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Naia let go of his hand. Something was wrong. “River, is that you?”
There was a flickering sound, then he had a lit torch in his hand. “Are you afraid?”
“Of course. You’re not telling me what’s going on.”
“Come. I’ll show you.” They walked to the middle of the room, where there were tall and wide iron cylinders. “They have Mount Prime earth in them. But the real treasure are the rocks.”
They walked to a wall, which had a small door, leading to a different room, where indeed there were rocks of various sizes, lying there. Most of the rocks were about as big a wild pig, while a couple were as big as a horse, and then there was a dark rock in the middle, almost as big as a hut. They had some kind of primordial magic in them, Naia could sense it, but she couldn’t really identify what it was or what it could do. Somehow, it felt different from all the magic she’d sensed in the Ancient City.
“Why are we here?” she asked.
River placed the torch on a sconce by the wall. “That’s quite a complex question.”
Non-answers. Great. Perhaps she should be relieved that this was the real River. No. It all felt strange. Could she get to the hollow by herself? She’d done it once. But then she would never know what was happening. And then again, there was nothing threatening in his behavior. If anything, being vague and doing things without telling her was typical of River. The puzzling thing was how she had ever found his demeanor charming. It wasn’t charming now; it was terrifying and yet all she could tell herself was that she was exaggerating.
River approached the biggest rock and buried his red dagger in it, as if the stone were as soft as an apple. That was one of the daggers he’d taken from the Ancient City. Again, this had to be some kind of magic for his people. The only thing she didn’t understand was how come he had never tried it before and why he hadn’t told her anything about this place and about what he’d been planning on doing. For someone who’d promised to be more honest, open, and forthcoming, he was letting her down again.
A few seconds after the dagger had been stuck in it, the rock started to glow with an eerie, blue light. River exhaled and laughed what at first felt like a relief laugh, then took on a sinister note.
Thiswas the time for Naia to escape, and yet she couldn’t stop looking at him, trying to figure out what was happening, trying to make it make some sense.
He picked the red dagger from the stone, then turned and pointed it at her. For a second, she feared he was going to throw it, and tried to focus on the metal in the weapon, so as to throw it back or change its direction if necessary. It wasn’t easy because of all the metal energy in that room. Either way, she didn’t need to block the dagger, as it never left his hand. Instead, a circular wall of ice encased her in less than a second.
Naia knew what was happening, she knew it. She also knew that the answer would be to move that dagger, move that dagger and do the unthinkable, and yet her breath caught. The wall of ice made a shield around her but didn’t touch her, and yet her insides were freezing.
23
Clarity
Leah rested her head on the side of Fel’s long body, while she lay between his paw and tail, as he was curled up and asleep. The slow, up-and-down movement of his breathing was a soothing sound. Still, a knot in her chest kept her awake. Perhaps she was afraid of what she would see if she fell asleep, even if she knew that her dreams had power—strange, uncontrollable power that she understood way too little.
And how much did she grasp about anything? It was highly likely that Cynon—or whatever he was called—was affecting Ironhold, perhaps behind the invasion of Frostlake, and yet they didn’t know what his goal was or how to stop him. And the worst was that Fel was in danger. Regardless of whether that prophecy was true or not,the iron dragonwould always be a target.
“Leah.” Fel’s voice sounded in her mind, as if it were part of her own imagination, except that it wasn’t.
“You should sleep.”
He’d flown so far. Even with Ekateni’s help, who had taken them to an island far from Fernick, Fel had still flown for more than two hours, not to mention he hadn’t rested since facing the boundless by that mountain, when completely outnumbered.
She felt rather than heard a chuckle. “Isn’t it too soon for you to be tired of my company?” His voice was playful.
Leah ran her hand over the scales on his tail. She adored those scales, now reflecting the moonlight. “I’m not tired. But I didn’t fly.”
He took a deeper breath, which now felt more like a crashing wave. “There’s so much to do. So much to think. And I don’t like the idea of you going to the Iron Citadel. I failed once, when I shouldn’t have let you go. You don’t want me to repeat my mistake, do you?”
Perhaps Leah should be upset that he wanted to control her, to tell her what to do, but the truth was that she was also afraid—and confused. “What do you suggest?”
“If you ever step foot in that dreadful place, I want to be with you, and yet I can’t. I’m powerful—and powerless.” He paused, then added, “I want to kiss you—and I can’t.”
Leah planted a kiss on the scales of his tail. “I’ll do it for both of us.”
Fel took another deep breath, his silence more eloquent than any words.
“I know,” she said. “Not that kind of kiss. I’ve dreamed about you, though. In this form… And…” Oh, no, had she just been about to tell him that he’d caressed her with his tongue? That she had enjoyed it? She didn’t even know what it would be like if it happened in real life. Would she want him to do that as a dragon? She could still recall the soft feel of his tongue on her skin.
But she said something else. “I… I like you this way too.” But then, she also wanted to touch human Fel again, to touch him and know that it was reality and not mistake it for a dream. The touch of his human tongue had never left her memory. If she thought about it for a little longer, it would blind her senses to anything but bliss—and want. Oh, what would she give to have him undressing her again, this time with purpose, knowing it was her, then kissing her in more places than she ever thought possible.
Fel curled his body some more, so that she was staring at one of his huge green eyes, then he moved his paw from under her, and ran a talon over the side of her face. Leah closed her eyes, then he pulled her closer. She could feel the warmth of his body, then the lovely scent of his breath. It was fire and iron, but most of all, magic and power. That insane, intense power that made him so magnetic, that had always entranced, captivated her. There was something thrilling and exciting about being so close to such a huge, powerful creature, knowing he could kill her in the blink of an eye if he wished to, knowing that breath could become destructive fire if he wanted to.
