Core (32 page)

Twenty

Spark

Sirce’s face was so close to Cale’s that he could smell his breath. It smelled like nothing.

Cale tried to back away, to turn his face, but he couldn’t. Sirce’s diamond-gray eyes bore into Cale. Then he smiled, revealing his dark, razor teeth.

“You will kill her,” he said to Cale. “You will let me use her, and then you will kill her. I have seen this, and it will be so. There are consequences to every act. And those consequences will always be in my favor.”

Cale wanted to object, to tell him that he was insane, that he was wrong, but he couldn’t speak. The grey dragon
sneered at Cale’s struggle.

“I must thank you for my gift.”
Saliva oozed down his chin as he licked his lips. “She is beautiful.”

Suddenly, Cale woke up to knobby knees stabbing him in the stomach. He groaned and rolled over, knocking whoever it was to the ground. He forced his eyes open as Jemma righted herself and tugged at his hair.

“Wake up, wake up,” she said in red tongue. “Or you’ll miss it.”

“Jemma, get out of there,” Shayna scolded, pushing the curtain aside and gathering her daughter up with one arm.

“But they’ll miss it,”
Jemma protested as Shayna hauled her away.

Ava had snuggled closer to Cale’s back when he rolled over. He lay still for a moment, relishing the taste of her being so close to him.
 
It has to be her.
 He sat up and moved so that he could face his rider. Her arm was still around his waist as he poked her cheek playfully.

“Ava,” he said. “Look where we are.”

She yawned and stretched as she always did. Cale frowned as he caught sight of the spiraled wound on her forearm. It was healing, but slowly. 
I did that,
 he thought. He tried to ignore the words of the grey, words that had filled his mind while he slept. 
Lies. All lies.
 He knew he would never hurt Ava. And he would never let Sirce or anyone else near her again.

“You’re still frowning,” Ava said as she blinked awake. “Even after all this sleep?”

Cale forced a smile. “Thinking.”

“About how awesome it is we’re not dead?”

“About a lot of things.”

“Not about me being a bird, right?
Because I promise you I’m not.”

Cale lay back down, picked up Ava’s hand and plopped it over his face. “I wish I was still too tired to think.”

But his mind was racing. If Ava was really a phoenix, it changed everything. 
Everything.
 He didn’t need to tell Ava that a red could only pact with a human. She’d heard it from the grey dragons herself. If she was truly a phoenix, if she was a member of the breed so rare that people had nearly forgotten them…. Maybe Mac was right all along. Maybe Sirce, as frightening as he was, had been truthful. 
Maybe we are destroying the balance.

Ava moved her hand and laid her head on his chest. He pulled her closer to him, and his heart beat grew steadier as he breathed deeper.

“Pardon me.”

A soft voice came from the curtain in the doorway. Juliette was wearing a long white dress, her hair woven in braids, a few curls loose, framing her face. In
every way, Juliette was gorgeous.

But Cale hadn’t warmed up to her. Ava could tell by the way his muscles tightened beneath his skin at the sight of her. Luckily, he said nothing to the girl.

“The sun is about to rise,” Juliette said, hardly louder than a whisper, “and the village is waiting. But if you would like to rest, we can gather again tomorrow morning.”

Ava looked at Cale and smiled. “No more waiting.”

Juliette nodded. “I will tell Emaline,” she said. The girl was gone before the curtain fell back into place.

Not a minute later, Emaline burst into the room, knocking the curtains to the floor in her excitement. Ava understood why none of the houses in Great Nest had furniture in them.
Chairs and tables would only clutter the place, only provide opportunities for injury. Great Nest had given up on civility. 
Red dragons break things.
 
It’s just how they are.

“We don’t have long,” Emaline said loudly, clapping her hands together. “Everything is ready except for you two.” She beamed at Cale. “Maurice and Jethro are waiting for you, Cale.
Hurry.”

Cale stood hesitantly. He would have to leave Ava.

“It will be for a short time,” Emaline explained. “The faster you go, the sooner it will be over.”

Cale sighed and turned to leave, but Ava stopped him. She turned to Emaline. “We don’t want to be separated.”

Emaline shrugged. “It is against tradition, but…for you, it can be done.”

Cale smiled bigger than the sun. After each had a bath, he and Ava stood in separate corners of the Coston house, backs to each other as they dressed. Shayna approached Ava, carrying an outfit she’d stitched out of dragonthread herself.

“So you won’t catch on fire,” she said.

The craftwork was exquisite, flames sewn into the sleeves and hood.
 
And the best part, it isn’t a dress.
 The dark pants fit Ava perfectly. The brown boots were brand new, but covered in mud.

“We had them
broken in for you,” Shayna explained.

Of course a red dragon would think of that practicality.
 No need for the shiny and new. 
Practical, durable, tough.
 Shayna sat Ava down and ran skilled fingers through her tangled hair. The orchid water she rubbed into her curls smoothed it nicely, removing every knot with ease.

“Our children know how to make messes of their heads,” Shayna
said as she braided it down Ava’s back, leaving two subtle wisps of curls at her temples.

Shayna brought out a mirror. It was rusted and cloudy, but Ava could still see herself. The orchid water Shayna had splashed o
n her face made her skin glow, but when Ava looked closer, she thought maybe, just maybe, she saw a hint of gold. Ignoring it, she admired herself, even the scar that wound up her arm. She touched at the bruises on her face, evidence of battling sirens and no-ir riders. It made Ava stand up straight, proud.

“Do you like it?” Shayna asked.

“It’s perfect,” Ava answered, putting her hand on Shayna’s shoulder, mirroring the red dragon gesture that had become commonplace to her. “Thank you.”

Maurice burst through the front curtain, in much the same way Emaline had earlier, his arms spread wide, a smile on his ten-year old face.

“There are guests for you here,” he shouted.

“Guests?”

Cale’s heartbeat picked up at the thought of it. But when Javier and Lena walked through the front curtain, scolded himself for being so hopeful.

Javier threw the heartiest hug he could manage at Cale. He kissed both of his cheeks, rattling off in both red tongue and Spanish. Lena’s belly poked out from beneath her dress, and her smile elicited a matching one from Cale.

“I’m so glad you’re both here,” he said. And he meant it. It was so much harder to be sad with them around.

“Quickly now,” Maurice shouted. “The sun is rising! The sun is rising!” The dragon ran to Cale and threw his little arms around his
waist, lifting Cale into the air. “I am bursting with gladness,” he said, doing a jig while still latched to Cale. “So much gladness.”

Maurice turned to Ava and bowed. Then he approached and planted a careful kiss on her hands. Ava still thought the custom was awkward, but she let it slide yet again. She only hoped no one knew about the phoenix problem. She didn’t want to explain something she didn’t understand herself.

“You look every bit the rothai,” Maurice said to her. “And the first to bring her dragon back alive from the grey court. Such a thing has never happened. Not in all my years. Not in any time.” He patted her hand. “Enough of my ranting. Now, we must begin.”

Cale grinned at Ava and put an arm around her shoulders. “You look good,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. “I’m just glad I don’t have to balance in heels.” He laughed, and the two of them walked through the front curtain. They stopped.

The entire village, and more, watched expectantly
, the sky behind them going from black to gray, the sun about to peek over the hills..

Harlon
stepped forward. He looked much better than the last time Ava had seen him trapped in the blue dragon’s hole. In fact, Ava had nearly forgotten about that place, about the sirens, about the pearl.

“I would be loyal to you,”
Harlon said, putting his fist to his chest.

Ava looked to Cale, and he shrugged at her. “It’s your call, Ava. You’re the rider.”

Ava bit her lip. She didn’t want a loyal. Not really. 
What am I supposed to say? No? Go away?
 “I guess,” she said with a shrug. “If you really want to.”

Harlon
smiled. “Thank you. You honor me, rothai.”

Cale laughed at his rider
as Harlon joined the others. “God, Ava, you could have said it nicer than that.”

“How would one 'say it nicer'?”

“I don’t know. Like how he said it. With some bowing or something.”

But
Emaline cleared her throat from behind them and they turned to face her. “Rothai, do not be offended that we found this. In your shoe, of all places. We have made it so you can carry it with you.”

Ava made a mental note to thank Shiloh if she ever saw him again, though
most of her hoped she never would. Emaline handed the leather necklace to Cale. The pendant was the perfect red marble, very different from the black and white feather and plain gray rock that fused together to make it.

“It’s our dragonstone,” he said to Ava. “Turned out pretty good for a rush job.”

Ava couldn’t take her eyes off of it. It was perfect. It was all perfect. Cale put it around her neck, and she noticed that he was making an effort not to look into the crowd, as if he didn’t want to let himself search for the familiar faces of his family.

Ava wanted to be sad for him, but she knew it would only make him feel worse. “They’ll come around, Cale,” she said.
 
If I have anything to do with it, they’ll come around.

Cale clenched his jaw in response. He didn’t want to talk about them. The hurt would not be healed. And, even worse
–worse than he could dream of–was the knowledge that the girl at his side might not be human. That she was a phoenix. That after all he had fought for, he couldn’t have her.

He shook the thoughts away. “This is a good day,” he said, more to himself than anyone else. “Let’s enjoy it.”

Ava looked around at the expectant faces and scratched the back of her neck. “What now?”

Cale patted his chest, hoping Ava didn’t see the slight tremor in his hand. “My core,” he said.

“I don’t have any fire on me.” She looked around, waiting for someone to hand her a torch.

Cale gave a crooked smile. “I’ve already got plenty. I just need you to be my bridge. Take the fire from my core and light it to my blood.”
 

She shook her head, suddenly nervous. “I don’t know how to do that.”

Cale reached out. He placed his hand on Ava’s cheek. He traced her jaw, tilting her chin up to him. “You know.” He looked into her eyes. The same eyes he’d seen the very first day he met her. Green and red and strong. His heartbeat died in his chest. All he could feel was his core. Begging for her. Screaming out her name. “My 
sarai
 will always know.”

Ava blinked at the word. It was beautiful.
Different than the noble 
rothai
. She had no idea what it meant, but she knew he wasn’t honoring her by saying it. He wasn’t showing her off. He was calling her closer. Whispering truth into her. She was his promised one. His only hope.

His.

Ava placed her hand on Cale’s chest. It was hot–so hot that she almost pulled away. But Cale rest his hand over hers, keeping it in place. He grew even warmer beneath her fingers, until finally, he released her hand and took a step back.

Nothing.

He still looked like Cale. The same Cale that Ava had always known.

Then he laughed. Smoke leaked from his mouth, dissipating in the chill morning wind. He tilted his head back and opened his mouth. A column of fire exploded from somewhere inside him, so much that the onlookers began to scramble. Ash and smoke rained down around him, reacting with each of his molecules. His cells sizzled as his dragonblood caught fire, catalyzing the change.

Ava couldn’t help but stare. She had expected a monstrous black dragon, scaly and thick-haunched. But Cale stood on four legs, more like a wolf than a big flying lizard. His talons were black, his hide a rich crimson. In subtle stripes across his chest and along his ears was a shimmering blue. His face was alert, sharp, focused, his chest held out as though he was proud. He growled as Ava moved forward to meet him. The sound was so loud, so abrupt that she jumped. 
This is Cale,
 she told herself. 
He won’t hurt you.