Crown of horns

Chapter sixteen

Opaskai leads me through the soft grasses and swaying trees. The scent of lemon grass, wet stone, and charcoal filling the breeze.

Unrelenting confusion and unease fill me. If he has lied, what more do I not know? Why have these secrets been seen as unimportant and simply not been explained to me? I have so many questions so many answers needed. And at the same time, so much clarity, many things in my life have already been so tossed together they make no sense, having had a talk with father many of these things have been straightened out. Many still need to be fixed.

"He is there. I will stay here, should you need me Alys. " He nudges me with a soft wing. I give him a nervous smile and totter over the a cave, unlike Rendroktheils perch this cave is deep and dark, it burrows into the ground and absorbs light. A queasy feeling rocks my vision.

I toe the edge of the cave. "Rendroktheil?" My voice bounces back up to my ears. "Rendroktheil. It is I, Alys." I call again. Talons scrape against rock. I stagger away from the hole. My attention turning to Opaskai settles twenty paces behind me, He waves a foot towards me, urging me to try again. I shake off the nervousness and slide back to the edge of the cave. Luminous green eyes greet me. I jump back, my teeth clamping shut tight. I fall to the ground, my body protests greatly. I sob in pain.

"Alys?" I pick myself up to see Rendroktheils snout. I roll on to my stomach and then lift myself painfully to my knees, my palms flat to the earth. "Alys!" He pulls himself from the depths to stand before me. Then with the same burning reddish orange embers that Opaskai once did he shifts into the figure I knew to be Ren, High lord of the sanguine.

"Alys-" he stands towards me, his own stagger suggests he is hurt. "Alys. Stultus essem. Forgive me Alys. I was not able to save you. I was cautious when the men that had trapped me suddenly allowed me to leave. I was conflicted. When I heard your shouts I knew I had to return to the keep." He begins. I shake my head, tears leak down my face, then strike the grass in front of me.

"You lied," I lean back to look up at him. His white hair, standing in mismatched directions. The crown of horns he has. His sharp teeth, just as a dragon has. Those luminous green eyes so beautifully unnatural. Same rough stone on stone voice. The red leather matches his hide. He hid in plain sight and I blindly missed the signs.

"When I first met you. You told me you were at the ball for your people. For the people of the sanguine. You told me you were the high lord. And then you vanished. When I met you again in the sanguine village you told me to flee. You told me information you could not bare to tell me yourself and pretended to have no connection to the dragons. I blindly trusted that! I trusted you. It wasn't until I returned without you I began to uncover the truths you hid with your distracting presence." I drive my palms against my forehead. My nails into my scalp.

"Alys," Rendroktheil rocks foreword. I throw out a hand. "No. I am not done." I silence him. Rendroktheil stops, his eyes wide, a glint of soft light reflects in the darkness.

"I spoke to my father, while I was- unconscious- he told me about his rule, about Ysmes lies, her madness. She believed the legends he told her. They were all stories. There was no heir of dragons, no dragon queens of bastards. It was all her madness that she made a reality. I understand that. But I want to know why you lied to me? You told me you wanted my help, to save the dragons bring peace to both our worlds. Why did I find out through my crazed sister that I am blood bonded to you?"

Ren slips in to his knees, ten paces away with his head between his shoulders. "There were many things I wanted to explain to you the moment I saw you. I could not risk exposing my identity to you because I did not know how close you had bonded with your sister. I could not expose the dragons hiding inside the castle walls and risk you telling her.

"We May Be all wise, but among dragons Alys we do not hear legends often and they are taken seriously when heard. Being told you were the heir of dragons I did not question it. I did not know it was a lie Alys. I believed it as I believed the stories my father told me. Blood dragons do not have mates. We have blood bonds. A blood bond is a Connection between two, usually dragons, that is inseparable. In life we feel everything the other feels and we die when they die. These bonds are not necessarily for love. A bond can not connect though until the other has recognized a connection, such as a friendship. I did not tell you Alys because I did not recognize it myself until it was to late.

"Alys I apologize for my mistakes but please forgive me. I did what I did to protect my people and to protect you. If you forgive me we must talk about Ysme." Rendroktheil sighs, his eyes swimming and I feel the ache in my chest. I clutch my chest, stumbling back to my feet, towards Opaskai who has sat quietly behind me This entire time. He know as much as Rendroktheil. He is Rendroktheils people. As Rendroktheil considers me his people.

"I need some time," I breathe. "But I will accept your apology." Rendroktheil stands, taking a step towards me. Once again I hold my hand up to stop him. "I will not forgive you. You lied, you were protecting your people and I can understand that but you have lied and that is an act of lack of trust. I trusted you wholly but you could not see me as anything more than the blood queens sister."

I turn away from him, the aching doubles, A punch to the chest, a blow to my heart. Opaskai rises to his feet, he approaches me. I wave him off, limping back the way I came. "I want to be alone for a while. Thank you Opaskai." I dismiss him. The look of hurt increases the ache tenfold. Stray tears leak from my eyes.

I limp the way I came, past the rippling blue water, through the fog of bedrock and lemon grass. I crumble to the ground where the world is quietest and the dragons are farthest.

I feel crushed and betrayed. Lost and honestly, worse than I had when I rose from the stream.

Why does it hurt more to know the truth?