Armies of the Dragon (Book 2 after Warriors of the Dragon)

Tryx

"Sorin, I will be fine. Caius is more than fast enough to get me away from them if I make an attempt on Azaesel's life and fail." Sephira tried to tell him, though she knew they both could feel her uncertainty. He only ripped off his mask to give her a knowing look and her eyebrows pressed down because she knew he was right. "We decided to send the naiads and the Undine will stay because I think I'll be able to get more information." She told him, which made him look a little less angry. "Actually," She said in a low voice. "I need you to get me a new mask." She could see the outrage on his face as he swallowed in an attempt to not scream at her that she's crazy to ask him to leave her. "If I do make an attempt to kill Azaesel, I'll need my mask to be able to get back home..." She told him, looking at the floor away from his intense stare before looking back up underneath her eye lashes. He pursed his lips and took a deep breath as he tried to think about it from her point of view. "I will play it safe until you return. Azaesel is under his own spell." She told him, as she put her arm around him as she plopped down beside him on his sleeping furs. "He has tried to mesmerize me since he met me and he thinks it's working, but I've reflected it back at him. Craven thinks he's too in love with me to hurt me." She laughed.

"Doesn't he know his spell is reverberating?" Sorin asked in confusion.

"He hasn't stopped trying to use it. He would've stopped if he thought it wasn't working on me." Sephira told him as he took her hand in his. He interlaced his fingers in hers with their hands clasped over his thigh. She could tell he was uneasy about her proximity to the man he'd seen through her eyes fighting and hurting Craven and looking at her with that unnerving lust.

*

Sephira woke in familiar sleeping furs to the sight of her brother's sleeping face close in front of her own. Her hand was in his between them where they laid on their sides facing each other. She removed her hand from his relaxed grip only to run her fingers down the side of his face. His eyes flickered open at her soft touch and he sighed, feeling much more complete with her close to him again. He knew he had gotten agitated since being left to wait without her and he felt bad for how difficult he had been with the Undine and Naiads. They seemed to fear him more each day as he grew more irritated about not being able to help his sister. The loving look on her face made him smile. He hadn't seen his mother make that look since he was very young and though his father made it every once in a while, he tended to direct it at Sephira rather than himself. Though his mother seemed to favor him over Sephira since her and her mother fought more often than they agreed on things, she only focused on making him fight more viciously or lead with a merciless attitude.

Sephira shifted to put her forehead to her brother's and though he felt an awful desire to kiss her, the feel of her smooth skin against his was comforting. He ran his hand down the silky black tunic on her shoulder and upper arm and she let her leg slide between his as her eyes flickered closed again and he focused on keeping his breathing steady and his body relaxed.

*

Craven joined the Undine and Naiads by the fire in the morning while the others were all in their tents still. He had been disappointed not to have Sephira with him in the night, but he was glad she was spending time with her brother she hadn't seen. He could hear her laugh in their tent and caught himself before he let himself become jealous. They were speaking Elvish and he could tell the Undine and Naiads were listening in by the look on their faces.

"What are they talking about?" Craven ventured to ask.

"They're trying to decide who would win in a fight, Ariemme or... Mithayr? Is that a name?" Malina answered, before looking to the Undine.

"It's the maternal word for sire. It's a Duvendis word. I guess an orc might say birth mother. It's sort of a more impersonal word for mother, I guess." Dawn explained.