Redemption - Fourth Wing

Part III-- 51. Waiting

Part III
Ronny's Pov
Chex was gone, and Aifos was still sitting in the wet sand when I finally found them. Their knees were drawn against their chest, and they were hiding their face against their elbow, and their mind retreated when it brushed mine.
-Kid,- I said, -Show me your arms.-
Their hair was tousled, and they stretched out their arms and I could breathe only after I assured myself all of their scars were the old ones.
-You did good,- I whispered, -Get up, drink something. Do the Dance of the Cranes. Your ligaments must be all cranky.-
They sighed, and slowly unfolded their body from the curled up position of before, and I lowered my head and angled it so that they could clasp my horn and hoist themselves up. They huffed, and shook their hands and rolled their shoulders, but their eyes wandered far off in the sky.
I followed their gaze, felt the beginning of dawn in the shift of the chilly breeze under my wings.
-He didn't break the bond,- they said.
-He wants us to live for him.-
-That little bastard.-
-Is he though?-
They remained quiet, and I saw the sleep lines across their cheeks. I half heartedly nudged them with my snout, -Dance, stretch your muscles. I'll watch over you.-
They untied the belt of Beloth the Wise with a barely refrained sigh, and joined their fingers and raised up their arms as much as they could; then they bent down, and their hair slipped off their back and brushed the sand.
I said, -Your hair's greasy. Go take a bath after the Dance.-
-So demanding.-
-You've been alone with your thoughts for far too long.-
-I have been meditating. Listening to the night.-
-Do not bother with lies.-
Their lips thinned, and I studied every arch of their back and roll of their shoulders, until I deemed their body smooth enough and sent them neck deep in the ocean. They dunked, and waves rippled around my ankles, and I thought the water was annoyingly cold and biting.
Then, they heaved themselves belly up, and I took a couple of steps closer, -Do not stray too far off. I'd hate to wet myself any deeper.-
If I could manage swimming in lakes, the ocean was too deep, and it made my lungs squeeze.
-Got it.-
They paddled back up only when dawn broke, and wore the flight leathers back on and left their hair to drip on their back, the belt slung across their shoulders.
When we reached the others, camp was being hastily unmade, with the Riders buttoning up their flight leathers and dragons shifting their weight impatiently.
Tairn swivelled his head towards us and narrowed his eyes, -Where's Chex?-
Andarna shrugged next to him, her scales catching the soft hues of the sky, -Perhaps he's off catching slimy fish.-
Aifos flexed their fingers, and I skimmed their back with my wingtip.
-He flew away,- I said.
Tairn curled his upper lip, and Andarna's expression briefly shifted, her eyes brushing the horizon, towards the island of the Irids.
-Where to?- asked Tairn, while a growl rumbled in his throat. Cath took a step back, and Violet frowned up at her dragon, and Aifos' thumb started brushing their fingernails.
-He didn't tell us,- I said.
-The mating bond is the strongest bond there is. No mate worthy of it should ever hide its heart to its companion, should he want to have the sky remember them both.-
-He didn't hide,- croaked out Aifos, and Tairn swung his head down and I swept a leg in front of my partner of heart and mind and snarled at the other.
Aifos rolled their shoulders back, but their nails were deep in their palms, -He didn't hide. He simply trusted us to understand.-
The black dragon's rumble shook the ground, and I dug my claws in, and Teine chuffed puzzled somewhere to our right.
-Humans have no rights talking to a dragon but their own.-
There was tiredness in Aifos' voice, -I am a Shur'tugal.-
-Your heart leans terribly towards the fault of humanity.-
I snapped my teeth, -And your heart is set in stone to an old lizard's laziness!-
He roared, and he was too close to Aifos, so I reared on my hindclaws and shoved him away; he stumbled back, and I spread my wings and fired him up. Thick shadows wrapped themselves around Violet, and Tairn's scream of annoyance was drowned by the sizzling of my copper flames.
The stream stopped with a pointed snap of my teeth, and the black morningstartail's throat glowed red, and I tightened my wings around my flanks, and Aifos stretched out their hand and yelled, -Skolir nosu fra brisingr!-
But their hand was littered with the crescent shapes of their nails, and it started shaking, and fire stung the tip of my spikes and tail.
My muscles shifted, but then I saw a gleam of purple scales next to him, which could've been Andarna's or a trick of my own mind, and in front of me stood the purple irid, and Chex's absence twisted my stomach.
He had left for us; I couldn't slaughter his guardian.
Mustn't.
I dug my claws in the ground and squeezed my eyes shut and latched my mind on Aifos, counted each and everyone of their heartbeat, their movement of their lungs, and followed with my mind the swirls of their mental song which was known and loved and home, and I could breathe again.
When I found enough strength to look at Tairn again, his head was dropped and his tail was swinging, and I said, -At ease, please. At ease.-
Tairn growled, and a faint need to draw his blood whispered sickeningly behind my eyes, and Aifos' song was louder now, but I couldn't keep track of its swirls anymore and by now I was holding myself back with the skin of my teeth.
Lightning zapped down from a clear sky, and I whipped my head up, and just as thunder rumbled I knew I had to be quick to go away just as Sorrengail's lightning had been, quick before I'd forget who Aifos was and who I was and who we were, so I spread my wings and hastily flew off.
-Ronny!-
I looked down, and watched Aifos sprinting behind me, so I lowered my altitude and checked my speed. My shadow fell on my Rider, whose steps were as light as any Elf's, and whose hair billowed past them. They ducked behind branches, jumped roots, skipped on stones, and when I landed on a clearing barely enough to host me they picked up their pace and jumped and clung to me and their hair smacked my scales. Their arms tightened around my throat, and their feet dangled, and they pressed their cheek against me.
"I'm proud of you," they whispered, and warmth bloomed in my chest so deep I wondered how I'd managed to have lived without it for so long.
I closed my eyes and we remained there until their arms started shaking and I lowered my head and placed them back on their feet. Their smile was sheepish and their eyes instictively fell on the empty place next to us, and their grin wavered.
-He'll see your smile again,- I said, -I promise.-
Their shoulders slightly sagged, -What if he takes too long?-
-Then we'll wait for him.-
They said nothing, but when we slowly made our way back to camp, their palm was small and warm on my leg.

Throughout the rest of the journey back, we intercepted no enemies, but if Aifos' bitterly rejoiced because they feared they wouldn't have enough clarity of mind to hold their ground, the wind told me of the illusion of safety.
After a night spent in Aretia, where starlight reminded us of silver scales and neither of us was able to sleep, we flew to Basgiath, three and a half werks from the day we left. The flight field was muddy, and Andarna didn't follow us but went straight to the Vale instead. While Sorrengail dismounted, Tairn's eyes followed his ward's purple scales, and Riorson walked up to Aifos.
"Violet!"
We all watched while Matthias engulfed her squad mate in a hug, and said that her dragon had told them we were headed in, "So we ran out of dinner. I'm so glad to see you. Are you all right?"
But Gamlyn didn't give Sorrengail enough time to answer because he yanked both riders against his chest, and while the second years were having their heart felt reunion, Riorson tipped his head to Aifos, "We must let the others know."
They didn't meet his eyes, "Figured."
"You are my half sibling," pressed on Riorson, and I curled my upper lip in warning, but he didn't break eye contact with my Rider, "There's no going back now."
"So you keep saying."
The pair fell silent, and watched the group passing on information about the journey to the others, whose expression shifted from curiousity to grief when they got told about that flier's death.
My eyes slid on Aifos, and I thought our death wouldn't be met with anything but a brief resignation for the loss of two assets. I set my teeth and swung my head on the portion of the Academy in front of me; it was thick, and harsh, and black.
"And we failed," said Sorrengail, "We found the irids, and they won't come. We failed."
"That's disappointing to hear," chimed in General Aetos, who didn't dare come too close to Tairn, "Given the current political climate."
Riorson slid between Tavis and Cordella, while Aifos only straightened their back, but the lines of their shoulders were tired.
"We will discuss your punishment for disobeying direct orders later," went on the general, and at my growl his eyes briefly flickered on me, but then fell on the two Cordella cousins, "It's too bad you were born on the wrong side of the family. The good news is that you're one step closer to your throne."
The female flier paled, "Syrena?"
"Is that your sister?" Asked General Aetos, but ignored altogether the answer and handed Sorrengail a missive instead, "This perplexing read came for you about an hour ago. Looking forward to discussing it during your debrief."
She took the parchment, but Aifos didn't bother skipping her mind with theirs; their eyes were vacant, but their fingers were still.
"Is Syrena Cordella alive?" She asked, and Aetos shrugged, "Last I heard, she's fine."
The sister breathed relieved, and Sorrengail opened the missive, and I stretched out my neck and read it. The writing was quick and mocking, and Sorrengail's mind immediately jumped with a name.
-Theopanie,- I echoed, slowly, but Aifos briefly shrugged, -One of the many. May be the one who'll kill us.-
-No.-
They bowed their head, and the others' voices fell away, and I put my nail under Aifos' chin and carefully pushed it up so that they'd meet my eyes, -We aren't her prize: Sorrengail and Tairn are such. She won't be our end.-
-How do you know?-
-The letter was clear enough. She isn't worthy of our death.-
-Will be such anyone?-
-I don't know. Perhaps.-
I lowered my claw, and when General Aetos said that Queen Maraya was dead, Aifos just said, -Who wears the crown always believes to have found immortality. But immortality is an illusion and a lie, for not even the blood of the dragon is such.-
We both sought out the horizon, past dragon scales and cliffs as high as the Mountains of Beor, and we could almost catch a glimpse of golden scales above a glistening sea. I thought he was as alone as I'd been many years ago, high up in the sky and almost swallowed by it all, while Aifos was alone on the ground, set to their journey from Ellesmera to Farthen Dur our Ebrithils had deemed they'd best undertake.
Their absence had burned my chest, so I burned down farmers' cattles and gardens in a heap of loneliness. I lowered my eyes to Aifos, and hoped they wouldn't burn themselves.