Eona - Alison Goodman [169]
But we were not finished. These ignorant, savage people would see the true magnificence of the Mirror Dragon and her Dragoneye.
“Hold the ten beasts back,” I said. “As long as possible.”
Ido nodded as the blue beast launched himself into a sweeping circle around the pulsing crimson of my dragon.
I stood up and walked to Rilla and Chart. Silvered awe and fear pumped through their bodies as I kneeled beside them.
“Eona! What are you doing?” Rilla’s voice leapt with her Hua.
Chart’s body cringed from me as I placed my energy hands on the thin cage of his chest, the power centers along his spine spinning with vitality. Gold power flowed, searching, finding old damage—birth damage buried in the memory of his growth—knitted into the structures of muscle and bone and sinew, and even deeper in the tight twists of energy that flowed from mind to body. Our power dug and unraveled, rebuilt and connected. Our golden union thundered through us. We were Hua and we were the force of creation.
They are coming, Ido’s mind-voice warned.
We felt them; the pressure of their keening approach was building in our energy.
I wrenched my hands off Chart’s chest, and the swirl of the celestial plane collapsed into the fixed heat and stink and stunned hush of the tent. The abrupt separation from the glory of my dragon was like a freezing hand of loss around my heart. I looked down at Chart’s face. His straining fight for control of muscle and sinew was gone, the planes and angles of his features settling into a familiar heart-stopping shape.
My breath caught. He was the image of my old master, the man who had found me in the salt farm and set me on this path of power. Chart lifted his hand and stared at the open splay of his fingers, the dazed incomprehension in his eyes dousing the last of my righteous fury.
Rilla’s sob brought my head up. She touched Chart’s cheek, her body shaking with shock.
“Lady Eona.” I turned at Kygo’s voice. He held out his hand, an anchor in the pounding wash of loss and fading power, and pulled me to my feet. Beyond us, Ido pushed himself up from the ground. The energy between us had left a small smile on his face.
Kygo’s eyes swept around the tent. “You have seen Lady Eona’s power and resolve,” he said harshly. “Be thankful that you have also witnessed her compassion and restraint.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
RULAN HELD BACK a branch for me as I followed Kygo past the scrubby stand of trees to the lookout that had the best view of Sethon’s camp. The tribal leader and his people had certainly become more respectful since my display of power. I wiped the slip of sweat gathered at the base of my throat and blew a cooling breath upward. The day’s heat was building to its peak, and Kygo’s pace was relentless. He was set on gaining a rapid overview of the resistance resources and what we faced on the plain below.
I had not even had a chance to see Rilla and Chart and celebrate the wonder of my dragon’s healing power. Or tell Chart about the effect of that power on his will. I rolled my shoulders, trying to shake off the dread of that moment; surely his joy would override any distress. And he knew me well enough to know that I had healed him out of love, even if it had looked as if it was done in anger. There had been no time to explain afterward; Kygo had wanted me by his side in the formal negotiations, and Chart had been too shocked to take much in. But I had at least promised him I would visit as soon as I could.
“What do you expect with these shackles?” Ido’s low voice, behind me, was full of contempt. “If you want me to move faster, take them off.