When Ice Breaks, When Gold Cracks

3.2 ~ Whispers Overheard

Unda swallowed hard and his eyes suddenly ached at the reminder. What he saw, she could see—that was the nature of his bond with the Blue Goddess. It left a sour taste in his mouth. No wonder she was quick to agree.

"There's something you're not telling me," Aurum muttered, his tone darkening.

The goddess gave a long, drawn out sigh. "I simply wish to warn you that our enemies are stirring. Your mission is not a dangerous task unless you make it so. Do not make it so, Aurum. Unda is precious to me, and I still have use for him. You know that more than most."

The elf in the druid cloak—Vivian—reemerged in Unda's mind, sapping the breath from his lungs. His heartbeat roared in his ears. The rest of their conversation was drowned out beneath sound. He crawled back to the exit on shaky limbs, his skin pricked with cold despite the oppressive hot air in the small space. When he made it back to the little door, he pushed it open and hauled himself out, drinking in a greedy breath of fresh air.

He glanced down at his clothes. Dust and cobwebs had turned the rich blues of his suit to a dull gray, and he cringed. Foliis would never let him hear the end of it if she saw. He welcomed the distraction as he brushed off what little he could from the front of his sash.

"Head Dragonborn?" a soft female voice broke through the noise in his head.

Unda startled and slammed his back against the little door to close it. Another young dragonborn servant stared back at him with a puzzled frown, the yellow scales on her forehead stark against her sun-kissed skin. The hem of her white chiton gown was steeped in mud.

Unda's face warmed. He ran one last hand across the dusty spot on his shoulder before offering her a sheepish smile. "Sorry," he whispered, then winced. "I was doing some inspection. In the walls. Looks great, by the way, though a little dirty."

The servant girl blinked. "In the walls, my lord?"

"Y-yes." He stuffed his ice-covered hands behind his back. "Don't worry about it. I don't want to burden you with more work."

With a hurried bow, she went on her way. It wasn't until she was gone that Unda allowed himself to breathe again. Embarrassment and shame mingled into one throbbing headache behind his eyes. If the goddess didn't punish him for eavesdropping, Stellae would for making a fool of himself in front of the staff.

"You are a chosen one of the goddess, an extension of her will," Stellae would say in his no-nonsense tone. "Act like it."

He didn't think crawling through the walls and apologizing for his behavior would suit Stellae's image of a Head Dragonborn. But then again, neither did bullying his sister, and Stellae frequently took part in that.

Shoving the thought aside, Unda sprinted back down the hall. If he wasn't prepared by the time the others were, he knew it would cause Aurum a headache, or worsen the one that he already seemed to be dealing with. He tried not to let it dampen his spirits that Aurum had again gone to argue to leave him behind, but there was so little buzz of excitement left that he couldn't even remember why he had asked to go. Was he only going to be a burden for Aurum? Did going with them make his siblings' punishment worse?

Unda is precious to me, and I still have use for him. The goddess's words echoed in his mind, almost heavy enough to stop him in his tracks. For as long as Unda could remember, the only use he had ever had to her was scrying, but that was a power of Coae. Was his only use determined by what she had given him?

She didn't send him out because she wished for his freedom or acknowledged his chance to see the world. The only reason he was allowed to go was because he was meant to spy. He might as well have stayed at the temple, confined to the pool.

Was that what Aurum wanted?

Ice began to crawl across his face; cold cut through his very skin as it clung to him. With each breath, the pull of magic in his chest tightened until it ached. Even without looking, he knew his sandy hair had betrayed his confusion by turning a deep, indigo blue.

He collided with a sturdy figure. The momentum threw him onto his back. Stone slammed into him and sent a stinging pain shooting up his spine. Above, the ceiling stared down at him, a delicate curve that swooped overhead into an arch. Carved depictions of dragons decorated the molding.

"Tenirel?" Aurum leaned over him, smiling brightly as his scales as he chuckled. He graped Unda's hand and pulled him back to his feet with a firm clap on the back. "I thought you went back to your room to get ready. What are you doing out here?"

"I was... you see, the thing is..." he stammered, hastily trying to rid himself of the last of the dirt from the secret passage. The temperature in his scales dropped as his magic lurched to his defense. He gritted his teeth and attempted to scrape off the thick layer of ice on his hands. It refused to budge. "I had an idea that I wanted to talk about."

Aurum's gaze jumped between Unda's face and the ice. "Hold still," he said, lifting a glowing gold palm. The moment it landed on Unda's shoulder, his magic coiled back in his chest and the ice dissipated. It slowed the anxious pace of his heartbeat, and Unda let his shoulders droop.

"Thank you," he murmured.

"What's your idea?" Aurum dropped his hand.

Unda hesitated to scrape together an idea through the haze of swirling thoughts. He combed through Selini's original order, asking the four—now five—of them to find and capture a unicorn, but little was known about the creatures after they had almost entirely disappeared from the world. If they acted foolishly, it would be an endless quest, and they would never return.

"Why don't we start our search here?" he asked. "The temple has a vast library below. Maybe it would help if we begin by learning what we can about unicorns. Unless you know where we should start?"

"Do we have information about unicorns down there?" Aurum folded his arms, his lips now pinched in a tight frown.

Unda scrounged through his memory for a mention of unicorns in the library. He had combed through every book, scroll, paper, and document they had, but he couldn't recall a single thing on the ancient creatures. Maybe his memory was failing him. Or maybe he wasn't as good at his job as he thought he was. The thought twisted his gut. "There should be."

"Well, if you say so, I'll trust you." Aurum ruffled his hair again. "Head down to the library and start looking. I'll bring the others down."

"Yes, ahkirel." Unda dipped his head.

Aurum left with the flurry of his cloak before Unda stood upright. Reflections of his golden scales shimmered on the walls as he walked, a blatant reminder he always relished. Unda always noted the pride in Aurum's face when someone mentioned his golden scales. He touched his own blue ones, just a small patch beneath his eyes and on his forehead.

Unda straightened. The library. He needed to be making his way to the library. That was something he knew, something he cherished, and it was a chance to prove that he would not be a burden to the others. Selini may not have believed he had any use beyond scrying, acting as her eyes, but he would prove her wrong. When they returned triumphantly to the temple, he would be right there with Aurum and the others, sharing an equal part in their success.

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