The ghost nods.
The mountain range leads into a valley filled with markers that appear to be villages if the triangle and two lines are indeed meant to symbolize a house. Ah, I recognize a few. There is Kingstown, represented as a city. It’s been well established for centuries.
The ghost’s nearly transparent talon lands on a spot north of Kingstown, a spot beyond a small sea that I’ve never heard of.Wingwash Sea, it says in the old tongue. The old language isn’t that much different than the modern one. They just enjoyed using more vowels and didn’t have a regulated way of spacing or capitalizing words.
Pointing again at the spot, the ghost grins. It’s not a comforting smile, but he does seem delighted about wherever this is.
“What is so good about this place?” It’s marked with more lines and dark dots. “Wait. Are those cliffs? Or a deep ravine, maybe?”
A rush of both cold and heat comes from the ghost and suffuses the air around me.
“Does that mean yes?”
He nods. Lifting his hand, he places his palm on my chest. I can’t quite feel the touch, but the odd cold and hot sensation increases there. His eyebrows lift and he stares at me pointedly. Then he jerks his chin at the map.
“You want me to go there?”
He smiles that chilling smile once more, and then he disappears.
A shiver tracks down my back and along my tail. I swallow and gather the map, tucking it into my belt as carefully as I can.
Why would a dead dragon shifter want me, the only other of his kind in the area, to run off into the wilds of the northernlands? Maybe there were civilizations there long ago, but I don’t think any settlements remain that far north. There’s an area beyond Kingstown that has always been called the Desolation. Certainly, nothing important could be past that barren land. Could it?
Excitement flutters in my stomach as I hurry out of the ruins. I don’t want to push my luck. At least now I have a lead on finding out more about my kin.
I just hope that ghost doesn’t decide to follow me home and stop my heart. Were those earlier cases of the supposed curse truly just coincidences? Or am I an idiot for risking it?
I guess I’ll find out soon enough.
Chapter 14
Kaya
“Sorry about the wine,” Devin says, surprising me.
“It’s all right.”
“I was just trying to take care of you.”
“I appreciate that, but I like to order for myself.” I don’t care that much. I’m just feeling grouchy. It isn’t fair to Devin. I resolve to cheer up and stop being a dark cloud on this perfectly nice evening. “But it is very good wine, isn’t it?”
He finishes his second cup. “Very. I wish we had some of this vintage at home.”
“What do you tend to have there?”
“More reds because of the weather.”
The server brings my cup of tea finally, and I give him a portion of my Kings and Plots winnings as a tip because I’m not mad about the wait. This place is incredibly busy, and I have been in this type of rush many, many times. I completely understand what the servers are feeling right now.
The chess game moves forward, and Devin nearly catches me out, but I manage to beat him.
“Well done, Kaya.”
I start to frown, but then clear my features. “Thank you.”
There’s just something condescending about his praise. It gets my hackles up, as Tully would say. Once again, I’m just being grouchy.
“Want to head outside for a little bit?” Devin asks. “I’d love to take a break from the noise.”
