Redemption - Fourth Wing

26. Vaeta

Chex's Pov
We reached Vaeta two weeks and four days after our departure, instead of the week and a half Ronny and Aifos had flown many months ago.
This delay happened because of a grey storm looming on the horizon on our eleventh day, and Ronny and I landed temporarily on a small, rocky island where we had to stay huddled, and our tails would still touch the cold water.
Aifos didn't stir, not even once, and I shifted my wings so as to protect them from the wind, and the sky, and the waves.
The ocean was as never-ending as the sky, and the two colours (the former of a dark grey which shifted to black, and the latter of a distraught blue) seemed to clash and merge where the eye lost track of them.
Ronny's eyes were locked on the heavy mass of clouds.
-I was wondering if we could manage to fly past them without changing the trajectory.-
-Are you out of your own mind? We will never make it!-
-Do you really think so lowly of us?-
-It's common sense! That storm will rip our wings straight off. No, I say we try getting around it.-
-We'll be wasting days.-
-It's better that than dying because we're too self-assured.-
-Aifos doesn't have much time left.-
I fell quiet, and twisted my head as Ronny stepped closer to them, but I snapped my teeth at him, despite the dim light of his eyes. He took a step back without any protest, as if he was expecting this reaction of mine.
I still hadn't forgiven him for the role he played in Aifos' wound.
I twisted my head and closed my eyes; I could hear the slow thump of their heartbeats, the way their rugged breathing left their parched lips; I could see the paleness of their skin, taste the poison.
-Their body's still fighting,- I said, -They will make it. We will go round the storm.-
Ronny inhaled slowly, and I splayed my wings, -Let's fly, as long as the wind holds us upright.-
Throughout this new route, the wind never snapped our wings in half, and Aifos kept fighting, and we managed to reach Vaeta without getting trapped in the middle of the storm.
A white dragon saw us (I'd already seen her in Aifos' memory, back in Cordyn; Tina was her name,) and immediately turned around to meet us halfway.
She had the same broad shoulders of Ronny's, his same square jaw and thick spikes, but of a black colour. Perhaps they were somehow related, distant cousins or half-siblings; I knew for certain she couldn't be his hatchling, because he'd told us one night he hadn't fathered any eggs yet.
She showed us the way to the island, and the sky was glittering with many scales of many colours.
A purple dragon reminded me of Andarna; I hoped our guardians would forgive us one day.
I landed in front of the main entrance of the lone, white palace standing between two hills, and many two-legged people stepped away.
Some of them had an odd smell.
While Tina's Rider jumped off the saddle, I lowered and swivelled my head towards the on-lookers, who haltingly took a step back and rotated their wrist inwards.
"Atra ono thelduin, Koperskul," they chanted in unison, and I felt as if my copper grew deeper, brighter.
Still, they were too close.
I swished my swordtail and snapped my jaws, but their eyes were still roaming on me.
A shadow fell on them, and the ground shook when Ronny took his place beside me, his wings splayed wide and neck proudly arched. The snow crunched under his talons.
His growl was low, and the other Riders immediately backed off, with downcast eyes and tight shoulders. Some of the odd-smelling ones actually grimaced.
Were those Elves?
"Aifos! Aifos!"
A brown-haired, young two-legged with a scent caught between human and elf-like rushed past the audience, actually shouldering somebody away and stopping in front of me.
Shortly behind him, another dragon approached, her sapphire scales catching the light. But when she moved to get closer, I shot a tongue of fire between her legs as a warning.
None was to come near us before admitting their intention to us.
-Chex, they're our Ebrithils,- said Ronny tiredly, just as the brown-haired one (Eragon, I remembered, his name was Eragon) twisted his wrist like the others had done and said, "Eka aí fricai un Shur'tugal."
(I am a Rider, and a friend.)
"We're here to heal Aifos. Let us heal them."
-Let them, Chex. We flew all the way here for them to do what the eldest Sorrengail couldn't.-
Slowly, with my teeth bared, I stretched out my leg and allowed Eragon and Elsie to come closer and climb up on me. Eragon's steps were light, and he undid the laces around Aifos' body and held them for a couple of heartbeats before carefully sliding down.
Both Tina and Saphira sniffed them, and I would've snapped at them hadn't Ronny stepped in front of me.
-Tell us what happened,- demanded Saphira to the both of us, and Ronny curtly told her everything that there was to know.
I watched as Eragon and Elsie fretted inside with my limp Aifos between the Ebrithil's arms, and I whined deep in my throat.
-Eragon will save them,- said Saphira firmly, -I swear it to you in the Ancient Language.-
-Fool,- sighed Ronny, -Oaths mean nothing.-
-You're both physically and emotionally drained, so I'm letting such a comment of yours slide for now. It won't happen again.-
Tina flicked her wings, -I hunted down a couple of stags earlier in the day. You can eat them, if you want.-
I could feel the sun timidly peeking through the clouds. It must be early afternoon.
-I will not eat, or drink, or sleep, or fly until my mate wakes up.-
Saphira's gaze turned from me to Ronny, -What about you?-
-You don't need any answer from me; such starvation would be pointless for me either way. Show me the stags, Tina. I don't care.-
As the two dragons took off, I thought Ronny looked older than Codagh, and twice more worn out.
I feared his wings would fail him and he would fall from the sky.
I heard Saphira's growl to the lingering Riders, and only after they shuffled away, she looked at me, and said, -So, you must be the reason for which Aifos and Ronny decided to challenge the ocean and the sky. You're from Navarre, correct?-
-Yes.-
-And how old are you?-
-Almost three years old. You?-
-I am the one asking questions, Koperskul. Or should I call you, Kuldrskul? You do have peculiar scales.-
I looked at my wings, and caught ripples of golden flashing through the copper. I looked up, and saw sunlight trying to kick the clouds away.
-My sister and I are the last of the seventh Den. We have ever-changing scales.-
-Yes, I can see that.-
She tipped her elegant snout towards me; she was taller than me only by a couple of inches.
-I'll let you rest today. But tomorrow, we will walk together.-
I was tired deep in my bones, so I could only say, -As you wish, Saphira-Elda,- and through that nickname only I could feel Aifos' presence next to me. Saphira nodded, then let me be.
What was left of the day dragged long and slow, and I spotted the younger dragons slinking under the shadows of nearby trees, until the bravest went forward and with his neck outstretched sniffed the tip of my tail. Another, an ochre-scaled dragon, bumped her head on my flank, and I narrowed my eyes, -I am Tairn and Sgaeyl's ward, I will not be/-
The grey dragon of before nipped my tail, and I startled on my feet, -Ehy, watch it!-
-Why are you talking in the Ancient Language?- Asked the ochre one, -Why do you have a sword attached to your tail?-
-Are your scales truly copper?- piqued up the purple dragon I'd glimpsed early on.
-_No, idiot, they're golden now!_-
-What, no! Can't you see that his legs are black?-
-Not everybody has to have your same scales, Shruikan!-
-He's so... Beautiful.-
-Why don't you have any spikes?-
-Perhaps he didn't sleep well in his egg. Perhaps he was one of Galbatorix's?-
-No, it can't be. There were only three in his possession: Saphira's, Thorn's and Firner's. We should ask Cuadoc, perhaps he knows.-
The other dragons too had walked out from the shadows, and started surrounding me with their questions and bickering, until my back bumped on the white marble of the palace and a headache was most definitely closing in.
Then, a growl silenced them all, just as Ronny's deep voice thundered, with the strenght of the wind during a storm, -Enough!-
He approached on my left, and the purple and the ochre dragon scrambled away from his path. His steps were slow and calculated, and his narrowed eyes scanned the now quiet group of dragons.
-Get lost, and don't you dare bother him again. Are we clear?-
The black dragon puffed up his chest and said, -We know what you did. And we are not afraid of you.-
-I am,- squeaked out one of the others.
Ronny dropped his head, and bared his teeth inches from the smaller dragon, -You should be. Be off, all of you. I won't repeat myself anymore.-
The black dragon quivered, lowered his head and backed off just like the others. Ronny straightened up his position and turned to me, -You sure you don't want to eat anything?-
My voice was a bit harsh.
-I am.-
He nodded, and sent me an image of an old tree, -If you come looking for me, that's where you'll find me.-
The sun gave way to the moon, and still I refused to hunt down any food or catch any sleep. Aifos was still unresponsive, and Eragon had slipped in and out the Academy more often than not, his mind whirring with anxiety and worry; I swore I glimpsed his eyes of a red colour.
In that moment, I wished to have the ability to speak with other humans apart from my chosen, but Ronny was nowhere to be seen, and I didn't want to ask Saphira.
She sought me out the morning after, and her scales absorbed the bright light of the late morning sun. Her eyes held a wisdom which I was sure went beyond her years, and her voice was firm yet warm.
-Come, follow me, Kuldrskul.-
Tiredly, I did, and she started leading the way to the highest hill next to the Academy. We went past the sparring ring, where I recognised Elsie swinging her white sword towards another girl, and where the Elves' movements were so swift to be almost imperceptible; an odd-creature, horned and dark-skinned, let out a bellow and charged at a Dwarf head-on. Then, we stopped at the outskirts of a meadow littered with stones with different sizes and positions, and watched the youngest dragonets improving their control of the flames.
I remembered the first time I breathed fire: one of those horrible, multi legged insects had crawled on my head back in the black Den, and with a screetch I spewed a tongue of fire and tripped on my tail.
I had a tiny scar across my upper lip to remember that day.
We kept on trudging up the hill, and the birds chirped and snow crunched under our steps.
-Where are we going?-
-Be patient, Kuldrskul.-
I was wondering how far we would walk on for, until Saphira ducked under a low-hanging branch and waited for me to reach her.
We were standing on the highest point of the cliff, and the white building stood tall and proud; if I narrowed my eyes, I could catch a glimpse of a tree stretching itself inside the walls. Far off in the horizon glinted the sea, and high up in the sky gleamed the scales of the dragons. Two dragons, red and silver, were swooping down and chasing each other, and the wind drafted down to us the laughs and hollers of their Riders.
I remembered all the flights I'd shared with Aifos, and I missed their weight on my back.
Eragon's tears haunted me.
-As far as I know, your home is at war.-
I dragged my eyes away from the playing dragons and to Saphira. Her spikes were the whitest and sharpest I'd ever seen, and her scales were a lighter shade of blue than Sgaeyl's: sapphire-like, rather than navy blue.
-Yes, it is. We fought well, Aifos and I.-
-I'm sure you did. They're a skilled Rider. Their fluidity with the Ancient Language matches any Elf's.-
The silver dragon sharply turned around, and the red erupted fire. Then, they shot so high up in the sky the sun blinded me.
-Alagaesia had been at war for many decades, too. Some say slightly over a century.-
-Yes, I know. Ronny hinted at it.-
-Eragon and I fought alongside the Vardens for two years, and in the end we brought down our enemies and gave peace to our homeland.-
-Why are you telling me all this?-
She met my eyes, and her voice was firm in my headspace, -Ronny told me of the part you and your sister had to play in your battle. I know how it feels, having the wings heavy with the destiny of your race, of your home, of everything and everyone you hold dear. Don't let it drag you down. Because you're fighting for this,- and she elegantly extended a wing towards the landscape, -You're fighting for the eggs who will hatch, for the Riders who'll be chosen. You're fighting for your future.-
I followed the sweep of her wing, and allowed the view to sink in my heart and the details to get impressed in my mind.
The silver dragon landed somewhere next to us, and brought down his neck to chuff at his Elf; the crimson one flew towards a lake, instead.
-Thank you, Saphira-Elda.-
I would fight for the unhatched feathertails, as I was called to, but mostly I would fight for Aifos' carefree laugh, for their hair always messy after a flight, for their silly grin and sparkly eyes when they would dismount and would thank me with a caress or a pat or a head-bump.
I would fight for my mate.
We went back towards the palace, and I caught a glimpse of Ronny standing in front of a vault. His wings were askew, and perhaps his talons were trembling. When he raised his head, his eyes held mine for a couple of heartbeats, then he set his wings back up and stepped inside the vault.
-He's going to the Eldunaris,- murmured Saphira.
-The what?-
-The Hearts of Hearts. Eragon and I tried talking to them so to have their wisdom by our side to help Aifos... But to no avail. Their rage and grief are too rooted in their memories to let them see.-
-I don't... I don't understand. Who are they?-
She turned her head to me, -You don't have any in your chest?-
-No, what... No. I have a heart, but... Not a Heart of Hearts.-
So, she explained to me that every Alagaesyan dragon had some sort of round gem lodged deep in their chest; an empty vessel, where a dying dragon could transfer their conscience and keep on living.
But they would be witnessing the ages of the world alone.
I felt relieved that I didn't have any.
But, as I was mulling over my thoughts, another question was nagging in the back of my mind.
My voice was shaking.
-Why wouldn't they help us save Aifos?-
-Ronny never told you?-
-If you mean if he told me about his past, yes, he did. I know he got tortured for over a century, but why that's not the point!-
I was starting to get annoyed at her questions, and I only wanted to rush back to Aifos and make sure their heart was still beating.
Saphira exhaled a plume of smoke, and her voice was tight, -This is the New Order of Shur'tugals. And every novelty, in order to be such, needs some destruction; some change. The Ancient Order was wiped out by Galbatorix and the Thirteen. Because of the deep tragedy within that betrayal, the Elders gathered one last time and called to them the magic that flows in the blood of my race. The traitorous dragons got wiped out of their names, and through that, they lost their Name of Names, too. They lost the ability to speak, to say "my scales are green" or, "I prefer deer than goats", because it would mean to have a conscience, to have a personality. The Thirteen dragons stopped being living beings at all... but one. And that one, was Ronny.-
Suddenly, I wished I didn't have to hear it. But she went on, now steadier, -Ronny's claws are the bloodiest. Even bloodier than mine.-
There wasn't enough oxygen anymore, and she didn't need to go on with her terrible, gruesome, tragic tale. Killing those of our own! And so many, he probably didn't even remember any of them.
Now I understood why the dragonets had immediately shuffled back, the grimaces of the Elves. A thread of fear tingled down my spine at the sound of his approaching wingbeats.
I whirled around, and instinctively Saphira took a step forward. But Ronny didn't move from his spot; instead, he hunched down his neck and let his wings skim the snow.
He refused to meet my eyes, -The truth refuses to remain hidden for too long, doesn't it?-
-Why have kept it all a secret? Does Aifos know?-
-What do you think?-
None of us needed an answer to that.
It came to me as a sudden realisation. Perhaps it was the resigned sadness residing in his eyes; perhaps it was the dullness of his scales, which had always been, and which I saw only now because Saphira was near and her scales seemed to absorb even the light of Ronny's.
He was way older than her, than all of us dragons in this island, and my eyes followed the jagged line of the old scar across his snout.
Suddenly, I couldn't bring myself to hold a grudge against him anymore.
I stretched out my talons, clasped his, and bumped my snout on his neck.
He was so taken aback that his voice was soft, -What are you doing?-
-Aifos loves you, and I love them. You're one of my own; you have been such for many months.-
-I am a mass murderer. I spilled so much blood, I can't wipe it out. I never will.-
-No. You were ordered to be a mass murderer. There's a difference.-
-Not for those I killed. Not for those who remain, who had to live through the losses caused by me. Not for the New Order.-
-There is for us.-
I could feel his chest expanding against mine as he inhaled deeply and slowly, then he placed his jaw over my head.
His wings were slightly shaking, and I tightened my hold around his claws.
Something tugged at both of our minds, an ancient conscience which had lived through death, and was deeper than the ocean.
-We've been narrow-minded, and short-sighted. We will help Eragon with his task to save your first student's life.-
-We owe you our lives, Glaedr, once again,- murmured Saphira for all of us.
-Nonsense. Let's get to work.-

Eragon's Pov
My room was silent when I stumbled in, and I reveled in its quietness. After a whole day rummaging through every knowledge of the art of healing, constantly guided by Glaedr and sometimes by Umaroth, my mind was throbbing at every movement and even the soft light of the moon was bright enough to hurt my eyes.
But, in spite of it all, I didn't want to sleep yet, in case Elsie who'd asked me to switch up with her needed me out of a sudden.
Aifos' situation was one of the most precarious I'd ever seen, and the poison acted as if it had a will of its own, putting up a fight against every spell, even against the lightest one.
As I opened a book lying on my desk, however, a letter slid out from the pages, and I picked it up with a sigh.
It'd been brought here by Aifos' very own mother, a thin woman with sad eyes and a perfect accent of the Ancient Language.
"In this letter, there's the truth about their parentage. Can you give it to them, please?"
"I will, lady." As she turned away, however, I couldn't help but ask, "Sorry, but why now?"
"I saw them, a couple of days ago, during a diplomatic meeting in Queen Nasuada's court. I thought they were very pretty... And it struck me how much they resembled their true father. He was the most beautiful man I've ever seen."
I couldn't find in myself the strength to tell her that Aifos had flown to some foreign Continent far away only a couple of days ago.
I wondered if I'd done the right thing, at letting them go.
-Their life is their own, Little One. You couldn't have done otherwise.-
-I know, Saphira. It's just that... I truly hoped they'd land in a peaceful place.-
-I shared this hope with you. But it doesn't mean that this journey of theirs was a mistake in the first place. Perhaps no journey truly is such.-
I leaned back on the chair, which creaked weakly. My fingers were holding distractedly the letter.
-I should tell them.-
-You must.-