Eyes of Ember (Imdalind Series #2)(55)

“Wait,” I yelled, knowing my voice would be swallowed up by the storm.

“Don’t worry, child, Thom is taking him to our shelter,” Dramin said.

I continued to move stubbornly forward, even though I could no longer feel my toes. I had only made it a few steps before Dramin came up beside me and lifted me into his arms. I yelled and struggled away from him, only to land on my back in the snow.

“Don’t touch me!” I yelled, as I pulled myself up, the bulky fur coat making my movements clumsy.

“I’m just going to carry you, Siln?. Nothing more.” He waved his hands in front of me as if to show me he was safe. I shied away from him.

“I’ve got to get to Ilyan. He has to be okay. He needs to shield me so they can’t find me.”

“Ilyan? He won’t be helping you for a few days yet.” My mouth opened in terror.

“No! I need him…”

“You’ve come farther along then I assumed.” Dramin said, but I barely heard him.

My mind swam around fuzzily, terror at being found again mixing with my loss and fear over Ilyan. He saved me, as I knew he would. No matter what Cail and Ryland had said. I needed to get to him; I needed to make sure he was alright.

My mind whirred and I realized that I was completely unprotected.

“You have to do it!” I yelled as things clicked together. “You’ve got to shield me or else they are going to find me!”

“Don’t worry. You are safe. Ilyan is safe. No one can track you here.” I locked eyes with him for a moment, my teeth chattering, before looking toward where Thom had disappeared with Ilyan’s body. I could see nothing but snow. My body sagged down, collapsing in on itself, as I convulsed in the cold.

“Ilyan,” I whispered. I felt so lost without him, he had been so constant over the past few months, and now... I watched the space he had been carried into, growing more desperate with every frantic beat of my heart.

I felt Dramin’s hand come to rest against my shoulder, his weight pushing me further into the cold snow. I shifted away from his contact, wrapping my arms tighter around me in an attempt to get warm.

“Do not worry. His mind will awaken when you call for him in your most hopeless state.” His voice had taken on a dead quality that chilled me further, if that was even possible. My head snapped up to look at him. I inhaled sharply. His eyes were fully encompassed in black, the centers glowing like the ember of a flame, staring off into the distance.”

“It will happen after the sun has risen three times, after your heart has broken twice.”

Slowly the blackness left his eyes, but I stayed still in the snow, feeling my magic attempt to heal my frostbitten extremities.

“You’re a Drak.” He smiled at my realization, his face lowering to mine, his eyes back to their bright green color.

“Ah ha. So, Ilyan has taught you something.” Dramin smiled wider, but I screwed my face up in confusion. How could he be a Drak? I had been told they were all dead... and my Father...

“You’re a Drak,” I repeated.

“Yes, so now you can be calm that your Protector will live. Although I am sorry about the heartbreak part. I can’t often control these things.”

He smiled at me, but I only stared at him, my confusion growing.

“Hmmm, I can see the gears turning in your mind. You are wondering how I could be a Drak if your Father was the one born from the mud, the first of his kind, and without any children, except you of course.” He continued to smile, but I did not know how to respond.

“I will make you a deal. Let me carry you and then I will tell you everything. I will answer every question that is burning inside that little brain of yours. Stay here, or worse, attempt to walk on your own, and I guarantee that you will lose a leg by morning.” He said happily. I could already tell he knew what I was going to say.

I nodded once and he swept me up, cradling me like a baby. I cringed at the contact, trying to keep as much of my body away from him as possible.

“Nice shoes. Did Ilyan make them for you?” He asked; I glared at him, having no interest in answering him.

He said nothing more as he raced through the snow, the cold air brushing past my face and making my eyes sting. Reluctantly, I glanced toward my feet, wincing to see them as red as the delicate shoes I still wore.

Dramin continued to run as we approached a large cliff with a small opening in the center. Disappearing through the opening was the dark mass that was Thom and Ilyan. Dramin followed right behind them, carrying me through a dark cavern.

“Well, Thom, you got your wish. She is just as stubborn as her father.” Dramin said as he came side by side with his friend. I looked around Dramin’s arms to see Ilyan’s head swinging as Thom walked, his eyelids still tinged with a deathly blue.

“Well, at least she is not my responsibility this time,” he grunted, before moving off to the side, taking Ilyan away from me again.

Dramin kept walking as he moved us into a large rounded cavern. The space had obviously been carved magically and each curve of the rock was smooth and perfect. Light that filtered in through large ornate sky lights reflected off of bits of mirror and glass that were suspended in obscure places across the ceiling. What could instantly be dismissed as trash was turned beautiful by the light and gave an insane amount of character to the space. The light shone brightly, glimmering off of faded paintings that I could tell were once masterpieces. Dramin set me down in a large squishy arm chair as a fire was lit in the middle of the large space.