Tiri’s Decision

ANDRA

The dragons flew closer and closer still, until Andra met Tiri’s purple eyes with her own.

Andra could tell that Tiri was happy to see her, just as Andra was.

~But is that enough? Does it mean that they could be together, even if fate wasn’t on their side?~

Andra held her breath as Tiri and Ena touched down in the massive mouth of the cave. She would know their decision soon.

Andra backed up, giving the huge creatures room to spread their wings and absorb the shock of their landing.

She felt something hard behind her, and she turned to find Kael’s body pressing against her own.

Andra froze, but she held his gaze for a moment. For once, it wasn’t the harsh scowl she had grown accustomed to.

His eyes were soft, and Andra thought that maybe their gray was more like a rain cloud than cold, unfeeling metal.

She realized that even though he couldn’t understand exactly what she was feeling, he understood part of it.

And for the moment, that was enough to make her feel a little bit better.

The others were gathered around them as well. Eithne nodded her large red head in greeting to Ena, and Ena bowed in return.

~“It is nice to see all of you again,”~ Ena began, speaking into all of their minds at once. ~“Especially now that we know we are friends, not foes.”~

~“We’re glad you’re here,”~ Kael replied diplomatically.

~“As I realized yesterday, Tiri and Andra were destined to be Paired and to share the sacred bond of Sky Riders.”~

Andra listened as Ena went on, but she wished that Ena would let her daughter speak.

She gazed at Tiri, taking in her brilliant purple color. Andra remembered that when she had watched Tiri hatch, she’d thought that she looked like a living gem.

Now, the dragon was just as dazzling—only larger.

Triangular purple spikes traveled down her spine. Her tail wrapped around her body and flicked the rocky ground by her front legs.

Andra could hardly believe that a creature so fearsome could be so…elegant. Even cute.

~“However, to everyone’s great disappointment, the fated moment passed.”~

Tiri stepped tentatively toward Andra. ~“Even though we missed our moment, I still care for you. Maybe one day there will be a way—”~

~“Tiri,”~ her mother chastised, ~“allow me.”~

The purple dragon went silent, and Andra felt confused. ~Wasn’t this Tiri’s decision?~

~“Because Tiri and Andra were in close proximity, they were able to form a connection. But that connection is merely a shadow of the true Rider bond…~

~They weren’t able to touch in that all-important moment.~

~Tiri and Andra can never know one another’s souls as they should.”~

Hot, unruly tears burned behind Andra’s eyes. She risked a glance at Kael, who was staring at Ena, his mouth a hard, thin line.

To her left, Colmen was staring at the ground.

Andra’s heart was breaking even before Ena gave the final blow…

~“Because the two do not share a true bond, Tiri and I have decided to continue on. Alone.”~

The tears were running down her cheeks. Andra cursed herself for being so foolish to think even for a moment that ~she~ could be a Rider.

She thought she had learned from her rebellion. Those old decisions had ruined her life, and she had vowed never to speak out again.

Yet here she was, indulging the same stupid dreams.

Andra was pulled from her downward spiral by the cool touch of dragon scales against her cheek.

She drew a sharp breath at the contact, because the prodding against her mind and her heart became even more intense.

~“Don’t cry, sister,”~ Tiri’s voice whispered.

Andra brushed the dragon’s cheek with the tips of her fingers.

She looked into her huge, beautiful purple eye. It was almost like a pool that Andra could dive into.

~“If it weren’t for your human rules,”~ Tiri went on, ~“we could have been Sky Riders.”~

And then Tiri closed her eyes and pulled away from Andra.

Andra watched, heartbroken, as Tiri took her place at her mother’s side and the two took off from the ledge.

She watched them go, trying to burn the image of Tiri into her mind forever.

Even if they couldn’t be together, Andra would always love her.

Andra stood on the ledge, alone. As the dragons disappeared from sight, something changed within her.

Even in the face of rejection, Andra felt strong. She could no longer deny that there was something special about her.

Though the Bond could never be fulfilled, she had been destined to be a Rider.

But, slowly, this sensation changed into another. The warm fire that caressed her mind turned chaotic, destructive.

For the first time, she saw the injustice of her life clearly.

Judge Dusan had kept her from her dream. He had instilled in her that she was not worthy of being a Rider.

He had prevented fate, the one thing that could have freed her from a life of slavery.

And at that moment, Andra understood the fight of the Freemen all the more.

KAEL

Kael couldn’t watch her any longer.

He turned away from the mouth of the cave and began packing up his belongings.

It was time they moved on anyway.

He rolled up his sleeping mat and tossed it to the side.

~“Kael…”~ Eithne prodded his mind, and Kael already knew she was going to tell him to watch his anger.

But he couldn’t help it.

Kael was so angry his vision was red at the edges.

The poor girl.

She had been destined to share the most beautiful thing that existed in the world, and the Judges ripped it out of her hands.

This made the slavery and violence all the more appalling to him.

~“How could they do that to her?”~ Kael asked. ~“Imagine if we had been kept from each other when you were young.”~

~“Just the thought breaks my heart,”~ Eithne replied.

Kael couldn’t fathom what it would feel like to be deprived of his bond with Eithne.

Their bond made it so that he barely saw them as separate beings. He and his dragon were two halves of the same whole.

And Andra would never know that feeling…

~“I know you’re angry,”~ Eithne went on, ~“but remember that your emotions have impact and consequences. You’re like the West Wind, blowing over everything in its path.”~

Kael frowned. ~She’s right, of course. But I can’t help it.~

~“Remember that you must be patient. Try to think of what Andra needs right now.”~

~“What would that be?”~ he replied, frustrated.

But then Kael turned around. As soon as he saw Andra, his heart faltered.

Immediately, his anger turned to compassion.

The girl was sitting on a log, her posture deflated and her hair hanging around her face.

She shuddered at every loud noise, as if expecting to be punished.

Eithne was right. His emotions were affecting Andra.

He hoped that she knew his anger was not directed at her…

“Andra, we’re packing for Bellris,” he said, approaching her carefully. “We should leave camp soon.”

The girl looked up at him; her pale green eyes were flat and cold.

She nodded numbly.

Kael had assumed she would be angry, or at least sad, but she had retreated from all emotion entirely.

It broke Kael’s heart to see that she had become the emotionless servant he had first met.

She had come so far, and he had taken it for granted.

As he packed their belongings onto Eithne, he vowed he would help Andra. He didn’t know how yet, but he would help reignite the fire in her soul.

ANDRA

“Hey, Andra!”

Colmen trotted up beside her on his horse. Andra was in her usual place, riding with Kael.

After feeling so much loss, anger, and pain, she had settled into a neutral, emotionless mood—the same emptiness that had gripped her since her mother’s death.

“How are you?” he asked.

She shrugged. The emptiness that had returned to her chest seemed to have brought the silence with it, smothering her voice yet again.

“Right. Of course…well, you’re going to love Bellris,” Colmen rambled on. “Have you ever been to the elven city, Iterum?”

Andra shook her head.

“Oh, just wait till you see Bellris then. Our houses are carved right into the trees and the whole city is lit by enchanted floating lights.”

She tried to picture it, but Bellris sounded unlike anything she had ever seen. She stared before her, unblinking, at the never-ending forest.

“And Eithne isn’t the only dragon there. There’s also Calix, a male dragon, who enjoys swimming in the lake.”

~“Not me,”~ Eithne called down from above. ~“I prefer to stick to the skies. I’d swear that Calix thinks he’s an amphibian.”~

They rode in silence for a few moments. Andra sensed that she was making Colmen nervous because she wasn’t talking.

She wanted to be nice to her friend, but Andra felt too exhausted to do or feel anything at all.

“You’ll love Bellris,” he repeated. “It’s not big, but there’s a space for everyone. I’m sure that you can find a home there.”

She glanced at Colmen. His eyes were caring, and he wore a shy smile.

Andra was touched by the sentiment, even though she doubted Bellris would feel like home to her. She tried to return the smile before turning back to the forest ahead of her.

~Home.~

~Have I ever had one? Will I ever?~

Bellris sounded nice enough, but Andra felt like she had just watched her true home fly away on purple wings.

She had escaped her life of slavery. Now, she had no master.

But she was still bound to the Judges’ rules.