Fragile Trust

Eyna was true to her word.

She knew better than Sthuna did; there was a key moment during the night when Mother rested. It lasted no longer than an hour. But it was the quietest hour in all the Heartsprings, when the great tree retreated into herself. The time changed every night. 

Eyna had learned how to predict it. When the warm pulses beneath the earth stilled to a distant hum. When the fireflies all began to descend and land on tall grasses and swaying flower stalks. When the world seemed to grow quiet…

That was when Mother slept.

And on this night, Eyna took full advantage.

She burst up from her bed of flowers, disturbing a small group of night fae that had snuck out to knot her hair. They tumbled with startled little yelps and offended declarations that they’d ‘tell Mother ‘ about this. Eyna just laughed. They were bluffing; if they told Mother, they’d get in trouble for knotting her hair in the first place.

Eyna bounded through the meadow like a little deer.

Eyna was halfway through the glade when a keening cry split the air. Eyna jolted. It was a sharp, piercing sound that sent a chill through her. Not the mournful call of the night creatures. No, this sounded pained. Desperate. And she realized, with mounting dread, that it was a cry of her very name.

She didn’t recognize the voice, so anguished was the sound of it. But her legs pumped faster. She raced directly towards the cry, even as a twinge of fear writhed in her heart. Someone needed her help. Someone was in pain. And she would never refuse a cry for help, never.

Eyna broke through the clearing. It took moments more for her to register that it was the dragon, himself, who was calling for her. The heart wrenching cry came from him. Sthuna looked to be in a panic. His chest heaved, scales glinting in the moonlight.

“Sthuna, wha-”

The dragon snapped his head up. His mouth parted, deep and guttural sounds erupting from it. Eyna reeled. It was clear that, in Sthuna’s state of distress, he was reverting to something. Whether it was a language or merely native sounds of stress for his species, she didn’t know.

“Eyna. We have to go. Now,” he was hissing wildly, “Get me out. Get me out!”

Eyna reached his cage, wrapping her hands around the branches. The dragon reciprocated immediately, tail coiling around every part of her hands he could reach. His blood red eyes burned into her.

Eyna tried to keep her calm. “Sthuna, Mother is asleep right now. But once she’s awake, she can release you and-”

“Now!” Sthuna was practically roaring. “Not later, now! NOW!”

Sthuna snapped his jaws at the branches. He sank them as deep as he could, but to no avail. Mother’s weave was strong. Every part of him that attempted to bypass the branches bounced off, keeping him trapped.

She didn’t flinch, but the intensity radiating off of the dragon made her heart pound. Her voice was fierce when she spoke. “Sthuna.” She reached in and grabbed his snout in a tight hold. “Look at me. Look at me, Sthuna!”

He spat and snarled, breathing in hard, stressed exhales.

She held his gaze, unblinking. “Something is wrong. I know something’s wrong, Sthuna. But you have to tell me what it is. Let me help you.”

Sthuna struggled. His training and his instincts were in conflict, discipline and panic snarling at one another. But Eyna was what guided him back to a state of lucidity. Her assertions, her grip on his snout, the clarity of her gaze. Gradually, his blood red eyes focused on her. 

“Your Heartsprings is under attack. An imperial unit of Arhra’Toar is here, and it’s going to slaughter everyone. You can’t stop it. I can’t stop it. The only way to survive is to run.”

Eyna braced against his cage.

It’s going to slaughter everyone.

The words were unfamiliar. But she didn’t waste time with questions like ‘are you sure’ or ‘what is Arha’Toar’. The urgency and desperation in Sthuna’s voice were enough. She took him seriously immediately. Eyna may not have experienced anything like a slaughter. But she could understand the vulnerability of many of the delicate residents of the Heartsprings.

“Okay. Okay… We need to find Father.” She took deep, steadying breaths. “Mother is asleep. She won’t awaken until the hour is over. But Father will know what to do. If he can stall until she’s awake-”

Sthuna hissed, spines raised and rattling. “Your Fae Beast can do nothing against the unit. He is weak and dying.”

Eyna hissed right back at him. He seemed surprised by that, going quiet. “Father can do far more than you know, Sthuna. I’m going to get you out of here. And then we’re going to get him.”

Eyna dug her nails into the branches.

There had to be a way.

According to Father, understanding the weave of magic was key to both creating and destroying it. Non elemental magic was composed of intentions. The intent to move something, to bind something, to curse something. In theory, even someone who had no magical abilities could unravel it if they understood it.

The cage was designed to let things pass in, but to prevent anything that was Sthuna from passing out. It was like a riddle. She just needed to solve it. She could enter, he couldn’t leave…

The black scales of Eyna’s curse glinted in the moonlight.

An idea occurred to her. It was a long shot but… Technically, didn’t their curse belong to Sthuna, too?

If that was true… Then a caveat had to have been made in the spell to allow Eyna to enter in and out. After all, her arm contained the scales of Sthuna’s curse. When Mother created the cage, she had to have considered their shared curse.

Eyna looked Sthuna dead on. “I’m pulling you out. Just… Follow my lead.”

Sthuna snorted. But he allowed her to grab his snout. It was an act of trust. And one that paid off. As Eyna held him, she was able to guide his head through the branches. So as she touched him, the weave let him emerge.

She could scarcely believe it. “It - it worked!”

Sthuna started to twist, trying to push himself out like a cat caught in a small space.

“Wait! Sthuna don’t move!” Eyna didn’t know what would happen if she let go. But visions of Sthuna being… Divorced from his head flitted through her thoughts. Father had always warned her that magic was dangerous. One had to obey the rules carefully, or it could easily become destructive.

“Stay very still.” She barked the order at him. “Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to get a mouthful of that acid of yours. And you’re going to drip it on the branches around you. Once we’ve got a good sized hole going, we’ll pull you through.”

Eyna gently maneuvered her hands away from his mouth. She held his head, instead, closer to his eyes. The dragon blinked slowly. But he listened, much to her relief. The acid bubbled from his jaws, slowly spilling over the branches. The acid was potent. Eyna could see how it spread through the branches, burning holes as surely as a fire would.

Eyna felt a pang of… Something. She didn’t like seeing Mother’s anything killed. But it was quickly overridden by the urgency of their situation. Holding the dragon steadily, she brought his head against her neck. Together, they worked him through the hole he had created.

Eyna kept a tight and fierce grip on him, not stopping until the final flick of his tail was free. He tumbled from the cage that had held him since he’d arrived in the Heartsprings. The dragon arched, flaring out his silvery wings in what must have been a gesture of relief.

Short lived, perhaps. But relief all the same.

Eyna released her hold on him. “Come! We have to find Father.”

Sthuna clicked his teeth. She could just tell that he wanted to argue. His opinion of Father was low as could be. But neither of them had time to waste arguing.

Sthuna folded his wings to his sides and rose to his full height. He was surprisingly taller than she was, with the elegant sweep of his neck. His limbs were long and lithe, clearly built for some form of running.

Eyna took off. Father usually spent his nights in one of two places; the lake or the sacred springs. Eyna made a split decision to check the sacred springs. She took the lead, with Sthuna bounding behind her.

As Eyna raced through the woods, her thoughts were a whirl. She didn’t see the danger Sthuna seemed convinced was on the way. But the Heartsprings did feel… Strange. Like something wasn’t right. A hush that was deeper and darker than Mother’s slumber.