“I'm not surprised.” Holding my gaze, he went on, “The third pillar is song. We add our voices to the drums and sing of mourning, welcoming, and forgiveness. We sing to the land, and the land listens.” With that, the Dragon King stood up and held his hands out, palms up to the sky as if in offering.
With the drums leading him, the Dragon King sang. His voice went even deeper, more resonant than those instruments, and it flowed out, among us. Into me. I felt him deeper than the drumming. His voice slid into my soul and took up residence. He shook me. Raventar shook the world with his song.
I stared up at him in awe. My voice could never be as rich or powerful as his, rising and falling through an ancient song with the slam of a fist but the dexterity of a dancer. The words rolled through me. The song was a challenge. A demand for victory. A call to arms. Inside me, magic responded. The Air thatgave me flight shivered in my chest. It urged me to fly with the King's voice. If not that, to sing with him.
I opened my mouth, but quickly closed it. This wasn't my song. It was his. It would have been wrong to join it. My voice wouldn't do it justice. I couldn't hit the primal lows and glorious heights that he did. When he finished, I knew I wasn't the only one affected. Serai held its breath. The Dragons bent their heads. Magic swirled around us.
And it settled on my skin.
I gasped, and the Dragon King turned his head to look at me. Had he given me the magic that his song crafted? If so, what was it? What spell had he cast upon me?
The Dragon King settled back in his chair. “It was a gift, Eliel. A blessing to give you strength for your recovery. Nothing more. It's a gentle magic, one that must be sung by a true heart.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Magic that couldn't be forced on someone. It felt like an epiphany. His intent had to be good to even offer it to me. Dear Gods, was this man formed purely of honor?
We sat in silence while the stew bubbled, enjoying the sight of the starry sky and the peace of the quiet night. Bread was passed around, and two of the drivers came into the circle to dish out the stew. My bowl went to the King first, and then he handed it to me. Even out here, my sustenance came from him.
“Do your people keep songs?” the Dragon King asked.
My head jerked up, but the King was intent on his stew, stirring it with a spoon to cool it. He didn't say anything abouthearing me sing, nor did he ask me to sing for him. He just stirred the stew and then looked over at me.
“We do.” I ate a spoonful, let the warmth embolden me, and went on. “We love to sing, but it's usually for a purpose. Like you, we sing to mourn or celebrate. We sing to comfort ourselves or to thank the sky.”
“Thank the sky?” He tore a chunk off a loaf of bread and offered it to me.
I took it and dipped it into my stew, focusing on the act so I wouldn't have to look at him. “Air magic gives us flight. It carries us. The currents support us. So a lot of our songs feature air, flying, or the sky.”
“You haven't lost that magic, Eliel.”
I looked over at him. “No, it's still in me. But I can't set it free until my wing mends.”
“How is it feeling?”
“A little better.”
“I would sing to heal you if I could. Alas, our magic is empowered by Fire and Water. It can comfort, but not heal.”
“I suppose healing isn't as important for a Dragon.”
“We do heal fast, but we aren't invulnerable.” He frowned into the fire. “We can be hurt if enough force is applied. Or enough sorrow.”
“Sorrow?”
The King's jaw clenched. “If we mate and then lose our mate, we usually follow them to the grave.”
My spoon fell into the stew, clattering on the side of the bowl.
The Dragon King slowly turned to meet my horrified stare. “You're surprised? Haven't you heard of Dragons dying of a broken heart?”
“No,” I whispered.
“Ah, yes. You're from the forest. Do you know about Dragon mates?”
I shivered under the intensity of his gaze. The fire sparked within his night-darkened eyes. His question felt momentous. “I only know that you mate for life like Lelurra, although we call it marriage.”
One of the knights made a soft sound of amazement.
