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15 • LARICE
HAVING A COMPANY TO HER QUEST WAS WAY OUT OF HER PLAN. It irritated her. The peaceful silence of Shajara Forest had always soothed her ears before—but now was completely different. This stupid guy kept on firing nonsense questions ever since, and once answered, he would add more, and then more. Not to mention of him doing nothing but slow her down because of that bulky knapsack of his. What in the world did that bag contain? A human corpse?
Though Larice gave very few answers to every question, Estevan didn’t stop. “What do you think are dragons like—based on your encounters so far? Now don’t tell me they can transform because I already know all about their shifting abilities … I’m only asking about the way they act. Do you think they can speak to humans? Or only to their fellow kinds?” he asked.
“Doesn’t matter what I think.” Larice had been trying to avoid the questions, knowing the fact that she had never seen a dragon in her whole life. “Ca
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A Symphony of Frost and Flame 16-1 • RAEHERYS
A FEW MOONS AGO, the mondras who survived the war, had told the story of how they crushed Ormir to the ground, led by Aravyr, his mad brother. They swarmed in strong numbers, hundreds and hundreds of them … bringing light amidst the night heavens with dragonfire. They burned everything in the fortress—the houses … the people … even the entire forest outside, surrounding the walls. They had told the story of how Aravyr showed no mercy on the human lord of Ormir, pulverizing his head against the floor. Skull shattered and blood splashed, they had said. After the fall of the fortress, the dragons warred to the south, colliding with the combined forces of the dragon hunters and the empire army—only to fail and die in the end. All of these poked in to Raeherys’ mind as he and Fetyr stood at the gateless entrance of Ormir. The iron portcullis had melted down from dragonfire, spread upon the dry road of the gatehouse. The White Fortress, the humans ha
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 16-2 • RAEHERYS
THE PINE TREES BROUGHT OUT their sharp, sweet, and refreshing aroma, carried by the gust of cool wind in the air of noon. Mockingbirds mocked and chirped above. They flapped out of the branches as three men walked along the forest road that made their path to the south of Ormir. Raeherys could not imagine what else could be more terrible than the human garment he was wearing now. Too tight it was for his body, especially on his broad shoulders. The dragon scale vests they used to wear felt so much better than this. But he and Fetyr had to change how they dress if they did not want to be recognized. “Are you certain about this, Sev?” said Raeherys, cringing. “The dragon hunters might still notice our unfamiliarity.” “Oh trust me, mate,” replied Sevyh, playing with the small bag of coins he had stolen from Akim and his companion. “They ain’t gonna recognize you. I’ll handle the talk, cover you and all.” Raeherys let out a sigh. Th
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 17 • LARICE
HER WHOLE LIFE, Larice always feared the curse inside her. Every time she panicked, her heart rate increased, causing her blood flow to surge, forcing the curse to outburst. She couldn’t control it. However, at the very least, she had a hint of how it worked now. “I still don’t get it. How in the world can you think my blood is an Empyreal Weapon?” Larice said as they traveled through the depths of the pine forest, going north. They’d taken a quick stop in the Rath Village earlier to have their late noon meal before they went on. “Look, I’m not a hundred percent sure if it is, okay?” Estevan adjusted his glasses, looking down at his notes. “I’m just saying—it’s the closest one we can connect to in speaking about magic. You see, a whole lot of these weapons exist in this world too—shoes, necklaces, rings, horns … even wings—“ “You’re kidding,” Larice turned to him with a look of disbelief, “Wings?” Estevan grinned on
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 18 • RAEHERYS
TALL, WHITE, COMPRESSED—birch trees surrounded the small houses of Rath, the warm light of sundown painting the leaves with greenish-gold. Busy villagers became much busier as the skies grew darker. Raeherys found himself amused, observing several men chopping logs, women passing by with both hands supporting the jug on top of their heads which, he believed, contained water. Horses dragged big, wooden carts filled with more logs and fruits and animals from the forest. So this was the way these humans live … so simple, peaceful. The sight of human children helping their parents made Raeherys recall the little dragons who used to play in the meadows of Draconi … and the rest of his brethren who labored in harvests and mines. He never knew humans could also have such a livelihood. However, the image of the burning house refused to fade from his mind—the village where he and Fetyr had caused that fire. With regrets returning to suppress him, he hoped that
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 19 • LARICE
STUPID … SHE WAS SO STUPID. Larice couldn’t believe she just wasted her time with these beasts … these … stupid liars—especially that Raeherys. She had thought she would find a clue from him about the truth she was seeking, so she had agreed to talk in here. But it all turned out—he only gave her lies. A war? A whole thunder of dragons flying here? Did he think he could fool her by making such excuses? Did he think he could stop her from going to their isles? Not a damn chance. No one could stop her from getting what she wanted—because from what she had learned after leaving Shavath, no one could control her life but her. Larice strode towards the table where Estevan and the other beast had been seated. They appeared to be discussing a serious topic, and she hated to break it. “Settle the payments. We will go now,” she told him, her tone hinting no patience. “Huh?” Estevan lifted his head, eyebrows questioning her as if he didn’t seem t
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 20 • RAEHERYS
THE SUN ROSE AT ITS PEAK when Sevyh told the group to take a break. The entire morning they had traveled south, leaving Rath Village before the light of dawn touched the heavens. A long walk it had been. And it was just about time for their noon meal. Raeherys, however, found no liking on the food they had brought. The round and light … thing, which they called a flatbread, had no taste at all—too bland it was—he could not even describe the texture in his mouth when he chewed it down. He had grown used to eating dragon fruits and finelities and berries from his isles—roasted fish and meat and all. They settled at the end of the pine forest, where they could spot the Shajara Ranges ahead of them. Sevyh suggested they should wait until nightfall. A lot safer it would be for them to climb the ranges in the dark. Raeherys sat upon a large boulder, watching Larice and Sev spar with their swords under the shade of an oak tree. In the meantime
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 21 • LARICE
LARICE KEPT ON LOSING every single round. Why? She was too distracted by those eyes … those stupid, golden eyes staring at her. Seriously, what’s his problem? It made her extremely conscious of her face, wondering if something was wrong with it. Every time she caught Raeherys watching her, he would avoid her eyes immediately and pretend to look at the skies, while speaking with his older friend or father or whoever that old man was. She swore she would stab those eyes with Gray Viper if he wouldn’t stop staring. Sweat trickled on her face, down to her neck as her breath shortened, her throat drying out. Larice had been sparring with Sevyh for several rounds now, as she wanted to master her ability in creating ice weapons. So far, she could already cast much quicker than before. She also found out that it must come with two conditions. One, her blood flow had to be fast enough, as the quicker the blood flowed, the easier and faster it would be f
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 22 • RAEHERYS
TWILIGHT FELL INTO DUSK, and they began their climb on the Shajara Ranges, with Sevyh leading the group. Raeherys found the carved stairs almost similar to the ones in Volcron, except that the steep path here zigzagged over the course towards the top. Too dark it was, however, for these humans to see, so they had to go slowly. The chilling breeze of nightfall blew colder and stronger as they ascended. Pine trees and spruces and cedars filled the slope of the mountains. Raeherys could not avoid looking up ahead at Estevan, who was helping Larice. It made him frustrated all of a sudden. He could not point out why, but somehow he hated seeing them together. And he hated she was still avoiding him while staying close to that chronicler. Earlier that time, a broken step of the stairs made her foot to slip, causing her to fall backward. Good thing Raeherys behind caught her by his arms. “Are you okay?” She immediately backed aw
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