CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Enfri wiped her eyes. It had been the story she already knew, and at the same time, it wasn't. What happened had been the same. It was the reasons behind the events that were put in a different light.

"Mother didn't want him to go," Enfri said to herself. "All this time, I thought she drove him to."

Deebee sighed. She still sat in her silver-skinned human form with her bare back leaning against the interdiction. "One thing mattered more than anything else to the Mierwyn I once knew. It was her family, the one she was born to as well as the one she chose. She accepted the curse of my ward to keep you safe."

Enfri hugged her arms around herself. "I don't understand. Why would she agree to be forgotten if she hated me?"

"The answer is as simple as it is complex," Deebee said as she turned around to face Enfri. "Mierwyn didn't hate you. I think I've proven time and again that I have little understanding of why mortals behave as they do, but I could see that much. To the end, Mierwyn would have laid down her life for yours. Your mother loved you."

Enfri sniffed and buried her face in her knees. "She couldn't have," she said in denial. "Every time she looked at me... Every word..."

"Every year spent beneath my ward. You lived most of your life without realizing what was upon you. Neither she or your grandmother ever let that pain touch you. And she suffered for it. They both did, I know. You yearned to be a part of Sandharbor as they once were, but you never experienced that life. The other sky women did. I took that from them, and Mierwyn knew what she had lost. Even so, she endured it to keep you safe."

Deebee placed her hand on the barrier that separated them.

"I am not absolving her, Enfri. She loved you from before you were born, but I think she allowed resentment to fester in her heart. It poisoned her, and in turn, she let it harm you. Flames take me, I can't say I can ever forgive her for that."

"Must I?" Enfri asked weakly. "Am I obligated to forgive her?"

"Forgive? I'm not asking that of you, now or ever. Perhaps you might someday. That is your choice and yours alone. However, I would ask you to understand her. Not all of us can be as strong as you are."

Enfri shook her head. "I'm not strong. I'm still the weak, little girl that mistrusts every kindness shown to me."

Deebee smiled. "And yet you never fail to show kindness of your own. Even now, you give it to that one over there. Show me a mortal who gives life to those that would harm her, one who never acts out of hate and malice, no matter her feelings or the cost. I call that true strength."

A pit of guilt formed in Enfri's stomach. Deebee was wrong about her. "I do feel hate." She raised her eyes to look at Jin resting in the back of the cave. "Every terrible thing that's happened to us falls on the king and his assassins. When I think of them, I see her."

"And I see no reason to blame you," Deebee sighed. "But I have my doubts that it's hate you have for Jin. I told you once before that hate and fear are two very similar things."

Enfri nodded. "I'm afraid of her," she admitted in a bare whisper. "I'm so very tired of being afraid, and courage isn't enough to stop it."

"I think we had it wrong once again," Deebee said. "Feeling this way and acting on it are two entirely different things. In that, you are twice the sky woman your mother ever was. From my years observing mortals, I've recently come to believe that what you think and feel first are merely what you've been conditioned to think and feel. What you think next— what you act upon— that is who you truly are. It's in the second part, the person you choose to be, where your soul can be seen. Humans and dragons both fall short on occasion, but it's our ability to grow stronger and wiser, to show kindness, that makes us mighty."

Deebee looked out towards the burning ruins, the firelight reflected in her amber eyes. "The Aleesh of old didn't understand this. Mierwyn didn't, and neither did I. You're the one that helped me learn something so important. If only the world had more such as you within it. Keeping you hidden away as I did was a sin. All of us have been diminished by having your light tucked away on the desert's edge."

Enfri slid closer to the interdiction and placed her hand against it over Deebee's. "I'm alive because of you. You protected me as best you could from every danger you could see. You've been there for me for all my life. Since Mother died, you've given me the cure for the poison she fed me time and again. You loved me, and you let me know that you did. You let me love you back."

Deebee looked into her eyes, and Enfri smiled for her.

"Before," Enfri said quietly, "I told Jin that I wished I could have had a loving mother. The truth is, for a long time now, I've known that I have all along."

Deebee's lip trembled as she returned the smile. "My beautiful Enfri. If not for this blustering interdiction I would hold you until you break." Her smile faded, and she lowered her eyes. "I don't deserve such words from you, love. You say it's the king who brought ruin to your life, but that's too easy an excuse for me to make. My ward was useless in the end. It accomplished nothing. My spell only hurt you."

"We don't know that," Enfri argued. "Who could say what would have happened? I might have been discovered a month ago, a year, before I had my brace and couldn't walk a mile without falling on my nose or doubling over in exhaustion."

"And after that?" Deebee asked. "What of my other mistakes? At every turn, I led you into danger. I was so arrogant and so certain that no mortal could outwit a dragon. Enfri, I've been a failure at the task your father gave me. I failed him and you."

Enfri frowned. "Stop that. Stop revering Yora as if he were a perfect man. What I heard in your story was that he wasn't. He could be selfish and foolish. He never should have gone to Teularon."

"Enfri, please," Deebee murmured. She looked away, and held a hand to the side of her face.

"It was unfair of him to take your oath. If he had but let you go with him to Teularon..."

"Do not speak of that place!" Deebee cried. She held her head in her hands, and her amber eyes were wide open as if she were frightened. Large tears welled up within them and fell to the stones.

"Winds take these eyes," she sobbed. "There's something wrong. Why can I not... Why can't I..."

The dragon wept, and she didn't understand why she couldn't see through her tears. Enfri wished she could go to her, hold her close, and comfort her.

Deebee sniffed and wiped at her eyes. She stared at the wetness on her fingers and let out a shaking breath. "When we take on another creature's form, we take on some of that creature's manner. Perhaps I've spent far too short a time in this one. I understand so little of mortals, but I would know all that I can. How can we survive such pain? It's been so long yet still feels as if there's a knife in my heart. I've never felt like this before. Not even when..."

"When the elder dragons left," Enfri ventured. "When you were told to stay behind and you may never see them again."

Deebee nodded. She closed her eyes and let another tear fall. "Varn. He was of the same sire as my grandmother. I believed every word he told me. He had my complete trust. I'm so sorry, Enfri. The stories I've repeated to you for so long..."

Enfri didn't know what to say. The truth they found in the slave pits of Marwin had shocked Enfri to the core, but she couldn't imagine what it must have been like for Deebee to learn such things.

"Five hundred years, I've believed," Deebee said. "Half a millennium. I've journeyed from one end of the Continent to the other and beyond, but never once... never once did I think that I'd been deceived."

Deebee stood and surveyed the ruins, shattered and still burning from her battle with Jin. Her hands were shaking.

"I've spent all my life in the hope that Shan Alee could come back one day. My claws, they are small but have done many deeds over the centuries towards that goal. Not all of these things are to be proud of. I've lied, stolen, cheated... murdered. And for what? For this? An empire of scales and collars? I acted in the steadfast belief that all my sins were for a greater good. Now, I realize the truth that has been hidden from me. There was never a higher purpose, no benevolent spirit guiding my actions. It was only me— my crimes— and I alone hold the blame. Everything I've done, everything I've sacrificed, has been for a lie."

Her teeth were bared. As she spoke, her voice had been growing louder. Deebee was shouting now, her words filled with a hateful fury.

"You named me Storyteller!" she roared to the sky. "You named me, knowing that I would spread your lies. And now, I've found our beloved, brought her to our homeland, and this is the truth you give us? We're accused, hunted, and sentenced to die while you flee. You cowards. Why must it be our burden to answer for your sins? Is this what the mighty truly are? You cowards!"

Enfri leaned against the barrier. She wanted reach out and take Deebee's hand. Her pain was as a physical wound, and Enfri didn't need the bond to know how grievous an injury it was.

"I'm sorry, love," Enfri murmured. "They told you only the things that were bright, and they left out the dark. As Grandmother said, half a truth can be fully a lie."

Deebee snorted, her eyes downcast. "The mighty could learn much from mortals. I would tear out my own heart if it could make it so." Her voice lowered. "I am ashamed to be a dragon."

Enfri whispered her name, but she didn't seem to hear. Deebee stood outside the cave, her golden hair caught in the wind, as if she were truly the last dragon in all the world.

"Forgive me, girl," Deebee said. Her voice had grown cold. "I'm afraid I need a moment to myself. There is much to think on, and I would be alone while I consider how to free you."

"Of course," Enfri replied. "Please, don't go far and be careful. The city's burning."

Deebee surveyed Marwin. She started down from the cave as she gave her reply. "Let it burn."

Enfri watched as Deebee descended the embankment. Soon, she was gone from sight. With a heavy heart, Enfri turned from the cave entrance.

She winced with pain whenever she put her weight on her injured leg. It was becoming troublesome, but she remained hesitant to heal it with the bond. Enfri sat by the wellspring and gave it an overdue washing. She dangled her calf in the pool and sighed with relief as the cold water soothed her pain.

The areas immediately around the burn were covered with small blisters. At least the impaling wound hadn't broken open again. Enfri would rather have Deebee sear it closed once more than allow a drop of blood to leave her body. If Jin was still set on completing the contract, Enfri wouldn't hand her the means to do it.

Enfri remembered the scale lions killed by osteomancy, and she shivered. If she were to be allowed to choose how she died, having every bone in her body broken at once would be as far down the list as she could put it.

Maybe it wouldn't be such a terrible idea to heal the burn. At least, just a little bit. Enough to get rid of the blisters and lessen the risk of bleeding. Enfri sent a tiny thread of strength to Deebee as a way of warning her, then pictured the burn healing. As before, she felt a warm sensation. She watched as the blisters vanished and the flesh knitted together. It was happening so fast. Enfri cut the healing off after another brief moment.

She sent another trickle of strength to Deebee as a thank you, then pulled her leg out of the wellspring. Enfri frowned. She hadn't meant to heal as much as she had. It looked as if she had been recovering for a week under the best care with all the herbal salves she could hope for.

I need more practice at this, she thought, then gulped. Winds, I hope I never need to.

It wouldn't do for Jin to see her burn miraculously healed, even if it was only halfway. Enfri used one of the last remaining bandages to wrap her calf, her purpose being to conceal it rather than any actual treatment.

"I didn't see that you were hurt," Jin observed.

Enfri let out a startled squeak and about jumped out of her shift. She looked over her shoulder and saw Jin watching her back with that cold and calculating gaze of hers.

"You're supposed to be resting," Enfri scolded. She made doubly sure that her bandaged leg was out of sight.

"I can't sleep," Jin said. "How came you to be wounded?"

Enfri tied off the bandage and swung her legs out from the wellspring. "Somewhere between Dashar and Maya. No funny ideas, you. Deebee burnt the blood away and cauterized the wound."

She didn't notice I was injured? I ought to have healed it all the way from the start.

"Why haven't you used your bond with the dragon to heal it?" Jin asked.

Enfri screamed inwardly, but kept her face a mask. "You're assuming Deebee and I are bonded. We aren't."

Jin frowned. "You came this far on your own, then? You didn't use the dragon's strength?"

"I wouldn't have made it this far without her, if that's what you mean."

Jin looked thoughtful. "I see. I thought that because your father was bonded that you might have gone through the same thing."

Enfri shrugged as she lied through her teeth. "Deebee never told me how it was done, and I honestly never cared to ask. I prefer herbs and things I can understand to the arcane."

Jin nodded, but kept staring regardless. "Then why have your eyes changed? They used to be brown."

Winds and storms, I forgot about that! Enfri tried to appear confused. "Brown? My eyes are green. Always have been."

"I would have noticed if they were green," Jin said. She propped herself up on an elbow. "If I had seen green eyes four years ago, I would have suspected you for an Aleesh from our first meeting."

Enfri shrugged. The only way out of this that she could see was to make Jin doubt herself. "Poor lighting?"

"Bah," Jin grunted in frustration. "I can't question you like this. How can I when the prisoner could overpower me on a whim?"

Enfri tried not to grin as she imagined tying Jin up like a hog for market. Having Jin under her power had its appeal, and she was doubly thankful that it spared her from further probing questions.

"You know," Enfri said, "you could always try asking me what you want to learn. Before you ethershocked yourself, you were saying something. 'Where is he?', I seem to recall. What did you mean by that?"

"It doesn't matter. You and the dragon aren't bonded, so you wouldn't know." She made a disgusted noise. "Uncle Vintus shouldn't have killed the spearman. It was thoughtless."

Enfri blinked. She realized that Jin had said that for her own reasons, but she appreciated the sentiment nonetheless. "What is it you hope to learn from someone with a dragon bond?" she asked.

"Where it comes from," Jin replied. "Specifically, the whereabouts of the one responsible for forging them. These bonds are too powerful, and we must stamp them out at their source."

Enfri realized that she was gripping the loose collar of her shift. She quickly let go before she stretched it out or Jin noticed her sudden apprehension.

What is she implying? All dragons aren't capable of forging their own bonds? Enfri looked to the cave entrance and wished that Deebee would return. There were questions she didn't have the answer to, even about something as important as the bond between them. Is there something special about silver dragons? Or is it just Deebee? Winds, but I thought I already knew everything about her.

Enfri couldn't let herself be tricked into revealing too much. Jin was too clever to take lightly. If only there was a way to throw her off the scent.

Jin isn't knowledgable about medicine, Enfri thought. She said as much when we first met, and I see how her eyes glaze over when I speak of herbs and anatomy. She's just like Haythe in that way.

Enfri got a mischievous smile as an idea came to her. She stood and started to limp towards Jin. The assassin saw her coming and noted the look on her face. She shrank back as if intimidated.

"I must say," Enfri said as she knelt at Jin's side, "you're quite muscular for a woman."

Jin snapped alert. "What?"

Enfri nodded. "Certainly. If I had my notebooks, I'd ask to take a sketch. You're an excellent specimen, and I doubt I'll ever find a better example of feminine musculature." She gave a tiny gasp of wonder and peered closely at Jin's shoulder. "Your deltoids have remarkable definition. Do you think you can flex for me? I'd like to see how pronounced your biceps are."

"I don't..." Jin watched as Enfri inspected her arm. Her face was turning noticeably red.

"Have you considered taking schakam? It's a plant from Melcia. Brews nicely into tea, but its more potent when you simply chew the leaves. It contains compounds called stigmasterol and hecogenin. They promote the growth of muscle tissue, but I mainly use it as a remedy for joint pain."

"I've never heard of... any of that," Jin stammered.

"No? Stinging nettles, then. They grow all over Althandor."

Jin's expression was skeptical.

"Not the nettles themselves. The roots. Very fortifying. On second thought, I wouldn't recommend that for you. Stinging nettle root is loaded with testosterone. Do you mind if you grow more body hair and lose mass in your breasts?"

"I do!" Jin squawked. She crossed her arms over her chest and the redness in her face made her look like an indignant tomato.

Enfri gave Jin her best bedside manner smile. "In that case, try to limit yourself to small doses."

Jin's blushing wouldn't fade and she refused to look Enfri in the eye. "Blustering sky woman," she grumbled. "No concept of boundaries or tact."

"No time for it," Enfri laughed. "If a patient is in pain, I can't waste my time worrying about their modesty, now can I?

"You..." Jin pressed her lips together into a thin line. "Is this some kind of deranged punishment?"

"Of course," Enfri replied happily. It was a true pleasure to see Jin get flustered. "But in all seriousness, you need to rest."

"I told you. I can't sleep."

"Why not?"

Jin looked directly at her. "How could I?" she shouted. "Who could sleep while knowing they were going to have to..."

She snapped her mouth shut and determinedly turned herself away. Jin folded her arms in front of her and tucked her legs. If Enfri hadn't known better, she would have thought Jin was trying not to cry.

Enfri reached for her but pulled her hand back.

"In the dream," Jin said miserably, "you asked me if I thought you and I could have been friends if things were different."

Enfri bit her lower lip. She remembered, and she remembered Jin's answer.

"Why did you dream of dancing?" Jin asked.

"Because I always wanted to," Enfri answered. "I never could  before, with my back the way it is. Whenever it was time for a festival, Mother and Grandmother would go in case anyone twisted an ankle or drank too much. I would watch the villagers dance and think it was the most wonderful thing I'd ever seen."

"The sky women went? Even with the memory ward upon you all?"

Enfri nodded. Unnecessary, since Jin wouldn't even look at her. "I didn't know of the ward then. Thinking back on it, I suppose the two of them would be remembered by their old friends and neighbors after a little while. Festivals must have given them the chance to feel like nothing had changed."

Those were the times when Mother seemed happiest, when Enfri caught a rare glimpse of the jewel of Sandharbor. Returning home at the festival's end had been when Enfri wondered if such a person could have really ever existed at all.

"Have you been able to?" Jin asked. "You're stronger than you were when we first met. Have you gone dancing?"

"No," Enfri sighed. "Not yet. Soon, I always thought. My brace is straightening my spine, little by little. Another year or two, and... I might have been able to."

Jin curled up tighter. "You should be allowed to dance," she whispered.

Enfri reached for her again, but this time she let her hand rest on Jin's shoulder. "I'd need someone to go with. I'm afraid I don't know any of the steps, and I don't have a dress fine enough to wear to a festival."

Hesitantly, Jin put her hand over Enfri's. "I would see you in a gown fit for the Dothraun's annual gala."

"That would be wonderful," Enfri said. "Now, what's a gala?"

Jin snorted and succumbed to a fit of laughter. "You bumpkin. Think of a village festival but for nobles too stiff to appreciate it."

Enfri scrunched up her face. It seemed to her that festivals were superior to galas. Maybe the food was better. There had to be a good reason for Jin to like them. "This may sound strange," she said, "but with the ward, I never had a relationship that lasted longer than the time it took for me to go out of sight. I guess what I'm trying to say is... aside from Deebee, you're the closest thing I've ever had to a friend."

"You're right," Jin said with a wry laugh. "That does sound strange. A cruel irony. I'm sorry for that."

Enfri lay down behind her. She put her arms beneath Jin's and held her close. "I've seen my share of cruelty, but never from you, oddly enough. You remembered me when no one else could. Whatever happens tomorrow, I want you to know that meant something to me."

Jin stiffened. "What are you doing?" she whispered.

"Keeping you warm," Enfri said, blushing. "I told you, you need to rest. Now go to sleep. Sky woman's orders."

Jin clutched Enfri's arms to her chest, and her stiffness melted away.

"As you say."