“Immortal,” he replied in a soft voice.
“Oh.” What exactly did she say to that? What could she say?
Immortal. What was that even like? She wanted to ask, but his words from before stopped her. Obviously, it wasn’t all it seemed. The despondency she had seen in his eyes earlier told of the things he carried inside him—things she could only imagine.
“Does that change things between us?” Kendrick asked.
She looked into his eyes and shook her head. “No.”
His answering grin was all she needed.
Chapter Seven
Esha seemed hard to surprise. Kendrick had clearly shaken her with his admission but not enough to frighten her away. That pleased him. Probably more than it should if he were being honest.
He watched as her gaze moved to the entry. He knew she was about to leave and found that he didn’t want her to go. He had more things to learn. Then there was the fact that he liked her company. A lot. She seemed curious about him, too—or, at least, interested to learn about the Dragon Kings. But that didn’t bother him. He was just as fascinated with the elves.
His thoughts drifted to the problems Cullen and Shaw had dealt with at Stonemore. The human city abhorred anything involving magic and based their religion around annihilating it. Kendrick wondered how the people of Stonemore would feel about facing elves. After all, those humans had systematically wiped out the villages and cities near them, slaughtering those with magic along the way.
Stonemore wasn’t the only place where mortals feared those with magic. Yet every human who spurned someone for being different put those with magic on the run, fighting for their lives and hiding in fear.
Perhaps those with magic could find a home with the elves. It was something Kendrick would discuss with Esha later. If things worked out between their people and they became allies, perhaps they might join the dragons if there were a war with the humans—though he really didn’t want more bloodshed. He’d seen enough of that for eternity.
“What is it?” Esha asked.
Kendrick started to tell her that it was nothing, then reconsidered. “You said there are humans in Shecrish.”
“There are.”
“And some have magic.”
“Some do, aye.”
“Would your people accept other humans? Particularly those with magic?”
Esha’s brow puckered. “Why?”
“I can go into detail later, but suffice it to say they’re finding it difficult to live where they are now.”
She seemed to think for a moment before shrugging. “I’m not saying that humans don’t find their way to us—there are those who wander. However, most of the mortals here arrived as infants and simply chose to remain.”
That brought up another question. It seemed every being on this planet arrived as an infant. So far, no one knew who brought them or how they got here. “Do you know how the bairns get to Zora?”
“Bairns?” she asked with a frown.
“Babies,” he explained.
Esha shook her head. “I was going to ask if the dragons were responsible.”
“Nay, lass, we’re no’.” He took a breath, deciding on the next question. “You said earlier that you bring elves here who arrive in other places on the realm. How?”
“Magic, of course. It takes a lot of it, and it’s not something that just anyone can do. We have Callers who gather every month and link their magic.”
“Do the Callers bring elves every time?”
“Yes. Most times, it’s just one, but there have been a few times where there were two. Never more than that.”
“Because the Callers’ magic isna strong enough?”
“It’s been assumed that it was because only those were out there at the time. But now that you mention it, I can’t say that for certain.”
Kendrick nodded, taking that in. He started to open his mouth for another question, but she spoke first.
“I need to see my sister. The longer I put it off, the worse things will be,” Esha said as she got to her feet.
He reluctantly stood, feeling strangely out of sorts that she was leaving. “Of course.”
“I’ll be back. You’ve told me very little about the dragons.”
Kendrick grinned. “I promise to tell you more when you return.”
“Good.”
She stood there, staring at him. The golden-amber hue of her eyes ensnared him. Everything about her fascinated him. A million questions buzzed through his mind, but he kept coming back to wanting to know her. What had her life been like? Who had raised her? And what had occurred to make her join the Rangers?
“This area isn’t heavily traveled. You shouldn’t have any visitors,” Esha said.
“I’m no’ worried.”
“No, I don’t suppose you would be. Does anything frighten you?”
Another war with humans. But he didn’t say that. “Everyone is scared of something.”
“Even you?”
“Even me,” he admitted.
Esha turned her head, causing the chain on her ear to sway. “We’ll speak soon, Dragon King.”
“Good luck with your sister, Sun Elf.”
She grinned and turned on her heel to walk out of the yurt. Kendrick followed and watched as she broke into a run. It wasn’t long before she vanished into the forest. She was quick—something else he filed away about the elves. Was that just something a Sun Elf could do? Or was that all elves? It was another question he’d have to ask her.
Kendrick glanced at the sky. The day had progressed faster than he’d realized. The sun was already on its descent. He sighed and decided to explore the area. He walked the edge of the lake on one side, noting that it was much larger than he’d first realized.
He retraced his steps to the yurt. The rocks along the water were different in size, the stones smooth and brightly colored in an assortment of hues that glistened in the fading daylight. He walked in increasingly larger circles around the yurt, studying the ground for any tracks—be they human or animal.
Kendrick found some that resembled a deer and more that could be something like a fox, but until he saw the animals and learned what they were, he couldn’t say for sure. The lake was large enough that animals had a variety of locations from which to drink, so he wasn’t worried about encountering anything.
Once he was satisfied with his search, he took a walk on the other side of the lake. When the sun was about to set, he made his way back to his camp, gathering firewood along the way. He started a fire and sat before it, watching the sky darken over the shimmering water. He thought about the day, arranging his thoughts. When he next focused, the sky was black.
Kendrick had put it off long enough. It was time to contact Con. Just as he opened the mental link to say Con’s name, he saw movement off to the side. He couldn’t see anything, even with his superior eyesight, which alerted him that magic was being used. It didn’t feel like the entity—there wasn’t a shimmer or anything.
But he knew someone was there.
“It’s rude to stare,” Kendrick stated. “Join me or leave.”
Shadows moved and shifted, and then a Dark Elf walked out. He stood tall, his yellow eyes locked on Kendrick. The elf wore a long, black coat, the bottom cut into six thick strips. The shoulders had armor plating. Beneath the jacket, the elf wore a shirt with chest and abdomen armor. Black trousers were tucked into knee-high boots with armor on the fronts. Kendrick saw no weapons, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any.