Drystan gave them a wide smile. “I guess you will be staying more than one night after all then,” he said, getting to his feet and signaling the end of the meal. He had no intention of handing over any lands—he simply needed to offer them something to chew on to prevent them from hurting Dareena or Alistair. Hopefully Lucyan would have something useful to offer once he returned from wherever the hell he’d gone off to, preferably something that they could use to free their mate and sibling. Drystan was coming up empty. Unless his brother put that brilliant mind of his to use, they were well and trulyfucked.
13
By the timeLucyan arrived at the cave, the sun had long set, and his stomach cramped with hunger. It was a damn good thing he hadn’t eaten breakfast before he’d left—the ritual for summoning the dragon god included fasting for an entire day. He’d drunk deep and often from his canteen during the journey, refilling it several times to keep the hunger pangs at bay, but with his extraordinarily high metabolism, fasting was particularly hard onhim.
“This had better be worth it,” he muttered as he dismounted from hishorse.
It had taken Lucyan quite a while to locate the cave in question—it was hidden halfway up the cliffside overlooking a vast lake thirty miles south of Paxhall. Since the pathway to the cave was narrow and treacherous, he left his horse at the top of the cliff rather than forcing him to wait directly outside. While the animal grazed, Lucyan stripped off his clothes and dunked himself into the cold, clear spring nearby, then changed into a fresh pair ofclothes.
He had to look his best for the dragon god, afterall.
Once he was presentable, Lucyan climbed back down to the small opening leading into the cave itself. He had to duck to enter, and even so, the moss hanging from the entrance slid over his hair like ghostly fingers, making him shudder. But the same sense of peace and contentment he’d felt at Targon Temple swept over him, and he let out the breath he’d been holding as the apprehension prickling at his scalpvanished.
“All right,” Lucyan said, pulling the torch he’d picked up back in Paxhall from his belt. He blew a gentle stream of fire atop it, igniting the beeswax. He had to hold the torch low to keep from accidentally lighting the moss on fire—it seemed to hang everywhere, so thick it was almost as if Lucyan was staring at a forest while hanging upside down in the air. His keen ears picked up the sound of critters skittering about, but as he did not see or smell anything dangerous, he disregarded the noises and continuedwalking.
About ten feet inside, Lucyan came upon a simple stone slab no higher than his waist. The sigil of the dragon god was carved into the flat surface. Lucyan frowned, wondering why there were no signs of previous offerings. Surely there would be something if his ancestors had visited this place, and yet the slab was as smooth and pristine as it had likely been the day it was carved. The hairs on the back of Lucyan’s neck rose as he placed a gold ring on the stone, then kneeled before the tiny altar and clasped his handstogether.
Please, Fiorlax,he prayed, invoking the dragon god’s name.Accept my offering, and speak to me as you have done with myancestors.
Lucyan didn’t know what to expect. The only reason he believed in the gods was because of Shalia’s Curse, but even so, he wasn’t much for prayer. Why hadn’t he sent Drystan to do this instead? He wasn’t as devout as Alistair, but since his younger brother wasn’t here, Drystan would have done justfine.
He half-wondered if maybe he would feel a gentle gust of wind, a stirring in the air, maybe a whispered word. But there was no sign that the dragon god had heard him at all. The minutes passed in utter silence, the only sound in the cave that of his breathing and the movements of the critters who dwelledthere.
“This is ridiculous,” he finally said, when his knees started to ache in earnest. As he pushed himself to his feet, the air around him grew hazy. He gripped the wall, feelingwoozy…
I must admit, I had thought you would hold out longer than this,a deep voice echoed in his head. His vision blurred, and then everything around him changed. He was at the top of a mountain, his knees buried in several inches of snow, and he was so high up that there was only fog, the clouds obscuring the world below. And above, hanging in the sky, was a giant golden dragon with eyes of pureflame.
“By the gods,” Lucyan croaked, his mouth dry. The dragon was at least a hundred feet tall, twice the size of his father, with a wingspan that seemed to stretch endlessly. Warmth radiated from the enormous beast, melting the snow around him into puddles and turning the frozen ground tomud.
Did you think I was not real?The dragon cocked his giant head. There was no censure in his booming voice, only curiosity.That I would notcome?
“I…there was a moment…” Lucyan trailed off, not wanting to offend the god. Really, what was there to say? “Thank you for answering my prayers, Your Eminence,” he said, bowing hishead.
The god snorted, emitting a stream of fire from his nostrils that scorched the air.I cannot remember the last time anyone called me Your Eminence,he said.I quite like the sound ofit.
Lucyan’s lips twitched. “When was the last time you were calledupon?”
Three centuries ago, by your great-grandfather, Barimius. He wished to know my opinion on what to get his wife for their twentiethanniversary.
“You can’t be serious.” Lucyan gaped up at the dragon, certain that the god was pulling his leg. Had his ancestors really dared to bother the dragon god for something sotrivial?
The dragon god laughed.No, I am not,he admitted.Your grandfather and father have come to see me since then, though sporadically, and the last visit was some thirty years ago. But the conversation I had with Barimius was the last one I truly enjoyed. Once, I had a much closer relationship with my descendants than I donow.
The dragon god’s voice carried genuine sadness, and pity stirred in Lucyan’s heart. “What did my father ask you the last time you spoke to him?” Had madness started to take root in himalready?
The dragon god was silent for a long moment.He came to beg me for a cure to the curse,he finally said.One of his daughters was in tears—she had fallen in love with a male and wanted to marry him, but she could not due to her inability to bearchildren.
Lucyan went still, remembering Tariana’s story. She hadn’t seemed very distraught when she’d told them about Ryolas’s offer of marriage being shot down in flames, but if it had really been so many decades ago, she would have buried those feelings deep. Could his father have come here seeking answers on his eldest daughter’sbehalf?
Unfortunately, I was unable to give your father the answer he sought, as the time was not right. But it would seem that your Dragon’s Gift has found what he could not.The dragon god smiled, baring rows of sharp teeth that sparkled likediamonds.
Lucyan’s heart leapt. “So, you really did intend for all three of us to wed Dareena, then?” That the dragon god had given him a real answer was more than he could have hopedfor.
Yes, and don’t let that imposter fool you into thinking otherwise,the dragon god said.It is a good thing you came to me right away—if one of you dies before Dareena gives birth to her child, you will ruin all chances of lifting Shalia’sCurse.
Lucyan felt as if someone had yanked the rug out from beneath him. “Dareena…what? Are you saying she’s pregnantalready?”
Indeed. She is a few weeks along. Alistair has already informedher.
