Elaya didn't want to walk too far away from Kaz and Rhenor, just far enough to give them some space for both of their sakes. The two of them certainly had a lot to talk about, and while she had no doubts that Kaz would say whatever he felt like, no matter her presence, the same couldn't be said for Rhenor. Elaya might have not known the man that well yet, but she could tell he felt awkward having a heart-to-heart with her around. She understood, she'd feel the same way.
Besides, they needed to get something to eat. None of them had eaten during their short yet too long stay in Rethan, and Elaya's stomach was growling at the mere thought of food.
She wasn't much of a hunter, and going into the small forest just a few dozen feet away from her to gather something to eat would take too long, not to mention that she might not even find anything. But she had a better idea—trying to use her magic to get a fish or two.
Elaya wasn't amazing at most kinds of magic, unfortunately, even though she could feel the strength within her soaring whenever she used it. She knew she could do it, but she didn't know how to do it properly. She'd simply had too little training. The dragons hadn't given her enough time to learn, but she suspected that had been on purpose. The less she knew, the less danger she posed. They would have no doubt let her practice properly when they were sure she would serve them when they could make sure she wouldn't turn her gift on them.
But with all that said, she wasn't completely hopeless with water magic. It was probably her second-best type of magic, which wasn't that great, but it was something. She had managed to make water move in the air before. How hard could it be to use it to throw fish out of the sea?
As she reached the sandy beach and its damp shore, she couldn't help but think back to how Corill had used magic. It wasn't even the ease with which he did so or the skill, but the fact that he'd used the force of the wind. She hadn't thought about it, not until now, with how angry and then exhausted she'd been yesterday, but now that she had the time and energy, it was mind-boggling.
She'd been told that wind was impossible to control because there was no way to make a totem out of it to use for spells, but she didn't need a totem to use magic, the same as a dragon didn't need a totem to control fire.
If controlling the wind was possible, she couldn't help but wonder what else might be. A part of her couldn't help but feel regret over the way things in Rethan had ended. Corill had wanted to teach her, and she wanted to learn. Here, she could use magic freely, and she barely knew what she was even capable of. But not with Kaz's safety and life on the line. She would never prioritize something like this over him.
Shaking her head, Elaya stretched out her hand towards the blue water. It was so clear she could see small fish nibbling at a piece of some underwater plant several feet away from her. But she would leave them alone. They were too small to bother with, even if they might be easier to catch.
If she could even manage it.
Closing her eyes, she focused on the sound of the waves gently lapping at the shore and reached out with the raw force within her, feeling the water all around her. She used to do this all the time when she'd been little, before she had even known she could use magic, except she'd done it with the earth.
It had been comforting to connect with the element, to feel its solidity and strength. It had helped her understand the earth in a way, though even Elaya herself wasn't sure she could explain what that meant. Whatever it was, it couldn't be the same as using magic, as the dragons' soldiers hadn't come for her any of the time she'd done it, but she was sure it was related. She just knew there had to be a reason she was most comfortable controlling the earth.
Feeling a tug toward the sea, Elaya opened her eyes again, feeling magic flowing through her, extending to the waters. As a small wall of water rose, only a foot tall and maybe three feet wide, Elaya couldn't help but smile, running her eyes over the constantly shifting shape she'd created.
She soon lost control, the water flowing back into the sea it had come from, but Elaya's smile stayed. She could do this. Getting an element to move was one of the easiest ways of using magic, after all. Shaping it or summoning it was another matter entirely, but she did not need that for now. She just needed to reach out farther, raise more water, and bring it to the shore. With any luck, she'd manage to grab a fish and deposit it right onto the sand. Assuming it wouldn't manage to flop right back into the sea, of course.
Feeling her heart beat faster with excitement, she reached out once more, this time with both hands, grabbing at the water with more force than before. Soon a large orb rose from the surface of the sea at least twenty feet away from her, and she couldn't help but grin as she moved the water around in the air, making the water shimmer in the morning sun.
Even from this far away, though, she could tell there were no fish in the orb of water, and so she soon let go before trying again, now with even more enthusiasm. She did it again, pushing herself to retrieve even more water.
Elaya couldn't lie to herself. Using magic like this, freely and without repercussion, was somewhat terrifying. She was afraid of her power because she couldn't know what it might do, especially if she lost control. She hadn't meant to attack Corill the way she had back in Rethan, and yet she'd almost killed him.
But she also wanted nothing more than to see what her limits were, just what she could do. She would just have to make sure not to get too carried away.
Thankfully, her second attempt was successful. She almost gasped with delight when the water rose once more, a large, dark shape twisting inside of it. Whatever fish that was, it would be enough for breakfast. Now she just had to make sure she didn't lose concentration.
Setting her jaw, she pulled the water towards her, wincing with every drop lost along the way. She couldn't say she was surprised as she'd barely ever done this before, but she had a lot to work on.
Elaya felt her control slipping just as the orb of water reached the beach, and she did her best to drag it as far as she could away from the sea before the water finally slipped from her hold on it. As it spilled onto the sand, Elaya leaped towards it, grabbing at the fish before it could flop back into the water.
It turned out to be a salmon, almost as long as her arm. Kaz wasn't particularly fond of those, though Elaya had no idea why, but she was sure he would make do.
Not wanting to prolong its suffering, Elaya took her knife out of her pocket and quickly ended the salmon's life, holding it down until the fish stopped moving. She thought about filleting it, too, but it was going to be easier to bake it over a fire as it was, given their lack of any kind of tools that could be useful here.
She was about to grab the fish and go back to Kaz and Rhenor, hoping that they'd had enough time to talk things out at least somewhat, but then she noticed movement from the corner of her eye.
Elaya turned toward the forest, immediately flinching and her eyes widening. A bird was watching her from a low branch of one of the trees, but it wasn't like any bird Elaya had ever seen. For one, it was massive, maybe half her height, and that was not counting the tail whose feathers almost touched the ground below. And it was purple. With gold lining its feathers, too.
Had Elaya ever seen a bird of that color? Kaz's family had had many books in their estate about all sorts of things, including exotic animals, but she certainly didn't remember seeing anything like this in any of them.
She almost took a step back as the bird tilted its head, studying her. She couldn't figure out why exactly, but her gut was telling her that this was no ordinary animal. Something about the dark eyes she couldn't look away from seemed off. She couldn't place it, but it didn't seem normal.
"Elaya!"
Elaya's head snapped toward the voice, immediately recognizing it as Kaz's. Dammit, she must have been here for longer than she'd thought.
She looked back at the bird, wanting to see it once more before she went back, but to her shock, it was gone. It must have gotten spooked by Kaz calling her, but Elaya hadn't heard it fly away. A creature of that size must have made noise when it moved, surely.
But there was no evidence of it ever perching on that branch. Elaya blinked and shook her head. Perhaps this island was home to very large, very silent birds. It was as good an explanation as she could come up with at the moment.
"Oh, there you are," Kaz said as he ran up to her, heaving a sigh of relief. Elaya looked at both him and Rhenor, grimacing. Kaz had put on a smile, but she could tell he had been worried. She could see it in his eyes.
"Sorry, I was just about to head back," Elaya told them, an apologetic smile on her face as she raised the fish still in her hand. "I got us breakfast."
While Kaz's eyes widened in delight as he noticed the fish, Rhenor just frowned, looking almost suspicious. Elaya was getting the feeling that Rhenor wasn't very fond of things he didn't know or understand. Personally, Elaya would probably find that annoying after a while, but Kaz didn't seem to mind, so it was none of her business.
"How did you catch that?" Rhenor asked, his eyes narrowed. But he was fooling no one. Elaya didn't miss his throat bobbing as he swallowed. She doubted he cared where the salmon had come from as long as he got to eat a piece of it, which was fair. She was really hungry, too. It was a good thing fish baked fast.
"Magic," she replied, watching for Rhenor's reaction. Seeing him shake his head and mutter something under his breath was more than enough to confirm a suspicion she'd had for a while. "You don't like it very much, do you?"
Rhenor looked over at the sea. "What, fish? I like fish."
Elaya almost rolled her eyes. She didn't believe for a second that Rhenor had misunderstood what she'd meant. But if he wanted to avoid the topic, that was fine. They didn't have to talk about why Rhenor wasn't overly fond of magic. Elaya wouldn't stop using it, though, not when for the first time in her life she could without worrying about the dragons' soldiers coming to arrest her.
"I do, too," Kaz added, though he was giving Rhenor concerned looks. "As long as the bones don't get stuck in my throat."
Elaya grinned when she saw him shudder. "That happened once."
"As if that's not enough," Kaz grumbled, but he was smiling back at her. Elaya had really missed him.
"Just eat slowly, and you'll be fine."
Kaz pouted, but he didn't complain further. He didn't have to since Elaya could practically hear him saying he was hungry and therefore couldn't eat slowly, anyway. Though, she couldn't help but wonder if Kaz wasn't voicing those thoughts because of Rhenor. Elaya couldn't help but notice that Kaz had been acting a bit differently since they'd met up again, and sure, they'd been in very stressful situations until now, but it made her wonder if a part of it was due to Rhenor's presence. It would be funny to consider that a dragon was trying to impress his human lover, but Elaya couldn't help but worry that it wasn't just that.
She certainly hoped that worry was unfounded.
As they went back to the fire to roast the fish, Elaya looked back at the tree. The branch was still unoccupied, but she wasn't sure if she felt relieved or disappointed about that. Something about that bird had been unsettling, though she couldn't figure out why she felt that way.
Even thinking about it made her feel strange. So why could she not stop?
* * *
"So where do we go now?" Kaz said before putting more fish meat into his mouth. Elaya was already full, having eaten more than she'd needed to so she wouldn't have to eat again for a while, and judging by the fact that Rhenor wasn't eating anymore either, she was assuming the same about him.
But not Kaz. Not that Elaya was surprised. Dragons in general seemed to have quite an appetite, even when they changed their form. She had noticed that the more human Kaz looked, the less he could eat, so there was some kind of correlation, but that didn't mean it was a normal amount of food for a human. Especially when it came to meat.
Honestly, it was a wonder that Kaz hadn't given away the fact that he wasn't human much earlier just because of this. He must have limited how much he ate when traveling to Sigallah. Elaya knew he didn't need to eat as much as he had tended to back in Reighir, but she hoped he hadn't starved himself to avoid making Rhenor suspicious.
"Maybe stay here for a while?" Rhenor suggested, shrugging as he took a swig from his waterskin. As Kaz looked down at the cloak he had draped over himself, the man smiled at him softly. "We do need to get you those clothes. Though I don't think going back to Rethan for that is a good idea."
Elaya shuddered at the thought of returning there. "Agreed."
"There might be more towns here," Kaz said as he swallowed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "And they might not have the same, um, rules as Rethan."
Elaya supposed that was possible, though she couldn't manage to be as optimistic as Kaz. She didn't feel a need to say that, though. "I am not letting anyone shoot you down again."
Rhenor scowled. "I swear to the gods, if anyone tries...."
Kaz looked like he might argue, but then he just sighed and pulled the cloak around himself tighter. "I will be more cautious next time."
Dammit. That wasn't what either of them had meant at all. Kaz had always been so quick to blame himself. It made Elaya sad to think about.
"We all will," Rhenor told him before Elaya could speak, but she'd wanted to say something similar, anyway. It was strange to be around someone who kept saying what she wanted to say to Kaz. Elaya was used to being Kaz's only close friend. She was of course thrilled that Kaz had found someone other than her who could appreciate him for who he was, but it would take some getting used to.
"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind if we could stay here for a bit," Kaz said, frowning in thought as he absently munched on another piece of meat. "I would love to go explore the islands here, and this one seems fairly big. None of the books I've read talked much about this archipelago, and the little that was there might be outdated. Their information about Rethan certainly turned out to be, erm, inaccurate." His frown turned a bit disappointed. "I wish I had my journal. I could make a map."
Kaz not having a single piece of parchment on him was a strange reality, but of course, that was the case. Whatever he'd had with him when he'd been captured was gone. Elaya made a mental note to get him a new journal. Or ten. They still had much more silver than they needed after that heist.
"You can draw maps?" Rhenor asked, sounding impressed, and Kaz grinned.
"It's easier when you can see what you're drawing from above."
Rhenor nodded, though he still looked surprised. "But if we stay, what about your clothes?"
Kaz's cheeks went a shade darker, but he didn't look away from Rhenor. "I'm all right like this for now. I mean, if it doesn't make you uncomfortable."
Elaya almost snorted. Between the three of them, she was sure Rhenor was the last one to be uncomfortable with this. She couldn't hold in a snigger when she saw Rhenor's face go red as well. She was really happy for Kaz, but that didn't mean that the two of them weren't ridiculous.
"If you're sure," Rhenor replied, his voice even in a very forced way as he shot Elaya an annoyed look. That just made Elaya want to laugh more, though.
"We should look for fresh water first," he continued, waving the waterskin around. It looked almost empty, but that wasn't surprising given that they'd all drunk from it while eating.
"Okay, great!" Kaz got up as he finished the last piece of the fish and got up, scanning his eyes over the nearby tree line with a grin on his face, and an intrigued spark in his eyes.
Elaya knew that face well—Kaz always looked like this whenever he was excited about learning new things. Elaya just hoped he wouldn't hurt himself while learning them. Kaz's curiosity had an unfortunate tendency to overshadow his survival instincts.
And as if to prove her point, Kaz started strolling toward the forest, as if he knew for a fact there was nothing that could pose a threat to him. And yes, he was a dragon, but in this form, he was more vulnerable. Elaya would have suggested that he turn into his true form, but then he wouldn't fit between the trees.
She pulled herself up to her feet as well, throwing the backpack half-filled with silver onto her back and going after her friend, Rhenor following close behind her. It seemed neither of them was willing to let Kaz get out of their sight, which would be funny to think about if not for everything that had happened.
"Interesting trees," she heard Kaz mutter to himself as she reached him. The dragon was running his hand over the gray, smooth bark of one of the trees forming the small forest they were now facing. She didn't see what was interesting about them, save for maybe the golden tinge the leaves had, but she kept that to herself. Kaz would find the most boring rock fascinating. She knew because he had, many times.
Thankfully, before Elaya felt a need to say something to gently nudge him to keep going he moved away from the tree and walked deeper into the forest, looking around curiously.
And so was Elaya, when she forced herself to let down her guard. The forest was quite nice to look at, as was the whole island. The early morning sun shot through between the trees at an angle and made the leaves glint, illuminating the small patches of grass around them, as well as the fallen leaves on the ground. There were a few mushrooms and berry bushes around from what she could see, but she had no interest in trying either. There was no telling if any of it was poisonous or not, and she didn't feel like finding out today.
As they kept walking, Elaya started to realize just how large this island was. Whenever they walked over a hill that allowed her to see the horizon, there was no sign of the sea. Just grassy fields and clusters of trees dotting them. And mountains, quite a large amount of them, even though they didn't look particularly tall. An entire mountain range stretched across the horizon to the west, and more mountains on their right, half-covered by the forest, which they were slowly but surely approaching.
Rhenor had taken the lead a while back, which Elaya had no problem with. She had spent her entire life in cities, so getting lost in the woods would be very easy for her. He seemed to be leading them towards the mountain cliff closest to them. She wasn't certain if there was a reason for that until she saw a sparkling line in the distance, leading directly to the mountain. A stream.
"How did you know that was there?" she found herself asking. She would have tried to feel the water around her to find it, though she doubted it would work with how much she knew about water magic paired with the fact that they were surrounded by the ocean.
"I saw birds flying that way," Rhenor replied with a shrug. "And I hoped for the best."
That did make sense, she supposed, though Rhenor mentioning birds reminded her of the bird she'd seen earlier, and that immediately made her want to look around to look for it. But instead, she shook her head and walked faster, eager to get to the stream. She wouldn't mind another drink, and she certainly wouldn't mind splashing some of the water in her face.
As they approached the stream, they slowly left the forest behind them, and instead Elaya's boots made contact with reddish, coarse soil that moved beneath her feet. As they finally reached the stream, they found themselves in a gorge, two tall stone walls on each side of the lazily moving water. The mountain walls themselves had a red tinge to them as well, which was interesting. She'd never seen anything like that.
She crouched down to the water and put her hand in the stream, watching the water rush over her fingers before bringing the water to her lips and taking a small sip. It was cool and refreshing, and since there seemed to be nothing wrong with the taste, she took another sip, this time much bigger.
Elaya sighed, letting herself enjoy the water before wetting her hands again and scrubbing her face with them. Even though she was sure her skin hadn't been outright dirty, it still felt very nice to wash away the sweat and dust that had been there since they'd left Istamid.
Next to her, Kaz kneeled and splashed some water in his face as well, though he wore a displeased frown while he did so. Elaya almost chuckled. She wasn't sure if dragons in general just didn't like water, or if it was only Kaz, but it was amusing.
She reached down to get more water, but her fingers barely touched the stream when she froze. Something was wrong, though she wasn't sure what. Elaya looked at her companions. Rhenor was calmly refilling his waterskin, clearly not having noticed anything, but one look at Kaz and Elaya knew from his wide eyes that he could tell something was going on.
And then she felt it. Magic, spreading through the soil beneath them.
The ground shook beneath her feet, sending her from her crouch down to her knees. And then something much worse happened. A loud crack came from above them, followed by the rumble of stone rubbing against stone.
Elaya knew what was happening before she even looked up. A boulder hurling at them from above. And there was not enough time to get out of the way.