A Shadow in the Ember (Flesh and Fire 1)

A soft mewling sound drew my attention. I leaned forward as a small, greenish-brown, oval-shaped head appeared over the edge of the table.

My mouth dropped as I stared at the tiny draken as it stretched its long, slender neck and yawned.

Ash looked over with a raised eyebrow. “Huh. I didn’t even know she was in here.”

I dropped my napkin. “What is her name?”

“Jadis. But she has recently taken a liking to being called Jade,” Ash told me as the draken flapped a wing onto the table and scanned the many dishes. “I’m surprised it took her this long. Usually, she wakes at the first scent of food.”

The female draken squawked as she placed her front claws on the table. They were tiny but already sharp enough that they rapped off the wood. Her wings were thin and nearly translucent, and I swore her eyes doubled in size as she got an eyeful of the remaining food.

“How old is she?”

“She turned four a few weeks ago. She’s the youngest. Reaver—the one that was with Lailah the other day—is ten years old,” he said, and she hauled herself onto the table. He sighed. “Jadis, you know better than to be on the table.”

The little draken swung her head toward the Primal and made a soft trilling sound.

A smile appeared on Ash’s face. “Off.”

My eyes widened as the draken stomped its back foot and emitted a sharp cry.

“Off the table, Jadis,” Ash repeated with patient fondness.

The draken made a sighing sound and hopped down. Spike-tipped wings appeared over the edge of the table as she made quite the disgruntled-sounding yap.

Ash chuckled. “Come here, you little brat.”

Jumping down from the chair, Jadis’s claws tapped on the stone. Ash bent to the side, extending an arm. “She can’t fly yet,” he said as Jadis hopped onto his arm and then into his lap. She trilled, eyes glued to the plate of bacon. “She’s still got a few more months before she can hold her weight for any amount of time. Reaver is just learning to fly.”

I watched him reach over and pick up a slice of bacon. “Can you understand them in this form?”

“I’ve been around them enough to understand them when they’re like this,” he explained as Jadis munched away happily. “For the first six months of their lives, they are in their mortal forms, and then they shift for the first time. They typically remain in draken form for the first several years. That’s not to say you won’t see them in their mortal forms, but I’ve been told it is more comfortable for them to be this way. They mature just like a god or a Primal does—like a mortal for the first eighteen or so years of their life. But during that time, they hit a rapid growth spurt in their draken form. Within a few years, they’ll be nearly Odin’s size, and by the age of maturity, the size of Nektas.”

It was hard to imagine the little thing now eating bacon growing to the size of the massive draken that had greeted us upon entering the Shadowlands. I thought of Davina. “How do they shift from something that’s the size of a mortal to Nektas’s size?” My brows pinched. “Unless he is an incredibly large male in that form, too?”

“He is about the same size as I am,” he said. That was large but nothing like the draken. “You would think it would be painful, but I’ve been told it’s like stripping off too-tight clothing.”

There had to be Primal magic involved. “How long do they live?”

“A very, very long time.”

“As long as the gods?”

“For some, yes.” He glanced over at me. “Reproducing is quite complicated, or so I’m told. One could go several centuries without a fledgling being born.”

Several centuries.

I sat back, swallowing heavily.

“That’s enough.” Ash moved the plate away when she made a grab for it. “Nektas will burn me alive if he finds out I’ve been feeding you bacon.”

“Is Nektas her father?”

“Yes.” His tone thickened as Jadis lifted her head and looked back at him. “Her mother died two years ago.”

My chest constricted. It made my heart ache to think of something so small being motherless.

Jadis lowered her head and vibrant, cobalt eyes met mine. She hummed, lifting her wings.

“She wants to come to you,” Ash told me. “Are you okay with that?”

I nodded quickly, and Ash lowered her to the floor. She was fast, reaching my side and rising onto her hind legs. “What do I do?”

“Just extend your arm. She’ll grab on without using her claws. Luckily, she’s past that stage,” he added with a mutter.

Yikes.

I did what Ash had instructed, and Jadis grabbed onto my arm without hesitation. The press of her paws was cool as she climbed up my arm and then hopped into my lap.