A whoop came out of Tillit. “You two did it!”
A cry of joy arose from the crews. They flew onto the deck of Magnus’s ship and surrounded us with harsh pats on the back and congratulations. The wind was knocked from me dozens of times until Tillit slipped beside me and covered my back with his arm.
He leaned toward me and grinned. “Friendly crowd, eh?”
I glanced at the bow and saw Xander turn toward the ship, but his wings faltered. I gasped and tried to push through the crowds as he fell from the sky as his body transformed back into his human form. “Xander!” I shouted.
Magnus broke from the crews and leapt over his ship. He caught Xander before he hit the water brought him back aboard. “Clear the deck!” he shouted as he lay him on the deck on the planks.
I pushed through the crowds with Tillit behind me and knelt beside Xander. His breathing was calm and there was a softness to his face that made me smile. I leaned over him and cupped his cheek in my hand. His eyes fluttered open and he smiled up at me. “Good job, partner,” I whispered.
He grasped my hand and returned my smile with one of his own. “It could not have been done without both of us.”
Tillit cleared his throat. “Does Tillit not deserve some credit?”
I laughed. “And Tillit-” Magnus and Alice stepped up behind him. Behind them stood their crews. “-and everyone else,” I added.
Tillit pulled out some large bottles of drink and grinned. “Then why not a little celebration to congratulate ourselves?”
“Belay that for a moment,” Magnus spoke up as he swept his arm over the ruined deck of his ship. There were fallen Red Dragons who would never again open their eyes, but many more who were merely unconscious from the effects of the Dragon’s Bane. “
“The punishment for breaking their exile is death,” Alice spoke up.
“That’s a sentence only a lord can make,” Tillit pointed out.
All eyes fell on Xander. He studied the prone Red Dragons and pursed his lips. “While their intentions were to leave the island they went no further than their fishing allowed. The dragon who did break the rule has been punished. For the others we will fly them to the beach and leave them there for their families to find.” His eyes flickered to the pair of captains. “Will your crew handle the arrangements?”
Captain Magnus grinned and nodded. “Aye, and be glad to be done with them.”
Alice glared at him. “Yer too soft. If it was up to me I’d be throwing them overboard.”
Magnus wrapped his arm around her waist and grinned down at her. “If I’m getting soft then I need a good woman to make me hard, if ya know what I mean.”
Alice rolled her eyes and pressed one palm against his chest to push away. “Only too well.”
He tightened his grip on her. “If ya think I’m letting ya go again yer more daft than I am, lass. Why don’t we get married?”
She narrowed her eyes. “On who’s ship?”
“Mine, of course.”
“Then the wedding’s off because if we’re going to be on a ship it’s going to be mine.”
“Why don’t you guys just get married between your ships?” I suggested.
Magnus arched an eyebrow. “In a boat?”
“Use those dragon wings and be in the air,” I explained.
Magnus grinned down at his bride. “What do ya think, lass? Up for another try?”
A coy smile slipped onto her lips. “I would, but we’ll be needing a preacher.”
Tillit stepped forward and puffed out his chest. “It just so happens that I’m an ordained priest in the church of Alexandria.”
My jaw dropped open. “You?”
He glanced at me and frowned. “Why does everyone doubt Tillit’s talents?”
Xander patted him on the shoulder. “Perhaps if you gave us a list we would not be so surprised.”
Magnus turned to the crews as did Alice by his side. “Ya heard yer lord, men, get to it so we can get to the wedding!”
“Show these men what true seamen can do, and someone help me on with that blasted dress!” Alice called to her women.
The crews got to work clearing the decks of both ships while the main mast of Magnus’s ship was repaired. I sidled up to Xander and touched his arm. He turned to me and I smiled up at him. “Your mom would be proud of you.”
He returned my smile with one of his own. “I believe you are right.”
In an hour both jobs were done and the sun was beginning to set as the ships sailed away from the inhospitable harbor and out into the open seas. We stopped just out of sight of the island with the ships fifty yards apart.
All the crew members not injured flew out and filled the gap while the others, including Nimeni, crowded the decks. Two of the fliers held up Tillit in the middle while Xander held me in his arms. All was quiet as the setting sun provided the backdrop to the ceremony.
The bride arose from her ship dressed in a white wedding dress bedecked with pearls. The train was so long that six of her crew held it up to keep it from dropping the twenty feet into the water. Magnus arose from the deck of his own ship clothed in a suit of dark navy blue. They met at Tillit and turned to face the impromptu preacher.
Tillit smiled at both of them. “We are gathered here to join the sky and the sea in the most ancient of unions.”
I looked up at Xander. “‘Sky and sea?’” I whispered.
He nodded. “The sea is not so beautiful without the sky.”
“If anyone knows why these two should not be joined, speak now or forever keep your mouth shut,” Tillit added.
Magnus glared at his crew. They flew at attention except for those who needed to blow their noses. Alice was all blushing-bride and smiles. Some of her crew wiped their faces across their sleeves.
“Then by the blessing of Valtameri I pronounce you joined. You may kiss the-” Alice wrapped her arms around Magnus’s neck and kissed him passionately on the lips.
A whoop and a holler arose from both factions as they all joined in on the kissing. A crew member from each ship flew low and dipped a goblet into the seas before they flew to the happy pair. They parted and each took a glass.
Magnus grinned at his bride. “May we have a long life together, lass.”
Alice raised her glass to him. “And may you never grow fat,” she teased.
A bright light caught the attention of the wedding party, and we all looked up at the sky. A beautiful rainbow stretched across the sky. At its origin was a bird with long, bright plumage.
I furrowed my brow. “Is that a-”
“Phoenix,” Xander finished for me.
Magnus raised his glass to the bird and smiled. “Here’s one to ya, captain, and a pardon from me.”
The festivities began and lasted long after the sun had set. By the light of countless torches the mingled crews danced and drank the night away. At about midnight I was nearing an empty mug when I noticed my dragon lord had vanished. I found him at the railing peering out on the water with an untouched mug by his side.
I joined him at the railing and looked out on the calm, moonlit seas. “You’re worried about something,” I commented.
He nodded. “Yes. Philippus informed us that Drake was in possession of the altered Sæ, and yet I could see no evidence that it was used.”
“That’s because he thought he could beat us,” I pointed out.
“But then where did the concoction go?” he countered.
My shoulders slumped and my face fell. “Did you have this much trouble before you got me?”
He chuckled. “No, and much of it was my own doing.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Such as?”
He lifted his chin a little and furrowed his brow. “There was this very beautiful young barmaid in Síol-that is, Cayden’s capital-who betrayed us to some kidnappers.”
I snorted. “She sounds nice.”
“We were both quite young at the time, but apparently the bounty on us was a considerable sum,” he added.
“I’m sure she felt bad about doing it and wiped her tears away with gold coins,” I quipped.
He chuckled. “I am sure she did, though we never saw her again. Cayden and I managed to escape and our fathers razed our captors’ lair to the ground as a warning to others.”
I turned my head to him and studied his face. “Speaking of warning, what are you going to tell everyone about dragons and humans?”
Xander pursed his lips and shook his head. “I do not know.”
“Why not keep telling them what you’ve always told them,” Tillit spoke up as he emerged from the festivities and joined us at the railing.
Xander arched an eyebrow. “And what is that?”
“That we all need to stop killing each other and live together,” he reminded him.
I smiled. “It’s an idea so crazy it just might work.”
“Speaking of ideas, I’ve got one,” Tillit continued as he took a swig from his mug. He used the mug to point at us. “If you two find yourselves in another adventure could you count me out of it? Just this once?”
Xander chuckled. “You were not counted among our company at Bha na Ruin, but I am sure an adventure is not forthcoming.”
I pursed my lips and turned to face the dark waters around us. Xander arched an eyebrow and sidled up beside me. “You find that thought disturbing?”
I set one elbow on the railing to cup my chin in my hand. The gentle seas around us rocked the boat to and fro.
A small smile slid onto my lips as I nodded. “I don’t know why, but it’s just-I don’t know, I guess it’s a little sad to be done with all of it.” A thought came to my mind that made me snort. “Maybe it’s like what another Alexander said in my old world. ‘There are no more worlds to conquer.’”
“I’m sure you two will find more adventures,” Tillit spoke up as he raised his mug to us. “And here’s to your many more victories.”
Xander and I raised our mugs in the air and we all smiled. “To victory, and to adventure.”
The many more we were destined to have, and far sooner than I expected.