Dragon War (Dragon Tamers of Pyralis Book 3)
Dragon War: Chapter 12

A knock on my door just after sunrise set me on edge.

I had managed to fall asleep after all that we had discovered last night—something I chalked up to the fact that I was still tired from our last mission. But a pervading sense of guilt filled me as I came to.

Had I dropped my guard?

I was still dressed in the same clothes.

Ignimitra?

No answer.

I bit back a curse. One of these days her sleeping would cost me my life. Was that day today? Staying low to the floor, I crab-walked to my sword lying in a pile by my armor. When I had a good grip on it, I shuffled to the window that looked out to the front yard.

Vulknor had seen me leaving the Administrative Quarter. If Commander Gavrok realized that something was amiss, Vulknor’s eye witness testimony was enough to have me brought in for questioning.

I would die before I allowed them to do that.

After a deep breath, I chanced a look outside.

The group of soldiers I expected to see weren’t there.

On my front stoop stood a boy.

He looked two or three years younger than me, dressed in a Dragon Guard uniform that clearly wasn’t his own. Since our numbers had been thinned significantly since the attack, youngsters had been drafted into service.

They didn’t see any military action, and mostly hadn’t the administrative side of things—paperwork, fetching supplies for the infirmary, and of course summoning soldiers to briefings.

If they thought I had done something wrong, they wouldn’t have sent this shrimp to accost me. I could give him my sword and still beat him in a fight.

Satisfied that my suspicions were wrong, I quickly changed into something more formal and opened the door.

“Captain Kressin!” He saluted me. I grimaced.

Suddenly, it dawned on me that if this young man wasn’t here to accost me, he was here to summon me. The thought of going back out into the field made me want to dry heave.

“Spit it out,” I said.

He seemed spurred on by curtness. “You’re being summoned for a briefing by Commander Gavrok. In his quarters.”

I dismissed him, and watched as he scampered off in the direction of Solra. Mention of Commander Gavrok had me running into the bathroom to puke. He had known that our mission was to kill innocents.

And he sent us. The icing on the cake was that his log revealed that he had a secondary meeting with Vulknor detailing the awful plan.

It was all too much to process.

From the pages I had lifted, there was no end to this systematic destruction in sight. And as long as I fought for Pyralis, I was complicit in their genocide. It was a heavy load to bear—and now that I knew, it wasn’t a matter of if I would carry it.

It was a matter of when I would stop.

I took two steps out of the house when I realized that I hadn’t done anything about my hair. Despite the urgency in the steward’s message, I doubled back. I captured my afro in a few two-strand twists.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the shard of a mirror leaned against a corner of the house. There were bags under my eyes and my skin had an ashy look to it—probably from all that darn dried meat—but I looked presentable enough.

My heartbeat was loud in my ears as I walked to the Administrative Quarter. In the back of my mind, I played with Ignimitra’s idea of escape, allowing myself to think about it for just a second.

Just enough to make me feel better.

COMMANDER GAVROK REGARDED me with curious eyes when I entered the building. Averting his gaze, I slipped into the nearest available seat. Irikai and Solra were already here, as were Vulknor and his team.

I sunk my fingernails into my wrist, using the pain to distract myself from the rush of heat flushing my body. I didn’t know who I hated more in the room—Gavrok or Vulknor. He wore that same smirk as this morning, as if he and I were privy to some secret that no-one else new.

I hated that he had something on me. Sure, he didn’t know how significant it was. But Vulknor was the enemy, and the less he knew the better.

The rebuke from Commander Gavrok for my late appearance never came. Instead, he turned his attention to the papers in front of him. I spied the book I had perused just a few hours earlier on his desk.

My breath caught. Had he realized that there was something amiss?

I leaned over and whispered to Irikai.

“Did he say what this is about?”

He shook his head. “I thought we were waiting for you, but.” Then he shrugged his shoulders. If Irikai was worried about this meeting, it didn’t show.

Sometimes I wish I had his calmness.

Our whispers caught the attention of Vulknor who was sitting in the next row. He met my gaze with that unnerving smile of his. I looked away quickly, not trusting myself to keep calm. He was definitely sick in the head, and clearly enjoyed toying with my emotions. I felt all the anger from the beach and our confrontation this morning coming back to me.

The seconds turned into minutes.

What was the point of this briefing if he was going to have us sit in silence? Did he want us to speak first? My breath hitched when I considered that he already discovered that we had lifted information from his mission log. Vulknor could’ve already volunteered my whereabouts from last night.

Commander Gavrok could’ve been plotting our deaths for all I knew. It wasn’t hard to guess who I would be in cahoots with if they had already put me at the scene of the crime. Had anyone else seen us?

No, that couldn’t be it.

I took a deep breath, willing my mind to stop spiraling. That wasn’t how treason was handled in the Guard. Vulknor couldn’t prove that I had done anything—my head covering that could have gave me away was long gone with the tide.

But if that wasn’t the case, what were we doing here?

My question was answered with the door to the building creaked open.

In walked Jules, then Cuinn. Avek appeared in the doorway last, and the sight of him filled my chest with so much lightness it felt like I would’ve floated away. In an instant, my worries burned away.

The three of them saluted Commander Gavrok, who pointed them to the three remaining seats in the room. The empty one beside me was filled by Cuinn.

I couldn’t stop myself from staring. Their mission had clearly taken a toll on them.

Jules’ hair was so windswept it looked like a ruffle of feathers. Cuinn’s wavy hair was in knots, and Avek’s braids were coming undone. Their faces were painted with dirt, marred from a lack of sleep and whatever it was they had done in the field. Though most of their armor was intact, there were dents and dings. As much as I tried to catch Avek’s eye, he seemed too dazed to even notice me.

My stomach dropped when I considered that they could have done something worse than what we did in Vadhzo.

A sliver of red peaked out from under Cuinn’s breastplate. It wasn’t a deep wound, but it would require attention nonetheless. Then there was the smell I knew all too well—the smell of not having access to a proper shower for more than a week.

They hadn’t even eaten a meal yet. Why were they here so soon after coming back?

“Thank you for joining us on such short notice, Team 1.” Commander Gavrok’s voice carried through the entire room. “The direction of this briefing rests entirely on the results of your mission.”

Jules’ stood, and walked over to Commander Gavrok. Weathered by battle, she looked almost as fierce as him. Her steps looked heavy and pained, yet she addressed us in the strong voice I had become accustomed to.

“We have found the location of the Rebel’s Commanding Officer, Drin Accan,” she said. “The information we’ve gathered reveals that he’s holed up on a deserted island four-days’ south of our location, with ten of his best men.”

I clenched my teeth to stop my jaw from slackening. Their mission had been to locate the Rebel’s Commanding Officer? No wonder they looked so drained. I tried to imagine the lengths they would have to go through to get that kind of information.

They definitely did worse than burn down a city.

No wonder Avek couldn’t tell me about it.

Commander Gavrok smiled wider than I had ever seen, his white teeth lighting up his face. He was genuinely happy at the news, the sadist. Then in an instant, he regained his composure and started scribbling fiercely on the paper in front of him

“How much longer do you think he’ll be there?” He asked.

Jules replied quickly. “At least another week or two. They suffered heavier losses than we did during the attack. They slunk away to lick their wounds and strategize.” She turned to him. “If we move in the next couple of days, we’ll be able to intercept them.”

Commander Gavrok mulled over her words. “We need him alive,” he said. “He knows their plan from top to bottom. What he knows can help us win the war.”

Jules’ seemed surprised at the words. “Does the Headmaster know this?” My eyes flickered back to Gavrok.

“Not yet,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “But he will, once you return with Accan.”

Jules shrugged. “Yes, sir.”

“Go get cleaned up,” he said her. “I’ll update you three tonight.”

After another salute, Team 1 left. I watched Avek until he was out of sight. With them gone, Commander Gavrok turned to us.

“Now, here’s what your mission will entail.”

THE WALK BACK HOME was punctuated by my odd mix of thoughts. My mind was alive with an odd mix of happiness and trepidation. Avek’s return thrilled me more than I would have admitted to anyone, but the prospect of another mission scared me.

Especially now when I knew what I did.

My heart wasn’t in it.

When I got back to my house, I was met with a curious sight.

Ignimitra was laying on her side with her eyes squeezed shut, no doubt attempting to fall back asleep. Her amethyst eyes snapped open at the sound of my footsteps.

Another mission? She raised her head to look at me as I approached. Wedging myself between one of her massive legs and the house, I sunk to the sandy grass.

I had yet to tell her what Solra, Irikai and I had discovered in Commander Gavrok’s mission book. I didn’t know how to broach the topic with her—part of me feared that this was the last bit of ammunition she needed to cement her thoughts of escaping.

Now I agreed with her, and that somehow made this all the more serious. I couldn’t risk dividing her heart when we didn’t have a way to get out of this.

Yes, I nodded. Four days from now. We’re to bring back a Terragian commander and his dragon. I held my head in my hands.

She seemed fascinated by that. You mean take him as prisoner?

They want to know what he knows, I amended.

She was silent for a bit, moving her neck just enough to rest her head against my arm. I leaned into her touch, stroking her thick scales. She was warm to the touch.

I didn’t know that was an option, she said.

I shared her sentiments. Apparently, the Headmaster doesn’t even know that we’re doing this. I got the feeling that Commander Gavrok was trying to distinguish himself with this mission. At first, I wondered if Ignimitra’s grasp of human affairs was deep enough to understand what I meant.

Distinguish himself like…get promoted? She asked. I chuckled at how sharp she was. Why had I doubted her?

Nodding, I continued. Yes. Prove that he is a good thinker.

She snorted, the air thickening with ash for a few moments. Did they tell you how we will accomplish that? I saw her imagining how we would pull off something as complicated at that. Besting an enemy was already hard, but to bring a human and a dragon back alive?

Commander Gavrok gave us ideas, I said. But it will ultimately be up to Jules. She’s our captain for this mission.

Ignimitra stirred at the mention of her name. So, we are on the same team as Cuinn?

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes at her eagerness, I answered her question. Avek, Jules and Cuinn, yes. Then I added. But also, Vulknor and his team.

She was annoyed at that. It is a good thing you two didn’t fight, then.

Her sentence brought me back to the sight of him during the briefing. It would have felt amazing to bash his face in, just to get that smug look off his face. At least he would keep his mouth shut. My hands stilled from stroking her. You were trying to stop me at first, I said. But then you backed me up when Aresa tried to scare me away?

Ignimitra spoke as if the answer was obvious. You are still my tamer, she said. I would not have allowed Aresa to hurt you.

A smile spread across my face at her words.

I’ll always have your back too, angel.

I ran my hand lightly along her jaw, happiness coloring my thoughts. It became clearer then that my loyalty was to Ignimitra first, before anyone or anything else. She and I were bonded in life, regardless of where that life took us.

Doing my best to keep my thoughts shrouded from her, I considered how I would handle the upcoming mission.

I DIDN’T SEE AVEK THAT night. As much as I wanted to, I didn’t bother to go looking for him. His mission had obviously been difficult. Just the look of them told me all the things he couldn’t—he was mentally, emotionally and physically drained. We would leave for our next mission soon, and he had to be at his best by then.

He deserved all the sleep he could get.

Even though I really wanted to see him—especially when I remembered that he promised to deliver my message to Hakan—I figured that there would be time to speak to him, if even briefly. I passed the time in the days by sharpening my sword and dagger, and practicing my training paces with Irikai and Solra. Ignimitra mostly slept.

As the days dragged on, it became clear that nobody had any suspicions of us. Commander Gavrok hadn’t realized what we had done. That fact rendered whatever Vulknor thought he saw completely moot.

Four days after the briefing, the nine of us gathered on the southern shore of the island, a few minutes before the sun reached its highest point. The kind of conversation I wanted to have with Avek couldn’t be had here out in the open, but that didn’t stop me from approaching him.

He was in the middle of adjusting some of the camping supplies strapped to Nurik’s underbelly. His face lit up at the sight of me.

“I kept my promise,” he said, gripping my forearms.

Warmth blossomed on my skin where he touched me, even though I was wearing two layers. I smiled up at him, drinking in as much of him as I could.

He looked worlds different than the last time I had seen him. His hair looked freshly done, and the bags under his eyes had disappeared. He still looked a little shaken up from the scratches on his neck and cheeks, but that was expected.

He came back alive, just like he had promised.

“I’m happy you did,” I said softly. “I kept mine too.”

In that moment, it felt like just the two of us. It didn’t feel like we were about to fly off into battle. There was no war. We were just two kids in love. I wanted to bottle that feeling and take a whiff of it whenever it felt like life got too heavy.

I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck, thread my fingers in his hair and kiss him like there was no tomorrow. But Jules’ voice cutting through the humid afternoon air reminded me that there was no time.

“Alright, soldiers!” She said. “We leave in one.” Her eyes settled on me and she nodded a greeting. I returned it, then loosened myself from Avek’s grip.

During the next minute, I mounted Ignimitra and we assembled in our formation on the ground. Our nine-dragon group was formidable; three Rubyscales, two Giantwings, two Flamespikes, a Majestic Firewing and Ignimitra.

As much as I hated Team 17, blending our three teams was a stroke of genius on Commander Gavrok’s part. We had the power and agility to accomplish our mission—even with those three enhanced dragons in our group. Clearly, this mission was important to him and he had gone out of his way to ensure that he had the best team to accomplish it. In our final briefing, he had told us that the future of Pyralis hinged on what we would do in the coming week.

We took to the skies at exactly mid-day.

Gripping Ignimitra’s reins tightly, I took a deep breath and tried to clear my mind of everything but the mission at hand. We were flying into the heart of Terragi. This would be life or death for us. We had to move decisively as part of this team if I wanted to keep my friends alive.

Yet, every time I closed my eyes, I saw the frantic faces of the villagers in Vadhzo. I had no peace—the knowledge that the Dragon Guard was being used to wipe out an entire race of people weighed heavily on me. It was a guilt that reminded me of how I first felt when my father had been killed.

Even as a child, I had somehow felt responsible. My father’s death had caused my mother to run away—without me. Overnight, our family was torn apart and I was the only person left to pick up the pieces. It was only last year, with Betheka’s help, that I had been able to move away from the idea that somehow it had been my fault.

What would Betheka say if I confided in her? She was my grandmother, so I believe that we would have felt similarly about this. Old age had blessed her with wisdom. She never told me what to do, but often gave me everything I needed to make the right decision.

Nibbling on my lip, I tried to imagine what Betheka would do if she were in my shoes. Since her passing I had learned so much about her from her journals. I smiled at the thought that those journals had been her way of guiding me after she left. Perhaps I already knew what she would say.

“Trust yourself, Kaos,” she often said in that smooth, feminine voice of hers. Regardless of the problem I brought to her, she would always start there. “Everything you need is already here,” then she would touch my chest, using her gnarled fingernails to poke the skin above my heart.

She was right.

I already did have everything I need.

Now, all I had to do was trust myself.

TWO DAYS LATER, OUR group landed in a part of the Pyralian Mainland known as The Wilds. It was on the northern edge of the country, a peninsula washed on the left by the by the Lesser Pyralian Sea and the Great Pyralian Sea on the other.

Despite the abundance of water, The Wilds was little more than a sand bowl. Hardly anything grew here except the mangroves, and the villagers who lived here survived on what they could catch at sea and scavenge for in the marshes. Because of this, it was a popular place for exiled Vromiko—if they could survive the arduous trek.

In The Wilds nobody had time to judge, because everybody was too busy just trying to survive. My knowledge of this place had come primarily in the form of tales from Hakan, and of course Commander Gavrok in his briefing.

But nothing they said could have prepared me for this.

The village in The Wilds wasn’t even a village. It looked more like an encampment. A smattering of patchwork tents pitched in clusters of four and five a few feet from the water. There was no plumbing, no fields. The sound of our arrival had pulled people from their tents. They looked no better than the tents they lived in. They were gaunt and pale-skinned, with locked hair in desperate need of retwisting.

Their encampment wasn’t big, I counted around thirty tents. They didn’t look as welcoming as Commander Gavrok had described. If I had to guess, they actually seemed scared of us. These people seemed to prefer solitude, and here we were disturbing them.

Despite this, Jules dismounted Phobos and approached the crowd. We followed her lead. The sight of the people of The Wilds only made my memory about what happened in Vadhzo raw all over again. The group of people bundled together was comprised entirely of women and children. Where were their men?

There was one woman among them who wasn’t shrinking back, though. Her silver dreadlocks were wound atop her head like a crown. Her floor-length gown had seen better days and was tattering at the seams, but she stood as though she was dressed in the finest silk. With her squared shoulders and strong, sinewy arms she looked like she belonged atop a dragon.

“How may I help you soldiers?” She said firmly, her head held high. A few steps behind her, bundle of people cowered.

Jules stepped forward. “I am Aerial Command Sergeant Jules Vera, and this is my team,” she gestured to us. “We’ll be camping in your village for the night.”

The woman seemed to consider her words, one of her thin hands by her chin. Then she said, “There is little we can offer you here, and the children are scared of your beasts. Perhaps you can take the shore over there,” she pointed to a strip of white sand beach in the distance.

It felt like she left a lot unsaid. Thinking back to my own village, the villagers had been afraid of the Dragon Guard. Who could blame them? The Headmaster had torn their village apart looking for Ignimitra and I. This was a village comprised entirely of people who had experienced the worst Pyralis had to offer. I understood her apprehension.

But Jules wasn’t the kind of woman to take no for an answer.

“I think you misunderstand,” she raised her voice, one of her gloved hands moving to rest on the hilt of the sword strapped to her waist. “We are here in the name of His Majesty. Telling you of our presence was merely a courtesy.”

The woman didn’t seem fazed by her words, even though the crowd behind her shrunk back. “We do not want you here,” she said, moving one hand to rest on her hip.

I held my breath, watching their stare-off. Would Jules defy her? Would she ask us to use force? When I considered that possibility, I didn’t have to think any further to know who I would defend.

Jules was obviously enraged, but she didn’t say anything further. I released the breath I had been holding. She instructed us to get back on our dragons. We flew to the spot that the woman had pointed out to us, as she watched triumphantly.

Inwardly, I was happy that she had stood up for her people. She reminded me of Betheka somehow. Even in the face of impossible odds, she would have remained true to what she believed in.

BY THE TIME WE SET up camp, night had fallen.

The night’s air was chilly, even the sand beneath my feet was cold. I didn’t bother changing out of my uniform, since it was doing just enough to keep me warm. The temperatures meant that there was no way for me to rinse my skin.

The water would turn to ice before it touched me.

Even though we were technically in Pyralis, Jules didn’t want to risk making a fire. The people of The Wilds had survived by staying invisible, so she thought it best to play by their rules while we were here. And they didn’t have a fire.

Their clothes were much thinner than ours, and they didn’t have tents as sturdy as ours. How were they keeping warm? Perhaps they had grown acclimated to such frigid temperatures.

After eating an insipid meal of dried meat, I found Ignimitra and curled myself into the crook of her paw. She had already fallen asleep for the day, tired from two days of nonstop flying. Her stamina was improving, but she still needed her rest.

Her body was so hot that I had to shed a layer of my clothes so I didn’t overheat.

We had been assigned shifts for the watch. I had been given the first one. On any other occasion I would have complained, but my watch partner was Avek. That alone made the aches and pains from being awake for more than 48-hours worth it.

“I can barely feel my toes,” he chuckled, walking up to me with his hands in his pockets. His breath formed a halo when he spoke. I couldn’t believe that it was actually this cold.

“Come sit beside me,” I said, scooting over so there was space for him. Nurik was asleep a few yards over. Hopefully, he wouldn’t feel jealous about this.

When the two of us were cocooned by Ignimitra’s warmth, Avek released a sigh that I felt in my toes. In the process of replaceing a comfortable spot, my shoulder ended up against his chest. Gosh, I wanted to stay here forever.

Now that Avek was here and I had him to myself, I couldn’t contain my excitement anymore. I opened my mouth to speak, but his callous hand on my cheek distracted me.

His lips met mine the next moment in a kiss that warmed me from the inside out.

“I’ve wanted to do that for days,” He whispered against my skin when we broke apart.

“Me too,” I grinned. “It feels like we haven’t seen each other in months.”

He nodded. “The time we have is never enough.” Then, while trailing his thumb along my jawline he said, “Let’s make the most of this, then.”

I liked the sound of that. So, I started with my most burning question.

“Did you get to see Hakan?” There was no sense I put it off.

Avek’s smile grew. “I did.”

“You did?” I covered my mouth to stop the scream that was building in my throat. “What did he look like? How was he? What was he doing? How did you replace him? What did he say?” I wanted to know everything.

My excitement only made him smile wider. “First, I would like to tell you that it was very awkward explaining to him why you asked me to give him your message.” Embarrassment colored his features mildly. “I had always thought of what I would say if I ever met him, since he’s like your dad. I didn’t remember any of it.”

It felt like someone was squeezing my heart. He had imagined meeting Hakan before this? “What did he ask you?”

“Well for one, he recognized me from when I came there all those months ago. With the Headmaster. He thought I was coming to tell him that you had died in battle or something.”

The thought of Hakan thinking I was dead even for a second made my heart hurt. He had already lost his wife. “Then what?”

“When I actually started giving him your message, he stopped me in the middle to ask what our relationship was. I eventually choked it out, and that’s when the grilling started.”

My cheeks got hot as he continued. “He wanted to know what my rank was, where my family was from, what plans I had for you,” Avek’s coal eyes were twinkling in the moonlight. “Then he eventually said that we should go to see him sometime. Together.”

I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face.

For a few moments, I just lay there staring up at Avek’s perfect face, imagining the kind of future we could have had together. If we were allowed those things. Then another thought sprung into my mind. “What about his alchemy? Did he seem healthy? How is his life in the village without me?”

Avek chuckled. “He looked a lot like what he looked like when you were last there. Maybe a little bit older,” he said. “He actually gave me a note to give you with more details. It’s in my pack. I’d get up and give it to you now, but I’m really enjoying this.”

“Me too,” I said. Hakan had written me a note! I couldn’t wait to read it. “Thanks so much, for doing this for me.”

He kissed my temple. “Anything for you.”

We fell into a comfortable silence, shifting positions so that I was cocooned in his arms. My head was in the crook of his neck. He was so comfortable; I almost fell asleep.

Almost.

“How was your mission?” He asked me.

His question brought on a tsunami of feelings that shattered the peace laying with him had brought. I didn’t even know where to start. Or what to say.

“Horrible,” I spat. My voice was so low it was barely a whisper, but I knew he heard me. Team 17 and their dragons were a distance away, but I was still wary. The last thing I needed was to give Vulknor reason to pry into what I had been doing along the beach path that night.

Avek didn’t seem surprised. “What happened?”

“Our target was supposed to be a Terragi training ground,” I began, reliving the experience. “It turned out to be a village full of women and kids.”

I felt his sigh, and his arms tightened around me. He didn’t say anything, but I knew he understood what I was feeling. I could feel it. But he didn’t even know the half.

“They made us decimate a village full of people who couldn’t even protect themselves, Avek,” I said, the pain blossoming in my chest.

“War is never honorable,” he said softly.

His words were true. I hated that they were. “This can’t be right, Avek.”

Avek’s grip on me tightened. “If I could change the world, I would. But—”

I cut him off, aware of how this kind of conversation always ended, “We don’t have a choice.” I was starting to resent hearing those words. Maybe he didn’t, but I had already made up my mind.

“No, we do,” he said. “But a choice outside of what is expected comes at a great price.”

What he meant was clear.

To go against Pyralis meant paying with your life.

But was I even living if my life wasn’t mine to control?

I felt Avek’s lips on the strip of skin behind my ear. “I had my own experience like that too,” his breath was hot, sending goosebumps down my spine. “I’m sorry you had to experience it like that, Kaos.”

Tears pricked my eyes. The emotions I had been battling sprung free, soaking my cheeks. Avek didn’t say anything, only turned me towards him and hugged me into his chest. I felt safe and understood, but my problem wasn’t fixed.

It would still be there after the tears dried.

WHEN OUR WATCH ENDED, Avek brought me the note.

I took it from him with trembling fingers—from the emotions or my tiredness, I wasn’t sure—and bid him goodnight. After stripping out of my armor, I sat cross-legged on the canvas floor of my tent and lit a glowstick.

The note was contained in an aging parchment envelope. Just looking at it put a smile on my face. Hakan had a stack of these that were probably older than me. He was the type of person who didn’t get rid of something unless it was broken. It was a miracle they hadn’t turned to dust by now. I spent a few moments running my fingertips over the coarse paper.

Sucking in a breath, I ripped the envelope open. The note inside was smaller than I had hoped, but I was desperate for any news from him, so I devoured it eagerly. His familiar scrawl warmed me like a hug.

Kaos,

I feel it is kismet that sent your friend to me, for I have been agonizing about how to get this information to you. It has been a year now since you have gone to the Academy, and in that time, I have done much thinking.

My time as an alchemist in this village has come to an end. In some ways, you were keeping me here. I’ve included the co-ordinates of the new village that I will be moving to, and I hope that you can visit me soon. There is much to talk about.

I will leave here at the end of this week.

Hakan Royston

The trembling intensified.

Hakan was leaving our village?

It seemed surreal. He and his wife had lived there for years before I came along. As far as I knew, it was the only home he ever knew. It was the first home he owned after getting married. That house was where he saved lives. But it was also where he lost his wife. It was where he lost me too.

Maybe that was why he wanted to leave.

I had to agree that he wasn’t that great alone. Especially alone in a place that held memories of people he didn’t have anymore. With the war, I had no idea if I would ever make it back to the village.

And even if I did, I had never given thought to living there again.

Our house—well, our old house, since he must’ve already left by now—had memories lurking around every corner. Perhaps he felt like he needed and fresh start, and I wouldn’t fault him for that.

Right now, I wished I had the chance for one too.

I left the tent to retrieve a map from Ignimitra’s saddle bag. With the note in one hand and the other on the map, I searched for the coordinates in the moonlight. My eyebrows pulled together when I found it, then I double checked to make sure I wasn’t looking at the wrong thing.

The village wasn’t on the same island he used to live on. It was on island called Parhagola. On paper it was a part of Pyralis, located in the Pont Strait which was the natural marker of where Fire Country met Shadow Country. Still, in reality Parhagola didn’t even have an envoy.

There couldn’t have been a more dangerous place for Hakan to move to. Would he be okay? Part of me wished that I hadn’t left now—at the very least, I could have been there to keep his company so he didn’t feel like moving.

And why did he have to move there of all places? I didn’t know how I would get answers to my questions, since sending a letter back was impossible right now and I definitely couldn’t get to visit.

With a heavy sigh I stowed the letter and the map away, tiredness finally getting the better of me. The letter only gave me something else to worry about—Hakan’s safety.