Eona: The Last Dragoneye

CHAPTER TEN

I WADED INTO the center of the thermal pool, the pungent heat sending a shiver across my shoulders. Around the stone edge, dozens of paper lanterns made the small cavern glow, silvering the ripples in the water and casting Madina’s angular shadow onto the back wall. The physician’s wife sat on the rough steps that led to the pool, guarding my privacy and waiting to attend me once I had bathed.

I stretched my arms along the surface of the water and luxuriated in the loosening of my muscles and the blessed quiet of the small chamber. Kygo’s recovery had initiated a flurry of formal introductions and military reports that seemed set to continue for hours. Thankfully, Madina’s husband had quickly stepped in and insisted that both the emperor and his Naiso be given the chance to eat and bathe before the strategizing began in earnest.

The thought of Kygo sent a shock of pleasure through me. I ducked lower in the water, as if the memory of our kiss was engraved upon my body for anyone to see. I closed my eyes and relived each moment of it, the hot bath masking the flush that crept across my skin. His need had been overwhelming, but the memory of my own brought an even deeper heat to my face.

Did he think me immodest? Dolana had once told me that men were frightened by female passion. I could understand why; my response had terrified me. I thought back to the lingering touch on my wrist as Kygo had released me, and the furtive glances between us as Viktor had formally welcomed him and reported on the rescue of our party. Every time our eyes met, it had felt as if his lips were once again on mine. And I had seen the echo of it in his eyes, too. How could such heat remain when we were not even touching?

I stood up, seeking the relief of cooler air. Perhaps our response to each other had not been wholly our own. Perhaps it had been guided by Kinra. I turned the idea over, unsure if the possibility was a relief or a bitter disappointment. I had removed the death plaque from my pocket before I touched the Imperial Pearl. Even so, I had been driven to touch it by some force, in much the same way I had been driven before.

According to Dela’s reading of the red folio — now lost with her — Kinra had been a woman trading in passion, caught in a triangle between Emperor Dao and another man. Had the residue of such violent feeling affected Kygo and me? I stared into the dark water and tried to reconcile my feelings with my thoughts. It would be much easier if such passion could be blamed on my ancestress. Kygo and I could go on as before— just allies. Yet what I felt was not secondhand, nor five centuries old. And I had to admit that I did not want Kygo’s ardor to be anything other than his own.

With a sigh, I ducked into the water again, away from the troubling thoughts. There were more important concerns: the harrowing loss of my friends and the two folios. And, of course, the biggest worry: was Ido still alive? There was an obvious way to answer that question. All I had to do was enter the energy world and see if I could feel the Dragoneye’s presence through his beast, as I had before. Yet it had been a risk then, and it was an even greater risk now. If Ido was dead and his protection gone, simply entering the celestial plane could destroy me. Even if he was still alive, I did not wholly trust that I could surface from the energy world. The ancient forces within me seemed to be getting stronger.

Still, it had to be done. Our plans depended upon knowing whether the Dragoneye still lived. I knew it would be easier to slide into the energy world while I was in the pool. Baths always eased my journey between the earthly and celestial planes. It was the heat and the soft hold of the water that loosened mind and body from the physical world. Admittedly, there was the added risk of drowning if something went wrong or, like the time in the palace bath, being thrown against a wall. But this time I was not alone. With a prayer to the gods, I waded across the pool and found a secure handhold in the rocky edge.

“Madina,” I called.

The woman half rose from the step. “Yes, my lady.”

How was I to explain what I was about to do? She knew I was the Mirror Dragoneye, but that would only mean rank and power to her, not the possibility of destruction and death.

“I need to find my dragon in the energy world. Will you stand by me and, if I should go under or seem in trouble, pull me from the water?”

She eyed me for a moment. “Of course, my lady.” Gathering her skirt, she walked around the edge of the pool and crouched beside me.

I looked up at her calm face. “It may be dangerous.”

“Do what you must, my lady,” she said earnestly, her hand resting on mine for a moment. “I will be here.”

I lowered myself into the hot water until my shoulders were immersed, and turned my focus inward. For all my trepidation, it took only five deep breaths to ease open my mind’s eye and shift between the worlds. The dim cave became a vibrant swirl of color and energy; above me, Madina’s transparent figure raced with Hua, her outward calm belied by the fear that pumped quicksilver through her body. Hesitantly, I reached out into the energy world with my own Hua, as if prodding soft ground with a staff.

Was it safe?

There was no rush of grieving power or the sense of another force taking over. All I could feel was the rich, warm presence of the red dragon pressing against me, an irresistible invitation to unite. I eased fully into the energy world, transfixed by the red beast that filled the eastern corner of the chamber. Her power slid around me like a deep caress, drawing me toward the call. My mouth could taste the cinnamon roundings of our shared name. All I had to do was voice its warmth and we would be one. I clenched my teeth; I must not. Ten powerful reasons not to were waiting to tear us apart.

Gathering all my will, I turned from the bright presence of the Mirror Dragon toward the north-northwest corner. My breath caught; the smaller Rat Dragon was almost transparent, its crouching body rigid and withered.

Ido? I called silently. Could he still hear me through the blue dragon?

The beast slowly lifted his head. A set of pale opal talons reached toward me.

Eona. Ido’s voice was a shiver in the warm air and was gone again.

I flinched from the suffering within it, my grip sliding from the rock. Madina caught my shoulder and pulled me back to the edge. The energy world buckled, shuddering back into the dim interior of the cave.

“Are you all right, my lady?” Madina asked.

I nodded, unable to speak through the ache in my throat. The Rat Dragon was so frail. If Ido was as debilitated as his beast, then he did not have much longer to live.

“Are you crying, my lady?”

“Everything is all right,” I said. “Thank you.” I turned away from her scrutiny and scooped up a handful of water, splashing its hot camouflage across my face. I had known the Rat Dragon’s magnificent power; in fact, I had joined with it. To see the beast so diminished tore at me, even if he was the foundation of Ido’s dark power. And I could not deny that the Dragoneye had risked himself twice to save me. It did not absolve him of his terrible crimes, but perhaps even he did not deserve this torment.

Another shadow appeared on the back wall of the cave; a serving woman bowing to Madina, the soft sibilance of her whisper rolling off the stone. By the time I had turned, she was already backing away, message delivered.

“My lady,” Madina said, rising stiffly. “His Majesty wishes you to join him as soon as possible.” She opened a wide drying cloth.

I held still in the water, a rush of exhilaration and dark unease searing me. Kygo wanted to see me, as soon as possible. Once again, I felt his legs around my waist and his muscular body against mine. I took a shuddering breath. How could I want something so much and yet wish to avoid it with just as much fervency? Thank the gods I had something to bring him — the news that Ido still survived.

After the moment passed, I waded over and caught Madina’s steadying hand. With a strong pull, she had me up the steps and quickly wrapped in the rough cloth.

“His Majesty is not yet out of his own bath,” she reassured me. “You have time to prepare yourself. Properly.”