Serpent of Fire by D. K. Holmberg Page B

to obey the shapers, and treated like little more than livestock. Had the ancients bothered connecting to them, to truly learn from them, there might have been more that the elementals could have done. Perhaps they might even have learned of the fire bond.
    Tan studied the way saa danced among the flames, swirling through them, making them move and shimmer. It had a familiarity to it, something he could almost recognize. He inhaled deeply and reached inward, straining for focus, to listen to fire and connect to it. As he did, he felt the connections to fire around him. Saa pulled on him most strongly, but there were other connections, weaker but no less real. Distantly, he was even aware of the draasin and sensed it as Asgar perked up, recognizing when Tan joined the fire bond.
    It was almost a physical connection, and so different than the bond that he shared with Asboel. Yet even that wasn’t completely true. Tan could sense Asboel through the fire bond, though differently. His connection to Asboel was born of spirit and fire, binding them more tightly than either alone. Through it, he sensed the great draasin still flying, circling. Hunting. He had not stopped since recovering Asgar. Tan doubted that he would stop until they found the other hatchling. If they found her.
    I should be with you.
    The sending went unintentionally, but traveled away from him easily, the connection to Asboel strong, making distances nearly insignificant. He sensed it as Asboel shifted his attention toward Tan. This time, it came differently than it had before. More fully connected somehow.
    Maelen. You exist in the bond now.
    I don’t know what you mean.
    You have discovered the fire bond for yourself.
    Had I not, I don’t think I could have saved Asgar.
    Asboel snorted. Tan had a glimpse of the land beneath him. He saw streaks of red and orange, the land blooming heat so clearly Incendin. Nothing moved below him, though a city stretched into the distance, a city that Asboel made a point to avoid. Tan doubted the hatchling would be in Incendin, but he would not tell Asboel how to hunt. He wouldn’t listen anyway.
    Amusement drifted through the bond. You have convinced me before, Maelen. I hunt for food. Then I will return to the search.
    I should be with you.
    You are needed elsewhere. I will call when I find her.
    Tan worried that to find the other hatchling would require them to travel across the sea to Par-shon. Doing so risked everyone, not only Asboel, but Tan and the elementals he was bound to. Even Amia would be in danger. If Par-shon separated him from his bonds, they could assume control of even the connection to Amia. It was the only reason he hesitated; otherwise he would have shaped himself to Par-shon after facing the Utu-Tonah the last time.
    Asboel pulled away from the bond. He didn’t sever the connection but simply receded within Tan’s mind, fading to nothing more than another connection. Holding fire as he did, reaching for the connections formed all around him, he felt another blazing presence approaching his door.
    Tan stood before the knock came and pulled open the door, expecting Cianna. He hadn’t spoken to her since saving Asgar, and he suspected that she had questions. And he had a request of her. Reaching Incendin alone might be as dangerous as Roine suspected. Having another shaper with him, especially one bound to fire like he was, would provide another layer of safety. Not that Tan really expected to need it. If he managed to reach Cora, he could ask for her help. She understood what he intended, perhaps even more than Roine. Besides, he still wanted to learn more about Lacertin, and she had known him better than anyone.
    Seanan stood at the door. He was average height, nearly a hand shorter than Tan, and wiry thin. Unlike Cianna, he had plain brown hair cut short. His gaze darted around the room before settling his gray eyes on Tan. Seanan tipped his head slightly. “Warrior,” he said, infusing the word