Burn

Chapter 4 of Act 3 of "Obsidian and Flame"

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If you’re new to The Môrdreigiau Chronicles, welcome! You might find the Glossary helpful for some of these words. Colons indicate the sea dragon’s thought communications.

Obsidian and Flame chronicles the story of Panawr, a sea dragon prince with a deadly secret, and Arddun, who possesses a useless gift and has no desire to marry a prince. When they come together, sparks fly, but they grow aware that something more is at stake than the throne. Can they save their home, Caer Morgana, or will their quest be in vain?

Arddun’s case was heard. The Esteemed capitulated on all counts. Cynwal is punished by being confined to quarters. Trachmyr’s family will receive lifelong compensation. Panawr and Arddun spend the night and in the process, Arddun unlocked her gift, healing Panawr of his infection.

Arddun woke some time later. With a satisfied smile, she recalled their lovemaking, first on the couch, then the floor and then somehow, amidst tangled kisses, they reached his bed.

She snuggled into Panawr’s warmth, growing aware that he toyed with long strands of her dark hair. She looked up at him and saw his dark eyes smouldering. Her body and heart responded. She slid up to kiss him but he forestalled her with a finger upon her lips.

Arddun frowned at him, sensing a fresh tension in him. She felt the water for trespassers and checked in on the gossip current but found nothing. :What is it?:

Panawr’s finger traced her lips, which wrecked her concentration. :I want you. I want to stay in this bed with you but we’re not handfasted, Arddun. I want to complete the dragon dance with you. I want the world to know—:

She sat up, chilled. :About your vulnerabilities? Is that wise?:

He observed her from the pillows. :It proves I have a heart.:

She turned, kneeling in the bed before him. :We don’t need any pomp or ceremony, Panawr. Not now. And…: Her lower lip trembled, then firmed. :If you win, you’ll need to make a political marriage. So, let us promise now, in private, to be bound together for a year and a day, and…: Her gills fluttered. :When you win, I won’t hold you to the promise.:

Panawr remained still, his dark eyes glittering. :I don’t want anyone but you.:

:But—:

:I don’t care about political matches either. If they don’t want me as a son-in-law now, they can find other ways to curry my favour when I win.: His thought softened. :If I win.:

Arddun sat back on her heels. :Do you even need to compete for the position now? You’re healed.:

Panawr reached for her, drew her down to lie next to him. :I dreamt again last night. Of drinking from the cup as Esteemed. Only this time, you were at my side and you glowed like you did when you strode into the Great Hall demanding justice.:

Arddun propped herself up on an elbow, looking down at him. :A literal glow?:

:Perhaps my love for you enhanced my view.: Panawr’s lips quirked.

She bent over to kiss those lips but paused a breath away. :Panawr.: Her gaze searched his face. :Will you be mine for a year and a day?:

:I will be yours for a year and a day. And forever,: he added. He repeated the formal words of handfasting. :Will you be mine for a year and a day?:

:I will be yours, forever.: Arddun skipped ‘the year and a day’ part and beamed at him.

Delight lit Panawr’s features, his eyes widening in awe. :Let us make it so.: He rolled on top of her and in a tangle of limbs they consummated their promise.

Panawr woke in a panic, gills flattened against his neck. He kicked off the covers and scrambled out of bed. He called a light to shine, keeping the setting low, so its brightness wouldn’t wake Arddun. He needed to check she lived, and in one piece.

She lay curled on his bed, murmuring a complaint in her sleep. She lived. All was well. Panawr let out a slow exhale but his nightmare still disturbed him. He slipped out onto the small balcony adjacent to his bedchamber.

From his tower, he stared out at the night sea, the translucent membrane invisible in the dark. For a moment, he could forget the Lady’s protection existed at all and it was just he and the wild ocean.

Arms slid around his waist. He startled, relaxing at her warmth. His robe hung open and loose. Arddun’s hands pressed against his flat belly.

:What’s wrong?: she thought at him.

He covered her hands with one of his own. :Why does there need to be something wrong?:

:You are tense, mi cariad, and your heart pounds.:

:That’s your doing.:

Arddun pressed her lips against his newly healed shoulder. :Panawr,: her thought warned.

:I dreamed,: he confessed. :It was a nightmare.:

She began pressing long kisses across the back of his shoulders, from one end to the other.

:You … you were dead, burnt to ash,: he muttered.

Arddun paused her kisses. :That’s remarkably specific.:

He braced himself against the balcony’s railing, staring out in the dark. Even now, he saw it in his mind’s eye. :You were flame. There was nothing left but ash. The agony, I can’t, don’t want to, describe it. When I turned away from you, the palace crumbled around us, turning into sand. Death was all around me. The skeletons of dreigiau môr lying half buried in sand and black silt. Nothing moved, nothing lived and then…:

Her arms squeezed him. :You don’t have to say anything more.:

:I was Above Sea, above the sea, floating in the air like it was water. Ash covered the world, Arddun. Not a thing lived or breathed on the land, not a hint of green. I am certain… I am certain the Lady punishes us.:

:Why would she do that?: Arddun ducked under his arm, keeping him within her embrace. She looked up at him. :She saved us when the horrible people of Above Sea would have massacred our ancestors. Why would she destroy us now?:

:Because I failed, Arddun.:

:You haven’t become the Esteemed yet. You haven’t failed.:

:Trachmyr.:

He loved how her nose crinkled in confusion. :What does he have to do with any of this?:

He met her searching gaze. :He’s the boy who stole your cakes. I was meant to save him.: He told her everything then, of how he’d encouraged the caer’s populace to speak out against it. :That’s where it began, before you woke and joined us to save the Four.: He told her how he’d helped Trachmyr escape and how her sister Indeg had seen through the glamour all too soon.

:If I started an uprising to rescue him… that would surely have destroyed everything the Lady made for us. All she made would be nothing but sand and ash.:

:Your guilt makes you dream so,: Arddun soothed, stroking his cheek. He leaned into her gentle touch. :What more could you have done, that wouldn’t have ended in your death and his?: She drew his head down to hers and Panawr allowed himself to forget everything in her kiss.

The next morning, Arddun woke early. For a while, she lay in bed, watching Panawr sleep. He dreamed, and not easily, judging by the bent lines on his forehead. With her fingertip, she brushed over them, hoping to banish the nightmare.

His gills fluttered in a gusty sigh, his slumber becoming more easeful. She sat up, preparing to rise. Something tugged on her robe. Was her gown caught beneath his? She looked over her shoulder to find his hand closed around part of her robe’s long skirt. Her gaze traced along his arm. With his head propped up on his elbow, his lips pursed, his eyes dancing, her heart fluttered.

:You were going to leave without a kiss?: he purred in her mind.

Her lips twitched, trying to hide her amusement. :Do you want to explain to my father why I haven’t come home for days?:

Panawr chewed on his lower lip. :Not really. You’ll come back?:

Arddun sat on the edge of the bed. :Do you think the palace knows what we’ve been doing here?:

He shook his head. :They know it’s impossible. Assuming they even know you’re here…Probably that we are planning something.: He slid across the mattress and kissed her shoulder.

She planted a kiss on his head. :Come and meet the sea rice farmers tomorrow before they go out to the fields.: She headed for the door. :In the meantime, think … are you ready to show the caer and your family that you are whole?:

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