Chapter 62
Chapter 62
Max watched as his daughter and Shale Spark stood on the opposite side of the training area. Edward was dueling different heroes who had been given a spark from him and the other gods. These were a pool of potential candidates. Each one was trying to prove they were worthy of the three open spots on his daughter’s tower team.
Miranna has aged… in a way that steals the light of life.
Her friends died. The tower is not kind, and she saw it firsthand. Losing three of them in a single battle almost broke her. If it hadn’t been for Shale Spark…
Max didn’t need to think about that again. He stood there, studying his daughter, her gold eyes cold as she watched the duels. The last two years were more complex than he had ever imagined. It had taken their entire family, all the gods, to try to comfort her, and they had yet to succeed. Miranna’s mood was poisoning the whole world.
She’s also avoiding Hana… even though her friend is trying to comfort her.
Age… love… those things hurt, and you know it more than the rest of them. You should try talking to her again. If you don’t, Rakonath is going to keep his promise.
Max scoffed as Bob gave him yet another piece of parenting advice. Since his short reunion with his family, Bob had acted differently, and sometimes it still surprised Max. Even though it had been almost thirty years since that trip, Bob had a different tone to him.
Cheers came as Edward defeated one of his men, bowing and smiling at the small crowd that watched.
Max saw that his daughter didn’t even react beyond a slight head motion. Shale Spark was still lying on the ground, her larger body occupying a significant portion of the training area where the pair waited. “What do you think about them?” Edward asked as he moved to join Max. “All of them are anxious to hear your thoughts.”
“The choice is going to come down to Miranna and what she feels are the right pieces,” Max replied. “I have my opinions, but I don’t want to promise something I can’t make happen. You see what she has become.”
The king’s face softened as he nodded. “I know she is older than any can imagine, yet she barely looks over someone who is twenty-one or twenty-two. Yet the weight she carries feels like more than what I must endure. My wife and I offer ourselves again to help her in any way we can.”
Max gave Edward’s shoulder a tap and nodded. “We are grateful beyond words. Everything we have faced as a kingdom, you and Lanyra have proven the wisdom you both possess and how fortunate we are to have you both. Now then, let’s go release them.”
The pair walked toward the seven candidates who might fill the voids in Miranna’s party. Three warriors, a dwarf, a human, and a demon, would possibly be the shield that protects the team. Two humans, a dwarf and a demon, rounded out the healer and mage spots.
“You all did well! Thank you for showing the strength you possess!” Max exclaimed, clapping as he approached them. “Please, go relax inside, and I will speak with Miranna and ask her thoughts.”
The group bowed almost as one, and Edward escorted them toward the open doors across the training grounds, where others waited for them.
Without waiting more than a few seconds, Max turned and approached his daughter, seeing the look she was giving him and knew it was going to be a struggle from the start.
“None of them,” Miranna said, her voice flat. “I’m not going to bring anyone else into the tower with me.”
“Then it’s agreed. You’re done entering it. I’ll mark that—”
“Done entering it?!” she exclaimed. “No, Shale Spark and I—”
“Are done,” Max said, his voice carrying power he rarely commanded it to wield. “I will lock you from the tower and you two will not be able to enter it again.”
“We’ll just go—”
“No, you won’t,” Rakonath’s voice called out from behind Max. “We’re all in agreement. You either go in as a team, or you stay out as a pair. No other options.”
Shale Spark snorted and then lowered her head when Max sensed the look Rakonath had given her.
“You would be wise to not do that to me again, or you will find yourself clipped until I decide the time for your wings to be healed comes again. Now transform so that others are not forced to stay away to look and talk to you. That is the behavior of a wyrmling who does not carry my spark.”
Shale Spark’s size shifted, and a few seconds later, she stood beside Miranna, gold dragon scale armor glinting in the sunlight, her head cowed.
“How can you two be like this?!” Miranna demanded. “We’re the ones who see the images we see when we close our eyes! Not you, us!”
Max let her rage again. She had denied it, got angry, accepted it, and then repeated this process over and over. He would rather have her like this, at least sharing how she felt, than the months where she sat somewhere, barely eating or talking.
Don’t interfere.
Max’s mouth opened, and he stopped as Bob warned him not to respond the way he had been planning.
Breathe. Take a page from Sog. Let it out. The time has come for a different approach.
Clamping his mouth shut, Max closed his eyes and took a deep breath, holding it and then slowly letting it out.
“Oh, please, don’t give me this Sog meditation junk.” Miranna grunted. “Rakonath might be able to bully Shale Spark, but you—”
Max watched as his daughter’s gold eyes widened in surprise. Her jaw stopped moving as the blade Rakonath held caused a thin line of red to appear against her throat. The dragon’s other hand held her neck from behind.
“You are wrong,” Rakonath said, his voice calm as he spoke. “The only one here who could stop me is your father or mother. Ask yourself, where is she? Why isn’t she here? It’s because it pains her to watch her daughter act like this. To push the world away and not allow anyone in.”
“I’m not pushing anyone away!” Miranna growled. “You don’t know what it feels—”
Rakonath growled back, the knife pressed a little deeper, a little more blood appearing.
Rakonath…
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Leave him alone, Max.
“How does it feel?!” Rakonath shouted. “I never met my parents! I watched the only dragon I knew and loved be attacked and almost die. I felt guilt for Bob being trapped because of my desire to enter the tower! I know how pain feels! All of us do! How do you think your friends, those who protected you and those who you were supposed to protect, felt? What did they feel when the blade cut them like this, is doing to you now, and they realized there wasn’t anything they could do?”
“Dad—”
Pain lanced through his chest when she said his name. Every part of him wanted to tell his dragon to stand down, but he could feel the slightest change in her tone and facade.
“Don’t,” Max said, shaking his head. “You want to use that name, then act like my daughter. The one I spent every hour I could with laughing, baking, smithing, dueling, or just talking about life. The one I read to at night and tucked her in. Where is the girl whom I hugged and cheered when I heard of her bond with Shale Spark?”
Miranna’s mouth moved, but nothing came out. Her eyes looked wet, but Max could see her still fighting against the emotions.
“Ask yourself… how does Shale Spark feel?” Rakonath said. “She feeds off of you. She is forced to grieve all the time because you grieve. Ask her. Out loud or just between the two of you. Ask her if she has moved on, and you’re the only one holding yourself and her back.”
The dragon let go of her, the blade vanishing. Rakonath stepped back.
Max closed the gap between them and pulled his daughter close, pressing his forehead against hers. “I would die for you, and I will burn down every world and god for you, but I can not let you burn down the life of one you call a friend. Of one you call family”
He let go and stepped back, watching as Miranna touched her neck, lifted her hand, and stared at the blood.
Tears ran from Shale Spark’s red eyes as the dragon woman, who looked like a warrior ready for battle, trembled.
“Shale?” Miranna said softly, turning to see the dragon she was bonded with shaking.
“He’s… right…” Shale Spark whispered, touching her chest. “It hurts… right here. You don’t know how much it hurts to have to carry your pain like this.”
“I do—”
“No,” Rakonath growled, cutting Miranna off. “We’ve tried this the soft way, the gentle way, the supportive way, but your father, Bob, your mother, and I all agree. You are acting like a wyrmling who doesn’t want to try flying again after crashing and hurting themselves. You’re dragging the entire flight, your family, and this world down because you can’t move on. Because you won’t move on.”
Rakonath stepped forward. He was only a foot away, peering down at the daughter of his friend. “You want to honor them? Defeat the tower. Name a city, a kingdom, or something else in their memory. You want to make their sacrifice like the dung in a pig’s sty? Keep doing what you’re doing.” He snapped his fingers, and Shale Spark winced. “Return home, daughter. When she has learned what honor is and apologizes to you for the grief she has caused, you may return.”
“Rakonath!” Miranna protested, tears starting to leak from her eyes. “You can’t!”
Max saw the silver eyes of his friend glowing.
“I can,” the dragon replied. “I have never known a Hoste to act like this. Even when your father struggled with things beyond what you can imagine, he did what was right and needed. He fought with honor. He sacrificed himself and the things he loved for principles he believed in.” Rakonath put a large finger against Miranna’s chest. “You sacrifice others to make yourself ignore the pain you feel. That is not how any Hoste I have ever known acted. Perhaps it is good that your grandmother could never see what you have become.”
Rakonath…
His dragon turned and shook his head.
“No, I will not hide our words. I know how you feel. Every day, I have endured the pain of your suffering and the pain my daughter feels because of your child. She has caused the joy of this world to fade. Even now, your wife is trying to help and encourage others because she sees the darkness Miranna casts over all the kingdoms.”
He is right, let him speak.
“Even Bob knows what I say is true,” Rakonath continued. “I do not placate wyrmlings who bring others down. They learn to fly, even if I must carry them to the clouds and drop them. She needs to be let go.”
Shale Spark sniffed, moving slightly away from her friend before transforming into her dragon form. A pair of red eyes looked back at Miranna, hot tears running from them. A single sniff came, then the red dragon launched herself into the sky, sending dust swirling around them.
“Shale,” Miranna said, her chest heaving. “I’m sorry.”
Max watched as his dragon knelt, looking up at his daughter. “Don’t do that. Don’t apologize because she leaves . Apologize because you know you were wrong. And when you start saying you’re sorry for real, you need to travel through all the kingdom, telling everyone you see that you’re sorry for stealing their joy.”
As tears fell from Miranna’s cheeks, Rakonath took his hand and gently grabbed a fist that she had clenched by her sides.
“Listen, little one… life is hard. The tower is a crucible. It will test you and melt away all that makes you unworthy. A time will come, higher inside. You’ll see. If you cannot overcome this moment, you’ll never defeat the tower.” Rakonath stood, pulling Miranna into an embrace. “I look forward to the return of the woman I love and the warrior who shall rival her father one day.” A soft kiss was put on her golden hair, and then the dragon backed away, gently pushing the outstretched hand of Miranna. “Our home is your home when you find the right words and heart.”
Max saw the look his friend gave, those silver eyes locked on him. “It is about time you showed teeth. I was beginning to think my friend had forgotten the hardest lesson of all is that life is painful, but it is the friends and family who allow us to persevere.”
He nodded at his dragon. “Forgive me. I didn’t realize how much pain I had caused you. Why did you say nothing?”
“Because… you weren’t ready for the truth. Like your daughter, you allowed emotions to cloud your mind. But I am glad you have woken up and realized what needed to happen. You honor me with your friendship and your apology.”
Rakonath put a hand on Max’s shoulder. His oversized hand squeezed as he walked a dozen yards, leaping into the air and changing into the silver-scaled form that reflected the sun.
Silence replaced the words that had been said. Max saw his daughter with her head down, tears streaming like rivers that overflowed.
“Star, I’m sorry—”
“Don’t,” Miranna said between breaths. “I’m sorry… it… just hurts… so deep.”
Max opened his arms, holding his hands out slightly.
She didn’t move. Max felt the pain of every second that went by as Miranna stood there, not moving. For so long she had resisted their affection, yet he had hoped she might give it on her own.
As his hands started to lower, she moved, slamming herself into his chest, wrapping her arms around him, and sobbed. Then a wail came. Followed by another.
Max felt his tears falling as he held her, one hand brushing her golden hair, the other supporting her.
“I know,” Max whispered. “It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to hurt. Just know you’re not alone when it comes.”
She didn’t nod. All Miranna did was empty her soul through tears and groans.
Max was the shelter in the storm. He would make sure she weathered this moment no matter what.