A Shade of Dragon 2(53)

The doors of the city remained open against all reason, and I expressed as much.

“No,” Theon replied, “it is one of many tactics in warfare. With unlocked city walls, they express to us their dominance and their confidence. Now that they’ve taken the shelter and decimated our last stronghold—” Here, Theon’s voice caught for a moment, and he had to clear his throat before he could continue. He averted his eyes from the city walls and trained them onto the ground, almost as if ashamed. “You know, I visited an oracle in that cave on the beach, just before I returned to The Hearthlands for you. She gave me three gifts for the journey. One of them was a skeleton key forged by the fates; it would only unlock the doors which destiny would will to be open. And…” His eyes moved again to the city walls. He would not look at me. “It wouldn’t open when I tried to enter the castle and rescue you. As if I wasn’t meant to be there—or as if you were. I tried again to use the same key with my father’s shackles, and it would not work… as if he was meant to be their prisoner.” His jaw clenched. “It’s enough to make me think—”

“Don’t. Don’t think that The Hearthlands are fated to belong to the ice people. You know that they had the astrolabe this entire time, and they changed the position of the stars and planets to change the will of the gods. At least, that was what Lethe—” Dammit. I had not meant to call back to the days I had spent with his rival. “—told me,” I finished.

Theon nodded, not acknowledging my slip, and took my hand. His warmth, as always, was reassuring. He pulled me through the opened city walls. “Perhaps,” he said, his voice low now.

“Shouldn’t there be guards near?” I wondered.

“It’s hard to say where their manpower has been diverted, and why,” Theon replied. “The gods may be with us in spite of the stars.”

The city seemed hauntingly empty, and I wondered where everyone was. My gut crawled with the possibilities, but, on the bright side, we found an inn abandoned, and were able to unlock a room for ourselves. It at least had a spacious bed, a fireplace, and a beautiful view of some twisted and dying gardens along the city wall. This was the lone aspect of the night which seemed a morbid parody of the common honeymoon.

“Theon,” I called to him after we had settled in for the night. “You said that the Oracle gave you gifts. What were the others?”

“Well—that bottle you had, the one that exploded,” he answered. “And a love letter. It’s enchanted paper that can send a message to anyone you love, no matter where they are. The message will appear before them and then fade away. It was the way that I was able to communicate with you while you were in the castle.”

I chirped, “Could I borrow it?”

“Why?” Theon asked with a smile. “Who else are you in love with?”

I rolled my eyes. “My parents,” I explained. “I’d like to be able to let them know I’m okay—but I’m sure the inter-dimensional mailing rates are insane.”

Theon grinned and brandished the yellowed scroll of paper from within his leather satchel. I scratched out a simple message and prayed that it would cross whatever vortex of time and space separated me from Mom and Dad:

Mom and Dad,

This is real, and you have to believe your eyes. If everything works out all right, you should both be able to see this message. I’ll be able to explain when I come back… but I’m safe—and I’m doing something that I have to do. I know you can both understand that. Just know that I love you. And I will be home soon. I’m with Theon.

Love, Nell





Nell





It was nearly midnight when the snow began to fall again outside of our window. Though Theon insisted on the fireplace, it was I who insisted on the curtains being parted. When I glanced over my shoulder at him from where I was sitting, still in my bride-to-be vestments on the window seat, Theon smiled at me sadly.

“I know you hate the snow,” I reminded him.

Theon approached the window, and though he did not gaze out across the wintry landscape, he did raise a hand to my cheek and run his fingertips along my cheekbone and jaw. “And I know you find it romantic,” he whispered back to me. “It is one of the many fire dragon customs that the night of our wedding should revolve around your preferences, my love; after all, it is the night that you give to me the greatest gift of all.”

A blush clouded my cheeks. “My… virginity?” I asked meekly. How did he even know that I was a virgin?

But Theon laughed softly, and his hand left my cheek. “No,” he answered simply, unfastening his tunic without paying much mind to my stare. “The greatest gift of all is a healthy child.”