Of course. I am sorry, A’chrya—please, stop, please?
The pain ceased with such swiftness that the lack thereof almost made her dizzy. She would not make that mistake again. Through the lingering pain, she managed to block the part of her mind that held on to the plan—the plan to get to the Mother Dragon and kill the Nature Walker herself. Then her A’chrya would be avenged, and he could finally move on and leave her be. Ellie smiled sadly. She had never thought she would feel that way about Taeben’s death, not when he was alive anyway. But now that he had the power to enter her mind, control her body—that could not be allowed to continue. She had to get rid of him somehow, and since the dragons were the first to use the bond it was there, she would learn how to free herself—or how to find the Nature Walker and the Rajah and see them die for their parts in Taeben’s death.
Either way, it was time to travel to the frozen north—something her A’chrya warned her against. Ellie closed the journal she had been reading and retired to her bedchamber to find a fur-lined cloak and pack for her journey. Taeben was but a low hum in the back of her mind, and as she filled her backpack, she worked on strengthening those barriers against him. If he discovered her real plan, she was confident he would kill her, and she was not ready to die just yet.
Twenty-Two
Heading for La’al Drygyr
Sath and Gin wasted no time in leaving the mist-shrouded inn as they headed northeast toward La’al Drygyr. Every time they made a stop to rest, Gin was meditating, trying desperately to reach the other guardians for help with this ‘red dragon.’ She remembered reading in one of Draoch’s journals that the Guardians were created by Omerith, the red dragon—she only hoped that this la’al drygyr was the same creature, or at the least, his offspring. In theory, she and Sath should be able to make the bond with Omerith because of their Guardian ancestry, but she had discovered that nothing in this realm was the same as it was back home. Nothing at all.
They only stopped when Sath needed to rest. When Gin grew weary, he would pick her up and carry her for an hour or so, letting her get some sleep in his arms. It seemed to Gin that they had been walking forever. After several days a large body of water came into view; Sath agreed to a quick run through the lake to rid himself of the blood and gore from the attack at the inn, but Gin had lingered a long time in the water. It was the first real bath she’d had since they left Qatu’anari, and she remained there, swimming about and floating on her back as her tunic billowed along on top of the water. Sath perched on the shore and watched her protectively, seeming fascinated by her love for what he deemed a vile substance.
Finally, Sath convinced Gin to leave the water, and they were back on their way. Gin’s feet and head throbbed, but her healing spell only alleviated the pain for a short time. They decided to head north in case the shoreline was actually the ocean and not just an inlet, and Gin was starting to worry that they would not be able to find the home of the red dragon, but she kept her fears to herself. Clearly, the Mother Dragon did not want her to reach the red dragon—but they had beaten her test at the inn and come away mostly unscathed. Mostly.
Though they kept to the paths that lead along the base of the mountains, occasionally, they had to head upward to avoid places where the shoreline came right up to the trail. Sath offered help as much as he could, knowing that Gin did not have his race’s innate climbing ability, but she only accepted when she absolutely had to do so to keep from plummeting to the cavern floor below. She loved the bright green boughs of the trees and the flowering plants they could see at a distance from their mountain perch. Sath noticed Gin looking out toward the green fields and smiled.
“Beautiful up here, isn’t it?” Sath asked as they crossed a small hilly range. “Reminds me of home.”
“I’d be more amazed if I saw this from Beau’s saddle,” Gin groused. She missed her supernatural pony, both due to fatigue from walking and the companionship he provided. The pony had been hers for so many seasons that it seemed wrong somehow not to hear his whinny or the snuffling sound he would make when they were headed toward danger. Hopefully, his bridle was still in her bags, but who knew where they were—still in the Void?
“I know,” Sath said. “If I could, I’d carry you the whole way, not just when it gets too slippery for your wood elf feet.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Gin said. “I can walk just fine, thank you. You don’t have to look after me, you know, just because you saved my life in the inn, Sath.”
“And here I thought I’d been saving your life a lot longer than that,” Sath chuckled, trying desperately to hide his embarrassment. Gin laughed and moved ahead of him as the trail again narrowed. “Hey, why don’t you get behind me for this part?” he asked.
“You know the way better than I do?” Gin asked, raising an eyebrow at Sath, who laughed.
“No. I just thought that I have better balance than you do, and you can grab my tail if you become…unsteady,” Sath replied, smiling at her. She shrugged and let him pass her, then continued along the path. “So, now I’m your hero, huh?”
“Well…while I don’t agree with the extreme nature of your actions, I did…appreciate that you needed to protect me. Not
