by J E Mueller
“And there’s no rush on anything. Think on it however long you need,” Aylum chimed in.
“I think now might be a good time for us to venture elsewhere for a turn,” Adyana commented nonchalantly.
“Agreed,” Edelora stated cheerfully.
I glanced over to see the two of them loop an arm through either of Soleia’s before setting off in the opposite direction.
I stopped and watched them go while Aylum stayed beside me.
“I can’t imagine what you’re feeling,” Aylum commented after a moment.
“I don’t even know what I’m feeling,” I admitted. “Disbelief maybe? Surprise for sure. I don’t know where to begin with all of this. Everything feels upside down.”
Aylum hugged me. “Sorry to turn everything on its head.”
“I’m sure it is for the best in the long run.” I held him tightly. “I just, I don’t know. What now?” That was the real question at this point.
“Mull over the facts for a bit, or this is actually a really perfect area to consider some dragon nonsense. Transforming isn’t actually that hard, it just takes a little extra help the first time, and less help the next couple.”
I took in his words. I wanted to hesitate, question it all, but a far stronger part of me craved to try out this magic. I didn’t just want to try, I needed to. I always wanted to push my magical limits, see how far I could go before I hit the ceiling. Now the sky was the limit in so many ways.
“How do you even do it?” I pulled away to ask Aylum.
He smiled. “We’ll need the others, but basically we hold a thread of transforming magic, and instead of using it and applying it as normal, we wrap it around you. You’ll feel the difference and should notice that magic within yourself. Once you can grab on, you’ll transform.
That didn’t sound hard at all. “Why does it need so many then?”
“Dragons are notoriously stubborn creatures. The magic doesn’t always want to stir, despite clearly being there. It likes to sleep. If you don’t have enough to help awaken it, the other person will just end up with a terrible migraine,” Aylum explained.
I guess that was all there was to it. “And four is enough?”
Aylum chuckled. “Not normally, but the royal bloodline is immensely strong. Soleia is a very gifted tracker and her mates are equally powerful. Usually, it would take about six to eight.”
So we weren’t changing it by much. I nodded. What was a headache if it didn’t work anyway? It wasn’t my first go around with terrible migraines. “Okay. Let’s try it then.”
Aylum nodded and turned to see if he could see them.
“Before that though.” I remembered something. “Soleia said I even smelled human. What’s going on with that bit?”
“You’ve never taken a dragon form.” Aylum shrugged. “If we stay in human form for an extended time the dragon smell fades. It’s near impossible to tell. At the same time though it’s also hard not to even take a half form. You’ve felt how sometimes your magic just builds and builds and needs to be released. It is much harder to satisfy that need with lower magic once you’ve transformed. Thankfully we can just take to the skies and fly at will. Being invisible makes it easy.”
I could accept that answer at least. “Very well.”
Aylum nodded. “They’ll be over shortly.”
“This mental thing, can you explain that a bit more too?”
“That is a lot weirder. Not everyone can establish a connection. It takes a lot of power or the right innate talent. I have the power to do so, but had to learn the skill. Soleia has both the power and the innate talent,” Aylum explained. “I can create a connection with anyone and it’ll last for as long as I put the minimal magical effort into maintaining it. Once I let go of it, it fades. Same with Soleia, but once she has a connection formed she can easily stir it up again without all the ceremony. She will always be able to reach out to me on a whim, while I actually have to start over, having her close enough to form the connection.”
“That’s pretty neat. So not everyone can do it?”
“No, not everyone can start a connection, but if someone else does, anyone can be involved in it,” Aylum replied.
“We have returned!” Edelora called as they reached us. “What mischief do we get to perform?”
“All of them hopefully,” Adyana agreed with glee.
“All of them? What more could there be?”
“In theory, if we get everything to work the first time, which we should, we can go on a nice flight,” Soleia explained.
“What about all the little things? Being invisible will be a new thing to figure out too.” As would flying.
“Nothing to worry about there.” Edelora shrugged.
“That’s easy enough,” Aylum agreed. “If you can’t do that we can keep you invisible. We have enough collective magic to maintain a group.”
“And it’s not like you’ll get too far from us anyway. The learning curve isn’t hard but always awkward,” Adyana added.
“Let’s go find a more flat area to do this.” Soleia glanced around before leading the way.
We walked for a short bit before reaching somewhere Soleia saw fit. From there they circled around me.
“This might feel uncomfortable,” Soleia cautioned.
“It’ll definitely feel uncomfortable.” Aylum laughed. “Not painful, but very uncomfortable.”
“Can’t be any worse than the headaches,” I shrugged.
“Those always sound worse and far more annoying,” Adyana agreed.
“Close your eyes when you’re ready,” Aylum instructed.
I did so as my heart raced. “Ready.” This would certainly prove if any of this was real or not. I couldn’t mentally register it being a fact without some sort of proof.
Magic swirled around us as they pulled what they needed to. I could feel them send something to me and it wrap around me. It felt off, and very different, but somehow not. A sense of deja vu over magic I hadn’t touched before.
The magic started to tug and pull at me, as if it was looking for a crack, a weakness to exploit. It nudged and shoved, and suddenly I felt it coursing through me. It begged to wrap through my entire being -heart and soul. It craved to be part of me, one with me.
I allowed it, let it release and felt as if I were breathing fresh air for the first time. It was freeing. I hadn’t realized how tense and stuffy my head always felt until it was gone.
I exhaled in relief and found it felt odd, sounded odd. I opened my eyes and saw everyone was standing well below me. Panic momentarily coursed through me until I realized it had worked. I held a hand, er leg, up to inspect before trying to turn my head and getting a better look at myself. I was a light pastel purple with a darker purple outlining my scales.
I had to admit, it looked good. I turned to look at everyone, wondering how I talked. Maybe just as normal? “What now?”
“You figured it out.” Aylum beamed.
“Perfect. I was wondering if she would be able to talk to all of us right away or not.” Soleia smiled.
“Now we can fly!” Adyana cheered.
“That does not sound easy.” My wings were easy enough to stretch but how could they make me fly? They felt odd, the extra limb something I wasn’t used to feeling.
“It’s not that bad.” Aylum backed up several paces before transforming himself. “I’ll show you.”
The others were quickly behind him, glad to transform and stretch their wings.
There was a lot of demonstrating. While I thought it was dumb to go over different ways to angle wings, it quickly became apparent the second I was in the air why it was needed. Every shift could send me this way or that, higher or lower. I enjoyed every second of figuring it out first hand. I laughed as I swam through the air. The breeze a gentle caress as wind passed by me. My mind felt clearer than it had ever before.
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but none of this was it. Everything felt right, perfect even
. I didn’t want it to ever come to an end, but it had to. The whole experience was ridiculously draining. My body had enough for now.
“So this landing thing… How does one do it?” I finally asked.
“Usually roughly at first.” Soleia gave a delighted cackle.
Aylum snorted as he flew beside me. “Sadly, it just takes a lot of practice. The easiest way is to just lower yourself. Follow my lead.”
Landing was destined to be the bane of my existence in all forms. I watched them all do the same landing, almost the same exact way. My feet just wanted to be constantly tripped up under me. There was no simple ‘just lower yourself’ to it. I fell hard on my face twice, the third time to my left side.
After a few more rough landings, I thought for sure I could figure it out, I was feeling beat up. “That might be enough for one day,” I finally said, feeling sore and bruised all over.
“We should get back anyway,” Aylum agreed. “We’ll have enough time to get ready and rest a bit before the festival tonight.”
“But how do I… I don't know, stop dragoning about then?”
I could hear everyone laughing. I had not figured out how to not talk to everyone. I couldn’t seem to signal one person out. It was all or nothing.
“You never stop dragoning about.” Soleia snickered. “It’s who you are. Transforming back isn’t hard though.”
“Do you remember that release you felt before transforming?” Adyana asked. “It’s the exact opposite of that. You’ll pull that feeling back inside.”
Because that made sense. I sighed but closed my eyes as I tried to concentrate on that feeling. The magic around me was very different in this form. There was no hiding that fact. I tried to focus on that, on reigning in that feeling, that magic. I saw what Adyana meant. I could feel how I did have control of it and tugged, pulling it in like a fishing line.
My head felt light as I did so, and I wobbled for a moment before I opened my eyes to see I was back on my normal two feet. Everyone was already back to normal. They did have experience on their side.
“Do you need to walk it off?” Soleia asked as they all watched me carefully.
“I think I’m fine. Just very tired.” That wasn’t a huge surprise. Most new magic was exhausting.
“We will see you tonight then.” Edelora smiled. “That wasn’t too bad for your what, third day in Dustarn?”
I gave a small laugh. “It was certainly unexpected.”
“I’ll fly us back.” Aylum smiled. “You’ll get the hang of it soon enough.”
I didn’t complain. That sounded like a fantastic idea. “Perfect. Let’s go. A small nap is going to be a must if we’re doing anything tonight.”
It was extra nice to have someone carry me this time. I found I was able to relax much easier lying across Aylum’s back while he flew than I had before. Thankfully I knew we didn’t have a long flight back.
Something felt off as we flew. “What is that?”
“Another dragon trying to hail me and talk…” he grumbled. “I am not in the mood to deal with Saelnesia and her friends though.”
“Can it be avoided?” I asked hopefully.
“Normally, yes. It would appear that she is not taking my decline seriously,” Aylum groaned.
“How rude.” I had already gotten off on the wrong foot with her once. “She decided to say hi last night while you were with the dragons. She was rude enough that your mother dismissed her immediately.”
“Really? I wish you told me sooner.”
“I honestly forgot. You had all explained her well enough that I expected nothing less.” It was true. There was no reason to feel slighted by someone who was known to be a hateful menace.
“Aylum! It’s been too long,” I heard her say through our connection.
“Saelnesia.” He inclined his head for a brief moment, looking back. “I am actually very busy right now. You’ll have to excuse me.”
“And why is that? There is plenty of time before the festival. We haven’t gone for a flight in a long while. Much too long.” She giggled in a very stereotypical girly way.
I could have gagged. It reminded me far too much of Cressida and Celibria’s fake laughs.
“Again, I am busy,” he insisted, not changing his route.
“Oh come on Aylum, your people have missed you,” one of her friends chimed in.
“It’s been too long. You’ve broken our hearts by being so far away,” the other pleaded.
“I am due back home and there is no changing that,” he replied neutrally. I could feel the frustration radiating off him and admired his overall calm.
“You can’t let that silly little human consume all your time,” Saelnesia tossed in. “She doesn’t belong here.”
I tapped him thrice. “It’ll be more fun if they don’t know,” I decided.
Aylum gave a small chuckle. “I agree. Eventually, it’ll be more fun when you can show that off.” He resumed talking to them, “If I say she belongs here, she does. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
Aylum beat his wings stronger as he darted away from them before speaking to me again, “Thankfully, they can’t follow me home. Dragons need to keep a reasonable breath away or the guards will be on them. They’d have to go through the main entrance where I’m certain mother won’t be interested in them if they should call. Nesia made a big mistake slighting you in front of her.”
“Sounds like that saves us a lot of trouble.” I laughed.
“Agreed.”
Aylum landed and I was thrilled to be back, away from the silly drama. Thinking on the ridiculous way Saelnesia was acting took my mind off the landing, making it feel far less intense. I hoped she would get over everything quickly, but if not, I wasn’t going to let her spoil the mood. Tonight was going to be wonderful.
Chapter Thirty-One
The festival was less about the acts and more about the vendors for the first part of the night, while the second was all about the music and dancing. I was far more used to formal dancing than large crowds dancing, but that didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the change. It felt more freeing.
For a little bit.
I was not surprised when I saw Saelnesia again, and this time with a much bigger group. She was certainly relentless. I wasn’t sure what to think of her. It was clear Aylum not only didn’t want her attention but preferred to avoid her.
I tugged on his sleeve and nodded toward her in order to warn him, but there was no stopping it. She was on us before he could even say a word.
“Aylum! It was such a shame we couldn’t chat earlier!” Saelnesia exclaimed, getting in between us.
Soleia was having none of that and roughly moved her aside, glaring all the while. “Excuse you, I don’t think you noticed the prince’s fiance there.”
Aylum moved to my side, wrapping an arm around me. “I don’t think it was a shame. I heard your words about Kareia from yesterday, and today you’ve shown no remorse.”
Saelnesia bowed her head slightly. “You’ll have to forgive me for my vocal opinions. I speak for many of us.”
“Your following is not many,” Aylum replied tiredly. “You are dismissed.”
“I wouldn’t be so quick to be rid of me. I may be understanding, but my following is not. They might seek to right the wrongs against me.” Saelnesia’s lips curled into an evil smile, her following sharing much the same expression.
“Your threat is heard loud and clear.” Soleia glared at her. “Clan Vindith is well known by my family, clan Merineth.”
Nesia sized her up before returning the glare. “A tracker? Understood.” She shook her head. “What the fire says goes. One cannot prevent what the flames show.” With that she sashayed away.
“What did she even mean by that?” Aylum looked more than just annoyed by her.
“The fire does what it wants but it never lies.” I shrugged. “What she saw today might change tomorrow, might not even exist as a possibility next week. It can deceive, showing the angle
s you desire. She needs to remember though, the fire shows what it wants. It may not show the full story.”
“Scrying?” Edelora scoffed. “That fire is the worst form to rely on.”
“Agreed.” I had no problem admitting that. “It’s tiresome and likes to play games. You can never truly be ahead of it. You can only hope to understand and prepare for the worst.”
“Kareia is only able to scry with fire,” Soleia explained to her mates.
Adyana chuckled. “I love how there were so many signs of you being a dragon.”
“Why didn’t anyone say something sooner?” I complained as they made another point.
“There was nothing to be done back in Valenston.” Soleia shrugged. “Even if I could have told you sooner, there was no way to prove it.”
“I suppose that’s fair.” I sighed.
Aylum wrapped his arms around me into a hug. “You seem tired. Do you want to head back?”
“No. I won’t let them ruin my night.” I smiled up at him.
“Maybe a sweet treat and then more dancing?” Adyana suggested.
“Perfect,” I agreed as we left the crowd. Good food was always an easy way to cheer anyone up.
It was only slightly easier getting to the vendors than yesterday. While the main crowd was at the heart of the festival dancing, people were still everywhere enjoying the sideshows, food, and just congregating away from the mass in general. I was surprised with how many people there were.
“Is it always so busy?” I asked as we waited our turn in line.
“Yeah, this festival is usually about this size,” Edelora commented as she glanced around.
“The summer one is bigger, but it’s also in a larger area so it doesn’t feel as cramped,” Adyana commented.
“What would you like?” Aylum asked as we moved forward.
I shrugged. “Surprise me. Eventually, I’ll try it all.”
He chuckled and debated over which would be best with Soleia. I glanced around at the sights while they discussed, wanting to be surprised by whatever they chose. It was easy enough to be distracted. There was someone juggling some sort of sticks on fire, a series of acrobats doing a routine, and tons of groups wandering.