Naamah's Kiss - Jacqueline Carey [253]
And the Stone Forest was beautiful. We wound our way around intricate limestone formations, top-heavy towers, rugged archways. There must have been underground streams, for here and there we crossed natural bridges over pools of clear, placid water that reflected the dragon's pearly coils.
So near, he whispered in longing. So near!
Near to a dragon; far to a human. We climbed, huddled, and hid, climbed and climbed. My legs began to ache and tremble with the effort; and I'd gotten precious little sleep for the past two days. My grip on the twilight wavered precariously.
"Moirin." The princess' voice was gentle. "Without your magic, we are all blind. Can you continue?"
She needs my help.
Her dragon-reflecting eyes met mine. I nodded wordlessly, too tired to apologize. But she only smiled faintly, gave her head a rueful shake, slid one hand around the back of my neck, and kissed me with surprising tenderness.
This time I was expecting the unnerving rush of the dragon's energy pouring into me, but even so, it made me gasp. It was so vast and wild, so unspeakably glorious. He poured as much energy as he could spare and all his immense affection into me, and I drank it in deeply, feeling my blood sing and my limbs tingle, my diadh-anam blazing within me.
"Moirin," Bao whispered, squeezing my unseen hand. "Is there a reason we have stopped?"
"Ahh…" I took a deep breath, trying to contain the sudden surge of exuberance. The princess looked quietly amused. "Aye, there was. But we can continue now."
Knowing it would not last, I did my best to hoard the dragon's energy. It was hard. Once again, the twilight had deepened and brightened, reminding me of the profound beauty of the world on the far side of the stone doorway. Our pace seemed frustratingly slow. I wanted to run, to race through the labyrinth. I wanted to sing; I wanted to fly.
Yes, the dragon agreed. That is how it is.
Instead we kept to our careful, crawling pace, navigating the endless maze. I made myself cycle through the Five Styles of Breathing, grateful for Master Lo's teaching. I thought about Snow Tiger, who had lived in this heightened state for days upon days, since first I had shown the dragon his reflection in the mirror and calmed his terror. I felt grief at the slow trickling loss of the dragon's energy ebbing from me, and wondered at the depth of the bereavement the princess would feel when he was gone.
Already, I pitied her.
Stay with her, the dragon said softly. At least for a while. You are the only one who knows what it was like.
I glanced at her slender back. "If she wills it. But in the end, I must follow my diadh-anam."
Yes, he agreed. Still, there is time for grace.
An hour passed without any sightings of Jiang's soldiers. It seemed we had passed the last of them in the darkness, climbing and hiding endlessly upward in our torturous, circling route as they hurried down the mountainside in pursuit of us. We could still see the starlight sparks of torches moving below us, but they were not eager to ascend in the night. It was far, far too easy to get lost amidst this deadly beauty.
The air grew thinner, and our lungs labored.
Dawn came, changing the quality of the twilight—light made dark, rather than darkness made bright. With it came the end of the Stone Forest, marked by a narrow pass that led to an even steeper ascent, at the top of which White Jade Mountain loomed.
The pass was the last, best place to stage a defense and it should have been guarded, but it wasn't. Our gambit had drawn away its guards, and now they were somewhere below us. In the daylight, they would attempt a return.
"Shangun Bao," the princess addressed him. "It is my thought that this is a good place to make a stand to guard our passage. Is it yours?"
Bao eyed the pass. "Uh-huh. Together, Dai and I could hold it for a long time."
"Forever,"