AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I am?” I asked faintly while Akoni slipped his fingers between my thighs to catch everything dripping from me.
“… because Auryn hasn’t even come home yet.”
Thirty-One
When dragons decided to do something, theydidit. And if that meant setting Lemuria ablaze with rumors, then get your marshmallows. S’mores were on the menu.
Less than two days later, we were back on boats to North. This time, it was a couples’ cruise. Dekka and Mahon went, along with Hekon and A’ka, and Sorren and Alana.
Because Alana was going through the Gate.
Neither Sorren nor Akoni were happy about this.
“She volunteered,” Dekka explained to an irate Akoni during one of our stops, since Akoni was not on speaking terms with his parents.
Akoni fumed. “And why was this accepted?”
“You know why. Because we don’t know where the Gate will open. Because she’s a water dragon. Because she was a machine dragon, like you. Because she’s a Wyrm’s consort and is relatively young and in excellent condition. A Wyrm can’t go through because of our medallions. Your mother is the next best choice.”
“None of Hekon’s topside drakes volunteered?” Keon asked.
“There are no water dragons in Hekon’s topside cadre.”
I kissed Akoni’s bronze shoulder. “You volunteered to go through to Atlantis. It’s genetic.”
He bristled.
“What are we going to tell Lemuria?” Keon looked back towards the boat with Hekon and A’ka and our gear.
“Nothing until we have concrete information,” Dekka said. “They can speculate for now.”
“They’ve already figured out I’m a dragon.” I placed my hand over Akoni’s. He tensed, then clasped my hand in both of his large ones.
“We will tell greater Lemuria when there is proper context. The immediate question we are going to get when we reveal the Gate is open iscan we go through it. We want to have an answer. Confirmed uncertainty is always more painful than speculation. At least for dragons. Although I am sorry they are likening you to Set.” Her brow furrowed.
“At least they haven’t figured out how to rope in Apep.” I sighed. Apep being the serpent of chaos in Egyptian mythology, and basicallyeveryone’slife mission (even Set’s) was to do terrible things to Apep. Apep tried to destroy the world on the daily by eating Ra, and he’d try to eat the souls of the dead too. He fought with everyone and everything Because Reasons. There were nightly prayers to ward off Apep, annual rites to ward off Apep, if things in your life were going wrong, you could stomp on effigies to try to chase Apep out of your life…
“It will be very shocking to Lemuria when we tell them,” Dekka added. “There’s a reason we’re waiting. If the Gate isn’t an option, we are going to tell Lemuria it was broken beyond practical repair. We rarely lie to Lemuria, but… extraordinary times.”
“Be careful, Dekka. That’s areallyslippery slope.” Dragons accepted that sometimes white lies and lies by omission were necessary, and they generally trusted that the Wyrms weren’t telling themeverything. The Wyrms were the stewards of Lemuria’s order, and too many cooks and the kitchen and all that. But dragons also believed an order preserved by lies wasn’t an order at all.
“I know. I am seeking reasons to give to Lemuria, but even my reasons for wanting reasons are wearing thin. I may be at the point where I will have to ask you to face Lemuria without obvious justification for your existence.”
“Not like I haven’t had to justify my existence before, right?”
“I promised to not abandon you, little one. And that includes to Lemuria’s speculation. I am afraid what will happen to you if my hand is forced.”
Sorren tookAlanna’s hands in his, bowed his forehead to hers, and squeezed her fingers so tight his knuckles turned white. She smiled. “We’ll always be together. Now let go.”
Sorren clenched her hands tighter. “I swore to never let you go, Alana, and I have always kept that promise.”
“And you’re not breaking it now. We will always be together.” The way she said his name sounded like silk and conveyed all her affection.
Sorren, finger by finger, released his grip. She gave him a final smile, then approached Akoni. “I wanted you to know in case I didn’t get another chance to say it. I amsoproud of you. I know your father is too, and I’m saying it for him in case he doesn’t get another chance to say it.”
Then she embraced him, and after a second, Akoni returned the hug. She said something to him I couldn’t hear while stroking his hair, then pulled back, and told Auryn and me, “I’m ready.”
Keon picked up the air-bucket. Back straight, Alana walked down the tunnel to the Gate. Akoni, Auryn, Keon, Hekon, and I followed.
