Sky Woman: Book One of The Empress Saga

CHAPTER NINE

Far to the west

Beyond sand dune and stone

Dragons and men

Knelt to the emperor's throne

Shan Alee

Shan Alee

When may we return home.

Enfri breathed in deeply and felt warmth surrounding her. The familiar scent of dried herbs filled her nose, and she heard the crackling of a fire. As her eyes fluttered open, she saw that she lay in her own bed. The storm still raged outside, but Enfri was home.

The last notes of the song she heard faded. The silence they left behind was filled by the winds blowing and the rain hammering against the walls and the roof.

The voice belonged to Deebee.

Enfri pushed herself up to a sitting position and looked around her home. Everything was in order, just as she had left it. The only thing different was the cauldron simmering in the hearth. Judging by the scent, it was vegetable soup.

Deebee sat in Grandmother's rocking chair at the bedside. She looked so small while in a chair meant for someone many times her size. Deebee averted her gaze and wouldn't look Enfri's way. Ashamed.

"I was worried when you didn't return," Deebee said, her eyes shut tight. "I could smell the storm coming, and I couldn't find you."

Enfri pulled her blanket around herself. She wanted to tell herself that everything had been a dream— that she had imagined it all. The sight of her best dress, caked with mud and hanging beside the hearth, proved that it had all been real.

She looked at Deebee, and the dragon flinched as if she could feel Enfri's glare on her. Enfri was furious. She was hurt, scared, and confused.

A war raged within Enfri's heart over what to be hurt by more. That the assassins were her father's killers and no one ever thought to tell her, or that there was a dragon's curse on her.

"I'm so sorry, Enfri," Deebee said. "This isn't how I wanted it to be. I should have stopped you. I should have told you the truth before you left."

Enfri let the blanket fall away from her. She was in her nightdress, and there were welts on her arms and legs. They looked suspiciously like claw marks. Deebee must have changed herself into something large enough to carry her home from where she collapsed in the storm.

Deebee stood on the rocking chair. Her voice rose to a pleading tone. "I thought I could protect you like Yora told me to. I was wrong."

Enfri could taste something herbal on her tongue. Deebee had given her something. It tasted like vex sprouts, best for exposure and exhaustion. Enfri felt like a fool. It had been an idiotic, childish thing to do, running off into the countryside during a desert storm. Enfri was lucky to be alive.

She was thinking of anything she could. Anything to ignore what Deebee was saying for one more moment.

"Enfri, I..."

"Stop," Enfri hissed.

Deebee snapped her mouth closed, a stricken look of pain in her eyes.

"Deebee," Enfri said slowly. She had difficulty keeping her voice under control. "Will you... Will you please change into a human for me?"

She hesitated at the request. Then, Deebee bobbed her head. "As you wish."

Enfri slowly raised her eyes. Deebee now sat in Grandmother's chair, a worried expression on her human face. She was unclothed, and her silvery skin and gold hair reflected the firelight.