by Katie Cherry
“Nathan… are you sure you’re okay?” I can’t help but ask again.
“Of course,” he replies with a grin. “Never felt better. It’s like… man, I just can’t explain it. It’s like nothing can get me down… there’s nothing I can’t do. I’ve never felt so powerful.” I don’t reply for a few seconds, staring at his face as he beams proudly at me. Envy suddenly hits me and my chest feels tight. I look away from him and shove it down before he can notice. I don’t want to mar his joy.
But even on an energy high, he still seems to know me too well. He reaches out and takes my hand, pulling me to a stop before I open the front doors. “Crystal. I just want you to know that no matter what happens, I’m here to help you. With anything. I won’t stop until you get your Gifts back too.” I can’t stand to look into his hopeful, hazel eyes, so I look away and don’t respond. “Crystal,” he repeats, his voice insistent. I drag my gaze back to his. “Crystal, I know you don’t trust that it can happen. But I do. So just… believe in me, okay?”
Standing so close to him, I can practically feel the confidence radiating from him along with the energy. The look in his eyes, the intensity I find there, makes it impossible for me to deny him. Taking a steadying breath to help fight back the tears I can feel threatening, I finally just nod and look away again. He gives a small laugh and wraps his arms around me, pulling me into a strong hug. I lay my head on his shoulder and cling to him, silent tears running down my nose. He puts a hand on the back of my head, soothing down my hair as the underwater current twists it into crazy directions. “I will always be here for you, Crystal,” he murmurs by my ear. “Always.”
<<
Nathan watches the group of mermen as they swim ahead of him and Crystal, but his thoughts remain on her. Now that the high of regaining his Gifts was tapering off, he could actually focus on developing a plan to help Crystal get her Gifts back. Obviously swimming through the ocean day by day to get Kaifeng to help them was impractical, especially during a war, but what else could they do? If only she could find a way to visit those… ponds in her mind by herself, it would be relatively easy to get her Gifts back. Well, assuming it would even work. Still, it was a place to start.
The leader of the mer-warriors suddenly stops and turns to Crystal. They’ve reached a point where the water was only barely above their heads. Nathan can clearly see the twenty-four other mermaids shivering with fear. He feels a pang of sympathy for them. They were about to abandon all they’d ever known. “Dragongirl?” the leader salutes, “Would you do us the honor of leading us onto your land?”
“Of course,” she replies, waving for Nathan to follow her as she swims forward. The mer-warriors part for them. Nathan walks up onto the shore, surprised that he isn’t tired or feeling heavy like he usually would after getting out of the water, let alone after such a long swim. I guess the effects of whatever the mermaid King did hasn’t totally worn off yet, he figures. He and Crystal step back to leave room on the sand for the mer-warriors to join them. The leader, Krasnigor, is the first to emerge from the water, a determined look on his face. His light green hair falls to his shoulders, dripping. Once he’s out of the water to his chest, he suddenly falls forward onto his hands and newly formed knees. Crystal and Nathan help pull him the rest of the way onto the sand. Krasnigor gasps as his gills close, leaving thin white lines on his neck. Nathan leaves him to figure out what’s happening and helps the next mer-warrior to emerge- the second in command, Keyana.
After pulling her beside Krasnigor, she slaps him away, gasping her first lungful of air. “Leave me alone, human,” she snarls. “Don’t touch me.”
Nathan raises his hands up and steps away. “Alright, alright. Just trying to help.” He and Crystal manage to get the rest of the mermaids out of the water without too much of a struggle, but teaching them to walk takes longer than they’d like. The sun had set by the time they and their group of twenty-five warriors reach the Village.
“Crap.”
“What is it?” Crystal asks.
“I just realized. Where are we going to put them all?” Nathan responds. “The houses are all filled with Villagers and Sohos.”
Keyana steps up beside Nathan. “Mer-warriors are trained to sleep under the harshest of conditions. We will sleep outside.”
“Are you-”
“We’ll be fine,” she growls, irritated.
“Alright, fine,” he replies, done dealing with her. “You and Krasnigor come to the meeting in the morning at the Dragon castle, then.”
“We will come,” Krasnigor replies with a slight bow. Nathan and Crystal dip their heads in return before turning and trudging through the Village streets to the castle.
“Man, who knew mermaids were so irritating,” Nathan murmurs to Crystal as they walk. “I mean I know Keyana just got her legs, but she doesn’t have to be so harsh about everything.”
Crystal shrugs. “Remember when we were told that mermaids ate people? I’m pretty sure Kaifeng is unusually even-tempered for his kind. We can’t exactly judge all mermaids on just what we know of him.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Nathan admits. “Still. I wish Keyana would just chill out.” Crystal chuckles a little at this. He looks over at her and his heart squeezes. He had missed her so much over the summer, and when he had heard about her, it was only to discover that she had been kidnapped yet again… There was no way he could do that again. Every time he wasn’t there to protect her, she got hurt. Her dragon part would get locked away, her Gifts stolen, her own mind controlled by the Dragon Hunters… there wasn’t much left for them to remove. And there was no way he’d ever give them the chance to take anything else from her- nor take her from him.
He would protect her. Always. No matter the cost.
<<
I wake up early in the morning, surprised at how good I feel. I don’t remember why I’m so happy until I look down at the floor beside my bed where Nathan was sleeping. His words from the day before come back to me in a rush. “I will always be here for you, Crystal. …Always.” Warmth floods my body as I realize just how much he cares about me. Maybe… Maybe if Angela wasn’t…
I stop the thought before it can even continue. Nathan may want to protect me, but our relationship would never reach the point that it had with him and Angela. Besides… he was probably just saying that because he was feeling so powerful he instinctively felt the need to protect and provide. If Angela were there, he’d have said the same thing. Heck, if Sierra were there he would have said it. He’s loyal to his friends.
And that’s all I am to him. And all I will ever be. I sigh heavily, my initial good feelings completely evaporated.
I quickly dress, then wake Nathan in time for the meeting. Keyana and Krasnigor are there, staring warily at all the people in the room, one hand on their sword hilts. “Good morning, Krasnigor,” I greet, preferring to talk to him rather than his irritable, sunset-haired companion.
“Good morning, Dragongirl.”
“How did you sleep?”
He looks surprised at the question. “We slept fine, of course. We can sleep anywhere, given the need. We can even go days without sleep at all if needed,” he replies.
“Good, good… hey, I need to go talk to my dad. Feel free to sit down,” I invite, gesturing to the table.
“We will stand,” Keyana replies stiffly. I shrug and don’t reply.
“Crystal,” Alexander sighs with relief when he sees me. “There you are. Those two over there… with the orange and green hair. They look… like mermaids.”
“They are,” I reply. “Kaifeng gave them legs so they could help us fight the Dragon Hunters.”
“What? Why would you ask him to do such a thing? To a mermaid, their tails are everything!” he gasps.
“I… I didn’t ask him to. He was already planning on sending them before I even got there. It was his idea.”
His face is blank with shock for a moment before he can manage to speak. “Wel
l. Okay, then.” He then looks over at Nathan, who is standing by my chair, waiting for me to join him. “Why is Nathan here? I didn’t add him to the council.”
“I know. I invited him.” I wait for him to protest, but he just sighs.
“Well then I guess now is as good a time to talk as any.” He waves Nathan over, who cautiously joins us. “Nathan. Crystal. I’m sure you are aware that Patrick is, as we speak, having people search for Rex, my other son.”
“Yes, that’s what I discovered on First Earth,” Nathan confirms.
“Well, I can’t spare many people to do the same, given this war we’re in, but…” he hesitates and Pearl finishes for him.
“We need you two to find our son.”
“What? Now? Are you kidding me?” I gasp. “Bigger picture, here! I can help with the Dragons, the Mermaids, and the Sohos. I can help with the Dragon Slayers. I can’t… I can’t just leave!”
“You can, and you will,” Alexander growls. “You want to help? Fine. But I will not allow you to be on the front lines in this war. Do you understand me?”
I glower angrily at him as I roll this new development over in my mind. Was I really needed here anymore? The Sohos and Mermaids both know my mom and dad. Everyone can get along just fine without me. And without my Gifts, dragon part, or dependable magic to use, what else would I even be able to help with?
I look up to find Nathan watching me with those sparkling hazel eyes. Once again, his words echo through my mind. “I will always be here for you, Crystal…” He was waiting to see what I would say. I realize in that moment that he would follow me anywhere. He would probably bring Angela along with, the voice in the back of my mind whispers.
But I would get to see Nathan more often and not miss him as bad as I had over the summer, I argue back. “…Fine,” I finally say, looking back at the tall form of my father.
He looks surprised by my sudden acceptance. “Thank you, Crystal.”
Nathan rubs his hands together, looking excited. “Great! Where do we go first?”
“Quagon,” Pearl replies. Nathan looks over at me and grins. I can’t help but smile back.
“You leave today,” Alexander continues.
“Wait… what?”
“There’s no time to delay. Unless you think that we can gain more with you just waiting here, where Patrick can come and snatch you again at any time?” he prods.
I groan. “Alright, fine. But, Nora…”
“We’ll send Angela with her when she’s healed,” Pearl assures me.
I sigh and accept this. “So, that’s it? Just… drop everything and go?”
Vlad walks up behind me and lays a hand on my shoulder. “I know it’s rough. But I’ve arranged to have a couple of people who live on Quagon to be ready to assist you with anything you need. They’ll help you get to know Quagon and get a rough idea of where to look for Rex.”
I look at all of their faces. “Wow. That was sudden… can I have just one day?”
“Why?” Pearl asks curiously.
I look down at my feet, embarrassed. “Well… I’d just… like to make sure that Chet will be okay,” I mutter, a blush creeping onto my cheeks, which I quickly banish.
Alexander laughs for the first time in a while, and I look up at him cautiously. “Alright. I’m sure Nathan would like to say goodbye to Angela as well before you two leave anyway, am I right?” he adds with a wink at him. Now it’s his turn to blush.
“Well, I… I mean…”
He laughs again and gives Nathan a reassuring slap on the back. “Not to worry, not to worry, I’ve seen it many times in my day. Alright, you two can both spend the day saying your goodbyes. Vladimir here will prepare a portal for you in the morning.
“Wait,” Nathan quickly jumps in. “Can you… send us home first, too? Just for a little bit. So we can pack up the things we need and such.”
“Ah, yes of course,” Alexander agrees. “That’s probably a good idea.”
Vlad pipes up once more. “You’ll also want to say your goodbyes while you’re there.”
“Wait, what? I thought you could freeze time between the realms while we’re gone,” I point out.
“Yes, well, that only works between your home realm and Zilferia. With both of you going to Quagon, it would be impossible to freeze the time while you’re gone. Especially with Zilferia so out of tune with the other realms.”
“What’s this about Zilferia being out of tune?” Nathan asks, confused.
“Zilferia is the central realm,” he begins. “The only way to travel between the realms is if you go through Zilferia. It’s, shall we say, the ‘key realm.’ It has a connection to each of the other realms. It’s through this connection that we are able to create portals. There are fewer and fewer points on each realm where the portals can be placed, and they’re not as stable and predictable as they once were, either. The connection Zilferia has to the other realms is weakened due to the Dragon Hunters and the amount of stress that is being put on the land of Zilferia due to the war. Everything is a little out of balance. So I could usually at least slow the time in your realms while you’re gone, but with all of this… I’m afraid I won’t be able to do so.”
“So we’re leaving our families for who knows how long and we’re supposed to tell them and just hope that they’re okay with it?” Nathan slowly asks incredulously.
“I’m afraid so,” Pearl sighs. “There’s no other way.”
Nathan swallows and glances at me, then nods. “Alright. Whatever I can do to help.”
“Thank you,” Pearl says with a soft smile. “Ordinarily I wouldn’t be asking this, of course, but…”
“We have no other choice,” I murmur, once again looking down at my feet. If the Dragon Hunters were hunting down Rex, I had to find him first. Given what they had done to me, Nathan, and Hunter… the odds were not in Rex’s favor. I had to save everyone I could from them. This had become my mission, for better or for worse.
******
The rest of the day seems to pass in a blur. I spend most of it with Chet, but I also said my farewells to the Sohos, the mermaids, and a lot of the Villagers. The news of what we were doing seemed to spread like wildfire through the Village, and every person Nathan or I passed would stop us and wish us luck. Many thanked me for all I had done for them, which surprised me. I didn’t think anyone really knew what I had done, and I certainly hadn’t expected to receive any recognition.
Chet heals quickly, but not quickly enough to get permission to go with Nathan and me to Quagon. He says he wants to come with me and help me however he can, and while I would like that, I actually side with my parents on keeping him in Zilferia. Although it cheers him up a little when I tell him what a great help he’d be to me, with him protecting my parents and the rest of the Council. I can’t help but want to take him with me, though. He seems to get snatched by the Dragon Hunters almost as often as I do. I worry about him.
Nathan spends the night on my floor again since there’s nowhere else for him to sleep. The hospital doesn’t have much room either, and they already told him he’s cleared to go anyway. We’re both fine with the arrangement. I feel comforted with him sleeping in the same room, and he’s fine sleeping on the floor. He falls asleep before I do. Long before I do, in fact. It seemed to have taken the entire day, but the energy spike from getting his Gifts back had finally led to the small crash that eventually follows. I doubt anything could really wake him at this point.
Regardless, I walk to my balcony quietly so I don’t run the risk of waking him. Once out in the night, I breathe in the fresh, clean air and lean on the railing, looking out at the land. The terrible wounds ripped into the earth are cloaked in darkness, and for a moment I’m able to convince myself that there is no desperate war raging on Zilferia. I’m able to convince myself that the only thing I need to concern myself with is finding Rex, with Nathan as my partner. Just as we decided all those months ago, standing in this very spot together.
Ev
erything had seemed so much simpler back then. And while maybe things are worse now, there was one spot of light amidst the darkness that surrounded me. One thing that I could hold onto, through all the crap that happened and all the hopelessness that dragged me down.
After all, he promised he would be there for me. Always.
EPILOGUE
Alyssa
A strong wind roars through the forest, tearing past the trees so quickly they don’t even make their usual music. Leaves are ripped from the trees and pulled along through the air, trembling with the force of the wind. Their winding path through the trees goes uninterrupted until-
“Gah!” Hunter cries, prying the leaves from his face. “Stupid leaves,” he mutters, dropping them to the ground. The wind gusts once more and he pulls his cloak closer, still mumbling to himself.
“Hunter?” The call comes from behind him- from the direction of the castle, which was getting further away with every frustrated step he took. “Hunter?” The call comes again, closer this time. Recognizing the voice, Hunter stops with a sigh. Soon, a blonde-haired girl comes into view.
“Alyssa,” Hunter groans, “I want to be alone. You know that.”
She comes closer, mischievousness sparkling in her light green eyes. “No one really wants to be alone, silly. Even the fearless new leader of the Dragon Hunters.” She comes closer and makes his hood lie flat on his shoulders and back. She leaves her arms there, resting on his shoulders. “Do you really want to send me away, my dashing Prince?” she adds flirtatiously.
He laughs, finally relaxing. “You always know just how to soften me up,” he smiles. She smiles in return before stretching up to kiss him. Their kiss is interrupted by a crashing sound in the trees nearby. Hunter immediately jumps back from Alyssa, pulling his sword out in the same movement. Alyssa mirrors his movements. “Stay behind me,” he murmurs, quickly and quietly moving towards the source of the noise.
Hunter emerges into a small clearing. Waving for Alyssa to stay among the trees, he slowly creeps into the clearing. Before Hunter can react, a lithe red dragon slithers into the clearing. It growls at Hunter, who growls back. Hunter then charges the beast, which leaps over him. Hunter’s sword lightly scrapes the belly as it flies over him, not even drawing blood. Spinning, he catches sight of the dragon’s true goal.