POV: Fendrel
Fendrel’s hand subconsciously went to his bag as Zoricus approached.
All I have for weapons are daggers. Those won’t be any use against a sword…Unless one of the knives I picked up is laced with knock-out powder.
As soon as Fendrel retrieved one of his daggers, Zoricus rushed forward and kicked Fendrel onto his back. “You are not getting away from me again! I will make you suffer.”
Fendrel gasped and coughed. His breath left him when Zoricus slammed his knee down on Fendrel’s chest.
Zoricus ripped Fendrel’s blade out of his hands. The knight pinned Fendrel’s wrists above his head.
Cassius’ fleeing steps drew Fendrel’s attention away for a second. He felt a sting on his cheek. Then another, and another.
The knight sliced the blade of his sword across Fendrel’s face, grinning maniacally. He held the tip over Fendrel’s wide-open eye and lowered it.
Fendrel, with blood trailing into his vision, tore his hands out of Zoricus’ grip and punched his jaw.
Zoricus reeled back with a groan.
Before the knight could recover, Fendrel twisted out from under his knee.
As Zoricus stomped toward Fendrel, a young woman’s voice called out. “Zoricus? What are you doing?”
Fendrel only drug his eyes toward the voice once Zoricus stopped his pursuit.
Is that the princess?
Zoricus’ mouth gaped. He straightened up and cleared his throat. “Sadie…”
Sadie stood in the open doorway of one of the halls. “I was told Cassius was back home…” She looked between Fendrel and Zoricus. “What’s going on?”
“He threatened to hurt the prince!” Zoricus pointed his sword at Fendrel. “So I took to defending him.”
Fendrel blinked in surprise. “Are you serious? No. He’s lying.”
Sadie glared at Fendrel. “What did you do to my brother?”
A hand reached out from behind Sadie. “Wait.”
The princess stepped aside and the young woman from the garden came forward.
“He’s Cassius’ friend.” The young woman placed her hand on Sadie’s shoulder. “He wouldn’t hurt him.”
“But Zoricus…” Sadie’s chest began to heave.
Fendrel got to his feet. “Your cousin is lying. He himself was planning on killing—”
“Shut your mouth, criminal!” Zoricus started toward Fendrel.
The woman from the garden nearly tripped on her skirt running forward. She bent down and picked up Fendrel’s dagger. “Let him go.”
Zoricus smirked at the young woman. “You have no idea how to use that.”
Sadie began to walk toward her cousin. “Zoricus, please tell me what’s happening.”
“It is exactly as I said.” Zoricus gave a deep sigh. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a maddened, far-off scream. The scream grew in volume and was accompanied by pounding footsteps.
Cassius ran into the throne room, still screaming. He tackled Zoricus to the floor.
When Zoricus hit the ground, a small key flew out of one of his pockets.
The young woman gasped. “That’s it!”
Fendrel wiped blood from his face with his scarf and ran for the key. He slid it to the lady, then pulled Cassius away just as Zoricus thrust up with the sword.
Cassius yelped and grabbed his stomach.
“Everyone stop!” Sadie began to cry. “Just stop, please. You’re all acting insane!”
Fendrel dragged Cassius away from Zoricus as the knight got to his feet.
The young woman fumbled with the tiny key. She twisted it in the pendant’s lock. There was a resounding click sound, and a sudden burst of the pendant’s magic assaulted Fendrel with a headache.
Zoricus froze, his eyes suddenly wide. He turned his head toward the woman. “Adila, no!”
With tears in her eyes, the young woman, Adila, smiled as her necklace dissolved into a string of mist that grew in size until it enveloped her, then it kept growing.
Fendrel’s headache vanished. He watched in amazement as Zoricus backed away from the morphing silvery shape.
As the cloud dissipated, Adila was nowhere to be found. In her place stood a tall sinewy vapor dragon with light gray fur.
Cassius began to breathe heavy. He tapped Fendrel’s hand. “Oh-h-h no. I think I’m going to pass out, I’m hallucinating. How much blood have I lost?”
Fendrel glanced down at the prince. “You’re not even bleeding. Your shirt is just torn.” He looked back up at the dragon, Zoricus, and Sadie.
Before Fendrel could open his mouth to say something, Zoricus whirled toward him.
Zoricus grabbed Cassius by the shirt and pushed him to the side. He raised his sword to stab downward at Fendrel.
The dragon roared and rushed at Zoricus. She sent the knight tumbling with a single swat.
A thud made Fendrel’s head whip to see the princess had collapsed.
“Sadie!” Zoricus struggled to his feet.
“Leave her be!” The vapor dragon leapt away and stood over the princess. She held Sadie against her chest with one arm and hobbled to Fendrel and Cassius’ frozen bodies. “Take her and leave.”
Cassius jumped to his feet and put one of Sadie’s arms over his shoulders.
Fendrel took Sadie’s other arm. He looked up at the dragon. “…Are you—”
The dragon lowered her head. “You need to go.”
“Promise me you’ll get out safely.” Fendrel lowered his voice. “I’ll be waiting in the grove outside the city.”
“I’ll meet you there.” The dragon turned on Zoricus again, hissing.
Zoricus shook his head with vigor. “You are not taking my family from me!”
Cassius ignored his cousin, keeping his attention on Sadie and Fendrel. “There are secret passages that lead outside the wall. We can get out there.”
Fendrel nodded. “Lead the way.”
Fendrel held Sadie upright as Cassius ascended a ladder.
The prince unlatched the trap door above the ladder and shoved it open. He hauled himself out, then turned so he was crouched facing the hole. “Sadie. You have to wake up.”
Sadie made a muffled, groggy noise and lifted her head. She opened her eyes. “Who is that?”
Cassius reached his hand down. “It’s me.”
“Cassius? Where are we?” The princess looked around and noticed Fendrel. “Let me go!”
Fendrel raised his hands. “I’m with your brother.”
“You’re the man Zoricus was fighting with.” Sadie backed away from him. She jumped when her back touched the cool of the metal ladder.
“Sadie, come on.” Cassius stretched his hand further down.
Sadie shot Fendrel one more suspicious look before she turned and grabbed Cassius’ hand, climbing the rungs.
Fendrel followed once they were both out.
The trapdoor had led them to the grove.
“Cassius and I are back.” Fendrel ventured into the trees, beckoning for the royal siblings to follow.
Venom’s head emerged between bushes. “Is this another straggler?”
“I’m not sure.” Fendrel gave a heavy sigh. “We need to talk.”
“I can tell by your face.” Venom grimaced.
Fendrel nodded. “I’m surprised that’s not the first thing you pointed out.”
With a sigh, Venom melted into the tree cover. “I am beginning to accept the fact that every time you come back from a mission, you will be hurt somehow.”
As they headed further in, Fendrel saw Thea and Fog.
Thea gestured at Fendrel’s face. “Are you kidding me?”
Fog gave him a pitying frown. “Again? What happened?”
Fendrel and Cassius shared a look. “Zoricus.”
Sadie stared at the two dragons. She grabbed Cassius’ arm.
“You’re okay.” Cassius patted her hand.
“Yeah, it went very badly.” Fendrel flopped to the ground with his arms on his knees. “The king disowned Zoricus, then the king had to be taken away because he became ill, Zoricus blamed Cassius and I and did this to my face, then the princess and Cassius’ fiancé showed up. There’s something else about her, but I’ll tell you later.”
Fog joined Fendrel’s side and breathed a small puff of mist on his face.
“Thank you.” Fendrel’s eyes flicked to Fog then to the Thea and Venom. “We escaped from Zoricus because he tried to kill Cassius and I, and now we’re here.”
Cassius gave an incredulous laugh. “You’re just going to skip over the part where my fiancé turned into a dragon?”
Venom’s head whipped toward Cassius. “What?”
The prince flinched with a squeak. “She got swallowed up by mist and then she was a dragon.”
“Oh.” Venom frowned. His ears relaxed.
Fendrel squinted at the dusk dragon. “What do you mean ‘oh?’”
“It just…wasn’t what I thought it was.” Venom avoided meeting Fendrel’s eyes.
“And?” Fendrel cocked an eyebrow.
Venom sighed. “I will tell you later, young one. Have patience. Now tell us how this human turned into a dragon.”
“Magic, I guess.” Fendrel shrugged. “I remember Thea telling me the side effects of encountering evil mages and their enchantments, and I experienced them whenever I looked at her necklace. I ran into her in the royal gardens and she alluded that Zoricus had something to do with the enchantment, which he did.” Fendrel drug his finger across his neck. “Her necklace had a keyhole, so we got the key from Zoricus and she freed herself, then she just…turned into a dragon. A vapor dragon.”
Thea put her head in her hands. “Not another weird mage. Ugh…”
Fendrel took a deep breath. “Fog.”
Fog stiffened. “Yes?”
“You said Mist has light gray fur.”
“She does.” Fog nodded.
“Is she taller and longer than you?”
The vapor dragon’s pupils enlarged.
“Zoricus and the princess called her Adila, but—” Fendrel cleared his throat “—I don’t think that was her real name.”
Fog looked toward the castle. “I’m going in to find her!”
Venom leapt in front of Fog just as she opened her wings. “Do not act rash. If anyone is going in there to find her, it’s someone who won’t be suspicious.”
Thea raised her hand. “I’ll get her.”
A swoosh of wings drew everyone’s attention.
From the brush emerged the dragon from the throne room, her ears pinned back and her steps hesitant. “It’s okay. You don’t need to go looking for me.”
Fog’s wings dropped like weights. “Mist?”
The other vapor dragon raised her head. “Hello—”
Before Mist could finish, Fog barreled toward her.
Mist caught Fog in her wings with a burst of laughter. “Be careful with those claws, little dove!”
Fog couldn’t speak. She only buried her face in Mist’s neck and sobbed, her wings awkwardly overlapping the older dragon’s.
Fendrel felt a weight being lifted from his chest. He sighed with relief.
He felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Can we talk to you for a moment?” Cassius pointed in the opposite direction of the embracing sisters, with Sadie still latched to his other arm.
Fendrel followed the royal siblings. “What is it?”
Cassius’ mouth became a thin line. “I think Sadie and I should return home. The kingdom will be in disarray if Zoricus gets a foothold on any of the citizens. I have a feeling he’s going to try his hardest to get rid of me now that my father has defenestrated him.”
“I understand.” Fendrel nodded. “I can usually handle Zoricus better than what happened today…I think Venom was right about getting more sleep. So, if you need my help with him again, just send a very short letter to Ember saying you’re looking for me.”
“Why Ember?” Cassius squinted his eyes. “She barely knows our language.”
Fendrel shrugged. “When I don’t have anything to do, I usually go to the Twin Oases. It’s the best way to reach me, unless you want to track me down on horseback again.”
Cassius gave a heavy sigh. “Take care.”
“You too.” Fendrel turned his attention to Sadie. “Please listen to your brother. He’s got a better moral compass than Zoricus ever will.”
Sadie made a shaky noise of understanding.
Venom came up behind Fendrel. “Has something happened?”
Fendrel shook his head. “Cassius needs to sort things out back at the castle. Now—” he smiled wide “—we can finish our mission.”
“Finally.” Venom jutted his chin at the rest of the group. “Let us return Mist and Fog home.”
Thea’s hand shot up. “Are you forgetting Charles and Oliver?”
Fog gasped. “Oh, Mist, you’re going to love them. They’re humans. Can you believe it? I made human friends!”
“Yes, I can see that, dove.” Mist raised her head. “How many?”
“Well, Fendrel there is the Liberator, but I think you know that now.” Fog broke away from Mist’s hug. “This is Thea. She’s a mage and she wanted to help us find you.”
Thea placed her hand on her chest. “I’m your friend now?”
Fendrel crossed his arms. “No, we only kept you around for your spells. Not your company, at all.”
As Thea scoffed, Fog pointed her wing out into the grove. “No, wait, the Black Brick Ruins are that way. There, we have two more friends who also wanted to help find you. One of them is a little scary, but Fendrel told me he’s okay. I don’t know if I’m completely convinced, but we’ll find out when you meet him.”
Mist chuckled. “Why would my opinion change yours?”
Fog shot a quick glance at Fendrel, then back to her sister. “You’ll find out. The not scary one is a child.”
“Well, I would hope the child wouldn’t be scary.” Mist adoringly nudged Fog’s wing with her own.
“He’s a gem.” Thea grinned.
“Yes, and we should retrieve them now so this disaster can be done with.” Venom crouched.
Fendrel and Thea climbed on to Venom’s shoulders.
Venom stood. “Let us go.”
<~><~><~>
POV: Charles
Oliver abandoned the stick he had been playing with when the others returned, and with a new dragon.
Charles followed Oliver to greet the group. “You’re back already?”
Fendrel dropped down from Venom’s shoulders and gave Charles an indecipherable look.
“Who’s the new straggler?” Charles gestured at the extra vapor dragon.
“This…” Fendrel moved to stand next to Charles “…is our missing dragon. And Cassius went back home.”
Charles’ shoulders dropped. “Really? I missed everything?”
“You definitely missed a lot.” Fendrel nodded.
Thea raced over from Venom and grabbed Oliver’s hand with an ecstatic grin. “Oliver, come meet Auntie Fog-y’s sister.”
Fog’s eyes widened as she mouthed “Auntie?”
While Oliver gasped and introduced himself, Charles stepped forward. He gave Mist a respectful nod. “It’s incredible to meet you, miss.”
“And…you as well…” Mist drew her wings closer to her body and her ears gave the slightest flick.
“I like your hair.” Oliver reached out for Mist’s fur, drawing her attention down.
Fendrel cleared his throat and lowered his voice. “Have you ever seen her before?”
Charles shook his head. “Believe me, if I got the opportunity to see a dragon as rare as from the vapor tribe in one of the bases, I would have told you. I have no idea who she is.”
“I know.” Fendrel avoided meeting his gaze. “I’m just making sure.”
“Do you think I’m lying?”
“No, no.” Fendrel sighed. “It’s just, Fog noticed Mist’s scent on your gloves, and just now Mist gave you an odd look.”
Charles removed one of his gloves. “These? Sadon gave me these.”
“He did?”
“Yeah.” Charles put it back on. “You know how he is about everything being up to date. My gloves had a hole, so he lent me these until he could buy a new pair.”
Fendrel nodded. His face was full of relief. “Okay.”
Venom flapped his wings to gain the others’ attention. “I don’t mean to be rude, but we should return to the Hazy Woods as quickly as possible. Just because we know Mist is safe does not mean His Majesty and the other nobles do.”
Charles smiled at Fendrel, but as his friend joined Venom, his face faltered.
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