Chapter Twenty-Three, Part I

                                    

                                              
As soon as the boats pulled up to the docks within the temple, robed mages began unloading the cargo, including the bags of wool with the eggs hidden inside. The crew on the boats made no attempt to help them. Derol stood with the other Arethians in a group to the side, across the deck from the inactive crew. He looked to Captain Askel to gauge his reaction, but saw a neutral expression.
                          
"Where are they taking them?" asked Astrid, who stood in front of Derol, holding his hand and leaning back into his legs.
                          
"Everything that enters the temple must be inspected by their mages," said Eriya, crouching down beside Astrid. "That's what they told me, anyway." Gypsy wormed her way in under Eriya's arm and rubbed her read on Eriya and Astrid. Astrid giggled.

                          
Though Amina was silent beside him, Derol could sense that she was tense. Her gaze was stony as  she watched the bags with the eggs carried off by the mages of Yennar Lei. They looked like a row of ants filing into their burrow.
                          
From the docks in the temple grounds, the canal continued to flow until it reached the beach, and then the sea beyond. Movement caught Derol's eye in that direction, and he saw their three dragon companions land on the bright sand. Behind them, the ocean glittered with the reflection of the lights from the temple in the darkening sky.
                          
Another dragon glided down toward the dragons on the beach and landed neatly with a few flaps. Though it was dark and the dragons almost looked like silhouettes against the white sand, Derol thought the dragon looked lighter colored than the rest. His heart leapt, for he remembered that Tesa's dragon had been described as pearly white. He squinted as a figure dismounted from the dragon, but from this distance he couldn't tell who it might be.
                          
"It's Tesa," Eriya said matter of factly, and the group of Arethians around him stirred. The figure approached from the dark beach and entered the glowing lights surrounding the temple's docks. Derol couldn't help but smile at the sight of his friend.
                          
Tesa looked different than the girl who had left Enval so many months ago. She smiled wide at the sight of her friends, but her eyes looked tired. Derol saw no trace of the youthful, carefree farm girl. Her face was smudged with dirt and her hair escaped in wisps from the tie that gathered it back behind her head. Aside from the weariness and sadness that he saw, he also saw a maturity that she hadn't had before. She carried herself with weight and responsibility. 
                          
The group of Arethians on the deck burst into a flurry of movement as soon as Tesa appeared among them. Eriya and Savanna rushed forward to envelop her in hugs, while Orema and Amina stayed back, smiling and waiting their turn to greet her. Fenn hung back, too, but he watched Tesa warily. Derol remembered that they hadn't parted on the best of terms, but he knew they'd been writing in their letter to each other, so he hadn't realized that the terms of their meeting would still be so uncertain. Despite the worry Fenn obviously had, Tesa embraced him just as enthusiastically as she'd embraced the others, and Fenn's expression collapsed into one of relief.
                          
Seeing Tesa among her friends, and looking so changed—so grown up—Derol suddenly began to feel awkward, as if he didn't know her, even though he'd known her all her life. He shifted back and forth on his feet. But then she turned to him and her face lit up.
                          
"And you're here too!" she said, and rushed to him with arms open. "Fenn told me, but it was so hard to imagine..." She trailed of.
                          
"Hard to imagine me away from my farm? Only by necessity."
                          
Her smile faded and she sighed. "I wish it hadn't been necessary."
                          
Derol slumped. He hadn't meant to ruin the joy of the reunion.
                          
"You brought the eggs?" Tesa said quietly to the riders.
                          
"They've been brought into the temple," Orema said.