Eyes of Ember (Imdalind Series #2)(60)

“But I didn’t die, so what does that mean?” I looked between the two men, waiting for answers.

“You are one of The Chosen, correct?” Dramin asked calmly before sipping from his cup.

“Yes.” I nodded my head, waiting for him to continue. That in itself was a reason none of this made sense.

“And you have a mark?” He smiled at me from behind his cup. I nodded at him. “Can I see it?”

I looked at him for a moment, before exhaling. I didn’t see any reason why I shouldn’t other than that I didn’t want to, and that wasn’t a very good reason. I closed my eyes before lifting my hair to reveal the small mark on my neck. Dramin exhaled sharply, which I wasn’t prepared for, but I still kept my eyes closed.

“Look Thom, it’s a dragon. How interesting.” His tone made it sound like it was far more then interesting. It made my skin crawl. I dropped my hair and opened my eyes, turning to face the two, only to be shocked at Thom’s open mouthed stare.

“What?” I asked, affronted. “Does that mean something?”

“Hmmm?” Dramin studied me and I got the same feeling as before, like he was looking inside of me. “Not yet, I think.”

I narrowed my eyes at him in confusion and he laughed at me.

“The important thing here, Siln?, is that you are in fact a Chosen Child, and yet you can hold the Black Water within your body.”

I waited but Dramin said nothing more, he only smiled. Thom grunted from the other side of the fire, making me more upset; at least I got answers from him.

“Which means...” I prompted him.

“Which means, you not only have the powers that the Sk?ítek and Trpaslíks carry, which were awakened within you when the Vil? kissed your skin. But also those of the Drak as well.” Dramin smiled like I was the most amazing thing in the world, but my stomach tied itself in knots of confusion.

“So... I can, like, see the future?” I asked, the disbelief heavy in my voice.

“Ohhh... I know you can do much more than that.” Dramin’s smile increased. Thom sat up again, swinging his legs to face us, the same disgruntled look on his face.

“What are you getting at, Dramin?” Thom asked, obviously irritated.

“Tell me, Siln?, what does the Black Water make you feel like? What does it do to your magic, your body, when you drink it?”

I shifted my weight, hating the intense stares that both men were giving me. I looked for something to do and instinctively took a drink from the mug in my hands. I regretted it immediately. Both their eyes were on me waiting for an answer. I swallowed the mouthful of Water and I suddenly knew what to tell them.

“It makes me feel warm, stronger somehow. My magic feels a little more alive, a little looser.” I looked up to find Dramin smiling more, if that was possible. The man seemed to be smiling all the time. “Is that good?” I asked, worried that I had said the wrong thing.

“Oh, that’s very good.” Dramin stood and threw the heavy furs off of my lap. I sat there, staring at him, wishing I could put the blankets back on. My feet were now a normal color and I could feel all my extremities, but the cave was still cold.

“Come along, Siln?. I want to try something.” Dramin pulled me to a stand, carefully taking my mug from me as he did.

Carrying my mug in front of him, he began pulling me along behind him. I was secretly thankful that my feet seemed to be working the right way.

“Where are we going?” I asked when I realized he was dragging me toward the dark tunnel we had entered the cavern through. I looked back to Ilyan, nervous that I was being pulled away from him. The longing I felt scared me, so I shoved it away.

“I want to try something,” Dramin repeated.

“Yes, I heard that the first time,” I snapped. He continued to drag me forward. I looked back to see Thom standing near the fire, his arms folded, having no intention of following us. He smiled at my panic stricken face.

“I’ll stay here,” he called after us rigidly, “and watch over sleeping beauty.” Thom batted a hand at us before turning toward his own bunk, but I didn’t see anything else as Dramin had dragged me not into the dark tunnel that led outside, but into another round cavern that was connected to the first.

This one was not as nice. In fact, it was bare. The large dome of the rock spread high above us but there were no paintings or dancing bits of reflection, it was only stone and a hundred blue, glittery orbs that Dramin had sent to the ceiling when we arrived in order to give us light.

I stepped away from him to look at the large space. While bare, it was still impressive.

“What is this place?” I asked, one magically assisted cave I could accept, but two perfectly rounded caverns?

I turned to Dramin, surprised to find his smile faded.

“This was to be a home for one of my posterity, a young lady named Delia and her mate Chandle. They were killed in the massacre. Thom and I stay here because no one but Ilyan and I know of this cave’s existence. Ilyan helped me to build it. It was to be a surprise.” He smiled sadly. I didn’t know what to say so I turned away from him, trying to keep my own sense of loss at bay.

“The room we came from is the living quarters, this is the practice hall, and through that door there,” he pointed toward a small opening on the opposite edge of the space, “is the room of sight. It is a sacred room where the Drak can see and record their visions.”