Chapter 3: A New Home
“Estelle Brand,” a voice calls, a whisper in my mind’s eye.
From a distant darkness, I see a bright white light. A star, suspended before me. It grows brighter and brighter, and despite the weariness that lays on me, I reach for it.
“There we are,” a voice says, deep and warm.
Startled, I squint my eyes open, light flooding my vision. As my sight finally adjusts to the brightness, I stare at a man’s face near my own. He looks to be in his late thirties or early forties, with black hair that was graying just a little at the sides, and a couple of wrinkles in his forehead. Dressed in a fine light blue shirt that’s trimmed with white and gold thread, the buttons on his shirt and the buckle of his belt gold, his dark gray pants tucked into gleaming black boots, he looks well-to-do but comfortable. One of his warm dark-skinned hands holds my own and he gives me a smile.
“Welcome back to the land of the living,” the man says.
“Who are you?” I ask.
“I’m Ward Veremund Mendoza.” The man smiles a little as my mouth drops open. “I take it you know who I am.”
“Yes.” I look around the room but see only cots in a simple stone room with just a few banners for decorations, bearing the Ward’s coat of arms. It looks like a medical room to me, as I spot supplies, similar to what Mom and I had at home, neatly placed along shelves.
“Your first entry into Adytol was a little different than many,” Ward Veremund says, his tone amused. “You’ve been unconscious for nearly three days.”
“Three days?” I exclaim. My forehead pounds at my loud words, and I hold a hand to my head. Ward Veremund offers me a glazed ceramic mug filled with water. “Oh, thank you.”
Ward Veremund gives me another smile. “No, thank you—Astralux told me everything that transpired since she met you. You’re the only reason Astralux is still alive, and you’re the only reason that Mortimer, Undabouclier, Thorn, and Vitegadium are here today.”
Relief floods my heart. “Everyone is okay?”
“Yes. Resting, and their wounds are still healing, but they are quite fine.” Ward Veremund, taking my empty mug, hands me a bowl of porridge, topped with roasted almonds and drizzled with honey. “Here, you should eat.”
“What happened?” I ask. “I don’t remember anything after the, uh, fire.”
“I’ll explain everything, but you should eat.”
I take a bite of the porridge, glad for its sweet taste. “Do you work as a nurse?”
Ward Veremund chuckles. “I guess it would seem like that, but no. Our head nurse, Jaye, has been tending to you and the others for a while. Mortimer and Thorn have been here for some time too, and not just because they’ve been recovering—they’ve been worried about you. However, I offered to watch over you to give them assurance, so that they could see to their friends and family.” Ward Veremund sets my mug, refilled with water from a ceramic pitcher, on the side table by my bed. “To answer your earlier question: Mortimer told me that you injured Velenosever badly enough that he and Vladykar Eder were forced to retreat. The Klevorian soldiers split off to help the Vladykars, enabling the others to get out of there in a timely manner.”
“So Vladykar Lochan and Pesokvglazu never showed up?” I ask.
“No, although Undabouclier did mention that he saw a dragon making its way toward Vladykar Eder and Velenosever.”
I give a heavy sigh, both relieved and anxious after everything that’s happened. I get another few bites down, knowing it will help me.
There is a knock on the oak door to the room. After a pause it opens and Ward Mortimer pokes his head in. “Estelle!” he exclaims.
“Are you alright?” I ask. My eyes trail over the closed, puffy wound that runs along the side of his face. His eye isn’t drooping anymore, but the cut looks like it’s still healing.
“Am I alright?! I’m not the one that single-handedly drove back Vladykar Eder and Velenosever, and then slept for three days straight.” Ward Mortimer grins as he sits on my other side. He’s not dressed in his armor but in a simple blue cloth shirt that’s loosely tucked into leather pants tied with a belt, similar to Ward Veremund. “You had us worried.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I know you said to run, but I was so scared for Astralux.”
“I know.” Ward Mortimer puts a large arm around my shoulder and gives me a gentle hug. “She’s your bonded dragon.”
“And, Astralux has been most concerned about you,” Ward Veremund says. “Despite her own wounds I have barely kept her from trying to squeeze in here. She would appreciate seeing you.”
I dimly sense a presence toward what appears to be balcony doors on the side opposite from where Ward Mortimer came from. Light filters through the glass windows of the door, which have been dyed with many colors and create an array of rainbow lights that spread across the room.
I look back at Ward Veremund. “Can I see Astralux?
Smiling a little, Ward Veremund nods once. “Are you well enough to stand?”
“I think so.” I slide my legs over the side of the bed and discover that someone has dressed me in a simple but pretty white cloth shirt with soft blue slacks. My bare feet step onto cool, smooth stone. Rising slow and even, just like Mom and I always taught patients to do after they had been bed-ridden for a while, I wait to make sure I don’t become dizzy.
Ward Veremund offers his arm. “The balcony will be a perfect place for you.”
I lean on Ward Veremund’s arm as I stagger forward. Ward Mortimer comes around the cot and holds my other arm, and with the help of both men I make it to the colored glass doors.
“These windows, they are beautiful,” I say. “I’ve never seen colored glass on windows like this.”
“We have some fine craftsmen in Adytol,” Ward Veremund says. He leans me against Ward Mortimer while he opens the door.
I have to close my eyes for a moment as light pours over my face. Slowly, as my eyes adjust, I open my eyes. And then I gasp.
Ward Veremund holds out his hand. “Welcome to Adytol.”
Even after asking Astralux about Adytol, nothing she said prepared me for what lies before me. The colored glass doors open out to a large stone balcony. And beyond, rising against the side of a blue mountain dotted with dark green forests and topped with crystal white snow, is a city unlike anything I have seen or imagined.
Adytol is massive. The first thing that catches my attention is the gleaming bright white stone of a palace that looks like it was built from the mountain itself. The peaks of its towers rise to a great height, as though challenging the mountain, and its archways and balconies only emphasize its massive scale. With my vision improved from the bond, I can make out people walking along the outer halls of the archways from time to time. At the top of the palace waves a flag bearing the Wards’ coat of arms: a rampant blue dragon on a white shield background that transitions to dark purple and then dark blue at the top. Inside the dark blue field at the top is nestled a white star.
A waterfall near the palace cascades down the mountainside, glistening in the bright sunlight. It pours out into a beautiful clear blue lake below. An iron statue of a dragon and a man are built into the middle of the lake, and white, blue, and purple flowers bloom all around the statue. A stone border lines the lake’s edge, and it is here, around the lake, that the remainder of Adytol resides. I see homes, shops, stables, and all manner of buildings whose purpose I recognize, and others I do not. High grass pastures holding livestock are tucked in corners along the mountainside.
And people. So, so many people, walking along cobblestone roads, more people than I’ve ever seen in my life. A labyrinth of streets connects groups of buildings and winding down along the mountain, where I see even more buildings and people. The noise from their chattering, the creaking wood of carts being pulled along, the squawk of chickens, the laughing of children, overwhelms my senses for a moment. I’m glad that the balcony I stand on is a little higher than much of the city, because I have a feeling the smell alone would have taken me out. But from where I am, all I can smell is the fresh scent of wildflowers and water from the waterfall on the back of a chilly breeze, no doubt cresting over the snow on the mountain.
And then there are the dragons. Not just Undabouclier and Vitegadium, who I spot resting on balconies at the palace, but two others, one sunning itself near Undabouclier and Vitegadium, while the fourth is high above, circling around slowly. This many dragons is an amazing sight to see.
Yet my favorite sight of all is the iridescent white dragon, curled up on the very balcony I’ve stepped out on, looking up at the palace. Astralux turns her face toward us, and her dark blue eyes widen as she spots me. “Estelle?!”
Tears fill my eyes and I hold out my arms as Astralux rushes for me. She doesn’t just nudge me, but wraps one paw around me, pulling me close to her face, and rubs the side of her head against me. I hug her as best as I can, getting my arms just around her muzzle.
“I’m so, so glad to see you!” Astralux says. “I’ve been worried!” Water splashes on my head, and I look up to see large, pearly tears dripping down the side of Astralux’s face and falling on me. “Oh, Estelle.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” I say. I kiss Astralux’s moist cheek, where her mouth ends and just below her right eye. “Everything’s alright now.”
“I could never forgive myself if something happened to you.” Sniffling something terrible, Astralux buries her face against me, hiding her eyes. “I told you to run. But you didn’t.”
“I’m not going to abandon you, Astralux,” I say. “Ever.”
Ward Veremund comes around Astralux’s side and strokes her along her neck. “Easy, Astralux, easy. It’s okay. Everything’s alright.”
Astralux shudders but then calms in her sobbing. She sighs and leans against me for a little longer, and then lifts her head and tries to subtly wipe her tears away with her front legs. I reach up and rub her cheeks with the sleeves of my shirt.
“How do you feel?” I ask.
“Seeing you, significantly better,” Astralux says. A small smile forms on her face. “I don’t suppose you mean about my wounds, though.”
I smirk. “I actually don’t feel any pain from you, but after days of you being in pain, I thought maybe the bond was messed up or something.”
Astralux, Ward Veremund, and Ward Mortimer all laugh. “That definitely sounds like Astralux’s bonded human to me,” Ward Mortimer says. “Tristin said something like that once before.”
“I do have a habit of getting hurt, don’t I?” Astralux says, her tone dismayed.
Ward Veremund, still smiling, patted her on her side. “Your father can be the same way.”
Surprised, as I hadn’t even thought to ask Astralux about her family, I’m interrupted by Ward Mortimer giving me another side hug. “I’ve got things to do, and I’m sure you want to rest some more, Estelle. But it’s good to see you awake.”
“Thank you, Ward Mortimer.” I give him a hug back. Even without his armor, I can’t get my one arm around his side. “I’m glad to see everyone’s up and about.”
“We’ll talk more later.” Ward Mortimer gives me a warm smile and then walks back into the building, whistling cheerfully.
“Speaking of talking,” Ward Veremund says, “Astralux told me she wanted me to explain a few things to you.” The leader of the Wards watches my face, although I don’t know what he’s looking for. “What it means to be bonded, what the Wards are, our enmity with the Vladykars, and so forth. You’re from Amenyl, she said.”
“Yes,” I say.
Ward Veremund holds out his arm. “You look a little shaky on your legs. Let’s get you comfortable, and then I’ll tell you what I can.”
I glance from Ward Veremund to Astralux. Then I look back to the Ward. “Can I stay out here with Astralux?”
A smile forms on Ward Veremund’s face. “Of course. I’ll ask one of the nurses to help me move your cot out here.”
“Thank you.” Relieved, I sit against Astralux’s front legs while Ward Veremund goes back inside. I still don’t know what the future holds, but for the first time since Vladykar Lochan and Pesokvglazu showed up in Inizion, I feel a small semblance of peace.
And for that, I thank Ariadna.
Tamara Rivers 
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