Dragon Rose(10)

Elders Macon and Dahlish gasped, and Lilianth turned to me at once, saying, “You cannot think of such a thing, Rhianne! You mustn’t! I would never ask such a thing—”

“You didn’t ask,” I interrupted. “I offered. It only remains to be seen if the elders will allow me to take your place.”

“Such a thing has never happened before—” Elder Dahlish began.

“—which does not mean it cannot happen now.” I took a step forward and stared up at them, willing them to understand why this was the only right and true thing to do. “I’m begging you. Please let me save my friend.”

“A moment,” Elder Drewson said, and the three men turned away from Lilianth and me and began whispering furiously.

“You cannot mean such a thing,” Lilianth said. Her eyes were bright with tears. “I cannot allow you to sacrifice yourself.”

“I do mean it, and it isn’t a question of allowing—that’s up to the elders. I only want you to be happy.”

She began to weep then, tears running down her cheeks and leaving damp spots on the frilled edge of her chemise where it peeked out from beneath her sapphire-colored gown. Truly I did not want to cause her pain, but I also knew she would make no further protest.

The elders turned back to us, and Elder Macon stepped forward. “You assert that you do this by your own choice, and with no coercion?”

“No coercion,” I said wearily. “You’ve made it quite clear, Elder Macon, what my standing is in Lirinsholme, the damage I have done to my family. Is it not better that I should go forth thus? At least then you can say I have served some useful purpose.”

His lips thinned, but he did not bother to contradict me. “We elders have agreed that you, Rhianne Menyon, may take Lilianth Fortens’ place as the Dragon’s Bride. From here on out, you have no family, no—”

“I heard it the first time.” And as Elder Macon spluttered, I turned to Lilianth. “Go, my dear. Go and be happy.”

“But Rhianne—”

“Be with Adain.” My throat seemed to tighten, and I added, “If you have a daughter, perhaps you could name her after me?”

Tears shone bright on her cheeks in the morning sun. “It would be my honor.”

She turned then and began to walk down the steps. The watching crowds in the square had been silent throughout this exchange, but as Lilianth moved away from the town hall, a murmur began to rise, one that soon swelled into an outright clamor as everyone seemed to take in what had just transpired on the building’s steps. I thought I heard a despairing cry from somewhere far off to the left, one which I fancied could have come from my mother’s throat, but I told myself that was a foolish notion. There was no way I could have heard one person’s voice above such a noisy throng.

In silence the elders led me into the hall.

“You have brought nothing with you?” asked Elder Drewson, who looked somewhat troubled, as if he were not altogether happy with this turn of events.

I spread my hands wide to show I carried nothing. The silver ring on my finger gleamed as I did so, and Elder Macon said immediately, “The ring. And the earrings.”

Truly, I’d almost forgotten that I wore the little garnet and silver drops that had been my name-day present when I turned seventeen. With a pang I removed them from my ears and dropped them into Elder Macon’s outstretched hand, followed by the silver band I wore on my third finger. Why the Dragon should care whether I possessed such modest pieces of jewelry puzzled me, but I knew now was not the time to protest.

“Can you see that they’re given to my family?”

Elder Macon gave a grudging nod and slipped them into the pouch he wore at his belt. “Now we must be off. The horses await.”

Neither of those pronouncements did much to hearten me. I supposed it would have been too much to ask that they would delay my departure—the Brides were always immediately whisked away. And while I certainly did not dislike horses, I had very little experience of them. In Lirinsholme I walked everywhere, and my family did not own a single horse. One time when my father traveled to the capital in Lystare, he had borrowed a mount from Tylin, the goldsmith, but of course I hadn’t been allowed near the animal.

I let out a small sigh and told myself that it wasn’t that far to Black’s Keep. Four miles, five at the most. Of course, the last part of the journey would be up a twisting mountain path. But perhaps my poor horsemanship would slow us down, would help to prolong my arrival at the Dragon’s home.

In the alley behind the hall three horses waited. I must have shown some sort of question on my face, for Elder Drewson said, “Elder Dahlish cannot make the journey up the mountain any longer. Elder Macon and I will accompany you to Greyton, where someone from Black’s Keep waits to take you the rest of the way.”

Greyton was a small hamlet located halfway up the mountain. On a good day it might boast two hundred souls. Its inhabitants were shepherds and their families, and as well as those who carded the wool before bringing it to market in Lirinsholme. That was their only interaction with the residents of my town, for they stayed studiously apart from us. Well, perhaps not the only interaction. I’d heard it rumored that some of the young men of Lirinsholme would make the journey to Greyton to visit the women there, as they apparently were rather free with their favors, especially when compared to the carefully guarded daughters of the families in the larger town.