Chapter 90 The Truth Revealed pt1
I don’t know how long we’ve been lying in this shaded clearing.
The beauty of this place is lost on me. I barely notice the way the light shines through the autumn leaves of the maple trees. I ignore the way the long grass and wildflowers sway in the gentle breeze. Had this been any other time, I’d be in awe of the sheer beauty of this secret place Warden has brought me to.
But all I can see is Warden’s sleek midnight fur as I sob against his shoulder. I’m huddled under his wing, stroking the dead wyvern as I shatter from the inside out. My shoulders shake with each horrible, hollow sound that rips through me. My chest aches from the uncontrollable expanding of my ribs as I struggle to breathe through my emotions.
Warden’s head is held high, his eyes roaming the small clearing. He’s protecting me, keeping me safe. Should anything find us I have no doubt in my mind that he’d do everything he could to kill it, even at the risk of his own life.
His silver mane cascades over my head, the thicker strands melding with my black hair. He’s the only thing keeping me from falling apart completely. The only thing I haven’t lost. The only one who will stay with me throughout it all.
I clutch his mane, pulling him closer, desperately seeking healing he can’t offer. He can’t hold me like I need to be held, he can’t reassure me. He can’t tell me it’s going to be alright.
Because it’s not going to be alright.
Everything I’ve fought for is lost.
I can never show my face again, not in Hellbane, not in Stormcoast, or even Obsidian Reach. I’m a traitor. They’re probably hunting me down right now for being a dragon sympathizer.
My days are numbered, and I’m well and truly alone.
Why am I a traitor?
I chose the life of a dragon. I refused to break an egg.
Why?
Why, why, why?
Why did it bother me so much? Why did it seem so inherently wrong?
What could have possibly possessed me to turn against everything I’ve risked my life for, over and over again?
I clutch my chest, demanding my heart reveal to me why it changed. Why my soul seemed to scream to me I couldn’t do it. It doesn’t make any sense.
It’s what I wanted.
It’s how I was going to fix everything.
And yet…
Tears blur my eyes as I stare at the dead wyvern hatchling in my hands. I know, deep down, that I wouldn’t change what I did. I would try to save this baby every time, no matter what. No matter the cost, no matter everything I lost…
I sniffle, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. The longer I stare at the creature in my hands the less sad I become.
I would do it all again.
I’d save the dragon.
And that is why I brought you here.
I jolt, sitting ramrod straight.
“What is that supposed to mean? Seems like every time I truly needed you, you weren't there.” I crawl to my feet, one hand holding the wyvern to my chest and the other fisting at my side. “Where were you when they asked me to kill this innocent? Where was your advice, then?”
Some things have to be decided by you, and now that I’ve seen your soul—
“You’ve seen my soul?” I laugh dryly, looking up at the sky and trying not to fall into hysterics. “What have you seen in my soul?”
I have seen that you are pure. You protect the ones you love, you protect those who cannot protect themselves. You are honorable, powerful, deadly. Yet you will not kill even those who do not deserve to breathe.
I sigh heavily, letting my eyes flutter closed. “What good has it done me?”
It has proved you are who I believed you to be. It’s shown me you are the one I’ve been looking for. It has shown me it’s time for me to reveal myself to you in the flesh.
My eyes flash open, my heart stops beating.
“What do you mean?” I ask breathlessly.
You have assumed for so long that I’m not real, a figment of your imagination. Even when you thought you believed you did not.
My knees feel weak.
My heart is stuttering, trying to beat even when my whole body is in shock.
I’m in the middle of nowhere.
No one knows where I am.
I would have heard someone approaching…
You are so very intelligent, Anara.
“Are you mocking me? Making fun of me? Now? Of all times?”
When you see me, your instincts will take over. You must attempt to control them. I do not want to see you hurt.
I don’t care what the disembodied voice says, I set the wyvern down and draw my new set of daggers and ready them against my forearms as I take a defensive stance.
“Show yourself then, delusion. Prove to me I’m not insane!”
The first thing I hear is the creaking of wood, deep and resonant, like the groan of a waking giant. My heart skips a beat as I turn toward the noise, eyes wide with alarm. The sound intensifies, a low rumble that seems to vibrate through the very ground beneath my feet. Before I can pinpoint the source, another creak erupts from the opposite direction.
Panic flares as I whirl around, eyes darting from tree to tree. The creaking multiplies, coming from every side. The trees surrounding the clearing shudder and groan, their trunks splitting with loud, gut-wrenching cracks. Bark splinters and wood bursts outward, filling the air with the scent of fresh pine and the sting of flying debris.
The sound is overwhelming.
I duck, covering my head to protect myself as trees explode and shower me in debris. Each mighty crack feels like the snap of a bone, sending a jolt of fear through my body.
Suddenly, the forest falls silent.
Carefully, cautiously, I open my eyes only to see Warden’s huge body, his wings wrapped around me while my head rests against his neck. He’s breathing heavily in hot gusts. It’s loud, much too loud, and the heat coming off him doesn’t make sense.
“Warden?” I whisper, looking up at him in concern. He’s looking over my shoulder, eyes wide, flanks flinching as if ready to take flight at a moment's notice. But he doesn’t move. He seems to be frozen in fear.
He breathes again, a loud, hot rush, lifting my hair from my shoulders with the force.
Only…
The breath came from behind me.
Warden lowers his head, horn pointing dangerously past me as he stomps his hooves. His silver eyes are completely dilated, the blacks taking over everything in fear and rage.
I look into those eyes, those deep reflective pools, and forget how to breathe.
All that’s reflected is my face and a wall of scales behind me.
Anara, we have much to discuss.
Swallowing hard, I turn slowly.
Silver scales.
Flashes of blood.
Elysandra screaming…
My body shakes uncontrollably as my eyes move from the ground up, up, and up…