Chapter Thirty-One, Part I

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While the riders embarked on their separate journeys to install the dormant dragon eggs in protected spots throughout Arethia, Derol worked with Amina on his plans to bring Astrid's family, and many more, to Yennar Lei. They sat in the cove around a small fire in the hearth that night and talked about their plan, which they could act on once the last egg was safely hidden.

"And you're sure the Onami will be willing to take in so many?" Derol asked for what must have been the hundredth time. He worried that any Arethians who escaped the hostile Karume would find themselves unwelcome in the Onami's camp as well.

Amina smiled her warm, comforting smile and placed a hand on Derol's arm.

"Please," she said, "you mustn't worry about that so much. Anyone fleeing poor conditions for a better life is always welcome among the Onami."

"But what if so many come that there isn't room or food enough for them all to live there?"

Amina smiled again. "I wish I had such optimism about how many we might be able to save," she said. Her eyes were locked to the fire and she sighed a little. "But this door will make things easier. I wish I had known of one when I was helping Senemi to leave Areth."

Derol joined her in another sigh as he thought back to his flight from Areth as the Karume locked down their grip on the city. He wondered if trading caravans, of the Onami or of others, were still allowed to cross the borders. He doubted the Karume allowed it, at least not without tight control and thorough inspections.

They sat quietly for awhile, staring into the fire and sipping their mugs of Onami tea, which Derol had become quite fond of. Its flavor seemed linked to security and safety, the cozy time around the fire at night when camp had been set and travelers could rest after a long day on the move. It tasted like a pause, a chance to breathe. The fire crackled and spit embers onto the dusty stone floor before them. Derol stamped one out with the toe of his boot.

"I do miss my shop sometimes," Amina said eventually. She had picked up her knitting and her hands flickered, making the needles dance in and out of the fabric that grew between them. "There was a reason I went Senemi and settled down in the city."

Derol chuckled. "And here I was just thinking about how I'd learned to like being on the road."

"We all have a bit of the traveler and the settler in us, I think," Amina said. "Some of us lean more to one way of life than the other, and some of us can get used to anything." She lifted her knitting and peered at it, then seemed to pick back with her needles, scrutinizing the stitches. "I grew up the traveler, but it's good to have a home. I miss the one I made for myself." The mistake fixed, the needles began to fly in her fingers again.

For awhile, Derol just watched her hands in the firelight, his mind racing over all of the things yet to be done before they could smuggle people out of Enval.

First they had to talk to the families, let them decide and plan. Then, they would have to get those who chose to come out of the town unnoticed. And they couldn't take a lot of people at once. It had to be a trickle, so the Karume wouldn't suspect.

One thing Derol knew for certain: Astrid's family had to be first. He had promised the girl all along that they would return to help her family. As well as she seemed to be taking all of the waiting, he knew she was anxious to see her mother again. With any luck, tomorrow night they would bring her family through the door to the Onami camp in Yennar Lei.

The firelight began to die and Amina folded her knitting in her lap. Derol blinked and straightened, coming out of his trance.

Amina settled herself on her blankets to one side of the small space inside the cove, and Derol lay down on his won bed, softened by a pile of leaves and pine needles, next to where Astrid already slept, curled up next to the small dragon, Gypsy. Like the other dragons, she had been made to stay behind while the riders hid the eggs. Both Astrid and Gypsy had been convinced to stay hidden in the cove on the grounds that they would be caring for the other.

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