Fate of Dragons

Chapter Four - Part II

"Tesa!"

Tesa scanned the dining hall to see who called her name. The voice did not belong to Eriya or Fenn. She'd just entered the hall, deep in thought about the events of the previous night. She'd related what she'd heard to Eriya and Fenn, and they had said they wanted to get help.

"They had swords," Fenn had said.

"We can't do this ourselves," said Eriya. "We were lucky to get away last time."

Only Glenna didn't say anything. She seemed thoughtful, listening to Tesa relate what she'd heard. Of all of them, it had been her Tesa had been most reluctant to share with, but now it was Fenn and Eriya who wanted to ruin it.

Tesa had been scowling as she recalled the conversation, and the scowl remained as she looked up and saw Neela approaching. Neela was another mage rider, but she had been stationed at the outpost in Galeth, where Tesa had met her on her way to Areth. Tesa's scowl turned to a gape.

"Who pushed you out of bed?" Neela said, clapping Tesa on the back, an easy smile on her face despite all the time it'd been since they'd last seen each other.

It felt like years had passed since she'd met Neela, stumbled on Karume mages in the woods while searching for herbs, and snuck into the stables to pry stones out of rock dragons' chests. Neela had almost been her master mage, if Tesa had stayed in Galeth as her apprentice.

"That's better," Neela said when Tesa smiled.

"It must have been you and Aerix who arrived yesterday," Tesa said, recalling the green dragon that she and Fenn had seen from the lookout tower.

"Yes indeed. Me and Malía."

Malía was the top commander of the dragon riders. She'd been at the mage ball, but her red dragon, Gira, had been one of the ones who'd escaped the kidnapping by the Karume.

"She's in meetings already," Neela said when she saw Tesa looking around the hall.

Maybe that meant that the official search for the dragons would begin soon. Well, it would anyway, because Tesa had found them. Maybe Eriya and Fenn were right. Tesa bit her lip. If they were wrong, going to any of the other riders for help might end with this door under guard and closed off to them, too.

"So," Neela said as they walked toward the serving line for breakfast. "Was your dragon one of the ones...?" She trailed off, letting the question hang in the air.

"Orrie? No, we were one of the lucky ones."

The dragon's voice—if that's what she'd heard—from last night came back to her, the feelings of fear and anger, but worse, the feelings of hope. And Tesa had left. She had to get back there.

She and Neela sat down and were quiet for awhile as they ate. Tesa kept scanning the hall for Eriya or Fenn, but she didn't see them. Maybe they'd slept later after last night. Tesa, on the other hand, hadn't slept well at all, and had come to breakfast simply so she wouldn't have to try to fall back asleep anymore.

"No hatchings yet, huh?" Neela said.

Of course. Eriya was in the hatching caves. "No."

"I never expected to be called back for something like this," Neela said, shaking her head. "What would Arethia be like without dragons?" She tore off a bite of bread and chewed thoughtfully while staring at the almost empty shelves and perches across the great hall.

"That's not going to happen," Tesa said. "We're going to find the dragons."

"That's the spirit," Neela said.

Tesa glanced around the hall to be sure nobody was close enough to hear them. She could tell Neela about the caves and the door. Neela had helped her sneak past the stablemaster in Galeth to retrieve spellstones from the necks of rock dragons, and then she'd helped break the rock dragons free. Maybe Neela could help them. Perhaps that would satisfy Fenn and Eriya.

As she glanced around the hall, she noticed a group of people coming down the stairs that led from the upper level, where the meeting rooms were. Among the group were Kiana, Orema, Savana, Renna, and Malía. But it was the two people at the front of the group who gave Tesa a start—Fenn and Eriya. Their eyes met hers, Eriya's wide and Fenn's blank.

No. They hadn't.

But they had. At the bottom of the stairs, Savana pointed toward Tesa and Neela, and the whole group converged on their table. Neela's face brightened.

"Well this is a nice surprise," she said. "Have a seat. The egg muffins are delicious, Malía."

"I've already eaten," she said. She looked to Tesa. "Tesa, please get up and come with us. You know why, and we won't speak of it here."

Tesa flashed her eyes at Fenn and Eriya as she stood. Eriya looked distressed, and Fenn simply averted his gaze.

"What's going on?" Neela looked first to Malía, then to Tesa.

"You may as well follow," Malía said. "You're going to be her watcher on our patrol."

Fenn moved to the head of the group and led them down the mountain path toward the neighborhood where Tesa had entered the caves the night before. At least he wasn't showing them the path through the dragon dwell. But maybe he would. Or already had. After they entered the caves, he pulled a map out of his pocket and consulted that.

They reached the door and Tesa was glad that she'd decided not to bring her satchel with her to breakfast. The stones lay hidden inside it. But it lay in plain sight in her quarters. Would Fenn and Eriya have told them about those, too?

"It's right here," Fenn said, and pointed to the symbol on the rock wall.

Malía looked at it, then looked to Renna. Tesa watched as Renna entered magesight, the telltale faraway look entering his eyes. After only a few moments, he shifted out of magesight and nodded decisively at Malía.

Briefly, Tesa's spirits rose as Malía directed Savana and Orema to stand guard by the door, then looked to Renna. Maybe she was going to tell him to open it for them, and they could all go in after the dragons. Eriya and Fenn had been right, then. The riders would help.

But then Malía spoke.

"You'll go inform the mage guard while they stand guard," she said to Renna. "We'll return to the great hall to discuss travel plans." Then she looked directly at Tesa. "You'll follow me." To everyone, she said, "Get your things ready and meet in the great hall an hour before dinner for your patrol assignments. All riders leave in the morning for Yennar Lei."