She was mine, and I was hers.
Forever.
* * *
When I woke,it was still dark outside. A frigid breeze blew into the lean-to, and I shivered. Sliding my arm out from beneath Aileana, I carefully pulled on my trousers before laying my cloak over my sleeping mate. Hastily drawing my tunic over my head, I grabbed my sword and scabbard before making my way into the forest. Walking over to the fire—though at this point, it was little more than dying embers—I stretched and rolled my neck. Kysha and Maiela sat next to each other, their eyes heavy as they murmured softly. Their bows were at their feet, strung and ready in the event that unwanted intruders stumbled upon our camp.
“Why don’t the two of you get some sleep?” I suggested, taking a seat on the log opposite them. Drawing my sword, I placed it across my lap. “I’ve got it from here.”
“Thank you, Xander,” Kysha said. “It’s been an uneventful night so far.”
“Hopefully it stays that way.” Patting the hilt of my sword, I raised a brow. “One can never be too careful.”
A few minutes later, the married pair were in their tent. Their voices were little more than murmurs on the wind as I withdrew my map and laid it flat on my lap. The flickering, fading firelight cast shadows on the parchment as my fingers ran over the path we’d followed. We were getting close. Eager anticipation bubbled in my stomach as I studied the map. We were out of the mountain, and a river was the only thing separating us from our destination.
The dragon growled at the thought of finally uncovering the treasure. This moment was a century in the making—ever since that dreadful day when I found my village in embers, I had been searching for the pieces of my map.
Victory was so close; I could practically taste it. Solving this puzzle and finding the Gilded Amulet was the win we desperately needed.
A branch cracked behind me. I flung my head up, tightening my grip on the hilt of my sword as I stood in one swift movement. A soft laugh reached my ears, and my shoulders relaxed.
“Easy there, Xander,” said Daegal. “It’s just me. I Saw that you were awake, and I thought we should talk.”
There wasn’t a single thing about that sentence that made me feel at ease. Unfortunately, I knew that when a Fortune Elf got it in their head that they needed to speak with you, there was no way around it.
I sat back down and Daegal took a seat across the fire from me as I folded up the map and put it away.
“What did you want to talk about?” I asked.
My friend’s eyes were troubled, filled with worry, and a pit formed in my stomach. Daegal’s visions were rarely good, but I could already tell this was going to be bad. The Fortune Elf gnawed on his lip, and with every passing moment, trepidation thickened the air.
“Tell me, Daegal,” I said gruffly. “I can take it.”
He cracked his neck; the sound echoing through the forest as he rubbed his newly marked hand over his temples. “It’s your sister,” he admitted.
That trepidation gave way to full-blown dread. It was like watching a maelstrom approach—I knew it was going to be bad, but there was nothing I could do except wait for it to hit. “What has Saena done now?”
Daegal groaned. “That’s not the question you should be asking.”
Foreboding filled me, and my stomach churned. Clenching my fists, I said, “Tell me.”
“She’s done… everything you could imagine. Ithenmyr is running red with blood.”
“What else?” My voice was deep, and I clenched the hilt of my sword.
“They’re calling her the Dragon Queen, Xan.”
I swore, and for a moment, there were no words between us.
My old friend sighed. “That’s not the worst of it, though. The things I’ve Seen… they aren’t fit for anyone’s ears.”
“I need to hear them,” I said. “If you can tell me.”
Daegal ran a hand over his face. “Give me a minute.”
I wasn’t going anywhere. Running my hand over the hilt of my sword, visions of Saena as a small child flashed through my mind.
“Come here, Saena-bug,” I yelled, chasing my sister through the woods.