Serpent of Fire Read Free Page A

to him with names. And Asboel claimed that it was too early for the hatchlings, that they would claim them in time, but there wouldn’t be time, not if this failed.
    He thought of what he remembered of the hatchling, the playful way that he nipped at Asboel, or the way that he’d approached Tan, so unafraid, and what Asboel had shared. None of that was enough to name the draasin.
    Holding onto his shaping, he pressed through the spirit bond he shared with Asboel. The draasin was aware of his presence and Tan couldn’t shield his intent from him. He scavenged for memories of the hatchling, searching for anything that might be able to help.
    Maelen—
    Tan ignored him. He found snatches of memories, of the deeply blue-scaled hatchling pouncing on his sister, of him crawling over Asboel, of the bold way he attempted to sneak from the tunnels and away from the den. This mixed with memories of him nestling against Asboel, or of Asboel watching Sashari feeding him.
    Still, none of it was enough to provide a name.
    I need Sashari’s memories , he told Asboel.
    Maelen, this will not work. What you seek—
    Tan caught Asboel’s eyes. I will not let him fail without trying, Asboel. Now. Sashari. How can I reach her?
    It was sharper than he’d ever talked to Asboel, but now was not the time for apologies. Now was the time for him to save the draasin, and he couldn’t do that without their help. He would save the hatchling if he could.
    The fire bond, Maelen.
    I do not share it.
    Asboel breathed out slowly. You have always shared it.
    Tan had always had a connection to the draasin, but it had been to Asboel primarily. There had been a vague sense of awareness of the other great elementals, but it was different with them than what it was with Asboel. With Asboel, he merely needed to reach through their shared connection.
    But could he reach through more than only the bond, but to fire as well? Was that what Asboel was telling him?
    He had to try.
    Amia… hold the spirit shaping if you can.
    She didn’t respond, but she assumed control of the shaping. Questions raced through his mind without the time for answer. What must it cost her to help him from the distance? How difficult must it be for her? Had her time with the First Mother strengthened her skills so much that this shaping was not beyond her capabilities?
    Tan shifted his focus over to fire. Normally, he drew fire from a combination of elemental power as well as what he managed to shape from within, but he suspected that he would need his own shaping ability to reach through the fire bond. Borrowing from the draasin would not grant him that connection.
    Focusing inward, he listened for a sense of fire. When it came, he noted a quiet simmering that flared as soon as he reached for it. It recognized him, and as he touched upon it, questing through it as he’d learned to do with spirit that pooled within him, he felt a recognition. With a sudden understanding, he knew this was what had changed when he’d drawn fire inside of him. He had twisted this part of himself. Had it not been for the nymid, he would have remained twisted, forever turned into something like the lisincend.
    He pushed the thought away. He would try to focus on that later and understand what it might mean for him. For now, he would try to understand how to reach through that connection.
    Tan used that simmering fire and listened. There was something to it so very much like the earth sensing that his father had long ago taught him. Heat was all around, and he found himself drawn to it.
    He could sense it from the draasin most strongly, surges of orange and red that reminded him in some ways of how he had perceived the world when twisted by fire. Cianna burned brightly as well. Connected to fire in this way, he could practically smell it burning off her. Unlike when he’d been twisted by fire, this connection felt natural. Controlled.
    Beyond the elementals and the fire shapers, there was fire in the earth