“That looks like a good stopping place,” Thorn says loudly over the wind noise.
Astralux and I follow where he points to a small group of trees collected around a stream we’re loosely following south. “Agreed,” Astralux says.
Vitegadium, just ahead and to our right, dips his gold-tipped emerald green wings and banks toward the trees. Astralux waits a moment before following, arching more left to give plenty of room. Her wings beat heavily as we near the grassy ground. I wonder how she’s going to land with the rolling hills, but Astralux coasts until at last she drops at the base of a hill, using gravity to slow herself as she pads up the hill a few bounding steps.
“You’re a pro at this,” I say.
Astralux, panting heavily, laughs once. “What, landing? I should hope so! Falling when I land would be like you tripping on your own feet after you jump.”
Grinning, I dismount and drop to the ground and stretch, my legs stiff from riding all day. I rub Astralux’s side and then start untying the things we’ll need to set up camp. The sky is still cloudless, the setting sun casting a warm yellow and orange glow over the countryside. I bring the satchels under the cover of the trees. Once I untie Astralux’s saddle, my bonded dragon gives a shake like a dog and then pads over to the stream, Vitegadium already lapping up gulps of water with his long, thin, forked tongue.
Thorn, much faster at unloading Vitegadium, is already gathering dead sticks and setting palm-sized smooth stones from the streambed around the sticks. “Pot’s in that bag.” He points at a satchel set against a tree nearby. I pull out the pot and head to the stream, filling it up, before bringing it back to set beside Thorn. He nods once at me and fishes in his pockets for his flint and stone. Pursing my lips, I glance around and reach out with my right hand, willing the burning energy inside me to my palm. A flame sparks so strong it bursts over the sticks, lighting them all on fire, and I jump back in surprise.
Thorn’s green eyes widen. “Has your magic gotten stronger?”
“I think so.” I rub my hands, unnerved by how easy it was to summon. “Magic used to be more difficult for me. It still takes energy, but it doesn’t take as much energy now.”
“That’s good,” Thorn says. Dropping some pre-cut celery, carrots, and radishes into the pot, Thorn sets the pot onto the edge of the fire. He catches sight of my pursed lips and smiles a little. “You still don’t believe Ariadna can use your magic for good.”
I sit down on a log nearby, blinking in surprise. “I never thought about it that way.”
“Veremund told me once that Ariadna can use anything in her good will,” Thorn says. “I don’t see why that stops short with your magic.”
I sigh. “Thanks, Thorn. It’s hard to talk about my magic because everyone said it’s evil. Everyone in Amenyl, I mean.” I begin fixing my mess of a braid, the wind having pulled loose many strands. “I’ve spent most of my life trying to pretend it doesn’t even exist.”
“Which is ridiculous! You didn’t steal it,” Thorn says. “It’s a gift from Ariadna.”
Feeling some relief, I give Thorn a smile and glance over at Astralux and Vitegadium, who have chased down deer off in the distance. Noticing a gleam of red light, I look down to see the ruby pendant from Amon is reflecting the fire’s glow. I toy with the gem, admiring it, my heart fluttering.
“It’s good to see that Amon’s finally fallen in love,” Thorn says.
My cheeks heat up and I drop my hands, looking up at Thorn. “Why do you say that?”
Thorn shrugs. “People call me a loner, but Amon’s more so. He’s a very private person. He had just started to warm up to Dolores when she and Schleifen were killed by the Vladykars.” Thorn sighs. “At any rate, I’m glad Amon’s finally getting out of his shell.”
Astralux, having dragged two deer back to our camp, drops them a meter from the fireplace. “That’s because a smoking hot blue-eyed girl showed up in Adytol.”
“Astralux!” I hiss. “Stop it!” Astralux grins as Thorn and Vitegadium, who also brought two deer, chuckles.
Thorn cuts a small bit from the deer the dragons brought and drop this into the pot. Astralux and Vitegadium shake the rest of the deer to try and clear the intestines out before eating, tearing the meat with their sharp teeth with ease.
After our soup boils for a bit, Thorn dishes out the pot’s contents with a wooden ladle into two wooden bowls, handing me one with a spoon before serving himself. “Thanks.” I take a sip of the hot broth before scooping out some vegetables.
“Look.” Thorn nods his head and I follow his gaze to the northeast. And I stare.
A small green light flickers from the other side of the tree. It disappears briefly, then reappears. My keen eyesight picks out a tiny humanoid form midst the light.
“Is that a fairy?” I ask in astonishment. I’ve heard of fairies, and sometimes we could see their lights from Inizion, but I’ve never seen one up close like this.
“Yes.” Thorn watches it before going back to his soup. “It’s probably a scout, if it’s by itself. We’ll likely see more here soon.”
“Are fairies nice?” I ask.
Thorn shrugs. “Nice enough. They’re not the most intelligent, but they understand enough to figure out intentions.”
“They are fun to play with, if they want to play,” Vitegadium says excitedly.
Astralux gives a snort, gnawing a bone clean. “They are annoying when they’re in a playful mood.”
“They can get a bit mischievous,” Thorn explains when I frown. “They might try and tug at your hair, carry off with small items, and so forth. They’re particularly fond of shiny things. You’d better hide that necklace.”
I quickly tuck my pendant back under my tunic, still amazed by the green fairy. I can’t tell if its skin is also green or if it’s just the color of the glow, but I do start to make out opaque, butterfly-shaped wings that I can barely hear flutter. Then I hear a clear and gentle ringing sound, like someone lightly tapped metal silverware to a crystal glass.
“That’s the ‘all clear’ chime,” Thorn murmurs. “Here they come.”
Vitegadium’s tail pats on the ground. “I can’t wait!”
Sure enough, my ears pick up fluttering, and more tiny lights appear in a wide array of colors: blue, purple, pink, yellow, another green, red, orange, another blue. Then so many. I blink in surprise when I realize there must be at least two dozen fairies all around the edges of the trees, watching us.
“They’re so beautiful,” I whisper. I’m afraid to startle them.
“Yeah. Pretty little mischief-makers.” Astralux bares her teeth at the lights and there are tiny little gasps as the fairies scatter back.
“Stop it,” I say. “Let them alone. They aren’t bothering you.”
“Yet,” Astralux mutters.
One of the blue-glowing fairies flutters to a bush near me. I sit still, staring as I make out a tiny human-looking being clothed in leaves that have been sewn together. It has long pointed ears and an angled chin and angled, solid, dark blue eyes. Its dark-blue hair is standing straight up, accentuating its long thin limbs. It tilts its head to one side, staring up at me.
“Hello,” I say.
The fairy opens its mouth and emits a tiny chiming sound. Then it flutters up from the bush so that it’s eye-level with me. I hold out my hand, my fingers flat and my palm up. The fairy flutters down to my palm rather quickly, and I hold my breath as its tiny glittering feet land on my hand.
“Huh,” Thorn says. “Not like them to be quite that friendly. Usually you have to do something to earn their trust.”
“Like what?” I ask.
“Feed them. Leave them something shiny. Stuff like that.”
“You should flick it off,” Astralux says. “It might bite.”
“Do they bite?” I ask.
“They can if they feel threatened.” Thorn casts a look at Astralux, whose hackles are raised. “Relax. You’re going to make them nervous.”
Grumbling, Astralux shifts her paws and lays her head down, still glaring at the lights. “I don’t like fairies.”
I smile. “These fairies seem nice.”
“Yeah. For now.”
The other fairies seem to take courage from the blue one in my hand and begin flitting closer. They clearly take a liking to Vitegadium, whose tail is still tapping on the mossy ground, and they land on his back.
“Look, Thorn, look!” Vitegadium wriggles and the fairies fly up before landing again. “They like me!”
Thorn smiles a little, crossing his arms as the green scout fairy lands at his feet. He doesn’t say anything, just observing it, and the fairy observing him.
The blue one in my hand makes another chiming noise and then flies around out of my sight. I start to turn and then stop when I feel a tiny tug on my hair.
Astralux growls. “It’s going to pull your hair!”
“Sh, it’s fine,” I say. I do feel a little anxious as more fairies fly over, but relax as they unravel my braid, making a mix of bell-like and chirping noises. There’s another tug on my hair and I glance at Thorn, who’s watching with interest. “What are they doing?”
“They’re re-braiding your hair,” Thorn says. “But it’s in a very complicated weave compared to the simple braid you had it in.”
“Aw! They’re being so nice!” I can’t help but laugh when Astralux growls at a blue-glowing fairy that gets close to her. “Easy, Astralux. It’s okay.”
Astralux finally stops growling, but she huffs as the blue fairy touches her side. More fairies appear, and Astralux eyes them. I can tell she wants to snap at them but is holding herself back. Perhaps just for my sake. Then one fairy lands on her head, its tiny hands rubbing over her scales. The other fairies join it, and I see Astralux blink in surprise. Her eyelids grow heavy. And then the very tip of her spined tail begins to tap.
“I see that!” I say.
Astralux’s tail stops wagging. “Yeah, well.” Her tail starts tapping on the ground again as the fairies keep giving her a scratch. “It feels good. I guess these fairies aren’t so bad.”
I share a grin with Thorn. Vitegadium’s wriggling on the ground, and I get the impression he wants to play a game with them.
Thorn suddenly straightens, his eyes snapping to attention to the southeast. At the same time, the green fairy in front of him gives a warning chime-like cry, and all the fairies scatter into the underbrush around us.
“Thorn?” I say worriedly.
“Dragon!” Thorn hisses. He jumps to his feet and stomps out the fire. “Hide! Vite, thicken the undergrowth a little.”
Vitegadium breathes, vines growing all around us. I toss our packs, bedrolls, and saddles into the thicker part of the bush and see a couple of fairies fly off with cries. “Sorry,” I whisper. Thorn grabs my arm and pulls me under a tree, while Astralux and Vitegadium crouch down and hide under thick leaves.
Sure enough, I spot the dragon. I lean back so that I’m not within sight. Thorn and I share a glance as we hear the heavy beat of its wings. My heart is pounding so hard I wonder if Thorn will notice.
At last, the rushing wind sound lessens, and Thorn leans out, peering up. Vitegadium already has stood up against a tree, trying to poke his head through the tree leaves, but Astralux gently grabs his tail and pulls him back down.
“I want to see where he’s at,” Vitegadium whispers, his rumbling voice easily audible from where I am.
“You’re too big,” Astralux says. “Let Thorn do it.”
Thorn’s already climbing up the tree we’re next to, pulling himself up with the branches and looking out. “All clear,” he says quietly. “But I can see the Vladykar coat of arms on the person’s shield. Let’s keep the fire out for the rest of the night.”
I slide down the tree. I’d forgotten how much the Vladykars frightened me, to be honest. But now the memories of the Vladykars return to my mind’s eye in full force.
Thorn sets out our bedrolls again. “We should try and get some sleep now.” He spots me and pauses. “Estelle?”
“Sorry, bad memories.” I shiver, rubbing my arms at the chill that runs through me. “I forgot about the Vladykars while we were in Adytol.”
Thorn puts a hand on my shoulder. “I will do everything I can to keep you safe.”
Astralux pads over and nudges my arm. “Don’t worry. We’re here.”
Sighing in relief, I wrap my arm around my dragon’s neck, giving her a squeeze and rubbing her forehead. “Thanks.”
“The fairies are coming back out!” Vitegadium wriggles in excitement as the lights slowly reappear. “Maybe we can play for a little bit before we go to bed.”
Thorn gives a snort. “If I had half of your energy, Vite, I’d never need sleep.”
Smiling a little, I lay on my bedroll, watching as the fairies flit around our camp once again, slowly relaxing once more. Astralux lays beside me, and I turn over, pressing my face against her side, grateful to Ariadna for my friends.
Tamara Rivers 
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