What’s happening?I ask, hoping that speaking the question in my mind will reach her.
Atlanta answers immediately.It worked. Dyeus is testing the barrier here to gain access.
Through one of the arched openings, we can see men on the other side, and a few in their dragon forms sendingenergy into the barrier, testing to see whether it’s impermeable.
I stand there, transfixed, as they try again and again, until finally they move back, looking as if they’re discussing what to do or where to go.
I’ve never felt anything like that before,Atlanta says.
I turn away from the scene.What did they do?
No, not them.You.
Unease trickles down my spine. Aside from holding onto the energy just now, this is the first emotion I’ve felt in this body that has me unsettled.
Ozias and I…
No. I know. I meant after. Ozias was creating an opening and then suddenly, his power faltered. Right when yours rose.
What does that mean?
Atlanta shakes her head.We can figure that out later. All that matters right now is it worked. You did it, Kaisa. And we’re all grateful. I’m grateful.
She says the last part like it needs to be said, but I get the feeling there’s something else she wishes she could say, too. I think back to the conversation between her and Ozias.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell me? Anything else that you think I could do to help?I ask.
Atlanta blinks, as if clearing her mind of something.No, Kaisa. You’re doing enough. Now go rest. Or fly. Whatever you wish.
Where’s Ninon?
Resting, too, back at the enclosures. The first few nights she’ll be tired, but after a while she’ll venture out, I’m sure.
I grunt, sidling up beside Atlanta as she gracefully walks along the perimeter. Dyeus’s units are finally moving, directly alongside us on the other side of the barrier—I’m not sure which of us began walking first.
What will you do?I ask.
Follow them. Alert Ozias if they get too close to the openings.
I stop. Atlanta stops. And so do the units. Atlanta looksfrom them, to me.Walk back a few steps, would you?
I do as she says and Dyeus’s men move with me.
She hums, her eyes calculating.Perhaps it’s best if you stayed here tonight. If you don’t mind?
I can see what’s happening as well as she. For whatever reason, the dragons of Dyeus can still sense my energy and are following it. I don’t want to risk accidentally guiding them to where Ozias made openings in the barrier. I briefly think of Ninon, but if she’s resting, my presence might disturb her anyway.Of course.
Atlanta gently bumps the side of her head with mine, and I instinctively grumble approvingly at the action. It feels like camaraderie. Something more than the tight community of women in Nevoba, but less overpowering than being in the Sar Dyeus’s presence, or even in Ozias’s. And I find myself wondering at all the ways living beings can connect and all that I’ve missed because of what has been done to me.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THE SAR DYEUS is there again when I close my eyes.
I hate him for it. This time though, he lies in his bed, asleep. The babies are wailing. I don’t know how he can sleep through their screams. At least in the twists and turns of the caverns back home in Nevoba, the sounds are muffled enough to fade into the background.
I pace the room like a caged creature. This is no dream. I understand that much now, but I don’t know in what capacity. I don’t know what I’m doing that’s bringing me here. It’s clear I can’t talk to Ozias and Atlanta, but I need to know more about it. Somehow.
The Sar Dyeus shifts slightly in his overly large bed and even that action sets my teeth on edge.
