Warriors of Wind and Ash - Page 79

Meridian and I realize the truth at the same moment. I can see it in his eyes, the same shock, the same dread.

“It’s you,” I growl at Lady Cathrain. “You’re the poisoner.”

“I’m a healer first,” she says, with a kind smile. “And I never use my abilities to kill humans. My goal is to protect and preserve human life.”

“But you tied Serylla’s life to his.”

“To protect my Lord and King. To preserve them both in harmony,” she says. “Linking them this way diminished the likelihood of violence and death. It made everyone more thoughtful and careful with their actions.”

Meridian gives a derisive snort. “Delusional.”

“You slaughtered my clan.” There’s a stinging sensation behind my eyes, a gathering of tears that I can’t stop. “You designed a poison to destroy us.”

“Because you’re not human. You are instruments of death and destruction,” she says gently. “You’re capable of killing great masses of people with one stream of fire. As His Majesty says, you’re too dangerous to exist.”

“She’s a woman of principles,” Rahzien says, squeezing her arm affectionately. “A guiding star to her King. Most healers can look inside the body and spot anything that isn’t as it should be, so when she checked you after our meeting, she confirmed my theory about your nature, that you were a dragon in a man’s shape.”

“Your body bears markers of a deep physical spell,” says Cathrain. “Not something I can undo—it’s much too powerful. But since we came to the palace, I’ve been studying the supplies and spellbooks the Supreme Sorcerer left behind. He ascribed to the Jaanan school of magic, which uses eclipse gems and genestree sapstones as binding agents for the most powerful spells. The only other Elekstan sorcerer I’ve heard of who could turn one species into another is his daughter Thelise, and since she would have learned the basics of her craft from her father, I assumed she would likely have used the same binding agents. All I had to do was block the latent residual influence of the eclipse gems, which controls the timing of your shift, and there we are!” She gives me a beatific smile.

“So you trapped me in this form.” I consider throwing another punch or two, but when I catch Meridian’s eye, he shakes his head slightly and nods to the guns trained on my chest and his.

“Yes, you’ll remain in this form, unable to change,” says Lady Cathrain pleasantly. “As time passes, your body will suffer from my interference with Thelise’s spell. The longer you remain in human form, the weaker you will become, until you eventually die. You may have escaped the death that your fellow dragons suffered, but fate knows your race’s time is at an end.”

“You ascribe your own motives to the cosmic forces of the world,” I growl. “The hubris of it is beyond belief.”

For the first time, the healer’s face turns stiff and unpleasant. “I am a humble woman, not a prideful one.”

“Lie to yourself all you want,” I reply. “You are more of a monster than any dragon.”

“Enough,” Rahzien cuts in. “Take them to the dungeons. And have a selection of torture instruments sent to the dragon’s cell. I have questions for him that he may be reluctant to answer.”

I’m trying to maintain my courage, but I can feel it receding. Since the moment I arrived here, I had the confidence of knowing that my dragon form was only a thought away, that if things grew too perilous, I could summon it. Even if I perished, I would die in a blaze of glorious flame.

But now I’m bound in this weak, unprotected form. I don’t have my size, my spikes, my scales, or my fire. I am limited to malleable flesh and thin skin. I am far too easy to slice and bruise. As a human, pain is sharper, more dangerous, nearer to the bones. My organs and my lifeblood are dangerously accessible.

As the Vohrainians close in, Meridian snatches up his stick again, presses the button to extrude the spikes from its head, and strikes the gun from the hands of the nearest soldier. He follows up with a ringing blow to the soldier’s helmet, but then he’s overwhelmed, restrained. His hands are yanked behind his back and bound tightly.

“Do you carry rope around with you all the time?” he says hoarsely to the soldier tying him up. “Seems odd. Where do you keep it? That satchel there? Is it your rope satchel? Do all of you Vohrainians carry a handy piece of rope, or is this man the designated rope carrier? Is it because he—”

“Shut up.” The guard smacks the side of Meridian’s face so hard his glass eye pops out of its socket and rolls across the floor.

“Now look what you’ve done.” Meridian spits blood. “My best glass eye. It’ll be all scratched up now, and it wasn’t cheap. Not easy to match such a beautiful eye as this one.” He winks his one blue eye. “I hope you plan to reimburse me.”

Rahzien actually chuckles at the remark, but Cathrain only prims up her mouth. “I have a few things to tend to,” she says. “May I collect samples from the shifter, once he’s restrained?”

“Of course,” replies Rahzien.

Cathrain nods and leaves the room. Perhaps she thinks that if she doesn’t witness the violence, she need not feel guilty about it.

Inspired by Meridian’s resistance, I don’t go quietly. I manage to slash deep across the throat of one guard and the wrist of another. My height and my claws keep the Vohrainians at bay for a moment, but they’re all trained warriors, and I’m borne down to the ground under the weight of them, under a flurry of blows and kicks. Rahzien lets them beat on me for several minutes before bellowing, “Enough! Take him below.”

I’m dragged to my feet, my clothing in tatters and my body throbbing with pain. But I manage to slur, “Fuck you,” at Rahzien through a mouthful of blood as I’m hauled out of the room.

24

This is worse than I could ever have imagined. Worse than losing my city, my friends, and my mother to the invading forces of Vohrain. Worse than being snatched up by a dragon whom I thought was going to ravage me with his giant cock. Worse than weathering the Mordvorren and birthing a pair of dragon eggs.

I’ve been through a huge mountain of traumatic shit that I’ve barely had a spare moment to deal with, and yet I’ve never been so afraid as I am while I scuttle through the back passages of the palace like a rat.