Page 34 of Taloned Heart

The thin connection looped around Nyx’s thread and then she could feel her.

“Mother?”

She could almost hear Nyx as though she were standing right beside her. As though they walked together through the marsh, even though Lore knew that was impossible.

“I’m here,” Lore replied, trying very hard to speak through the thick wave of tears that burned at the sound of her daughter’s voice. “How are you?”

“I’m fine.” Nyx sounded confused. “I didn’t know you could do this.”

“I can do a great many things now, and apparently this is only one of them.”

How did she explain to her daughter what was happening? Nyx might have absorbed the memories of countless dragons, but she was still just a child. At heart, her daughter shouldn’t know about kingdoms filled with turmoil and conflict. She didn’t want to tell Nyx that she’d already risked their lives, or about the horrible feeling that still stuck to her skin after being in Tenebrous and seeing the starving people there.

All she wanted was to hear that Nyx was well, and that life had continued on in the dragon isles without them. That they were happy and well and that someone in this family was still a good person at their core.

Nyx cleared her throat, and Lore swore she heard the shuffling of leaves. “Are you all right?”

No. No, she wasn’t all right. Would everyone stop asking her that?

She couldn’t lie to her daughter, though. And she couldn’t tell her the truth. Instead, she asked, “Has Draven been keeping his hands off you?”

“Mother!” Nyx burst into laughter and the sound soothed all the aches in Lore’s chest. “You know he has. I don’t know why you and Father are so worried about that. He’s been a perfect gentleman.”

“And why is that?”

“Because he says I’m too young for anything to happen between us, even though I’ve absorbed the memories of a hundred other dragons that have lived hundreds of years.” Lore could practically see the eye roll Nyx ended her rant with.

“That’s not entirely why.” Lore stepped over a fallen log that was covered with bright green moss. “You know, it’s not a mistake to learn more about each other. Even if those memories made you older than you are, which they do not, knowing that he is willing to wait only makes him more serious about you.”

“What’s so wrong with having a little fun?”

And so the argument continued. Lore defended Abraxas’s opinion while her daughter whittled away at any logic in those arguments. It was like she had never left.

Finally, Lore found a spot that seemed safe for the night. The cave had formed out of old mud and billowing moss that must have been pushed up at some point by an air bubble in the swamp. Now it wasn’t much, but it would fit the three of them for the night.

Lore leaned over and stared into the shadows, making sure there weren’t any hidden creatures within before she sat down inside of it.

“It’s so good to hear your voice,” she whispered. And it was. It was so good to remember why she was here and what she was fighting for.

With a wave of her hand, Lore projected their images to each other. To her surprise, they were both in the same position. She sat cross-legged in the dirt in a swamp, while Nyx had settled herself into the crux of a tree with her arms around her legs.

They stared at each other, as though they could reach through the hundreds of miles that separated them and touch.

“Mother?” Nyx whispered. “You look terrible.”

“I feel terrible.” Lore lifted her arms and grimaced at the sight of them. “I’m already covered in mud and I don’t remember ever touching anything.”

“Are you in a swamp?”

“We have to go through the swamp to get to the next part of this journey.” Lore sighed. “I’m glad you’re not here. It’s disgusting.”

“I could have sent the water away from you. Tanis has been teaching me how to use water to my whim. It’s been... Interesting.” Nyx made a face that said she wasn’t having all that much fun with her teacher. “It was better when you were here. I liked the way you taught us to use magic. Like nature was at our beck and call.”

“It is.” Lore knew that elves and dragons learned magic in different ways, though. She was grateful for Tanis being there with them. “How are the other little ones?”

“Taking up all the attention.”

And there it was. The reason she didn’t think Draven should be anywhere near her daughter. For all the memories and magic that she’d built up from those crystals, Nyx was just a little girl. She still got jealous when someone else had more attention than her, and she still wanted all that attention for herself.

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