Page 13 of A Heart of Crimson Flames
I released a groan of frustration and Navin nodded in agreement. We’d managed a few stolen moments in the quiet of the night, wedged into a bunk in the wagon where our positions were limited. I didn’t want to bury my face in a pillow any longer. I didn’t want to stymie my cries of pleasure. I wanted him to make me howl loud enough that it rattled the trees.
I let out another growl, my lust-filled thoughts torturing me right along with him.
“Surely there are enough bedchambers in the temple to allow us some privacy at last?” I squinted up at the midday sun and the winged shadows tracing circles around it. “Preferably without your dragon waiting outside our door.”
“I’ll send her away.”
“You should be sending her out with more purpose,” I said pointedly. “See what else you can make her do. Command her to go catch us dinner at the very least. There’s only so long we can survive on rodents. There’s better game up the mountains.”
Navin let out a whistle and the circling pattern above changed. The rock beneath me wobbled as his dragon soared down to the edge of the clearing, kicking up dirt as she skidded to a landing.A dust cloud of floating dandelion seeds plumed around her as she came to a halt.
“Her landings are improving,” I called. Haestas’s warm breath whooshed past my face as I spoke. “She didn’t knock anything over this time, either.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Navin said to Haestas as he reached out and stroked her scaly snout. She released a pleased chittering sound and nuzzled further into his touch.
“She isn’t your pet,” I pushed bitterly,definitely notjealous of the fact that I hadn’t been stroked by him in weeks. “Need I remind you, she is a manifestation of dark magic. She is a weapon, a war winner. She is the difference between our life and death.” Navin’s mouth pinched at that, but I knew I was finally getting through to him. “I know you care for her and I know she’s still young, but the situation is too dire to not test her abilities thoroughly.”
He hung his head as he gave Haestas one last sweep down her cheek. “You’re right.”
He started to sing to her and her pupils widened. At first, she tilted her head in curiosity; then she started stomping her legs like an eager dog ready to chase a bone. With a final chanted command, Haestas eagerly took flight again, heading out over the pine forest... and only smacking the tops of three trees during takeoff.
“What did you bid her do?” I asked.
Navin frowned at the bright sky. “I’ll tell you if she succeeds.”
My sharp retort died along with a sound echoing up from the well—a violin. Mina played through the reverberating hollow, the sound growing louder, and Navin sang back to her, the two speaking in a language I’d never learned. It was a quick back-and-forth, but Navin smiled and gave me a look as if to say,I’ll tell you later.
“Sadie?” Calla’s voice echoed up the well.
“Calla,” I replied, my lips curving. “Are you well?”
“We are,” their voice was strained. “And you?”
I missed when our time spent together was more than just relaying information. My mind flickered back to the dinners that stretched into the wee hours of the morning, the rowdy laughter and tales told. I hated these simple exchanges, wished I had more news to share and that we had time to make conversation that was more than transactional... preferably round a warm fire and with copious amounts of drinks.
“We still haven’t found the temple of knowledge,” I ground out. “But Navin promises we should arrive any day now.”
Grae’s voice sounded amused. “The wagon getting a little crowded for you?”
“You have no idea,” Navin replied.
“And your dragon?” Calla asked, clearly ignoring the exchange. I had a feeling my Queen was making a silencing motion to their mate right now.
“We are testing its abilities,” I said, giving Navin an equally sharp look. “Our hope is her hunting prowess can be extended to our enemies in time.”
“Good.”
“Yes.”
Nerves coiled in me at the stilted words. I wished I had more rousing enthusiasm to share but that had never been my strong suit. I knew how badly Calla needed this hope. If Haestas wasn’t the weapon we promised she could be, if we couldn’t get more monsters to join in our battle, there was no hope of getting Briar back, let alone defeating Nero and stopping his human slaughter.
“We will keep working on it,” I promised, needing to fill the silence. “And once we find more songs at the temple of knowledge, we will be able to double our efforts.”
There was a long pause before Calla spoke again. “Any word from Rasil or the rest of the Songkeepers?”
“None,” Navin replied.
“We can only hope that they have decided to stay close to the Onyx Wolves and their new King,” Calla lamented. “But I fearthat with the eternal songs in their possession, they will be pulled into this battle one way or another.”
