead me over to the sofa and gently pull me down on his lap. “No . . . it’s just . . . I hurt everywhere.” And then, even as Delilah was rushing over, food in hand, I fell into his arms and kissed him deeply, trying to wash the memory of Hyto’s touch out of my mind with Trillian’s eager, loving embrace.
As I finally came up for air, he slid me off his lap and put a pillow behind my back. “Morio would be here if he could. Shade’s at home, watching over him now, along with Rozurial.”
I nodded, biting my lip. “Is Smoky back yet?”
“No, but he will be here soon, trust me, love. Now eat.”
Delilah returned to the kitchen and brought out fresh plates, then fixed me a breakfast of sausage, eggs, and biscuits and a tumbler of orange juice as Vanzir swept up the broken glass. Her mouth was pursed, and she looked like she was about to cry, but I could tell she was trying to keep her composure.
As I forked the food into my mouth, I wasn’t sure what to say. What could I say? Hyto had raped me, beaten me, humiliated me, and I still wore his collar, spelling out that I was his possession. Oh, I could just come out and say, I’m fucked up . . . I can’t get his image out of my mind. Because it was true—no matter how much I wanted to, when I closed my eyes he was there, towering over me, his face a fury, his eyes gleaming with the darkness of insanity. But that wouldn’t do any good except to make them feel worse.>I pressed her hand against my lips and kissed it gently. “It does, my friend. And terrible troubles, as well.” Forcing myself to stand, I turned to Shade. “We need to leave. I would not put Howl and Kitää’s people in any further danger. How are we going to manage this? Can you carry two of us?”
He glanced over at Rozurial. “Let me take Vanzir. My travel is better suited toward those not of mortal stock. You . . . do you think you can take two of them at once?”
Rozurial bit his lip. “I don’t know . . .”
Kitää stepped up. “I will go with you and carry one of the women. I can also travel through the Ionyc Seas. I will make the portal jumps with you to Elqaneve, where you can all travel through the portal back to Earthside. My husband, do you mind?” She turned to Howl, who nodded gruffly.
“Aye, woman, go ahead, but do not tarry on the way home, and be cautious. Dragons are wily, and dangerous, and too clever for their own good. Meanwhile, I will send a runner to the Dragon Reaches in search of Iampaatar, and bid him head homeward to his woman.”
They found some clean clothes for Hanna and me and, with Kitää’s and Hanna’s help, I dressed. Then, after Hanna had changed into a clean outfit, we gathered in the main council chamber.
Shade slid his arm around Vanzir, Rozurial took me, and Kitää gathered Hanna to her. Without another word, we slid into the Ionyc Seas.
I was going home.
At the portal to the Northlands, we quickly jumped to Dahnsburg, then to Elqaneve. I was so dizzy from the change in altitude that I leaned against Roz most of the way. At the Elqaneve portal, I turned to Kitää.
“Bless you and your people, for giving us shelter. May the Moon Mother shine down on you in all her glory with all her blessings. I will not forget the debt I owe you.”
She smiled gently. “You owe us no favor, save for to do your best to destroy the monster on the mountain. We knew a dragon had taken hold up there but weren’t sure just who. That it is Iampaatar’s father is a deathly knell. He is truly mad. And Camille—be cautious. If he catches you again, I dread to think what he’ll do.”
“I know what he’s capable of,” I whispered. “In the long run, I think I got off easy . . . but it wouldn’t have been long before the real pain would have begun. I don’t think I could withstand it.”
“Just be careful, please. Remember the wolf people when you next go hunting with the Moon Mother.” Then, before we could say another word, she ducked back inside the portal and vanished.
I turned to Roz. “Home. Let’s get home. It will take Hyto some time to follow the signature in my collar, but we need to get it off as soon as we can.”
And so we entered the portal, ignoring the stares of the elves filing in and out, and jumped back home, Earthside.
Grandmother Coyote was waiting for us. One of the Hags of Fate, she watched over the worlds, as immortal as the Elemental Lords and the Harvestmen. I began to kneel before her, but my aching joints wouldn’t allow it, so I opted for bowing slow and deep.
“Camille, you live. I thought you might when your threads began to untangle from those of the white dragon.” She gazed at me, long and deep, from within the folds of her hooded gray cloak. Grandmother Coyote’s face was lined with more rivers and valleys than a topographical map, and her eyes were a streaming flow of whirling clouds and stars. When she smiled, her teeth gleamed—sharp steel. She was truly one of the ancients.
