Blood Runner: Book Three of the Empress Saga

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Coming back to consciousness was like climbing out of a grave, stone by stone.

There were circumstances where the remains of the dead were interred within the earth, rather than given to fire and wind on a pyre. The Nadians did so almost exclusively, as did any who revered the spirits of earth. Healers, also, were traditionally put to their rest in the soil so that they could become one with the world itself, lending their bright spirit to those that remained behind. But to bury one who would prefer to be burned, that only came of malice towards the dead.

Somehow, Krayson had always assumed he wouldn't be given his pyre.

As he fought to open his eyes, he was surprised that they weren't clogged with dirt, or that he didn't choke on soil and rock. Krayson was warm and momentarily believed that someone had been kind enough to burn his body. He was grateful.

That he had the capacity for gratitude at all was the start of Krayson's realization that he wasn't, in fact, dead.

It was dark, but scant light leaked into this room from between old wooden boards. It was a shed of some kind, ill-made and stinking of mold and vermin. There were riotous voices nearby, and it brought Krayson to a state of panic.

The bloodsong, he thought. He sat up, a cold sweat on his brow. If I'm close enough to hear people, they're close enough to sense it.

He turned his attention towards the ward concealing the bloodsong and found it holding in place. That was impossible. It should have unraveled after a few minutes, and he could tell by the stiffness in his muscles that he'd been unconscious for significantly longer.

"You drew from me," a girl's voice said. It was meek. Frightened, even.

Krayson tensed. Saveen was behind him in the corner of the shed. Without turning to face her, Krayson remained sitting on the shed floor and began to massage his stiff calves. "It was not my intention to use the bond," he said.

He worked up his calves to his thighs, then his shoulders. His neck had a sharp pain, so he refrained from working the joints too thoroughly. While he stretched, Saveen watched in silence. He could feel her eyes like an itch between his shoulders.

"You can," she said after the silence grew long. "I... I don't mind if you use my ether."

"I mind," Krayson replied.

Saveen went quiet again, perhaps believing her input was unwelcome. That wasn't the case. There were things that Krayson wanted from her, but permission to siphon ether like a thief was not one of them.

"Where are we?" Krayson asked.

"I don't know," she answered. "I... just flew. I don't know anything about this city, so I couldn't think of anything else. No one was here when we landed. They started showing up an hour ago."

"And it was drawing from your ether that maintained my ward on the bloodsong?"

Saveen hesitated. "I... I'm not sure." She took an unsteady breath. "Is that what I can sense in you? It's faint, like it's being muffled. It isn't apotheosis. Not quite. Similar, but different. Is that the bloodsong?"

"It is. All seven thunders have shown mercy if my ward is still functioning." Krayson chanced a look over his shoulder. He didn't know what he would find inside the shed with him, a girl or something mightier.

What he saw defied his expectations. Saveen sat nearby, no bigger than a kitten but unmistakably a dragon. She had a short neck that could have been called stumpy, a broad skull with a wide mouth lined with sharp teeth, and a thick tail. The length of her little body was covered with knobby, cobalt scales. She was a blunt creature, a contrast to Kimpo's powerful yet graceful form. Instead, Saveen was solid, no matter how small she was.