Nothing Else Can Save Me
An "Obsidian and Flame" story
All Chapters | All Môrdreigiau Chronicles
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.
A bonus story about two characters from Obsidian and Flame.
Indeg never imagined her life would end like this. She swiveled, taking in the massive whale skeleton around her. Along the creature’s spine hovered lanternfish, their bulging black eyes swiveling in her direction. Their gaping mouths opened and closed, hoping to find her flesh.
Tied to each rib were smaller skeletal remains, those of dreigiau môr. Indeg had heard of this place, had longed to visit it, for she had always wanted to become a bard. Some young bard had dubbed it the Library. It was said that if you listened closely, you could hear the stories that were never spoken or sung.
Only if you had the bardic Gift. She didn’t, and so had never come to this place in the Deeps.
Until now.
:Bard …. Bard …. Bard ….: The thought echoed in her mind but she imagined the word bouncing off each rib, criss-crossing the space.
Indeg revolved, her tail leaving traces of her bioluminescence against her retinas. A dark blob along her tail marked where she’d been wounded.
She sensed movement outside the cathedral of bones. Darkness moved against darkness. Spiderweb lines of light flashed in response to her bioluminescence and those of the lantern fish above. Whatever it was, was huge.
She dimmed her bioluminescence but not before the creature butted against the whale’s rib bones, setting the whole space quaking.
The spiderweb lines slid along the whale’s ribs. She caught the bluish glow of the creature’s large eye—a giant ghost shark. Her gills flattened as she held her breath, hoping it would move on.
It sensed her presence and nosed against the luminous ribs, trying to find a way in. If it found the mouth…
She wished she had never listened to Nia, a cousin of the Golden Prince.
Indeg and Cynwal had danced at the last summer solstice. He had danced with a number of young female dreigiau môr, but he had chosen her as a partner twice.
They had bumped into each other in the marketplace a time or two since then. He’d been so sweetly awkward instead of his usual bright confidence. Yet, he dared to brush the back of his hand along her sleeve. She’d responded in kind.
At the surprised desire in his golden-eyed gaze, she knew Cynwal wanted her. Her heart was already a lost cause and that one look gave her hope.
She’d trusted Nia as a go-between. Any meeting had to be far from the sight of others. A whiff of romance between a prince and a forager’s daughter, and both her parents and his would end it.
And so she had swum beyond the sea-rice fields and towards Maeve’s abode. A swarm of parasitic eels had her fleeing far off course until she stumbled across this, the Bardic Library.
It had been hours since she’d arrived here, having killed and removed one blood-sucking parasitic eel from her tail. She knew a spell for temporary healing, but the wound has reopened again. This, no doubt, attracted both the lantern-fish above and the ghost shark. Who knew what else would come seeking a meal.
The eels had damaged her dorsal fin, making swimming erratic. The chill of the depths rendered her sluggish and light-headed. In her escape from the eels, she had dived too fast. Her body needed to regain its equilibrium, the ghost shark needed to give up on her, and then she could ascend and hopefully find her way back home.
Indeg curled onto the floor of the Library, her eyelids growing heavy. She knew she should stay awake but …
:Indeg!: Cynwal’s strong thought cut through her drowsiness. :Where are you?: She heard fear in his thought. :Please, please, tell me where you are!: It sounded like he’d been calling her for some time.
:I’m here!: she cried, hearing the sound of weakness in her voice. :In the bards’ library.:
:Stay there. I will be with you soon.: Cynwal crooned.
The ghost shark swam over the top of the skeleton, bashing its broad nose against the vertebrae. Sand cascaded over her.
:Be careful!: She warned him about the ghost shark.
Cascades of water vibrations roused Indeg from her slumber. Warily, she raised her head out of her curled body. Beyond the ribs, she saw the ghost shark thrashing, a golden sinuous shape weaving around it.
In a few moments, Cynwal swam through the whale’s half-closed mouth.
She rose up to meet him. :Are you hurt?:
He embraced her, their large heads bumping together. He nuzzled her neck below her gills.
Her heart skittered.
:A few scratches. You?:
He mended her wound with a fresh healing spell. They touched noses. :This is my fault. I should have been more careful.:
:How is it your fault?: Indeg liked how they curled about each other. :I followed Nia’s instructions.:
Cynwal sighed. :She tricked you. I overheard she and her sisters giggling about what they’d done. They wanted me to hear and discover how much I liked you by my degree of panic.:
Indeg tilted her head, observing him, feeling his flank quiver against hers. :Did you?:
He bowed his head. :A little. I shook her until she revealed where she’d sent you. I’ll make sure to punish her when we return. Speaking of…:
:If you help, I can manage. My dorsal fin doesn’t feel quite right.:
:It’s dislocated. Stay close to me and I’ll help you.:
That sounded perfectly lovely to Indeg. :Why did Nia do that to me?:
:She thinks of herself as my big sister and wanted to put you off from—: Cynwal broke off, unwinding himself from around her. :Shall we go?:
She rose, a little wobbly. His clawed hand supported her under her armpit. She didn’t dare ask him to finish his sentence.
They swam slowly upward, pausing to adjust their bodies to the change in hydrostatic pressure.
During one of the stops, Cynwal took her hand in his as they hung suspended in the current. :Indeg, I … I like you. I know we live in two different worlds, and if you felt the same way—:
:I do,: she interrupted in a soft murmur.
:—you know, then, this will be a difficult relationship to sustain. I don’t want to care about that, but I care about not hurting you. I want to be with you with every breath and protect you from…: He waved an inarticulate claw. :—all my family drama.:
Indeg absorbed this while they resumed their slow ascent. :Prince Cynwal, you … you more than like me, don’t you.:
:Yes,: he admitted. :Yes, I do. You are sweet, kind and beautiful. I want to know everything about you.: Cynwal’s voice dropped to a husky whisper. :I fear today is just the start of our troubles.:
Indeg agreed. :So long as we have each other, I’m not afraid.:
He kissed her cheek, his whiskers brushing against hers, setting her senses tingling. :Thank you for taking a chance on me. Let’s get you home.:
Don’t want to see behind the curtain? Don’t read on. This is in answer to prompt 21 of the 30 Days of Fantasy led by
, and also in response to ’s question about what on earth Indeg sees in Cynwal. This. She sees this.
I see now!