Soar

Chapter 27

I took a deep breath. "It is a long tale."

Gelya hardly seemed to hear me. She was shaking her head. Glancing desperately toward Erizar and Kataj, I shifted away from her.

Gelya heard the movement and reached out a hand, but I was too scared to take it. Erizar did instead, then bent to hold Gelya as she wept.

"Forgive me, Gelya," Kataj said, his voice hoarse. "I ought to have done it better."

Gelya did not answer. Slowly I got to my feet. There was a weight on my chest that made it hard to breathe.

Kataj touched my shoulder. "Come."

Reluctantly I followed him away from the tent. The darkness surrounded us, broken as the light from dozens of fires reached us between rows of tents and crowds of people and animals.

"Please forgive me, Azadryn. I meant no harm. I had no idea...." Kataj's brow was creased with worry.

"You couldn't know." I looked up at him and tried to smile. "She- Gelya, she's my father's mother."

"Yes. He was her youngest son. Her oldest son is the village elder I spoke of earlier."

"And her husband...?"

"A good man to the end. Brave, like your father." He glanced over his shoulder, though we were far from Gelya's tent by then. "And like your grandmother." His smile was small, full of something like regret. "Like you."

We were silent the rest of the way to the castle. Kataj sensed I did not wish to speak. I tried to distract myself with drawing an image of my father in my head based on what I had seen of my grandmother, but one thought kept pushing to the forefront of my mind: when her son was banished, did Gelya stand by? Or did she cry for justice? If my forbearers were such brave people, how did I end up a nameless, orphaned slave girl so far from the place of my parents' birth?

With so many people in Ebenric, quarters were crowed. Tajir, Erizar, and I slept in alcoves in the castle's great hall. My bedroll had been little use against the rocky ground, and it was even less sufficient spread out on the cold, hard stone. I tossed and turned long after the fire had been banked, listening to the snores of those around me. My mind went from Runedan to Gelya to the parents I did not know and back.

I missed Runedan's warmth. I hated how everyone who looked at me saw my parents first and often refused to look deeper. I especially hated how, with every person I met, the mystery surrounding my birth become more and more tangled and confused, and raised more questions than it answered.

I sensed more than saw when dawn came. Still not feeling the least bit weary, I slid out of my sleeping place and pulled a tunic over my shift. Mindful of the shifting weather, I pulled my cloak out of my pack, then slipped on my boots.

I startled a maid who had come to stir the banked fire and she stared at me as I crept past. By the echoes in the corridor, I could tell the kitchen staff were already hard at work. I headed in the opposite direction, to the door of the castle, the gate, and then the path between the tents.

Gelya appeared to be waiting for me. She sat on a low stool by the village fire, her face turned toward the rising sun. My feet made little noise as I approached, but she heard me.

"I had hoped you would come," she said softly.

"I had to."

She nodded slowly. "Erizar told me some of your story after you left." She sighed heavily, her shoulders lifting and dropping with the weight of it. "You have seen heartache, no denying. I am afraid this world we call home has little better to offer you."

By then I had reached her. I sat beside her, folding my legs under me, and touched her knee to let her know where I was. Her hand found my hair and started to stroke it, until she happened to touch my ear.

"What's this?"

"Scars. Slaves wear earrings to mark who they belong to."

"Many men had claimed you."

I nodded. Without a word I guided her hand to the last scar, long and jagged from the ring Runedan had torn out. The others might fade, but it spoke to the freedom I had claimed for myself.

Gelya clicked her tongue softly and went back to stroking my tangled hair. It was past my shoulders again.

"Erizar told me about this dragon of yours." There was laughter in her voice now. "It's a wonder Niloth has not banished Erizar and I and the rest of our children, just to rid himself of the chance that more rebels will spring from our family trees."

"Someone has likely suggested it. I left no doubt about how I felt about his laws."

"Ah, yes. They were good laws in their time. They were set down when foolish, ambition men thought they could exploit the power of dragons for their own gain. What Niloth calls Old Blood are what has come of the noblest lines. Even now those laws assure us we can trust those who take the oaths to defend us with their lives. What the king forgets is that most of us have some of that blood in us now. If I recall, there's a king or two somewhere in Tarun's family."

"It's not enough," I said. "Trying to keep things the same way is dangerous. Umreo has so many dragons, and he doesn't care about honor or Old Blood. If things don't change, we won't last."

"Take care, child. People do not take kindly to those who are brave enough to challenge tradition. I warned your father. When he made it clear he intended to follow through, I did my best to support him, but I had other children to protect. I had to trust him to his own strength. I never saw him again." Her finger caught on a curl and she paused to carefully disentangle it. "I do not want the same for you."

"I never meant to cause trouble."

She smiled. "Neither did Kalamec, at first. You take after your father, and he after his. They both had a knack for finding trouble when other people preferred to shut their eyes."

We were both silent for a while. While I watched the sunrise, Gelya tried to braid my hair. She muttered to herself and I clasped my hands in my lap and waited.

When she did speak again, it was suddenly. "I'll warrant you have enough of Kalamec in you to look the darkness in the face. Elania, too. And look it in the face you must. If you let them win, it will not just be you and your dragon they've beaten."

I waited to speak, trying to commit everything she said to heart. I licked my dry lips. "I know that. That's why I have to do something."

"Then you must do it. All their system wants is pressure to force it to change. Perhaps a little slave girl and her fire-less dragon are perfectly suited to the task." She gave up her attempts at braiding my curls and patted my cheek. "Though I wish this could have been the end of your troubles, I fear you have a little further to go yet." She paused, her head turned to one side, taking in the noises of the stirring camp. "And you had best be off. Erizar said you would have to leave today."

The heavy feeling in my chest was back. I wanted to stay there, in the calm before the start of another day, in that moment when everything seemed as if it would turn out right.

"Go, Azadryn. You can come back when your work is finished. I'll not go far."

Impulsively I sat up so I could kiss her cheek. "Thank you."

She squeezed my shoulder. "Be brave, my precious girl."