“Stop fighting, all of you!” I demanded. “I’ve had enough. We have only one fight, a common cause and that is not with each other. All you are doing is making it harder to solve the problem. You are creating more problems. I’ve spent days listening to you gripe about each other, but you all know that this is the fault of the Goblins. They lied to us, tricked us again. We know they can’t be trusted. This was their plan all along. If we fight each other, we won’t have time to go back and fight them, but fight them we must. It is clear to me that all this stems from them and always has, even from the start. I don’t like that we have been fooled, but I have to admit that the Goblins have beaten us again.
“However, I’m taking a lesson from this. The next time we go to the Goblins, I will not leave until I get a straight answer. I will not let Krikor or any of them lead me on a merry dance again. I will find out what happened to the swords and I will free the dragons’ souls. Either you will come with me, or I will leave you all here to beat each other to a bloody pulp, but I’m telling you now. If you choose the second option, I will go alone. I will not help any of you get out of here when you are too injured to walk. The choice is yours.”
I glared down at them, trying to appear more menacing than I actually felt. Inside my heart was hammering beneath my ribs. I’d talked myself into a corner. If they did decide that hurting each other was more important than our mission, I’d be forced to walk out of this valley by myself.
Ash was the first to come forward. He had a bruise on his cheek where someone had punched him. “I’m sorry. It was me that started this,” he said, shame filling his face. He walked towards me and held out his hand to me. I took it and jumped down from the well wall. “I really am sorry,” he said again, but this time much more quietly so only I could hear. “I know how stupid it was, but I couldn’t let your father talk about you like that.”
“On behalf of the Wolvren, I apologize, too.” Alpha stepped forward and called his men to his side. One by one the others walked toward me and then stood behind me until it was only my father and Spear. My father had a split lip and a dribble of blood was drying on his chin. Spear had a black eye. I couldn’t help thinking that they both deserved their injuries.
I raised an eyebrow, waiting for one of them to back down. With a small step, Spear finally moved forward.
Not waiting for my father to move, I turned to walk out of the village. My father was a proud man, but he was also at a disadvantage. He was the only one left. He knew that getting out of the valley was not going to be easy, especially if he tried to do it alone. Besides, he had no one left to fight. His only option was to come with us. As I took a step along the path that would lead us back to the river, with the others behind me. I knew my father would come, too. His pride was wounded, but he wasn’t stupid.
Morganna ran up to me at the front. “That was quite something,” she beamed. “I was all for letting them fight it out, get it out of their system, let off steam.”
“They would have damaged each other. I’m sure they will find plenty of opportunities to fight, but at the moment we don’t have the time. Let them have at it when all this is over. I might even sell tickets and bring popcorn.”
Morganna snorted. “You are now my new hero,” she said, laughing.
Coming from my hero, hearing her say that, filled me with confidence. “Thank you,” I replied.
“I mean it. I’m really proud of you. I don’t know many people that could stop a whole group of hot-blooded males fighting, but you did. I know I couldn’t have done it.”
I blushed, not knowing what to say. Instead, I just smiled. With a renewed vigor, I picked up the pace. Those Goblins didn’t know what was coming to them. As the river came into view, I couldn’t suppress the smile on my face. OK, so we hadn’t gotten any further, but Morganna believed in me. Maybe it was about time I began to believe in myself.
“I don’t know what came over me,” said Ash, taking my hand once again. “I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am. I really shouldn’t have punched your father. When he said those things about you, I just saw red.”
“Are you sure you weren’t just mad because he called you a pretty boy?” I replied good-naturedly.
“That, too,” smirked Ash.
Behind us, the flames rose, sending black smoke up into the sky.
Chapter Seven
The boat was where we left it, tied to the bridge, bobbing around in the current.
“Now what?” asked Xander. “We can’t row upstream. The current is too strong and we only have two oars.
He was right. There was no way we were going to be able to get back to the Goblins the way we came, either by boat or on foot. Farther upriver, the canyon walls were too high and too steep to climb. I didn’t fancy asking the dragons to make a few journeys to carry everyone, either. I could only too well imagine the expression on my father’s face, not to mention Spear’s, if I asked them. No, we’d have to find another way back. We were surrounded by mountain ranges. On the other side of the river, the snowy peaks of the Triad mountains rose above us, sprawling out to the east. Behind us was another mountain range. If we jumped in the boat and let the river carry us out through the valley, we would be heading in entirely the wrong direction. We were going to have to climb.
“If the uppermost peak of the Triads is over there,” I said, pointing out the peak to our left, “then Frokontas should be somewhere in front of us.” I tried picturing the valley of Frokontas. It did have mountains surrounding it. If I was right, those mountains were just on the other side of the mountain in front of us. “We’ll go there and rest up. We are going to need more provisions if we are going back to see the Goblins, and I’m sure you all need rest. Before anyone complains that we are going to the dragon’s home, I want to point out that the Slayers and Wolvren have already let us into their villages. Spear, I’m sure you’d like to return the favor and Father, I know you’ll be grateful for the invite.”
He probably wouldn’t be, but tough. He was coming to Frokontas or staying behind.
“So we are climbing mountains again, huh?” grunted Jasper. “Just wonderful!”
“Do you have any better ideas?” I asked, turning to him with my hands on my hips.
“No,” he admitted.
“Well then,” I said, crossing the bridge quickly. I didn’t want to get caught in another argument.
I set a quick pace, more out of eagerness to keep everyone moving so they had better things to think about than fighting rather than enthusiasm at actually reaching our destination.
“You do remember that we can fly up there,” said Ash quietly. “It would take a while, but we could possibly make a few trips and—”
“Don’t even say it,” I interrupted. “Do you really think Spear will allow it? For that matter, do you want to be the one who asks my father if he wants to ride on a dragon?”
Ash pulled a face. “I see your point.”
“I was just telling Julianna how wonderful she was down there,” cut in Morganna. “She’s turning out to be a true leader and warrior.”
“I always found something special in her, but she’s no warrior,” Ash said, but it didn’t feel like an insult. His arm wrapped around my shoulder. “A warrior, by definition, is a person of war. I’ve never met anyone as brave as Julianna, but at the same time, I know she’d never deliberately hurt anyone.”
“I stand corrected,” said Morganna, smiling while I blushed furiously. The two people I admired the most were talking over my head about me. I was embarrassed sure, but I was also bursting with pride.
“You guys. You do see that I’m right here?”
Ash grinned. “Nowhere else I’d like you to be but right by my side.”
Morganna laughed pleasantly. “I’ll let you two lovebirds go on ahead. It’s probably better if one of us lags behind to make sure one of the boys back there doesn’t start a fight again.
“That was embarrassing,” I said, “but thanks. It means a lot t
o me that you believe in me.
“I meant it, too, about you being by my side. When we get back to Frokontas, I want you to stay there with me.”
“Of course I’ll stay with you. Not for long though. Just until we regroup and rest and then we’ll head back up to the Goblins.”
“I don’t just mean now. I mean forever. I know you’ve said you’ll stay with me, but that was before you rekindled your relationship with your family.”
I looked at him. It hadn’t occurred to me that he’d be worried that I’d want to go back and live in Dronias. “I’m with you. I’m with you whether you want to live in Frokontas or Dronias or anywhere. It doesn’t matter where we are. Wherever I am with you, that is where I call home.”
He nodded and smiled, hopefully feeling more at ease. I gripped his hand tightly. I meant every word of it.
The climb up the mountain was grueling. Even though the view made it a much more pleasant walk, the pretty, grassy banks peppered with beautiful flowers were much sheerer than the rocky mountain paths we’d already climbed. By the time we reached the peak, I was having to hold onto clumps of long grass to pull myself up. It took us the best part of the afternoon to get to the very top. Unlike the jagged edges of the mountains to our left, this peak was a plateau. Flat grasslands, too high for farm animals to reach. About a kilometer ahead of us was some kind of precipice. With any luck, it wouldn’t be too steep on the other side.
With each step to the edge, all I could think about was the canyon we had come through in the boat. If the sides were as steep, we would be stuck up here and Ash’s suggestion of flying would be our only option.
As it was, the edge was only the beginning of a delicate downward slope. Even better, I could see the fenced fields of Frokontas in the distance.
“Home,” smiled Ash as he led me down the hill.
It did feel like home. Dronias wasn’t my home anymore and hadn’t been for some time. I was glad to be back. It had been too long. My only concern was how the people of the town would take my father, or more worryingly, how he would react to them.
He’d been pretty quiet throughout the journey up the hill, but I put that down to wounded pride. Just in case, I held back, waiting while all the others trooped past. My father was at the very back.
“I see Frokontas coming up.”
“The dragon village,” he replied gruffly. It wasn’t a question, more of a statement.
I nodded. “They are good people.”
“All evidence to the contrary.”
I sighed. “You’ve met them in the worst of circumstances. Everyone is annoyed and tired. Spear can be a little hot-headed at times, but let’s be honest, you’ve been much worse.”
“Hrmph.”
“Father!”
“Fine,” he conceded. “I could have put in more effort, but...”
“But?” I raised an eyebrow. It was impossible for my father to admit his shortcomings without making them someone else’s fault. I waited patiently to find out who he was going to blame.
“This Spear guy. I don’t trust him. How do we know he hasn’t got half his city waiting to ambush us? This could all be some kind of trick.”
“For one thing, look in front of you. Frokontas is hardly a city. It’s a smaller village than Dronias. Secondly, Dronias’s bravest and strongest are either out with us or have their souls trapped in our swords. The people left behind are just normal people.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” he huffed. I let Ash stay up ahead, deciding to enter the town with my father. I didn’t trust him to be civil.
As the ground beneath us flattened out and we began the walk through the village, I linked arms with my father. I’d like to say it was because I was his daughter and loved him, but in truth, it was my way of keeping him close to me. My nerves were running high as we entered the fire pit area, but my stomach rumbled anxiously as I took in the smell of meat roasting over a fire. It had been a long time since I had a decent meal.
The Slayers and Wolvren held back as the dragons were welcomed home. I ran to Lucy, giving her a huge hug. Behind her stood Edeline with Fiere, Ash’s recently-reunited parents.
Edeline waited until her daughter had finished with me and then hugged me too.
“Edeline, Fiere, I’d like you to meet someone.”
I beckoned my father forward. He looked uncomfortable but did as I asked. By the time he’d walked around the fire pit, he’d gotten over his awkwardness and pulled himself up to his full height. Even at a disadvantage by being in his perceived enemy’s village, surrounded by dragons, he was not going to show any sign of weakness.
“This is my father, Rocco.”
“How do you do,” said my father stiffly, holding out his hand. Edeline ignored it, instead deciding to hug him, too. I had to stifle a giggle at the look of surprise on his face. I don’t think I’d ever seen my father blush in his life and yet here he was, his face turning the color of a tomato.
Thankfully, Fiere was much more composed. He shook my father’s hand warmly. They were doing a much better job at hiding their dislike for Slayers than my father had at hiding his dislike of dragons. He seemed pretty taken aback by the welcome he’d received and it was with a sigh of relief that I saw him sit by the fire alongside Edeline and eat the food offered to him.
“They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” whispered Morganna when she caught what I was looking at. “I think he might have a small crush on Ash’s mom.”
I laughed. “My father is many things, but he does love my mom. He’d never leave her. I think in this case, he is just really, really hungry.
The dragons served meal after meal until everyone was fed. It was amazing to feel the tension drop after a good meal. I found a place between Ash and Lucy and took an offered plate with freshly baked bread and some of the roasted deer.
Night drew in quickly and with it a cool wind. The fire was kept burning for those of us still outside.
“We should be getting home,” my father said, noticing how dark it had gotten. “Can someone tell me the way?”
“It’s too far and too dangerous to get to your village at night,” said Spear, sidling up to him. At first, I thought he was being nice, until he added, “Not unless you want us to fly you home?”
“No,” replied my father hurriedly. “I’m sure we can walk.”
“Nonsense.” Edeline put her hand on my father’s back. “We have room for you in our house. Any family of Julianna’s is our family too. I’m afraid you’ll have to sleep on the sofa, but I can find you some pillows and a blanket.”
I thought my father would say no, but he nodded. “That would be wonderful. Thank you, Edeline.”
I opened my mouth in shock. Maybe he did have a teeny, tiny crush on Edeline after all.
“Thank you, Edeline,” shouted Spear. “We have a lot of visitors here. Can anyone else offer up a bed for the night? We are going to find the swords, but we cannot do it without the Slayers’ help. Please be considerate and let them stay one night.”
It was one thing sharing a meal with the Slayers and Wolvren, but I could see a look pass between the dragons at the thought of opening their homes to us.
“I have space,” said one woman, putting her hand up. Morganna and Alpha were the closest to her, so they got to go back with her. Once the first few people had spoken up, it didn’t take long for the others to volunteer, too, until there were only a few Slayers and Wolvren left. Spear graciously invited them to his own house.
Ash took my hand and led me back to the house he shared with Lucy and their parents. As we crossed the threshold, I could hear my father and Edeline conversing upstairs.
“In all your life, did you ever expect to have the leader of the Slayers staying on your sofa?” I asked in a whisper.
“No,” grinned Ash, shutting the door behind him. “No, I did not.
Chapter Eight
I had never slept so soundly in my life. Exhaustion had sent me into a
dreamless sleep that lasted way longer than eight hours. In fact, it was mid-morning before the smell of something cooking woke me up. Something that smelled like bacon.
Firecracker, the family dog, greeted me in her usual exuberant manner as I opened the door to the bedroom. Padding from door to door, I saw and heard no one. The house was empty.
“Where is everyone?” I asked Firecracker, giving her a friendly tickle behind the ears. She responded with a woof.
The delicious smell became stronger as I made my way down to the ground floor. Opening the front door, I saw a whole group of people sitting around the fire pit. I picked out my father straight away. He was sitting, chatting amiably with Edeline and Fiere with a plate loaded with food on his lap. It was a nice surprise to see him acting so laid back. The fire pit was always busy, but today, there weren’t enough seats for everyone. People were standing around, waiting their turn to take some of the bacon and eggs that were being fried over the fire. Up in the air, the sky was a riot of color, filled as it was with dragons. It reminded me of a kite festival I’d been to once where we’d flown kites of every color.
“So, you’re finally awake,” Ash said, coming over to me and kissing my cheek. Firecracker wagged her tail at him and then bounded off in the general direction of the food.
“You should have woken me,” I replied with a smile. “I’ve never seen so many dragons up in the air.” I looked up and Ash followed suit.
“That’s because of you,” Ash replied, leading me to the line for breakfast.
I grabbed a plate and joined the line. My stomach rumbled in anticipation. “What do you mean, because of me?”
“A lot of those dragons are the ones you saved. If you hadn’t used your blood to save them, they’d still be stuck in the swords.”
I looked up again. I’d not noticed before, but now that Ash had mentioned it, they did look like they were happy to be free. One of them did a loop-the-loop before gliding to the ground. It gave me a deep sense of satisfaction, seeing the dragons flying up there, and made me ache to be up there again myself. Having a dragon boyfriend had its perks.
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