Page 204 of Between Despair and Hope

“Wasn’t that bad, was it?”

“It was amazing!” she shouted, cheeks pink and hair windblown.

“You were screaming your head off,” I countered, grinning at the girl who stood bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Alright, yes, but it was just, oh, it was exhilarating,” she breathed. “I can’t wait to do it again.”

“I, uh, when I’m back…after Nara’s Cove…” I trailed off when her expression grew somber. “What is it?”

“I wish you weren’t going there. I know you have to, but it…you’ll be alright, won’t you?”

The ache in my heart pulsed when I realized she was afraid, and then I had to stop myself from smiling over the fact she was worried for me. She was my daughter, and I would love her until the day I died. But in the back of my mind, I’d wondered when she’d feel the same about me being her father, if she ever would. It seemed she might get there one day.

“I’ll be alright. I won’t be involved unless Declan is there. He’s too strong for my soldiers to take down alone, but I’m not repeating the mistakes of last time. I was worn out and weak the last time I faced him. I won’t do that again.”

“Alright,” she said, albeit warily. “When you’re back from Nara’s Cove?” she prompted.

“I can teach you how to ride Ryo on your own? I don’t want you—I’d rather you not try to ride the dragons while I’m gone. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

A slow smile spread on her face, and I saw Em out of the corner of my eye, feeling all too many emotions spreading between us down the bond.

“That sounds like a great idea.”

“Good.” I cleared my throat. “Em, we have that meeting with Reminy, and I have a few last-minute things to do before I leave. You ready?”

“Can you rift me into the city with you? I, uh—” Elora fiddled with her clothing as a flush rose up her cheeks. “Cyran asked me to meet him one last time—to say goodbye. I think he’s, uh, finally accepted that we can’t be friends.”

“That should work,” Em said slowly, eyes lingering on Elora as she turned to me. “I have to stop at the novice dormitory instead of meeting with Reminy, anyway. I’ll take Elora, and—”

“We’re actually meeting at a cafe by the bookstore. Rainier can take me?”

“We’ll figure it out. You probably want to go change considering you smell like dragon spit,” I said, and Elora gifted me with her laugh before flouncing inside.

“The actual contents of the book are—I’m not sure if you’ll be able to do much with it. It seems to just be conjecture. The author of the text drones on and on about what ‘bloom, blood, and bone’ could mean. There is, uh, evidence, I suppose, of a ritual which took place a few years before your father was born which could summon the gods? But I’m not sure if it worked, or if it would help you.”

“What do they think it means?” I asked, leaning forward with both hands spread wide on the table. Reminy had collected all of his notes and texts he’d used to cross-reference what he’d found in the original prophecy book in tidy piles.

“So, the author of this text disagrees, but another person believed it went with the next line. Bloom would go with betrayer, blood with the body, and bone with bane. That if you could source those items, you could summon the gods? While the author disagrees, it seems that he’d read other stories about being able to force the gods to perform some sort of favor. It also seems that body and Beloved were once synonymous. That the body is sacred and beloved, I suppose. It could be either; I’m not sure.”

“Bloom with betrayer, blood with either body or Beloved, and bone with bane?”

“Yes, it would seem. I found this text here,” he said, sliding an older book in front of me. “This is written by the person our author seems to disagree with. He believed it was meant to be the bloom of the betrayer, blood of the Beloved, and bone of the bane. And if collected, well, they could invoke a favor from the gods.”

“Hmm,” I murmured, standing up and crossing my arms. “A favor from the gods would be quite fortuitous, especially for the Accursed.”

“Indeed, Your Majesty.” The small man pushed his glasses up his nose before replacing the book in his neat stack. “I’m sorry I do not have more information for you. It was quite…taxing to read a few dead men argue back and forth. I got through an entire pamphlet before I realized it was just name-calling.”

I laughed, but it felt forced. “Thank you, Reminy, for taking on this endeavor for me. And the boy’s translation? He didn’t bother you, did he?”

Reminy pulled a folded sheet of paper from the stack and handed it over. “He didn’t bother me. It was nice to not have to switch directions in thought. What he translated was more informal than what I did. It seems a few centuries stood between what was printed and the note inside. It appears it was some sort of gift.”

“I’ll let you get back to work, friend. Thank you for your help.”

He nodded and ran a hand through sleek, black hair. “Do you, erm, do you know when that big woman will be back?”

I blinked at him for a second before realizing who he meant. “Thyra? Elora’s guard?”

“Yes,” he replied, gulping loudly.

---