Page 68 of Oath of Betrayal
Orm smirked, shaking his head. ‘If my dragon is here, it means we are still in trouble. You’d better brace yourself. If you think I’m an overprotective bastard, just wait until you experience a dragon’s wrath.’
‘Little Flame!’ Vahin’s voice roared, enhanced by the boom of his precipitous landing. His claws dug into the frozen ground with ease, preventing his large catlike body from slipping as he turned in our direction. I looked Vahin in the eye and gasped at the change I saw. My intelligent, compassionate dragon was gone, replaced with savage fury. For the first time since meeting him, I felt a tinge of fear.
‘I almost lost you. I felt fingers of ice grasping my heart, and there was nothing I could do,’ Vahin boomed as he circled me, unable to calm down. I reached out, stroking his head.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said, feeling a furnace burning under his skin as if he was trying to expel the last hint of ice in my veins. ‘I’m fine, Vahin, I promise. Orm saved me.’
The dragon turned his head towards Orm, and as his pupils narrowed to mere slits, Orm gasped in response. Whatever Vahin projected during their silent conversation left the commander’s face full of anger and worry.
‘We need to return to the fortress. Vahin spotted a large group of remnant undead wandering towards Zalesie, and the dragons I left near the Rift reported a forest fire. I have to deal with it as soon as we get you to a healer.’
‘I’ll go with you,’ I said, but both dragon and his rider looked at me as if I’d lost my mind.
I stood my ground; remnants were slow and mindless undead creatures, something akin to the university’s first-year challenge to battle mage standards. ‘Look. You can’t be in two places at once, and I can lead the ground forces or simply support them if they have a decent officer. How about you deal with the forest fire while the soldiers and I head to Zalesie?’
Orm shook his head. ‘The fire could be natural, and I won’t waste my time on it unless it threatens someone’s community. We will fly towards Zalesie tomorrow and exterminate theremnants. Those creatures move slowly and are unlikely to be much of a threat to the town.’
He pointed to Vahin’s back. ‘Get on, Nivale. Right now, we’re flying to the fortress; my kirbai can find his own way home. We both need rest, and I have to make some plans because this event has completely changed our situation. You will go on patrol when the healers allow you to go. That is the rule for all my soldiers.’
‘Come on, Little Flame. Your hunting trip is over for today,’ Vahin said, a grumpy tone in his voice, and I turned, slapping my palm against his neck.
‘My hunting trip eliminated two strigae, an undead mountain troll, and a bloody olgoi worm who would otherwise have been free to make new tunnels and drag down unsuspecting travellers or even people in the villages if they got too close. So don’t you dare treat me like a wayward child because we all know it was an excellent decision.’
Orm gathered our belongings and secured them to the dragon’s back, setting the kirbai free before he joined me. We flew in silence; I was sulking at the censure in Vahin’s tone, and both males must have realised how I felt because, for a long time, not a word was spoken.
When we spotted the fortress in the distance, Orm whispered in my ear. ‘You are an impressive fighter and saved me, again. You can more than hold your own, but you must forgive Vahin. You nearly died, and that worries him. Whilst I could at least fight alongside you, he couldn’t, and that’s grating on him a lot.’
‘You almost died as well, yet he didn’t yell atyou,’ I said, refusing to let go of my grudge.
‘I wasn’t the one who gave his life meaning again. I love him like a brother, but he has had many riders and likely will have many more, while you … You are his miracle, his only tether toa consciousness buried under the sands of passing time. Don’t blame him for lashing out when he almost lost you.’
I didn’t reply to that, but I did let myself relax and enjoy the ride.
‘I am sorry, Little Flame. Orm is right, losing you would be like losing my soul. But he is also wrong—I won’t have another rider. Orm is the last one.’Vahin said in my mind, and I welcomed the gentleness that had returned to his voice, even if his words troubled me.
My peace didn’t last long, though.
As soon as Vahin descended, I saw Alaric rushing towards the landing area. The mage looked frantic and furious, grasping a piece of paper in his hand.
Looks like someone found my letter.
Purple magic curled around him like smoke, and if anything, showcased how close Alaric was to losing control. What was supposed to be a minor excursion to clear my head had turned into a complete disaster. I wondered how many people I had enraged today and whether I should start carving notches on my headboard.
‘Annika, how courteous of you to leave us thisdrivel.“Please tell Alaric I’m sorry?”How very kind of you,’ he seethed with worry. ‘Hrae! What were you thinking? You want to sort things out? Fine! Tomorrow, you will spend the day in my workshop. It is time we start synchronising our magic. Be there at dawn.’ I saw his nostrils flare as his hand tightened, crumpling the letter into a tattered mess.
‘Ari … I’m sorry,’ I tried to say, but he shook his head while his eyes filled with crimson and pain.
‘You’resorry? How do you think I felt when Vahin roared you were dying in a blizzard at the height of summer? You ripped out my heart. No, Annika, being sorry is not enough. I thought I’d lost you—I thought all I’d be left with was your body, and Iwas ready to bring you back just to hold you in my arms and say goodbye. No, you will have to try much harder to earn my forgiveness.’
He turned on his heel and marched back towards the castle. Alaric’s outburst left me speechless, and I looked at Orm, searching for an answer. ‘He’ll be alright. Just give him time. Go get some rest, Ani,’ he said with a sigh, and bent to kiss my forehead. The sweet gesture disarmed me completely, and, feeling utterly defeated, I dragged myself to my room.
1.Morgenstern— otherwise known as a Morning Star flail; a mace with a chain ending with a spiky ball.
2.Olgoi worm— a blind earthworm with rows of serrated teeth, famous for drilling tunnels in the dirt and rocks. They rarely hunt sentient beings, but during starvation periods, they may move to the surface and hunt for warm-blooded prey.
‘Alaric’va Shen’ra, what the fuck was that?!’
Orm’s voice thundered in the enclosed space, raising dust from old volumes and disturbing the ancient place. I loved the library with its high, arched crystal glass windows that filtered the harsh mountain sun during the day and allowed you to study the passage of the stars at night. It calmed me, and I needed to be calm right now.
