The rumble of thunder alerted her to the approaching storm as she rolled up the thick scroll. Her eyes were gritty and the words had begun to blur in and out of focus as she reached the end, signs that she had been reading far too long. Mellary set it aside and leaned back, just missing Embrald's nose as she stretched and yawned widely. Dawn was still several hours away, and the wind that curled around her whispered of an oncoming storm.
Mellary walked out onto the balcony and sat down, her feet dangling over the edge. She watched the stars vanish one by one behind the clouds, tracked the brilliant flashes of lightning, and let her mind settle. Mellary knew from decades of experience that if she tried to go to sleep now, she would have unsettled dreams and forget half of what she learned. She needed a few minutes of quiet and still thoughts to let everything soak in.
Could you fly through that? She asked Embrald, gesturing towards the towering clouds in the distance. The storm stretched across the entire horizon, a monster.
Her dragon had curled up in his nest, head resting on his claws and eyes drifting shut. Now he opened those brilliant orbs and raised his head, looking past her.
Possibly. I would not wish to try unless there was no other option, though. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. One wing lifted up invitingly.
Mellary climbed to her feet with a yawn and walked over to the wall. Her fingers easily found the inconspicuous groove, and she drew the curtain across the wide opening. It clicked into place, a small tremor running through the thin sheet as the spells took effect.
That can withstand a storm? Embrald asked dubiously. The lines of dark brown running through the tan gave the curtain a veined appearance.
It's reinforced with magic, Mellary answered as she climbed into the nest and settled down next to him. The tree would fall before that thing gave way.
Such a comforting thought, Embrald replied, already drifting off. Mellary quickly followed him into velvet sleep as wind began to roar around the tree.
Next thing she knew, the little wooden toy was shrilling at her from across the room, demanding attention. Mellary snarled at it, more than halfway tempted to simply blast it and go back to sleep. The words were already on her lips when she sighed and released the magic, dragging herself up and across the room. It took her a minute to figure out how to wind it, her mind still clouded with sleep. Embrald growled low just as she caught the crank and gave it a hard twist. It fell mercifully silent.
Last time I accept anything clockwork from that elf, Mellary growled as she slouched up the stairs to the bathing room.
She was settling her tunic into place when she felt a light touch on her outer shields.
Bring your blades, Oromis said in her mind, not needing to wait for her to crack the mental walls. Mellary belted on the swords, giving Embrald a smug grin as she did. The dragon rolled his eyes expressively.
Embrald crawled out onto the balcony, rustling his wings in anticipation. Mellary laid a hand on his side in preparation to climb on, pausing when Eragon knocked on her mind.
Oromis instructed me… how do you do that? He asked suddenly. Mellary felt his presence spread out over the smooth surface of her shield, examining the shifting structure.
Lots and lots of practice, She replied dryly.
Did you use a spell? He drew back to look at the whole. Mellary closed her eyes and studied them as well, from her side. She had two up right now: one temporary and the bottom most, which she still hadn't been able to pull down.
Nothing so specific. I crafted them myself, over a long period of time. She opened her eyes, blinking to clear her vision of rippling colors. Climbing up, she settled easily into place. Embrald shook himself, threatening to throw her off before lunging over the lip and into the air.
Her dragon took them high over Ellesméra, until the air turned cold and Mellary could see patterns in the fall of trees around the city. Her breath clouded in front of her then streamed back, beading her red curls with glass. Embrald rolled over in the air and fell, wings folded flat. Mellary gripped his spines, the wind stealing the breath from her lungs.
She sat down hard on the ground when they landed, laughing with what little air she had left. Oromis looked on silently, but Mellary could see the corner of his lips start to curl. Saphira joined them, landing gently on the ground. She and Eragon answered questions about their lessons, and the dragons winged off into the sun.
Oromis looked over the two of them, Mellary still catching her breath on the ground. "Wait here," He instructed, vanishing into his house. He returned, with one of the most beautiful swords Mellary had ever laid eyes on. The handle was brass, the blade a brighter, sunnier gold than she had ever seen before.
Mellary made it to her feet, giving Eragon a wave and a little mocking bow to indicate he should go first. The fear that flitted over Eragon's face almost made her offer to step up, but he drew his blood-colored blade before the words could come out of her mouth.
The human and the elf faced off as she leaned back against a boulder to watch them dance, one hand braced against the hilt of her sword.
Eragon was decent for a human, she could begrudgingly give him that much. But against an experienced warrior like the ancient elf…. The poor boy couldn't even land a touch while, if their swords had been unguarded, he would have collapsed from blood loss. To be fair, she didn't think she would fare much better against Oromis. Mellary had power in her veins, but she lacked centuries of experience he had.
Their ringing swords, perfectly toned, wove a symphony in the air. Mellary closed her eyes, listening.
A jarring cry interrupted the music. Her eyes flew open as Oromis slowly went to his knees, one hand clawing at his head. Eragon saw his chance and lunged, blade extended. Mellary straightened as his face and body contorted, and he collapsed.
Mellary didn't stop to think. She darted forward, falling to her knees between the two Riders. One hand laid on Eragon's shuddering shoulder, the other on Oromis's forehead. Biting her lip, she reached for her magic.
Power bubbled up like water from a spring. She breathed the words, feeing the white light rush down her arms and spiral wide, encompassing the two Riders.
"Reduce the pain."
The drain made her gasp. Her reserves, normally so deep, were emptying out as if from a sieve. The magic was slipping through her fingers, her limit rushing up at her.
Embrald! She cried, blindly reaching out.
Here, her dragon said. Green fire blazed in her veins, flushing her reserves out.
What is this? Glaedr's bass rumbled through her. The dragons must have been linked, for her thoughts to travel to them.
Allow me, Saphira said, her fiery alto added to the mix. The dragon summoned her magic, the blue flames flowing down the bonds and into Mellary
And I, Glaedr said. Gold fire roared towards her.
Magic, more magic that she had ever dreamed of, hit her like a rogue wave. Darkness swept over her. For time indeterminable she drifted in complete and utter blackness.
Light winked into existence, the tiniest dot. Then another, and another. Stars blossomed around her, brighter than the night sky. Fire flared from her skin, green and blue and gold mixing into a blazing inferno that threatened to burn her from the inside out. Mellary's back arched, a cry ripped itself from her throat. Power blazed down her arms, causing both men to jerk under her hands like a current had run through them. Mellary's jaw clenched, her teeth biting clean through her lip to meet with a click.
The iron and copper on her tongue allowed her to flirt with sanity. She jerked back, cutting off the spell and instantly slammed her shields around her mind. Reality hit her, the floating night sky folding into oblivion.
But the stars remained. They hovered in the air all around her, moving as pollen in the wind. The motes gathered around Eragon and Oromis. The boy shimmered slightly, a bright stripe of stars marking the scar that ran across his back.
Oromis blazed. Stars lined every wrinkle, thousands of them. They clung to his skin and every silvery hair, with enough intensity to burn her eyes like the sun.
Even more stars drifted through the air, moving in lazy currents all around the clearing.
Fluidly Mellary rolled to her feet. Looking down at her hands, she saw that the stars stuck to her as well. She didn't shine as bright as the full-blooded elf, but more than Eragon.
She brushed one hand against her wrist, trying to dislodge the stars that outlined the pale blue veins of her wrist. Her fingers passed through them, unfeeling. Mellary shrugged, her addled mind casting them aside as interesting but not important.
A giggle bubble up in her throat and spilled out. Pure energy was running through her, electrifying her. She could do anything, go anywhere…. She found herself on the edge of the cliff, arms swept back and away like wings.
Someone hauled her back roughly by the tunic. Mellary moved with the motion, spinning away and pirouetting across the ground. She danced, her feet barely touching the ground.
Mellary? Embrald asked, concern ringing through her shields.
She is Lífa Sries, Glaedr informed him. She is beyond thy words.
Lífa Sries? Saphira asked.
Star…. Sighted? Mellary translated, then giggled again.
I'm coming. Don't do anything rash, Embrald said urgently. She felt him break away from the other two and dig his wings into the wind, shooting towards her.
Mellary spun again. She whirled on her toes, bumping into a rock. Stumbling, she scowled at it. Stupid rocks, all over the place.
She stopped and threw her arms up. "Rïsa!" She commanded imperiously. The stars around her shivered, then flowed from her in billowing clouds. They crashed into the stones, vanishing as they soaked into the surface. A breath passed.
The ground shuddered as every pebble, stone, rock, and boulder rose into the air. Earth fountained up as deep-seated rocks were wrenched violently from the ground. They hovered at varying heights like strange constellations. Mellary made a banishing motion and the stones shot like arrows from a bow, radiating outward in every direction. One flew into the side of the cottage, smashing against the walls with a peal of thunder. The walls quaked but held, magically strengthened.
The awesome power usage dimmed the sweet ringing in her ears, enough that she could hear Oromis speaking. She paused, about to launch back into her wild dance. Her body abhorred standing still, needed to burn the energy aroused by the magic.
"You must sit down," Oromis was saying.
"Why?" Mellary asked, her body already swaying to music only she could hear. "There are stars in my blood." She leaped, dashing for the trees.
A high-pitch shriek boomed, the sound of air splitting around an object moving as fast as a gale wind. Embrald plummeted, quaking the ground as he landed. Mellary rode the wave, laughing.
Scales touched her skin, cool and smooth. Embrald pressed his nose to her forehead, his warm breath tickling her skin and the smell of smoke surrounding her.
Something tugged at the magic, drawing it like poison from a wound. It poured out of her, cascading in waves that rocked her. Mellary bit her healed lip. As the magic dimmed awareness returned. The stars vanished. Her mind snatched back the reins, and she clamped down on the knee-jerk reaction to grasp the power, to stop the drain.
When Embrald withdrew, she had little more than a few days of solid sleep would leave her with.
Thanks, She said shakily.
The blame was mine to begin with. I did not realize how much magic dragons carry…
It wasn't your fault, Mellary argued. She leaned her forehead against his shoulder as he dipped his head down. I've borrowed power from you before and never had a…. reaction like that. This was something else.
She raised her head and turned to look at Oromis, who was watching the pair with careful eyes.
"What happened?" She asked.
"I could ask you the same question," He observed.
Mellary sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Eragon was sitting up from the mud, staring at her with wide eyes. Slowly, haltingly, she explained what had happened. When she described the stars in the air, Oromis's brows drew together.
"Glaedr said I was Lífa Sries," She ended with. "But Embrald has lent me magic before, and nothing like this has ever happened. I've never read about anything like this."
"It is not something that we acknowledge, because the state of it is highly addictive," Oromis said, watching her. "Many of the worst abuses of power came from ones who were Starsighted: it seems that they cannot control themselves once imbued with excessive power."
"It was like being drunk," Mellary said softly. "Except, people who are drunk are limited by the capabilities of their bodies. I was drunk, but fueled by magic and uninhibited." She shuddered.
I must leave, Embrald said. Mellary hugged him and stood back. He took off, eddies of air buffeting her.
Thank you, Mellary said.
"What you did was dangerous, both to you and to us," Oromis informed her, eyes blazing.
"I didn't ask for it," Mellary said. "I reached out for Embrald, and the other two volunteered their power. I stopped it as soon as I could. If your dragon knew what would happen, why did he do it?"
"There has not been a Starsighted in a hundred years," Oromis informed her. "The elves are careful not to draw much, and no human has had a source large enough. It was unlikely that anything would happen."
Mellary gave him an incredulous look, but let it go. Her hands came to rest naturally on the hilts of her swords.
"Shall we go a round?" She asked, drawing a hand span of her swords. Her blood began to sing, sparks zinging through her curls.
"Go to the forest and meditate until you have regained control," He instructed.
Mellary turned on her heel and stalked away, unable to keep the magic-induced fluidity out of her stride.
"Use no magic," He called after her.
Mellary snorted under her breath. Embrald had left her with more than she had suspected, if enough raw magic cloaked her to creating miniature lightning bolts to branch down her hair. She had been planning to perform some small magic, skim some power off the top.
She found Eragon's trunk easily, settling down against the base. Laying aside her swords, she shucked her shoes and dug her fingers and toes into the deep moss. Stay grounded, Embrald always told her. She just needed to ground thoughts like water droplets. She sank into meditation.
Stars swirled behind her eyes, though this time she could still feel the moss cool between her fingers and against her feet. Starsighted, Glaedr had called it. She could see why.
They were beautiful. Everything about it had been wonderful, until she had calmed down enough to realize the absolute loss of control.
Chills ran through her, bringing her crashing back down. The stars vanished.
She had been taught to never lose control of her magic, that is could kill her. But it had felt incredible, fantastic, to do so. It was freeing.
Mellary could feel in her bones how easy it would be to crave. The feeling out boundless energy, complete invulnerability, more magic than anyone could hope to use…
She could understand the longing.
It moved through her too, now.