Once Walked With Dragons
Chapter Twenty

At the end of each day, Keara was so tired that she could not keep her eyes open. She would have dinner with her family as her mother insisted that she must eat something and afterwards she would go into Reverie. Sometimes Deryck would go up to her room and watch her, wishing he could talk to her, but he didn’t want to bother her. Instead, he would just cover her with a blanket and place a secret kiss on her forehead. But tonight he stayed a bit longer, holding her hand. He stared out the window, looking at the stars that were blinking back at them.

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The next morning, Deryck awoke to find that he had fallen asleep in the chair beside Keara’s bed and he was covered with the same blanket that he had used to cover her. But Keara was nowhere to be found. He walked down the stairs just before breakfast was served.

Despite everything that was going on and everything that had already happened, the family still seemed the same as always. The Ravens were playing with the children by the fireplace that was still smouldering and Adin assisted Caitlyn in the kitchen.

Alexander’s wife looked up from what she was doing and said, ‘Good morning, Deryck.’

‘Good morning.’ Deryck replied as he pretended not to notice that everyone was looking at him.

‘Breakfast is almost ready.’ Caitlyn informed.

Deryck just nodded his head and looked in Keara’s direction. She had already turned her attention back to the child who demanded it. Deryck walked over to her and sat down in the chair beside her.

‘Good morning, Keara.’ he greeted.

She looked up at him with a soft smile on her face, ‘Good morning, Deryck.’

‘Look!’ the child exclaimed.

‘Yes, I see. It’s amazing.’ Keara said at what the child had created with her building blocks. She wasn’t quite sure what the child had built, but at least it kept her busy.

Deryck just chuckled softly.

After breakfast, Keara and Zarra went outside. Keara still had one more element to manage; fire.

‘Now that you’ve learned to control Crucis Salerra, and mastered three of the elements, the fire element should be quite easy.’ Zarra stated.

‘Only manage, so far. I haven’t mastered it yet. Why is that, though?’ Keara asked.

‘Well, because you possess the Gene. The fire element is already part of you.’

‘That won’t make it easier to control.’ Keara stated.

‘You won’t know until you try.’

‘Well now, that’s actually funny.’ Michael started.

‘What is?’ Jonathan asked.

‘She was born from water, but she possesses the fire element.’ Michael remarked.

‘Wow, that is kinda funny.’ Jonathan agree.

Deryck was sitting on the porch watching Keara while she trained. He simply adored her; everything about her.

Adin sat down next to him. Deryck tensed up a little; he was staring at Keara after all.

‘So much rests on her shoulders.’ Adin sighed.

Deryck nodded, ‘I would carry it for her if I could.’

Adin looked at Deryck who was still watching Keara, though he tried to show that he was not staring.

‘We all would.’ Adin finally said, then added after a long moment, ‘You’re a lot like your mother.’

Deryck looked at Adin. He wasn’t sure what to say.

‘Did you think we don’t know who you are?’ Adin could read Deryck’s expression like a book.

‘I, um.’ was all Deryck could utter.

‘Your mother was a great queen, and an excellent warrior.’

‘I heard the stories. Though I didn’t know her very well. I was very young when she died.’

‘I know. I’m very sorry. I only wish we could’ve protected her.’

‘From what I can tell, there was nothing you could do.’

‘Don’t you hate us for what happened?’ Adin had to ask.

Deryck just shook his head, ‘She died protecting others. From the stories I've heard, I can tell that’s the kind of person she was. Everything happens for a reason, though that’s not always easy to accept.’

‘You really are a lot like your mother. She would be very proud of you.’

Deryck smiled softly, ‘Thank you.’

‘We will repay the debt to your mother. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her.’

‘There is no debt to be paid. Even my brother will tell you the same.’

‘Okay, so how do I control it?’ Keara wanted to know.

‘Simply summon it.’ Zarra said.

‘Simply; summon, it?’ Keara repeated.

‘Yes, as you would summon Salerra. Crucis Salerra and the fire element go hand in hand.’

‘Why does that not surprise me?’ Keara started.

Keara focused her energy, as she did with the other elements. With some concentration, a tiny spark erupted from her hand and then her left hand was engulfed in purple flames. She looked at her hand with some surprise, turning her hand back and forth.

‘You see? You can already command it. Now you must just learn to control it so that you don’t set anyone alight.’ Zarra said.

Keara looked at Zarra with surprise and the flame went out.

After a few more days of training, Keara had also learned to summon and manage the fire element. But she wasn’t sure if she could face Sharzak just yet.

As night fell, she felt very uneasy, as though something bad was about to happen, but she wasn’t sure if that was indeed what she was feeling or if she was just so exhausted that her mind couldn’t tell the difference.

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