The warmth that enveloped her was beyond wonderful. Mellary cuddled closer to it, her hands brushing against something smooth and hard.
The slight motion sent pain arcing through her body like lightning. She groaned low in her throat.
Am I going to have to convince you that you're not dead? a smooth voice asked in her head, as familiar as her own. It brought back memories of clouds moving around her, of excitement rushing through her veins as they plummeted towards the ground.
I hurt too much to be dead, Mellary said, her own voice thick as tears burned behind her closed eyes. But you might have to convince me you're not. She couldn't look into her mind. If she was imaging him, and that corner of her mind was as dark and empty as it had been before, she would break all over again.
Mellary, Embrald cajoled.
She cracked one eye open, and found herself mere inches away from a slit pupil at least as long as her hand.
Unbridled joy burst through her chest, even as she murmured "This has to be a trick. An illusion." Her voice was raw and torn. Everything hurt so much that she couldn't be sure if she was casting an illusion at the moment or not. "Maybe I am dead."
You have a heartbeat, do you not? he asked.
Her heartbeat was a faint drumming in her ears, her body almost too tired to function.
Doesn't mean that you're not an illusion.
A warm, indulgent sigh rippled over her face. You know your skills far better than I do. Could you have maintained an illusion this long?
….No.
If you are not dead, and I'm not an illusion, then I must be alive, Embrald reasoned.
Maybe you're a ghost. The warm scales under her palm belied her statement even as she made it.
Mellary gathered her courage, took a deep breath, and sank into the dark recesses of her own mind. Except, they weren't dark anymore. Brilliant emerald fire rolled across her consciousness, banishing the shadows and lighting up every corner of her consciousness.
Unbridled joy burst through her, closing up her throat. Mellary wrapped her arms around Embrald's neck, the warmth of his scales chasing away the last of the cold from her bones.
By rights we should both be dead, she said silently, raw emotion locking her throat too tightly to speak aloud. I overextended my magic, and you… you fell. Mellary shuddered as she remembered the pain and agony that had gripped her. Her arms tightened around him. I felt you die. It was like a part of my soul had ripped loose. How can you possibly be alive?
You saved me. You lent me enough of your essence, your soul, that I was able to open my wings a fraction, enough to slow down. Otherwise, the impact would have been fatal.
I felt you die, Mellary insisted.
I struck my head against one of the icicles in the river and fell in to the water, Embrald told her. She felt scales moving under her hand and cracked her eyes open. Embrald dipped his head, twisting to show her the back of his skull. A long red gash cut neatly between the horns that swept back from his head. The water had washed the wound clean, and she could see the white glint of bone in the middle of the scarlet.
Why didn't you tell me this first?! Mellary demanded. I would have… healed…. She trailed off just as Embrald snorted a cloud of black smoke.
With what magic? he asked.
Her power was gone. Nothing remained. No sparks, no embers, not even a flicker of diamond light.
Such a complete absence was impossible. It was too much for her exhausted mind. Mellary curled up tighter, tucking her head in to the crook of her arm to block out the light.
I don't have any, she said to answer Embrald's rhetorical question. How is this possible? I should have withered without magic. She remembered the wash of green fire in her mind, realizing slowly that it hadn't been decorative. You're sustaining me?
Just as you lent me some of yours, I lent you some of mine, her dragon told her, pressing his nose into her hair. Mellary felt the ruffle of warm breath wash over her. The fall knocked me out, but I managed to regain consciousness. I pulled myself out of the river and flew back, just before the castle began to fall apart. The first cracks opened up in the ice below, and I caught you as you fell. She had the fleeting impression of a streak of red hair sliding off the edge of an icy shelf amid a deadly rain of ice shards. Phantom pain glanced across her back as Embrald pushed harder, catching Mellary's limp body before she slid into the chasm.
Mellary lay still, her mind turning over what he had said. I felt you die, she insisted sleepily. Her abused body was beginning to shut down. You were gone, and you remained gone.
When I woke, Raelia was still alive. She could not know that I still lived, and she would have seen it in your mind. I blocked the bond.
Anger tried to flare to life and failed. You let me think you were dead. Even after she died, you let me think you were gone.
I did not know Raelia was dead. I had no way of knowing.
That's not the point! I felt like a part of my soul was gone!
It hurt me too, but it was necessary. His eyes flashed. Tell me you would not have done the same thing, he challenged.
Mellary grappled for a moment and gave up. Fine, I would have done the same thing. Still, if you ever, ever do that again, I will gut you and leave you for the wolves. Ravenous, mangy, feral wolves.
Duly noted, Embrald said in a condescending and humorous tone that would have brought out her ire if she weren't bone tired.
Mellary let her eyes drift closed, wrapped in Embrald's warmth. Darkness was creeping up on her, inexorable.
Embrald…. Thank you, she whispered, all her love for the dragon in her mental voice.
No need for that. We are dragon and Rider. You save me, and I save you. That is the way of things.
You know I love you too, right? she murmured.
I do.
A warm feeling suffused her, and Mellary smiled as she slipped into a deep healing sleep.
Mellary awoke feeling battered in every possible way. Someone seemed to have removed her brain and stuffed the empty cavity with steel wool. The regenerating magic was a painful throb in her chest, her muscles protested every movement, and even her bones felt bruised. Her stomach was grumbling uneasily.
She cracked open her eyes, taking stock. Embrald had tucked them both back in the tiny crevasse they had sheltered in before the encounter with Raelia. The green dragon was wound up like a ball of yarn, cradling her in his forepaws. His head was resting next to her, emitting a soft rumbling snore.
Alive. They were both alive. She exhaled softly.
She shifted, carefully extricating herself from the knot they had made. It was a measure of Embrald's exhaustion that he had not woken when she had. Moving slowly to keep the pain to a minimum, she crawled over to the packs they had left in the crack. The buckles had frozen shut, the metal cold enough that it burned her fingers. Mellary hesitated, then murmured a single word. Pain lanced through her even as heat flared her palm, loosening the buckles. She cut the spell off, dragging in great breaths of the frozen air. Her heart fluttered as her magic fluxated dangerously for a moment, then settled down.
She squeaked and jumped as Embrald grumbled Warn me before you do that.
Warn me before you do that, Mellary shot back. Reaching into the pack, she dug out some of the remaining rations. Taking her treasures back to Embrald's side, she curled up and began to feast.
We need to get off the Glacier, she said with her mouth full.
That… may be problematic, Embrald said slowly. She heard the rustle of leather, and his wing extended over her head.
The food in her mouth turned to ash as she beheld the hole punched through his wing. Ragged strips of membrane hung down. The edges around the hole were tinged red and stretched thin, as if a strong breeze would shred it entirely.
EMBRALD! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS? Mellary tried to leap to her feet and got about halfway there before her legs cramped. Somehow, she kept from introducing her nose to the ice floor and struggled upright.
She skimmed the very tips of her fingers over his wing, barely touching the leathery membrane. Mellary explored the edges of the puncture, still stained with blood.
It's going to take more power than I have at the moment to heal this, she said softly. I'm sorry. You shouldn't have been able to fly with this.
It happened on the way out of the castle, he told her. I was not fast enough to dodge all the ice.
The entire thing was coming apart, Mellary said absently, measuring her power even as she knew that to attempt the spell would be suicide. It was incredible that you got us out at all. Her gaze strayed to the massive crack that sheared apart the ice, visible even from this distance.
Let's rest, and then maybe we can heal that hole and get out of here, she said.
The wind howled outside the crack, but inside the air was just warm enough not to be painful on the skin.
In your battle with Raelia, you proved Nathaleon correct? Embrald asked suddenly. Mellary realized with a start that she had been thinking about the battle, turning it over and over in her thoughts.
No, she said. Raelia tried to bind me with my common name, not my true Name. If she had managed that, I would have been in lost. Nathaleon's theories remain theoretical, for the time being. The complaining groan of moving ice quieted her as a great chunk of ice in the distance sheared off and tumbled down into the new hole in the glacier. They watched it through Embrald's eyes in silence before Mellary spoke. Now rest, you great lump. I want to get off the forsaken chunk of ice as soon as possible, before the rest of it decides to fall apart!
Mellary leaned back against the rough stone of cave, dangling her feet over the edge and grumbling under her breath.
How could I have forgotten to clean my blades? she moaned, peering down the length of one. The bright silver was dull and caked with rusty blood. She had been scrubbing at it with a rough cloth for hours as she soaked in the warmth of the sun, but it hadn't made a difference. Mellary eyed it malevolently, considering the merits of simply burning it off.
You were four fifths dead. Mere steel is easy to forget in that condition, Embrald said lazily. He was stretched out on the rock next to her, his now whole wings mantled wide to catch the last rays of the sun.
Mere steel? Mere steel?Mellary echoed in indignation, pointing one of the ruby blades at him. I'll have you know, these were forged by Rhunön herself. They'll hold up to dragon fire. There's nothing 'mere' about them.
It had taken another full day to regenerate enough power to heal Embrald's wing, and even then it had taken their combined efforts to close the hole. He hadn't gotten away without a mark though. The wing had started to heal on its own before she could attend to it, and a ghostly circle of rigid membrane remained. Mellary snuck glances at it as she tried to clean her blades. It was going to be a weak spot for the rest of their lives.
Stop looking at it. Of course he would catch that thought.
Alright, alright, Mellary snapped, returning her attention to her swords. Passing her hand over the blade, she murmured the spell. Her magic twisted, still not fully recovered, but obeyed her command. Fire sprang to life, racing over the swords in pale white sheets. Heat lapped at her skin without burning. Beneath the flames, the rusted blood cracked and blackened, flaking off to reveal the shining metal beneath. After carefully inspecting the sword and pronouncing it clean, she repeated the spell with the second.
You know we are being watched? Embrald asked as the last flakes drifted away on the wind.
Yes. I even know who it is.
"You might as well come out now, Arya," Mellary called. "We both know you're there," The elf stepped free of the foliage without disturbing a single leaf. Black eyes glazed over Embrald and locked onto Mellary before widening.
"You cut your hair."
The light strands danced around Mellary's shoulders, curling wildly now that they were no long held down by the long, weighty length. It drifted freely around her long ears, a cloud of gold-laced fire.
"I thought it was time to stop hiding," Mellary said with a nonchalant shrug.
Arya approached, murmuring greetings and praises to Embrald. The dragon bumped her shoulder with his nose, but said nothing.
She settled on the cliff next to Mellary, a few feet of distance between them. Together, the old friends watched the sun sink over the rocky hills.
"Why did you not tell me?" Arya asked finally.
Mellary thought for a moment. "I thought it would be best," she said finally.
"Best for whom?"
"For both of us. Considering how I left, I wasn't going to announce who I was. Everyone assumed I was dead, and I was happy to let that thought stand." She raised an eyebrow at Arya. "You thought I was dead."
"Do not think me so naive," Arya said, her tone severe but her lips curling in a smile. "I knew it was you."
Mellary stared at her, eyes wide. "No." Arya nodded, her lips curling even more. "No, you did not."
Now it was Arya's turn to raise an eyebrow. "An unknown warrior with red hair appears with matched blades forged by Rhunön, and you believed I would not know it was you? You looked different, Dania, but not that different."
"I'm not Dania," Mellary said softly, then again with more confidence in her voice. "I'm not Meladania. Not anymore. I've changed too much, Arya."
The elf was silent for a long time. "We did not part of the best of terms and… I apologize. It was not my intention to hurt you, Da…. Mellary."
She shrugged. "But you did. I expected it from anyone else, but not from you. Perhaps it was immature, but I just couldn't stay. That night, it felt like my life went up in flames. Vanir may have built the pyre, but you lit the match." Her tone was even, not accusing the elf of anything but simply stating facts.
Arya's eyes slide sideways, taking in the thick scar revealed by the open neck of Mellary's shirt. "He tried to kill you."
"He almost succeeded," Mellary agreed. "But I wouldn't have left if I had had the slightest reason to stay, and certainly not in so dramatic a fashion." Her grin just this side of feral. "I hope it hurt him, though."
"His ambitions have still not recovered, though he has not been helping himself in his dealings with Eragon."
Mellary chuckled, and Embrald's laugh rumbled behind them.
"The mission?" Arya asked.
Mellary sighed, then related the tail. Arya listened without comment, her only reaction a small frown when Mellary described Raelia. "I've read a lot of scrolls about the Dragon Wars," Mellary interjected, "but I've never heard of her before." She finished the tale, falling into silence.
"You are returning to Ellesméra now?" Arya asked.
Melary relaxed back against Embrald's warm side. "Nope."
"No?"
"We couldn't leave the magic there unprotected. Galbatorix could simply send someone else up to take her place. There would have to have been a guard, and there's no one I trust not to succumb to the seduction of the magic."
"You did."
"I was not exposed to it for too long, and I was half-dead at the time," Mellary said severely. "No, there was only one choice. I destroyed it."
Arya's expression was blank for a moment, then fury snapped in her black eyes. "A wellspring… you would dare…"
"There wasn't any other practical choice," Mellary said, her voice firm and unapologetic.
What's wrong? Embrald asked.
Wellsprings of wild magic are considered sources of pure magic. They're almost sacred to the elves. Islanzadí is not going to be happy when she hears what I did.
"If you were in my place, what would you have done?" she challenged. Arya didn't answer for a long time.
"The same," she said at last. "The Queen requests your return to Ellesméra, if I were to find you." She stood as if to leave immediately.
Mellary didn't twitch. "Tough. We're not going back."
A velvet black glare pinned her to the spot. "What?"
"Embrald and I discussed it. We're not going back." They had had an extensive conversation, coasting on the cold currents above the glacier. It had taken far longer to get back on Embrald's newly healed wings, and they had had plenty of time to talk.
"Personality conflicts aside, we were languishing in Ellesméra. I already know enough to make myself useful in this war, and by now I'm certain Oromis believes I'm not going to run around abusing my power. Embrald feels he learned enough in the time we were there.
"I'm not going to be accepted, Arya, so let's not pretend I can go back and apologize and everything will be well. There are people there who will never accept me simply for the blood in my veins. Not even Embrald's presence is going to change that. I may have accepted it once, but not now, and never again." She rose to her feet. "I'm not the same person anymore." Her gaze locked with Arya's and held. A stillness fell over the cliffside.
Arya nodded once, a regal dip of her head. A tension she hadn't known was there drained out of Mellary's shoulders. She tucked the sheathed sword she still held into Embrald's saddle.
"What will you do?" Arya asked.
Mellary shrugged. "We'll help, but in our way. From the shadows and the heights where only the dragons fly. We'll be the attack no one see's coming."
You're making us sound pretentious, Embrald complained.
I'm an elf. I thought you would have been used to it by now.
Mellary rested her hand on Embrald's saddle, then paused. She looked at her hand, green ring glimmering softly in the sunlight.
"Here," she said suddenly, tugging off the ring. She closed her hand over the warm stone, speaking the spell in a low voice that boomed with power. Brilliant white light leaked between her fingers, almost brighter than the dying sun.
The light faded away, and she tossed the ring to Arya. Startled, the elf snatched it out of the air.
"What…."
"In case you need to find me," Mellary said from the saddle. "The enchantment on that will let me know if you need me." She nodded to her old friend. "We'll be around."
Embrald lunged over the edge of the cliff, his wings opening with sharp snaps. The updraft coming off the sun-warmed stone hit them with a punch, sending them soaring out into the open sky.
We do know how to make an exit, Embrald said wryly. Where to, oh Rider of mine?
Mellary felt a smile break out over her face. Wherever we want, she replied.
The End
I'm serious. This is The End. As in, there will be No More.
Thanks to everyone who stuck with me this long, and for all the encouragement you guys have given me, especially over the long breaks and that one gap in the middle. You guys are great.
I know I haven't asked for a lot of feedback recently, but I am now. I want to know what your opinions are on the story as a whole. I'm also curious if I explained the ending well enough, or if it was a little deus ex machina.
It's been a great ride.