Page 23 of Tears of Gold

Chapter Nine

Skye

I tread silently through the forest game trail, threading my way to a clearing far behind the academy easily despite the darkness. The first eve of summer may be a festival for the elementals to celebrate the new year and their ancestors, but it’s a night of mourning for my kind.

My ancestors didn’t die of old age.

The friendly murmur of a natural spring greets me as I find the small clearing I visit every year since I’ve been at the academy. I spend a few minutes clearing away fallen branches as the moon rises, silvering the grass with its pale beams. Once the area is neat, I set the stoneware pots I brought in a circle and light the blocks of incense before removing my clothes and transforming. Honoring the Dragon Stars is best done in dragon form.

I lift my muzzle to the sky, savoring the sweet jasmine aroma as I stare at the sparkling lights far beyond my reach. Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and countless clan members have been forced into the Beyond before their time by the blood-thirsty elemental ruler.

Do I hate him? A sigh escapes me into the quiet night air.

Yes. The emperor’s hands are stained crimson with the blood of my kind. I can’t stand most of them, with their arrogance, cruelty, and their desire for power making them narrowminded. Yet I can’t blame Erritt. It wasn’t his choice to be born among them any more than I chose what I am.

Knowing Erritt is near the palace tonight makes me uneasy.

It’s a place I can’t follow him, and nothing good happens when he returns to that den of vipers. I dig my claws into the ground, sinking between grassroots and earthworms.

At least it’ll be nice for Ava and Harper to experience something other than the academy, especially with all that Ava’s going through. Although, it’s a little risky with the rogue trying to steal her out from under our noses.

It’s been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, following the medic’s and Elite elemental’s advice not to push Ava’s fragile mind. But I know he’s right; I only have to watch Ava and her wariness of us to know she needs time.

My heart aches, wanting to reclaim her, but I’ve been patient this long. My soul knows she will find her way back to me eventually. Ava is my dragon treasure, and when she remembers me, I’ll make it official by sealing part of my soul to hers in the sacred bond of dragon soul mates. I’d like to do the same with Erritt, but I can’t risk someone discovering a fragment of me within him.

A shooting star burns a golden trail across the cloudless night, and a puff of mist escapes my skin.

I can sense a faint link to them; the dragons who have crossed into the Eternity, whose souls have become guiding lights in the sky. And more faintly, another link to something I can’t identify but feels even more rawly draconian. Perhaps a Five Claw survived the purge, though I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

Still, there’s no telling what wonders exist out there in the realms. I’ve never been off the planet, so I haven’t seen half the things our rogue has. Gran urged me to leave when the second purge began, which took her life, but even then, I couldn’t go. I’m as much a part of this planet as the water bubbling up from a subterranean river miles below my claws.

I trace the outlines of the Dragon Constellations with my eyes, calling wisps of water to join between the forms as I name them. Seyon, the royal commander whose true story is shrouded in mystery but remains painted a traitor. Seralla, my mother, whom I barely remember. Benkye, my father. Gran, whose name was Piadora.

I’ve named fifty of my clan before footsteps sound in the distance and whip around with a low growl. A golden lantern light bobs through the trees in the dark. A moment later, I relax as I identify the familiar scent before the chancellor steps into the clearing.

“May I join you to honor the Dragon Stars?”

“All who come in sincerity are welcome.”

Chancellor Katen sets a pot beside mine and lights incense before spinning his finger over the flames and sending up a cloud of sparks. He sits down cross-legged beside me.

I lift one paw in salute to the distant balls of light. “Though their forms dwindle to ash, may their names never be forgotten.”

“May they burn ever bright until those of their kin come to stand at their side,” Mr Katen adjusts his words to suit a non draconian, but the sentiment is heartfelt.

I bow my head, the words ringing in my soul. “And may those of us who wait be pure-hearted until we cross the veil.” The beast within pulses in agreement.

We sit in silence until the wicks burn low, and then the haechi clears his throat.

“These days, it’s unusual to find you alone. It’s a good thing, since your kind are naturally social.”

“I have the opportunity, thanks to you.”

He waves me off as if his counter-cultural fairness is nothing. If it wasn’t for his intervention, I never could’ve enrolled here in the first place. I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew more about Erritt and me than he lets on.

He sighs. “All that aside, war has been declared in the name of the dragons. It’s not safe for you.”

“When has it ever been safe?”I grumble. I’m not wallowing; it’s just a fact of life. The woman who became my Gran buried me alive to hide me from the soldiers who killed my parents when I was a kitten.