103. A CHORUS OF DRAGONS

Talea’s story

Raenora Valley

Just after the second dis-imbuement ritual

When the ritual finished, Talea resisted.

Talea had never died before. At least, not that she remembered. She supposed it might have been possible that she’d died and been reincarnated and had lived countless lives before. She’d never asked. She didn’t want to know.

So maybe she’d died before.

But in this life, it was her first time. The horror wasn’t the idea of what was going to happen to her but knowing that it wouldn’t fucking take. That she was going to Return, like it or not, because Xivan had set it up that way. She’d Return without Xivan.

Talea hadn’t wanted to come back.

Her lungs had different ideas. She opened her eyes as she gasped and began breathing. No matter how hard she cried, she kept breathing too.

Talea cried, silently, head pressed to the ground as if she could somehow pray Xivan’s body back into existence. If she’d come under attack, she would’ve died a second time. She had no interest in defending herself.

“Oh, child,” she heard Dorna say, stricken. Talea didn’t know who the woman was talking to. Then she felt the old woman’s hand on her shoulder and knew that Dorna had been talking to her. The fact that Dorna could talk to her just underlined what had happened, that Dorna had been Returned and Xivan had not.

“I thought—” Qown’s voice sounded so young. “I thought Xivan said we’d all come back.”

As Teraeth gently began explaining how no, that’s not how that would’ve worked, Talea began crying louder. She’d known better.

Then she grabbed Dorna’s hand and squeezed hard, unintentionally making the old woman yelp before letting go. She stood.

“We’re not done,” Talea reminded them. “All of this is for nothing if Kihrin doesn’t succeed. All of this will have been pointless!”

They hadn’t traveled far. Just a small pass on one of the mountains overlooking the valley, enough out of the way that they could see what was happening and far enough away to be overlooked by the dragons. They were close enough to go back.

“It’s out of our hands,” Teraeth said. He looked like someone had taken a hatchet to his soul. His eyes were haunted, and Talea knew, just looking, that he’d already realized he was losing both his loves too. “He’ll be wherever Relos Var is.”

That was when each dragon lifted their head up into the sky and began to sing.

Talea had no idea if what they were singing was meant to have structure or if it was the equivalent of wolves howling into the sky, but it echoed through the mountains, vibrating high and low, at once discordant and harmonious.

Talea heard a rumbling that had nothing to do with singing.

“Avalanches,” Thurvishar said. “This location isn’t safe either.”

Talea nodded. She was too numb to feel any fear about the idea that their position might be buried under a thousand tons of ice. Instead, she stared at the valley. The dragons were busy singing, which meant they weren’t paying attention to the valley itself.

“This is the best chance we’ll ever have,” Teraeth told everyone. “Kihrin told Valathea that he’d leave a marker for her. Is that enough to follow?”

Irisia started to cast. “Let’s find out.”

The former goddess opened a portal.