Fate of Dragons

Chapter Thirty-Three, Part II

The door shimmered closed behind Derol and the rest, and Tesa leaned against Orrie. Silence hung in the cave for a moment. The dragons and riders seemed to take a collective pause before they moved on to the next task.

Tesa watched the cave wall where the door had been for a moment longer. She was happy that Astrid and her family had made it to safety—and Derol and Amina, too—but it hardly seemed real that she would never see them again. Though they would use the doors to continue sneaking people out of Arethia, Tesa and orrie had to far away, somewhere without bound magic.

Finding that place would be the dragon riders' next task. Voices broke the silence as the riders and dragons began to turn away from the now closed door.

Dragons thrilled a voice, not Orrie's, through Tesa's senses. It was Gira. Malía was sending orders through him, addressing all of the dragons. Tesa exchanged a glance with Orrie at being included in Gira's address.

Dragons, we shall now leave this cave and return to the first door, through which we entered these woods from the island off the coast of Yennar Lei. We'll go in small groups or pairs, and keep to the trees and out of sight. The Karume mages will likely be out searching for those who escaped.

Images of the forest, dragons ensconced in high branches, and at the end, Astrid and her family, accompanied his words.

A hum of assent rippled from the thoughts of the rest of the dragons, and then nods from the dragon riders as their dragons relayed the words to them.

I wonder who goes first? Tesa said to Orrie. Just as she said it, she saw Neela weaving through the crowd toward her.

"Mages go first, my dear student," Neela said with a smile. She seemed to have a bounce in her step. She hefted a sagging brown pouch in one hand. "Emric taught me how to make some spells that'll help us hold back the Yennar Lei mages on the island."

Tesa grinned back at her. Neela didn't seem to have any of the reservations that Renna did about learning bound magic. Tesa had to agree that using both could be useful, as long as neither method was abused in the ways that their detractors feared.

She glanced over to a well-lit corner of the cave where two figures sat, the only ones not bustling about and preparing for the trip. Berick and Linnie, their two captive Karume. As usual, Berick scowled at the floor, only occasionally glancing out at the room around him. Linnie looked despondent. Her gaze roamed over the cave with a yearning and sadness.

Tesa felt a little bit sorry for Linnie, since she seemed to regret what she'd done. Nevertheless, Linnie had been part of the scheme that had destroyed the dragon riders, the dragons, and Arethia as they'd known it, so maybe Linnie deserved to feel some regret and despondence. Tesa turned away.

"They'll get what they deserve," Neela said, having noticed Tesa's glance. "I've heard a lot about the Yennar Lei courts by now, and Emric assures me that they're meticulous about assigning just rewards."

"Too bad we can't turn all of the Karume over to the mages of Yennar Lei," Tesa muttered.

Neela's eyes softened and she put a hand on Tesa's arm. "We've done what we could," she said. "Now we have to care for ourselves."

Tesa closed her eyes and nodded slowly. She again felt overwhelmed, almost frozen, by the step they were about to take. It had been easier to leave her home the first time, when she'd planned to return. Now she had to leave it behind for good.

Orrie head butted her out of her paralysis, and Tesa smiled and took a deep breath.

"Right. Take care of ourselves," she said.