POV: Fendrel
Fendrel stared across the bay at the island Frederick had mentioned living on with Mar. The sun was crawling up in the sky.
I guess I was so focused on getting here that I blocked it from my mind, but now I do remember passing by it.
A branch snapped behind him. He looked back but saw nothing, then moved his hand to his bag.
Something tapped his shoulder. Fendrel whipped around with a knife in his hand, stopping at the approacher's throat.
With a squeak, Cassius flinched away.
Fendrel felt his shoulders relax. He took the knife away from the ex-prince. "Sorry."
Cassius rubbed his neck. "How did you grab it so fast? Are there knife pockets in your bag?"
"Uh, no." Fendrel returned the knife to his bag. "It's enchanted so whatever I want will appear in my hand if I reach in, but only if I've placed it in my bag."
"Can I see?" Cassius stepped toward Fendrel.
Fendrel instinctively shielded his bag with his hand. "You can't see anything if you look in. It just looks like a dark, empty pit."
"Mhm." Cassius nodded and folded his hands behind his back.
"Did you need something?" Fendrel gave Cassius a quizzical look.
"...Yes." Cassius pointed at the bag. "Do you have a spear in there?"
Fendrel nodded. "Yeah, but you'll have to ask Charles to use it. It's his spear. Wait, why do you even want a spear?"
"I want to train." Cassius stepped forward and opened his palms before Fendrel. "Zoricus has always bested me in everything, even in things I thought I was good at. What if we run into him again? He's already tried to kill both of us. I have no training! And then Sadie would be..."
Alone?
"Zoricus is probably dead." Fendrel shrugged.
Hope seemed to flash in Cassius' eyes.
"Sadon must have gotten rid of him in a sudden rage." Fendrel returned his eyes to the sea.
"What does he have to be angry about?" Cassius scoffed. "He got the kingdom. Zoricus is under his thumb. His enemies are far away from him."
Fendrel shook his head. "Sadon wants the dragons gone, and most of them are with us, and I'm still alive."
Cassius swallowed. "Well, I still want to train. I would just feel safer if I had a weapon and knew how to use it. If Charles lets me use his spear, will you teach me?"
With a cough, Fendrel tried not to laugh. "Just because I almost graduated at the top of my class doesn't mean I'm proficient in every style of fighting. I'm good with knives and my surroundings. That's pretty much it."
"So Charles will have to teach me." Cassius sighed.
Fendrel raised an eyebrow. "Are you afraid of him?"
"I..."
"He has abandoned the dragon hunters, wants to live a peaceful life, and is raising a dragon hatchling, and you're still afraid of him?" Fendrel couldn't help but smile.
"Wait, I thought he was just taking care of Viper temporarily." Cassius glanced back to where their camp was.
Fendrel shook his head. "He might be claiming that, but I can tell he wants to keep her. He used to have a daughter, maybe she reminds him of her."
