But that was part of the sacrifice. I had entered the greenhouse not understanding forest magic, and now I knew, intimately, what sacrifice was demanded.
Naî twisted in my grip, turning her head and snapping at my wrist until I let her go. She dropped to all fours, hissing at me.
“Never do that again,” she snapped.
Then she began to grow, first as large as a dog, then a horse, then she was so large her snout brushed the top of my head. She turned to the elder tree, her teeth bared. “Come out.”
At first I thought the tree was shedding its leaves, but then I realized each of the little green flecks was a dragon. They swirled around each other, linking together into a new shape until each of the miniature dragons was no more than a scale on a single dragon’s hide. The creature was at least as large as Naî and bent its head to her.
When it spoke, it was in chorus. “Ice dragon.”
“Forest dragon.” Naî sounded displeased. “So? Do the elves have their elder tree back?”
The annoyance in her tone sent a shiver of amusement through the forest dragon. “The world has an elder tree once more. We thank those who stood guard for us. And those who sacrificed for our birth.”
“It was my honor,” Lady Chaliko said, her eyes wide. She reached up with a hand, and the dragon snuffled at her palm, raising its chin so that her fingers dragged down its neck.
“And what of those who sacrificed for you?” I demanded.
The dragon turned its head, looking at me, then down at Riini who lay helplessly in my arms. Her eyes were still closed, her body slack.
“This one has sacrificed the most for us. But, we cannot forget that you, too, have sacrificed. So we will repay the honor.” The dragon leaned forward.
“Airón—” Naî’s voice rose in warning, but it was too late.
I felt the small dragons that made up the forest dragon’s body part for us as if they were a thousand butterflies passing around us, their wings fluttering over my face and arms.
Then I felt the silver threads winding around my neck. I screamed out, raising one hand to try and loosen them, but that left me off-balance holding Riini. I dropped to my knees as they tightened, pulling so tight that I was sure they were a garrote about to slice my head from my body.
Just when I had no air left in me, the knowledge flooded in, the threads loosening as my mind absorbed what the silver threads contained.
The ancient stories of the elves, ones that would be sung around campfires. I remembered what it felt like to burn alive, to know that the knowledge and memories of millennia were disappearing into black, sooty smoke.
The elder tree’s gift to me was the memory of its own demise and I choked on it. If Kacha came to Tavornai again, the tree would burn. If he came, the nation would not survive. There were no more elder trees to hold this knowledge and it had taken what was left of the knowledge from inside Riini.
If this tree burned, so would the last hope of the elven people.
Kacha could not be allowed to set foot inside Tavornai.
The dragon pulled back, regaining its shape. Riini sat up in my arms, her eyes wide. She turned to me, the bright green spark of the elder tree disappearing slowly.
“I remember my mother. As she was when she was young, when she was a child no more than my age.” Tears streamed down her face, and I wondered what sort of gift that was, to remember the childhood of someone who was dead when it meant sacrificing your own memories in exchange.
Then again, I could still feel the gap in my own head, the ache of something I knew I had forgotten. When I was sure Riini couldstand on her own, I pushed myself up, unsurprised to see Iradîo melt out of the forest.
My cousin was glaring at me, her expression matching Naî’s. “We need to get back.”
I didn’t argue, and Lady Chaliko shook herself. “Will the emperor burn this tree, too?”
Her question seemed small, helpless, and it definitely should have been asked before we had sacrificed to regrow an elder tree. I looked at Riini, her shoulders hunched, her face showing the lines of a woman twice her age.
“Why couldn’t any of the elves living here help you with this?”
“They tried. Some of them tried. But the poison of the Imperium ran deep in their souls. You cannot sacrifice, not truly, when what you want is revenge.” Riini swallowed. “It was worth it. For me. It was worth it. Now I can meet Sagam and Joxii without carrying the weight of the elder tree inside me.”
She wrapped her hand around my forefinger, squeezing tightly. “Will you take me to them?”
I nodded, glancing at Iradîo. “Let’s go back.”
