“Whoops, sorry. I probably should have let all of you sleep in.”
It seemed like a dozen things happened at once. Mallory fell off of the couch trying to finagle herself onto the floor so she could get to me, Mickey burst into happy tears, and Bronn threw his arms around me in a hug, kissing the top of my head repeatedly.
“Don’t you ever do that again,” he said between kisses. I could hear the pain in his voice as he spoke, and I wondered how many sleepless nights he spent blaming himself.
“I won’t,” I said. “I promise.”
I had known that my last request of him would weigh on his conscience, and I could sense that there was a lot of healing that we were going to have to go through with that, but like everything else, it could wait.
“Good.” Another kiss before he looked to the rest of the room. “Well, now that we have you back, how about we celebrate? Mallory, fetch one of my staff. I think it’s time for a feast in bed. I imagine being a near-omnipotent spirit can really work up the appetite.”
“You have no idea…” I murmured, feeling my stomach growl with a surprising ferocity.
“Good. We have quite a few missed meals to account for.”
I didn’t know who ran for the staff, but by the time he finished his sentence, there was a maid at the door with a notepad. I watched in amusement as Bronn quickly listed off everything he wanted. While he was talking, Mickey gently gripped my arm and whispered to me.
“Do you think you’d like to wash up and change clothes?” she asked. “We went and got some clothes from back home, and they’re all washed and waiting for you.”
“Why?” I asked, looking at her curiously.
“I just thought it might be refreshing—”
“No, I mean, why did you go get clothes? I was dead and as far as you knew, I wasn’t coming back.”
“…well…I felt like I needed something to bury if I was ever going to be able to accept that you were gone.”
Oh.
I was going to have to be more considerate with my questions from now on. Quickly, I changed the subject.
“You know what, a quick washup and change of outfit sounds nice.”
“Hah, I’m glad.”
She offered her other hand and helped me slide out of bed, my body still a bit disconnected from itself and wobbly. I didn’t even get to scoot my butt of the edge of the mattress before Bronn caught my arm, though.
“Where are you going?” His tone was more alarmed than demanding, and I could see the fear across his features.
“Just over to the next room,” I answered gently. “I’ll be back in a bit. You just finish up your preparations.”
“It’s fine, I can come with you.”
“Not unless you wanna see me get naked and shower.” His face flushed red from his neck all the way up to his white hair, and I chuckled. “That’s what I thought.”
Mickey laughed too and finished pulling me to my feet while Mallory came up on my other side. Together, the three of us managed to get to the bathroom.
It wasn’t like I couldn’t walk, but I definitely felt like some sort of newborn fawn trying to figure out how to put one leg in front of the other. Having one of them on either side helped steady me, and I ended up safely seated on the edge of the tub while they helped me out of my old, dirty clothes.
Normally, I was a fairly modest person, but these two women had been with me through anything. In fact, I’d known them both long enough to know that while they were both being loving, caring, and supportive of me, they were basically ignoring each other. Had something happened while I was dead?
I didn’t ask. I had a limited amount of energy and I wasn’t going to waste it on anything but enjoying this small calm before the storm.
Besides, getting into the bath required a whole lot of concentration, and it ended up taking close to an hour before I was dressed and hobbling back to the bed.
It seemed almost as soon as I was seated, treats were coming in. First was a tray with passion fruit-guava juice and a pitcher of icy-cold water, then a huge platter with all sorts of assorted sandwiches.
I would have been contented if it ended there, but then there were all sorts of finger foods, which I loved, and I spotted a platter that was just seafood, and if that wasn’t enough, then came the custards, cakes, and ice cream fixings. By the time everything was said and done, all of the free space in my room was pretty much entirely taken over by the smorgasbord.
I wasn’t complaining. I dug in like…well, like a woman who hadn’t eaten in a couple months. Krisjian was definitely a champ too, downing what had to be at least a good percentage of his bodyweight. It seemed that even after a little over a week in the first world, he was still making up for all of his years of hunger.
Of course, Mallory was never a chump when it came to eating, neither was Mal, and Bronn had the caloric need of a whole dragon, so pretty much, it was only Mickey who ate what a normal human might expect to.
She didn’t mind, though, and gently teased us about chewing before swallowing. The celebration was surreal in its simplicity. Just the group of us, enjoying each other’s company and learning more about each other.
It was as I listened to us laugh, and eventually fall quiet, then pick up the conversation again, that a picture began to form in the back of my mind. I could see us all in the future, older, grizzled, and more scarred, but still all friends.
Still all family.
It was a good feeling and I swore to myself there would be no more noble sacrifices. I would find a way to get all of us through the coming maelstrom.
It seemed almost exactly as I concluded that thought that a soldier came running in.
“Your Highness! They’re mounting an attack! It’ll be here in minutes!”
The soldier didn’t have to clarify who they were, and Bronn was on his feet instantly.
“Order all of our soldiers to get ready! I want them fully armed and in form within ten minutes!”
Suddenly, he whipped around and pressed a kiss to my mouth. “I am sorry I must leave you so fast, but now that I have you again, I cannot let any harm come to you.”
I nodded, letting him run off, and the entire castle seemed to burst to life. It looked like my little celebration was over.
It was time.
19
Put Your Guard Up
Davie
I let the fervor go on for several minutes, the rest of my company nervously trying to comfort me, and I saw Mal eying the room for various ways to barricade it. The vision of their mangled, battered bodies played through my head, but I held onto the fact that one thing was very different.
“Krisjian,” I said once I was ready to finish this.
“Yes, Miss Davie?”
I snorted. “Please, since when did ‘miss’ get added on? I’ve always been Davie.”
“That was before they told me how you died to make sure that everyone else got home safe, and that those dragons could never come here and hurt a single person. If I had known that you were a hero…”
“What, you would have listened to me without all that paranoid insistence that I was a hallucination?”
He seemed to think about it, then smiled sheepishly. “…probably not.”
“That’s right,” I said, ruffling his hair. “Because it’s been drilled into you like a second nature so you can survive, and that’s why I’m willing to bet that you’ll be able to help me.”
“Anything. What can I do?”
“I know you’ve scoped this place out for places to run or hide. In your squirreling around, did you happen to find a way onto the flat part of the roof where the dragons land?”
“Davie, why would you possibly—”
“Shush,” I said, holding up a hand. “I’m asking the paranoid orphan.” He nodded, his big, dark eyes wide. “Think you could take me up there?”
“Yeah, o-of course.”
I smiled and looked to Mallory and Mickey. “Wanna help me get up ther
e?”
But Mickey wasn’t feeling it. “Why do you need to get up to the roof?”
“Don’t worry,” I answered with a laugh. “I’m not gonna fling myself off as some sort of sacrifice.”
“…fine.”
“I guess I’ll follow along for the heck of it,” Mal said, getting to her feet.
A couple of minutes later, Mallory and Mickey had me up and shambling while Krisjian led us out into the hall.
The castle really was alight with activity, everyone running everywhere and not necessarily with the right number of legs. I even saw a couple wyrms and wyverns barreling out of windows only to soar into the sky.
It felt like we were moving in slow motion compared to how everyone else was rushing, but it was the best I could do. I limped along, my body feeling a bit like a rubber band that had been stretched for too long and still hadn’t returned to proper form.
I was afraid that at any moment, some well-meaning staff member would stop us and try to usher us back to our room for safekeeping, or worse, Bronn would somehow run into us. I knew what I needed to do, but I highly doubted he would be happy about almost any of it. I had been serious about the whole never sacrificing myself thing, but that didn’t mean that I was never going to experience a little bit of pain or discomfort for the cause.
Or a lot of pain or discomfort.
It seemed to take an age before Krisjian finally led us up a small staircase to a stone hatch. It took him, Mal, and Mallory to lift it, but eventually they did, and I walked onto the roof.
The view was absolutely breathtaking, the sprawling green hill of the countryside with the coral, pink, and orange backdrop of an early sunset. The only thing detracting from the whole scene was a hazy line of dark figures moving toward us.
“Is that what I think it is?” Mallory asked, coming up beside me.
I put a palm on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Wow, it felt good to be able to physically comfort my friends again. I was pretty sure that I could spend a lifetime making up my absence to them and it still wouldn’t feel like enough.
“Davie, right about now is a good time to know why you hauled us up here.”
“I thought you would have guessed it by now,” I said, offering my hand to her. She took it hesitantly, one of her patented patient looks on her face. “It’s the whole reason you guys brought me back after all.” Then I extended my hand to Krisjian, who also took it hesitantly.
“To love and protect you for the rest of your life and never allow anything to truly hurt you again?” Mickey asked with an almost stern voice.
“Awww,” I murmured. “That’s sweet, but no. By the way, you guys don’t mind lending me some of your energy, right?”
“Take whatever you need,” Krisjian said, squeezing my hand.
“Thanks.”
“Do you even need to ask,” Mickey said, pressing a kiss to my cheek.
“Well, it’s only polite.”
We both chuckled weakly at that, but we quickly fell quiet. Looking at the approaching horde, I let my body relax and my energy spread outside of my body.
Remembering what it was like in the stream, I tried to connect myself to everything. The feeling of the breeze as it rushed by, the grass crunching under dragons’ feet, the thrumming of hundreds of hearts as they all pounded before battle.
Once I felt truly connected, I rushed along the estate, roiling through earth and stone alike, until I reached the faint edge of what was left of those ancient shields.
“I hope you guys are ready,” I heard my mouth say.
I didn’t give them a chance to response. Instead, I let myself pour my entire being into the border of the shield.
Up, up, up, I felt my soul surge until I reached the jagged edge of what had once been a near-impenetrable shield. Reaching deep within myself, I found that bit of me that was still connected to everything I had experienced in death, and I called upon every bit of it that I had.
Brilliant, blinding energy rushed through me, and I faintly heard cries from both Mickey and Krisjian beside me. I felt a bit guilty, but I needed their power too in order to pull this off.
Because if there was one thing that I had learned while floating through the ether, it was that every seer was connected to each other, and we did a whole lot better together than we ever did apart.
With what felt like lightning coursing through my veins, I focused everything I had on the shield. I envisioned them healing, building, thickening, growing hotter and stronger, until they were nearly the sun to my eyes.
“Davie, it hurts!” I heard Mickey cry.
“I know,” I gasped. “But push through. We can do this. We can all do this!”
“It feels like I’m on fire!” Krisjian yelped.
I heard faint movement, but I couldn’t turn my head. But in my peripheral vision, I saw Mallory take Mickey’s hand and Mel take Krisjian’s.
“I don’t know if we can do anything,” Mallory said. “But we’re here for you. None of us are in this alone.”
Her words stirred something in me, and I might have started crying if I could. But my grip on my body was still tenuous, while my understanding of the way we were all interconnected and wrapped around each other and our destinies was crisp. I let my grip spread into all of us. Even if Mal and Mallory were different from seers, we were all still woven together in the complex tapestry of what was and what could be.
In that moment, something clicked within me, and it was as if my soul exploded outwards. I felt the shield rapidly expanding, building on itself in incredible waves that I never thought possible.
It seemed it only took seconds before it was fully repaired, but I wasn’t done. I let go of the hands of those next to me and stepped forward, projecting myself through all of the ties that bound us as living beings.
Baelfyre, I said, feeling my thoughts reach out to every mind. Enemies, allies, Bronn, the librarian, I was communicating with all of them. You think you’ve won, but you could not be more wrong.
This is an invitation for surrender. Give up now, and you will live to see your fair trial and just punishment. I will make sure you live to a ripe, old age, where you can think of how greed made you lose everything you had.
I could feel fire in my gut, boiling my blood and making me feel like some powerful, malevolent goddess of justice. I had been running and hiding and escaping for too long. I was ready to go on the offensive and play hardball to make sure that what I saw never came true.
Resist, and I will take you down. I will make you pay tenfold for each and every drop of suffering you have brought to every soul here. And as for that prince of yours that’s been cowering in his keep? I will show you the true powers of the seer and rain down on him with all of it.
Because there are three of us here now, and three of us are more than enough for all of you.
There was no response, of course. If it was a two-way connection between the hundreds of people I was reaching, I’d probably go mad from the cacophony, but I didn’t need a verbal response, because the approaching horde picked up speed.
Shame, I murmured before grabbing my friends’ hands once more.
With the last of the energy I had within me, I pushed everything outward in a blast of power. The shield thickened and shot out again, expanding at least thirty yards, and that was just enough to slam into the oncoming wall of dragons.
It was as amusing as it was glorious, watching the massive, winged beasts crash into the invisible barrier while the drakes on the ground frantically dug their claws in to slow down. Within less than a minute, the entire assault was thwarted, and five minutes later, they were all fleeing in a hasty retreat.
I had done it. The war was avoided for now.
I let go of my friends’ hands and turned to them, intent on congratulating them for doing what couldn’t be done, but my mouth couldn’t quite form the words. I felt my knees buckling as I crumpled to the ground.
Geez, this fainting thing when exerting myse
lf was getting old, but at least I wasn’t alone. I saw Krisjian go down, then felt Mickey land beside me, while Mal was swaying from side to side. My eyes were too heavy to see where Mallory was, but I thought I heard her heavy breathing close by.
Well, we had saved the day. I guess a little bit of a nap was understandable.
But, you know, a pillow would be nice.
20
The Start of the Not-so-Great War
Davie
I was still getting used to waking up. I guessed after months of being a noncorporeal spirit, there were still some things I needed to get a handle on, but slowly, ever-so-slowly, I felt the call of consciousness and allowed myself to float upwards.
I felt warm and a bit fuzzy as I opened my eyes, and the first thing I realized was that I wasn’t in my room anymore, but guessing by the pristine white all around us, some sort of infirmary.
The second thing I noticed was Bronn sitting by my bedside, looking quite stern.
“Oh, hey there,” I rasped, mouth dry. “Good morning.”
“It’s afternoon,” he said flatly, stretching out his hand to take mine.
“Ah. How long have I been out?”
“Two days.”
“And everybody else?”
“Still sleeping, but fine.”
“Huh, I guess I really wore them out.” He didn’t crack a smile at that, so I sighed a bit guiltily. “You’re mad at me.”
“Yes. And no.”
I wanted to ask a million and one questions, but I could tell that he was trying to put together his words. I didn’t think that Bronn had ever openly told me he was unhappy with something I did, so this was new territory for the both of us.
When he finally spoke, his voice was cautious. “I heard you in my head.”
“Yeah. I think a lot of people did if that worked right.” Ugh, maybe humor wasn’t the way to go, but it was like I had a switch in me that I couldn’t turn off.
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