Martim squinted, shielding his eyes from the bright light as he looked up. With the sun silhouetting her, he could barely see. The woman leaned over him and smiled; tears streamed down her cheeks. She looked familiar, but dust and grime covered her face. She kneeled in front of him.

  “You look like someone I should know,” he whispered.

  “You should. I've been on a mission to track you down.”

  Was he dreaming? Had he been so poisoned with Taikan magic that he was now delusional? Or was he dying?

  “It can’t be true, can it?”

  He struggled to his feet, dizzy. She helped him stand.

  “Cassandra?” he asked, and then took her hand firmly in his. “It’s you.”

  “I missed you,” she said.

  “Oh, my dear God.” He pulled her to him and held on to her with every ounce of strength he had left. There were questions, but the answers didn’t matter. She was here and he was alive, holding her. The touch of her hands on his back, how she clung to him, sobbing—it was real. Embracing her on this strange hill in a foreign country, his soldiers gathering the prisoners, collecting their weapons, tending to the wounded—it was all happening and yet he felt so detached. A moment ago, his death was imminent, but now here he was, reunited with the only woman he had ever loved. A dream could not have been this illusory.

  “Martim, I don’t want to interrupt, but we need to make sure you’re well. If I may have you sit, please,” Sanchez said.

  “I’m fine.” He wasn’t, though. He was feeling faint from dehydration and malnutrition, and the wounds from the Taikan’s abuse were still fresh. Cassie stepped back, and Martim felt Sanchez’s firm grip as he sank to the ground. Immediately, Sanchez took off Martim’s boots and removed his shirt. He called for his medicine pack and he and his medics crowded around the king, giving him water and food, holding him up. It was not what Martim wanted. His gaze followed Cassie as she stood next to a man holding a shield that caught the sun’s rays and blinded him. He squinted and when Sanchez wiped his face with a damp cloth, Martim blinked the water out of his eyes, and took the rag from him.

  “I’m going to live Maestro. Let me be.”

  “Precaution, Martim. It’s a long hike even down to the ships.”

  “Let me be!” Martim repeated when he saw Cassie and the man with the shield stepped into the shadows. He couldn’t have her leave again. Perhaps he was delirious. He certainly felt detached from reality. But all that mattered now was Cassandra. He took his boots from a soldier and quickly dressed himself.

  “Leave him be,” Sanchez told the medics who were trying to restrain him.

  Martim struggled upright. His poor attempt to run after her was more than humiliating.

  “Cassandra!”

  Cassie and the man halted in their tracks and spun around. “Martim, what are you doing?”

  “Don’t leave.” The words tumbled out of his mouth in desperation, but when he came close enough to see that she wasn’t an illusion, that she was truly here, he felt the air catch in his throat, and he stood up straighter. He studied her companion, a middle-aged man, dark hair, brown eyes with features much like hers.

  Cassie gestured towards the man and stated, “This is my father.”

  Ian offered a handshake, and Martim took hold of his hand more to support himself than a greeting.

  “Sir,” he said. “You aren’t leaving, are you?”

  “I believe we’re all headed back to Alisubbo as soon as you’re well enough to travel.”

  “I’m fine.” Martim said. “Just a little undernourished. I was just astounded to see you again, Cassandra, and was worried you were leaving.” He swallowed. That’s not what he wanted to say, but perhaps this wasn’t the right time. Yet was there time to waste?

  “Mr. Wilson, it’s an honor to meet you and I know you don’t know me—” he began, conjuring the nerve to approach him.

  “I think I know you well enough. Cassie has not kept muted about her experience here, and especially how much she cares about you.”

  “It would be an honor if you’d be my guests at the castle for a few days, before you return home.”

  “Thank you. We will.”

  “And please, travel on the same ship as us. I would enjoy your company.”

  “Of course,” Ian agreed.

  King of Taikus

  Aren had not returned with Amleth when the Kaemperns moved into the city. He had only watched the fighting from the palace battlement. Too despondent to join them he turned back to the courtyard where Ivar lay, Promise still holding him, shielding him from the blistering sun with her shadow. Abbott paced behind her, and the look of worry on his face seemed more for his daughter, than for Ivar.

  Neither of them knew him like Aren did. They hadn’t held him when he was a boy, nor raised him from the moment Amleth’s golden arrow healed him. Neither of them poured their love out for him when he was young and confused, teaching him a new way of life; how to hunt, spending time, and energy on him to see him grow strong and healthy. No one knew Ivar like Aren did, aside from Britta and she was gone.

  He walked up to Promise, his throat tight, and his words barely audible. “May I be with him? Alone?” he asked her.

  She looked up at him with eyes red and tears streaming down her cheeks.

  “Please?” he asked again.

  “Promise,” Abbott reached out to her, and she gently laid Ivar’s head down, rose, and walked to her father.

  Aren sat beside his son, feeling the warmth of his hand on his own. Ivar’s eyes were open. Aren laid a palm on his forehead, absorbing the heat.

  “We never meant to lie to you, son.” He whispered. “We only wanted you to have a life. You were a misdirected child, but there wasn’t anything evil in you. Yes, you had the magic dagger, but what did you know about spells, curses, and dragons? You were a child.”

  Ivar closed his eyes.

  “Britta and I loved you like you were our own child. Your mother worried about you when you left. She fretted over you because she loved you. Maybe she wasn’t your birth mother, but what difference does that make?” He wiped Ivar’s face with a linen he had in his pocket. “Adoption means we selected you to be our child. It wasn’t random. We thought out and planned everything we did for you. Amleth released his golden arrow to heal you out of love for you. We raised you because we loved you.”

  Ivar looked at him. There was a connection, but Ivar was so hot Aren could barely touch him.

  “Magic is a burden not meant for people, Ivar. The dagger corrupted your thinking, as did Silvio’s magic. Those were powers too potent for you. You carry guilt for the things you did under its influence. But none of those crimes were your fault. There was a power inside of you that you couldn’t control. Especially not as a little boy.”

  Ivar’s lips moved, but he said nothing.

  “You don’t need magic. That’s not why people love you. They love for who you are, not for the power that you throw about. You’re a man and you’ll make Promise a husband. Don’t quit on us, son.” Aren choked. “Your mother died. Did you know that? She wanted to see you before she left us. It broke her heart, leaving like you did. But she knew you didn’t mean to hurt anyone. She knew what was in your heart.”

  Ivar turned away and stared out across the courtyard. A tear seeped from his eyes.

  “Mother died?”

  “I can’t lose you, too. Not like this. I want to see you grow old. I want to see you take care of this island. Be king if they want you. Get strong.”

  “Father?” Ivar whispered as he faced Aren again.

  Aren longed to hear those words ever since Ivar left for Taikus that fateful night. He took Ivar’s head in his hands and kissed his forehead.

  “Yes, Son.” Aren said.

  Ivar attempted to move, but he was too weak; Aren took care easing him into a sitting position.

  “Does Silvio have the magic now?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did Promise leave with him?”

  “Of course not. She’s right over there waiting for you.”

  Ivar looked in the direction Aren nodded.

  “I’m sorry,” Ivar said. “For the grief I gave you.”

  Aren hugged him tightly. “Just come back to us. Be yourself, and live a happy life, now. You’ve got much to be thankful for.”

  Promise must have seen that he was awake and talking, so she hurried to them, and Aren slowly gave his place up to her. Wiping his eyes, he stepped back and joined Abbott.

  “He’ll live,” Abbott whispered.

  “You’re a Healer?”

  “I am, and I will continue to take care of him,” Abbott said.

  “I’ll stay for a while, as well. There will be much to rebuild here on the island. Not only the palace, but the people. Kaempern will do what we can to help Taikus. Good will come from this.” Aren offered his hand and Abbott took it in solidarity.

  The Dragon Keepers

  Brad and Elisa waited in the meadow near Claudia’s cottage in Telamande for Whomticker and Stenhjaert to return. The Magic Thief left with the dragon to find Silvio and bring him home, and Elisa bit her nails, worrying about the two. Silvio’s mother had invited them to the cottage, but Elisa wanted to stay outside and watch the sky.

  “The war is over, Elisa. You don’t need to fret.” Brad took a long drink of the refreshing brew Claudia had given them. A picnic on the grass in front of her cottage was a perfect ending to the adventure, but he wanted to discuss plans with Elisa and wasn’t sure if this was the time to do so.

  “Whomticker acts like Stenhjaert is his,” she mumbled. “He’s not. He’s his own dragon. I promised him that freedom, you know? I mean when we left the tunnel. Stenhjaert did everything he promised to do. He should be free.”

  “Whomticker is just picking up loose ends. Sorting out all the details. A dragon is the best way to get around in these parts.”

  “Well, if he’s trying to get Silvio to come home, I don’t think the old wizard wants to come back to Taikus.”

  “What about Claudia?”

  “She has Abbott. What about the little people, Brad? They need the wizard.”

  They ate for a while and Elisa stared at the clouds, her voice as far away as the look in her eye. “I wonder what’s going to happen to all those Whisperer women.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Whomticker has their powers capped into his vials and I imagine at this very moment he is sorting through them and putting them on shelves in his treehouse. Do you think the Whisperers will try to steal them back?”

  Brad laughed. “How would they know Whomticker took them? Besides, the Magic Thief mixes his potions into one big pot, remember?”

  She shrugged, broke a piece of her meat pie, and took a bite. “What will become of them, then? I mean, that was their lifestyle.”

  “I guess they’ll have to learn to be like normal people.” Brad tossed his napkin in the basket, laid down on the blanket, and stared at the bright blue sky. Even with all the turmoil that had happened, there still didn’t seem to be the same sort of peace in Seattle that one can find in the Realm. “We should stay here,” he whispered. “It’s less stressful.”

  “Were you even contemplating going back?” Elisa asked as she pulled another meat pie from the basket. “Because I wasn’t. Stenhjaert needs me.”

  “I thought you said he was free.”

  “He is free. But he needs a companion. That would be me. I’ve been equivalent to his mother all along, ever since we tapped into the tunnel. Without me, he would still be shivering in that cold, musty void.

  “Geez, Elisa, now you’re sounding like the old sorceress Hacatine. Savior to all!”

  “Not all, just the dragon. And it’s true. I gave him hope. And now look at him, flying all over the Realm, free as a bird.”

  “You’ll sacrifice your job at the grocery store to stay here?” Brad asked.

  “What do you think?”

  He laughed. “Where would you live?”

  “Alisubbo. In the castle. Cassie needs people to wait on her. Stenhjaert and I will be her personal servants.”

  “You’re volunteering Stenhjaert’s servitude?”

  “I think I can talk him into it. All he’d have to do is scout, or deliver messages, or maybe hunt if the king has a feast. In return, he’d have a comfy place to sleep at night and all the love he could absorb. I’m sure everyone would consent to whatever terms he laid out. Who argues with a dragon?”

  Brad chuckled and glanced at his sister. At twenty-nine, she was just as pretty as she’d been as a youngster. Having lived around magical shields and dragons for most of her life, there was an aura surrounding her he couldn’t explain. Elisa needed to be in the Realm. Magic begets magic.

  “What about you?” she asked.

  “I’m going back to Kaempern. I relate to those guys, you know. Hunting and sword making and all of that. And some of the Kaempern women are outright beautiful. I might find me a wife.”

  “Ah! Start a family like Alex?”

  The name sent a chill down his spine, and he folded his arms across his chest. He would never forgive the man for what he did to Ian. But it wouldn’t be so hard for Brad to ignore Alex if he lived in Kaempern. Besides, he liked Loren.

  “I told Ian.”

  “About Alex’s son? How did he take it?”

  “You know Ian. He just shrugged, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t bite. I had doubts that Alex would tell him, and I didn’t want Ian to decide to stay and then find out and regret it. Besides, it wouldn’t be fair—me knowing and Ian being in the dark. I felt like a heel even having that information before he did.”

  “You shouldn’t pry into their business, though. Theirs is a touchy relationship. Always was from the start. All the suspicion and the trouble Alex’s disappearance got Ian into.”

  “All the more reason for Ian to know what his father is up to.”

  “I feel sorry for him,” Elisa sighed and took a bite into the meat pie. “This is superb. I’ll have to learn how to make these. I wonder if Claudia would give me cooking lessons.”

  “Anyway, Elisa, if we aren’t going back to Seattle, we should return that remote to Ian.”

  “I almost forgot I had it.”

  While he had been monitoring a speck in the sky, far higher than any eagle could fly, the dot now made a spiraling descent. Only a dragon could get that sort of speed.

  “Here comes our dragon.” Brad jumped up and waved.

  “He better land,” Elisa mumbled, wiping the crumbs off her shirt.

  “He is.”

  “Is Silvio with him?”

  “Nope.”

  “Ahoy!” Whomticker called.

  Stenhjaert bounced across the grassland and came to a screeching halt. Whomticker uttered a deep grunt as the force tossed his frail body to and fro. Once Stenhjaert came to a stop, Whomticker stretched out on his back atop the dragon, and stared at the sky.

  “I’m an expert rider, but this delivery will take some serious finesse.”

  “Where is Silvio?” Brad ran up to the two with Elisa at his heels. She immediately stopped by Stenhjaert’s head, cooing at him as if she were a dove. Brad helped the Magic Thief off the dragon’s back.

  “Alcove Forest hunting down the little people. He claims they panicked after he left, and now they’re scattered all over the woods, some in holes so deep he must hire badgers to find them. I don’t imagine he’ll come back to Taikus soon.”

  “What about Claudia?”

  “He wants me to bring her there.”

  “That’s baffling. She won’t go,” Elisa said. “Her home is here.”

  Once Whomticker found his walking legs, he shrugged, staggered past them, tripped on their picnic blanket, and stumbled up the stone pathway to Claudia’s house. Brad and Elisa shared a puzzled glance and monitored the cottage door.

  “He’s going to break her heart all over again,” Elisa groaned. “Silvio’s such an old coot. Why does he have to be that way?”

  Brad snickered and shook his head. “Because he’s Silvio, that’s why. He can’t be any other way. It’s a habit!”

  Soon, the wizard and Silvio’s mother stepped out of the cottage. Claudia carried a large pack on her back with pots and pans dangling from its straps. Two blankets rustled over her shoulder as she followed Whomticker.

  “Wait,” Elisa said, her mouth dropping open. “You’re going to Alcove Forest?” she asked.

  “Oh my, yes, of course,” Claudia replied. “Abbott can take care of the house, but it’s been too long since I’ve had any time with my son. I’m sorry I’ll be missing the wedding in Alisubbo. But I can’t give up this opportunity. Silvio needs my help with so many little people to watch over! Look, you see my bags?”

  Elisa nodded.

  “Fabric! The Xylonites will have a new wardrobe. This will be so much fun!”

  “Won’t you miss your home?” Elisa asked.

  Claudia stopped for a moment and turned to look at the stone cottage. The sun lit up the roses that grew over the fence. Daisies, foxglove, and mullein bloomed along the pathway to the porch, the colors complementing the fresh green grass of the lawn. If ever anyone had described a cozy cottage, this was the one they meant.

  “You won’t find any place in Alcove Forest as lovely as yours. The best you’ll come close to would be Whomticker’s treehouse, and that’s in ill repair.”

  Claudia turned to Elisa and with a grin on her wrinkled face and a twinkle in her white-lashed, blue eyes she patted her on the shoulder.

  “Adventure awaits, my dear. I’ve lived in that cottage for more years than you will ever see. It’s a comfortable home but can be rather boring. I’m aware of what I’m leaving. I’m also aware of where I’m going. And—” she winked, and Brad chuckled. “I’m getting there on the back of a dragon. Even you couldn’t turn that down!”

  They watched, speechless as Whomticker escorted her to Stenhjaert and gave her a boost onto the dragon’s back. Claudia was all smiles as she waved.

  “Hang on,” the Magic Thief warned her as Stenhjaert spread his wings.

 

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