2

No choice

It was almost impossible for me to tell, but I believe I slept for at least a week afterwards. The energy needed to heal the green dragon had been immense. We had come close to killing ourselves.

The female elf watched over us both. She herself was exhausted, but still managed to take care of us.

I became ill for the first time in my life. I remember her tying me to her dragon and the dragon taking off, but after that was blank.

#####

I heard my name being called repeatedly. That the sound was out loud was foreign me. Still, it resonated with me, and I, in my blurry stupor, took that as a promising sign. Glaedr's voice whipped through the fog like a torrent, ripping me from wherever I had been before. I had heard him long before this, but this was the first time his voice had registered.

Stay with me, Oromis. His voice was as soft and deep as piled velvet—it wrapped me, cocooning me and simultaneously pushing me towards the surface.

The face of the elf woman swam into my view. Without the shadow of blood, I realized that her eyes were lighter than I had first believed—azure rather than storm-cloud blue. Her hair was silver, ut I couldn't tell the length. She wore it u, in a rather tight bun accented with an eagle feather.

"Have you come back to us, young one?" she asked.

I cocked my head, croaking, "Where am I?"

"Ellesmera, Oromis. In the hall of the Riders."

I bolted upright. So much for leaving. She tried in vain to push me back down.

"Rest, Oromis, you need to. You almost drained your life force healing Syren. Here, take a sip of water."

I drank greedily. I had never been this thirsty in my life. The elf gave me a plate of bread and cheese, which I also devoured. I was not about to tell her that I had been living off meat.

"Why am I here?" I asked.

The elf smiled, "We are repaying the favour. It is not often one finds a Dragon Rider in the wilderness, and even less often that the Dragon Rider heals their dragon. I must thank you for saving Syren. I couldn't imagine life without her."

"I would do it again in a heartbeat. But you misunderstand. Why did you have to bring me to Ellesmera? I left five years ago for a very specific reason, Rider. I had neither intension nor wish of ever going back." My voice was still like sandstone.

"Then I apologize, but there was nowhere else I could take you. You needed more help than I could give you."

Another, older elf appeared over her shoulder. This one was male, and everyone had always told me that I was him in miniature. The geway insignia shone on his palm. As vain and egotistical as always, I realized.

Shall I rip him to shreds? Glaedr's voice was sleepy and very welcome.

"You have finally joined our ranks, little brother," he said. For this was undoubtedly my older brother, Senan. Patience, Glaedr. We'll get him later, while he sleeps.

"Senan," I growled, not bothering with the formal address. There were not many people I hated more than I hated my brother. He was the reason I had left Ellesmera, after he became so loathsome that I could no longer stand to be around him.

The female elf turned to my brother, "I told you that you were not welcome here any longer, Senan. Not while Oromis is here, else Glaedr and Syren both will tear you to shreds. They are more than a match for your dragon."

Lazily, I asked Glaedr, are you talking to the other dragon, as well?

Syren. Her name is Syren.

Senan glared, "You have no right, Katella."

I rose up a little higher in the bed, wincing at the wave of dizziness it caused, "I told you I never wanted to see you again."

"I'm afraid that's not your call, Oromis. I have already informed our parents that I have found you. They are, how shall I say it?" He paused, running a pale hand through his dark hair, "Understandably distraught."

I shot completely out of the bed, calling for Glaedr as I did so. The move left me sprawled on the floor, unable to gather enough energy to complete our escape.

Katella helped me upright and onto the bed, "Rest," she commanded.

I did not heed her words, "How can I rest with him around?" I gestured at Senan.

"I will deal with him," her voice was fierce. I wondered exactly what Senan had done to her.

I settled back into the bond I shared with Glaedr and began to plan our escape from Ellesmera. An escape that would never happen, though I did not know it at the time.

Katella allowed no one else into the healing ward for the duration of my two-day stay. I was totally dependent on her. She pushed energy from herself and some of the other Riders into my body and helped me to eat when my strength failed me. She helped me dress and even to the latrine when I so needed. She never pried, never asking me why I disliked my brother so much. She did not have to, as I saw the same discontent in her eyes. She knew what he was.

I was visited by Varel on that second day.

"You are Oromis?" he asked.

I nodded up at him, irrationally afraid. Glaedr growled in the back of my mind, and his, as well.

"Come now, child, nothing will hurt you here. I have sent your parent and your brother to Ceris. Katella told me that they were a source of pain for you, though she does not know why."

My natural demeanour took over, "That knowledge is only for Glaedr and me. She knew that she had no place in asking, and I respect her for not."

"Nevertheless, you are a guest of the Riders, and we wish for you to join our ranks. As your Master, it would be my place in asking." His ancient green eyes never once left my gaze. I wished he would stop looking at me so critically, like he as peering into my soul.

I glared up at the leader of the Dragon Riders, "Do we really have any choice?"