Page 130 of Between Soul and Vessel
“I don’t really know what to make of it, but apparently, at one point, I could.”
“Perhaps you will be able to again.”
“Perhaps,” I said, wondering if it were possible. I had only recently been able to tap into my giant form. Would my dragon form soon follow? Perhaps one was a step to another? Time would tell. My gaze met hers. “Have you recovered any other memories of your life here or mine?”
“I have. Can I show you through the bond?”
I nodded. “You can.”
Making herself comfortable, she nestled against my chest and then granted me access to all of it—
Together, we walked through the past.
Sage showed me the memories of her and Artemesia as they grew up together. She showed me the day when she wastaken from her family’s summer home, traded to the empress in exchange for the protection of her people. She showed me how the empress had planned to use her to find out what my weakness was.
One memory I found particularly endearing, of when I had fought in the arena and she threw a glass of wine at my face then stormed off. My feisty female.
Then, her memories shifted to more recent ones, spanning from the moment she was pulled from the Miyakai river, which, to her, had felt as if it were waterless, something I found rather interesting. It did indeed have water flowing through it. I wondered if it was because her soul had been disconnected from her vessel, and so she had been unable to feel it.
Memories moving forward, she showed me what happened between then and the moment she saw me, flying for her, with the empress’s winged horse riders gaining behind her.
When we returned to the present, I held her in my arms for a long, long while.
After some time passed, she poked her head up and said, “There’s something that has been bothering me.”
“What is it?” I asked softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
“In the past, the empress wanted me to find your weakness so she could use it against you and win the War of the Creators. But then, she sent me to the Three Realms, to retrieve your soul. Why would she want to get rid of you and then go to such extraordinary lengths to get you back?”
I thought it over for a moment, combing through the memories she had just shown me. Until I stopped on one—of when Sage’s soul and her body were still disconnected.
“The empress said I was . . . the key,” I said, showing her the memory through the bond.
“The key to what, though?” Confusion drew her brows together. Then, they lifted. She jerked upright, eyes stretching wide. “What if it’s because you were able to shift into a dragon?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, sitting up. I tossed an arm over my bent knee, my gaze fixed on her.
“Artemesia told me that dragons were wiped out during the empress’s war. She had their bodies taken to Avolonia because she wanted to recreate the species, but she never succeeded. What if she thinks you are the key to making them again?”
My eyes flicked back and forth. What Sage was saying made sense, but . . . I finished the thought out loud. “Why would the empress care so much about making more dragons?”
“Artemesia said something about . . . Oh, how did she phrase it . . .” Sage chewed her bottom lip. A sliver of jealousy wedged its way into me—I should be the one doing the biting right now. Releasing it, she continued, drawing my attention back to the conversation. “She said something to the extent ofbecause the empress was unable to create dragons, it was a failure that some were starting to take note of.Perhaps she thinks that if she can create more dragons, it will secure her reign for longer?”
I mulled it over. “It’s plausible.”
A light knock came at our door, followed by Harper’s muffled voice. “Are you two up? Artemesia called a meeting in her room.”
“We’ll be right there,” Sage responded over her shoulder, throwing her voice. She turned to me. “We’ll discuss this later.” Then, she hadthe audacityto start to get up.
I snaked an arm around her torso and pulled her back against me. “Yeah, no. You are not leaving the bed yet.”
“Von,” she laughed as I flipped her onto her back.
I propped myself over her, my arms falling on either side of her body, caging her in. “I’m starving.”
She ran her fingers up my forearm. “I’m sure there’s some food downstairs—”
“I don’t want mortal food.” I raked my gaze over her. “I hunger foryou, wife.”
