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That night on the beach as everyone lay sleeping in the sand, Dusk sat some feet away with his back against a tree, staring up at the stars. He remembered the beings he’d seen when he touched the heart, reaching their tendrils out through the entirety of the universe. Their eyes had been fixed on him and now he knew why. Because of him the whole world would be destroyed. In one stupid moment he let anger get the better of him and now everyone was going to pay the price for his childishness. He remembered Mirinda’s clear instructions to get rid of the crown as soon as they were out in deeper water. If he’d thrown it over it would have been at least one more obstacle for Nedarya to complete her terrible plans. Maybe it would have stopped her completely.
“What should I do?” he whispered, his eyes reflecting the millions of stars splayed out in front of him. “We knew we couldn’t stop her to begin with, so why did I even bother trying? Why did I bother to hope?”
He wanted to believe that he’d done it for Lyra and her people. Anything to buy them time so they could escape another slaughter. But if he was being honest with himself, it had felt like the right thing to do. Standing up to Nedarya, knowing they couldn’t win, was something he’d had to do. He understood her pain and resentment toward the world because it was inside him too. Underneath all the smiles and the laughter was a lifetime of pain and suffering, hidden out of sight from those that interacted with him. Only Lex had any idea of what he’d truly gone through and that still paled in comparison to what it had actually been like to experience. But where Dusk had tried to find a reason to live, Nedarya was searching for a way to die. And whether by some other influence or of her own accord, she wanted to take everyone else with her.
“I wish I could save her,” he whispered. “The heart is driving her mad, fed by the trauma of her past... it’s so unfair what happened to both of us.” He stared up at the stars, angry tears filling the corners of his eyes. “How could you let this happen to us?” he said, having no idea if he was talking to the gods, fate, destiny, or all three. “What did we do to deserve this?”
Dusk lifted his arm, using his sleeve to wipe away the hot tears on his cheeks. A childhood full of starvation and ten years of slavery. What had it all been for? If he’d been brave enough, he could have done what Nedarya suggested and killed himself. That would have ended the suffering and it still could if he wanted to avoid more. The dagger in his boot was plenty sharp enough and nobody would be able to stop him. Finally he would be free of his past and the pain that came with it. He felt lost in hopelessness.
“Stop living in the past and embrace who you are. This moment is all that matters.”
Juniper’s words came back to him, the last she’d spoken to him before she died, echoing through his mind. He turned his head from side to side, sure that someone had spoken them aloud. Everyone was asleep by the fire and Lyra was some ways off, curled up in a patch of tall grass. For a moment he wondered if she’d done it, but she couldn’t have. She’d never even met Juniper and nobody except him and Sky had heard the words spoken.
He let them repeat a few times in his mind as he tipped his head back towards the stars once more. Who was he now? After all that had happened, was Dusk an ex-slave haunted by his past? That didn’t feel right to him. The pain was still there from time to time, but it only seemed to crop up when he was having trouble with other things. So who was Dusk? What had he become since he escaped the mines and met an old woman who gave him a path to follow? Could a man really overcome circumstances like that? The thought kept him occupied for some time. Eventually, like an arrow clicking into place on the bowstring, it came to him.
“I... I’m a free man,” Dusk whispered to himself finally, the words feeling like honey on his tongue.
A wave of excitement washed over him as he realized the words were true. Only a few feet away were the only two people in the world who could claim to be his owner and neither of them had. They regarded him with respect and in Lex’s case, love. He was treated like an equal among them and more recently, like a leader. Nobody owned him any longer.
“I... I’m an adventurer I guess.” That sounded like a funny thing to say, although it was definitely true. “And I have a family that I love.”
He glanced at his companions asleep around the fire. They’d proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he meant something great to them and vice versa. Happy moments began to seep into his consciousness of the journey they’d been through. Even when they were trapped in the snow, injured, or under attack, having them there meant everything to him. They were part of the reason he kept moving everyday. The journey would have been impossible without them. But he also realized, for the first time, that he’d kept going for himself too. Having his own family there was wonderful, but doing things for himself was even more important.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do or how I’m going to stop this,” he muttered, his eyes fixed on a bright star high in the western sky. “But I have to try. For them... and for me. There’s more to this life than pain and I... I choose to let it go.”
Dusk closed his eyes and leaned back against the tree, the sensation of the rough bark somehow comforting through his shirt. He took a few deep breaths, letting the past wash away from him. Memories flooded through his mind of what he’d been through. Instead of dwelling on them he acknowledged their existence, thanked them for their lessons, and let them go. As each one left his body he felt himself growing heavier and heavier, a peaceful sleep drawing nearer.
The last memory to leave his mind was one he’d never seen before. It was a brief moment of him sitting under a lighted lantern as a child. Soft snowflakes fell all around him, turned orange by the light of the fire. The city was almost silent, the tall buildings around him imposing. The cold quelled the rotting smells of the streets and for once the air was crisp and clean. A young woman with a hooded cloak stepped out of the darkness, making her way toward him. She held out a warm loaf of bread to him, steaming in the cold. He was scared to take it, but she said something in a strange accent that he couldn’t quite make out, and it was a kind voice. He took the bread and held it against his frozen fingers, relishing the warmth coming off of it. Sensing how cold he was, she unclasped her cloak and threw it around his shoulders, revealing her fur covered face and a long tail that swept out behind her. For a moment he was stunned by what he saw, then smiled. She was beautiful. Then, pointing towards the snow she told him to watch as she curled her fingers through the air. Wisps of light emerged from her fingertips and coalesced into familiar shapes. She giggled and slipped a few coins in his pocket before she walked away. Dusk didn’t notice, but sat transfixed watching the glowing butterflies dancing through the snow.
***
The next morning was a difficult one for everyone. Battered and bruised they somehow managed to get to their feet, knowing they’d need water and supplies soon.
“We should be able to find a small village along the coast if the Circle left any of them unburned,” Tara said as she dusted the sand off herself.
Dusk had found her a large branch to help her walk since she refused to ride on Lyra’s back.
“Does anyone have any coin?” she asked, looking around at the three of them.
“I don’t even have a weapon anymore,” Lex huffed, throwing his arms up. “All that time spent waiting for that sword and that bitch gave it to one of her lackeys.”
“I don’t have anything either,” Dusk replied. He looked down at his left index finger where Eiran’s silver ring sat. “I have this I suppose. We could sell it.”
“That’s not an option,” Tara said, waving him off, knowing the origins of the ring. She turned her attention to Lord d'Ronja. “How about you old timer?”
Lord d'Ronja looked a bit taken aback at her rudeness, but he fumbled through his clothing anyway. A moment later he let out a disgruntled sigh, finding nothing of value beyond a silver cloak pin that probably wouldn’t even get them dinner.
“Oh, wait!” he exclaimed.
Plopping down in the sand he pulled off one of his boots and shoved his arm down inside. A moment later he produced a series of five squares of cloth sewn together in a long rectangle. They looked like they’d been sewn to the interior of his boot.
“May the gods bless your mother,” he said to Lex. “That woman is smarter than anyone I know. She did this years ago to all my boots in case I was ever robbed or lost.”
He pulled at the fabric, tearing it open to reveal five highly polished coins that were too bright to be silver.
“You have platinum sewn into your clothing?!” Lex barked, his mouth hanging open. “That’s a ridiculous amount of money to have stuffed in your boot!”
“Thank your mother,” he laughed. “She wanted to make sure I had enough to get home no matter where I was. She knows I have a knack for getting into trouble and I’m not the fighting type.”
“That’s brilliant,” Dusk chuckled, remembering his own concealments involving boots. “Nobody ever expects the boot.”
“Literally every bandit I’ve ever come across has searched my shoes,” Lex replied in an annoyed voice, glaring at the both of them.
“That’s because you’re too easy to read,” Tara added, glancing at him. “And you look suspicious. He, on the other hand,” she gestured to Lord d'Ronja, “just looks rich and dumb.”
Lex was about to lay into her, but the comment about his father sent him into a fit of laughter. Dusk couldn’t help but smile either. Tara, on the other hand, walked over to Lord d'Ronja and put her hand on his shoulder.
“Thanks to you, we probably won’t starve. If we can find somewhere to go.”
“We can go back to the chateau,” Lord d'Ronja suggested, his eyes flicking up to Lex. “Your mother would be happy to see you and you are all welcome.” He turned and looked back at Lyra. “Even you. There are places we can conceal you.”
“But that’s on the other side of the continent,” Dusk said. The Dorsum Mountains were far to the east and the city of Ronja lay at least another month’s travel beyond that. “We’ll never get there before Nedarya completes the heart...”
A silence fell among them, the laughter and smiles dying at the sound of Nedarya’s name. The cool wind picked up from the surrounding area, bringing with it the scent of blooming summer flowers and rustling the leaves overhead.
“Let’s take this one step at a time,” Tara said slowly. “First we need food and water so we can recover from our injuries. Then we can get to Ronja. If we make it that far, we’ll figure out what to do then.”
“I do believe I could help with that,” a familiar melodic voice said.
Dusk whipped around and saw Fayard the unicorn shining brightly in the sunlight, his white mane rippling in the breeze. Tara, Lex, and Lord d'Ronja stared open-mouthed at the animal, unable to speak. Lyra was the only one who didn’t seem shocked to see him.
“Hello Fayard,” she said cheerfully. “You have impeccable timing as always. It’s been a long time.”
“That it has Lady Lyra,” he replied, taking a bow so low that his horn nearly dipped into the sand.
“I’m happy to see you’re still alive,” Lyra hummed, bowing her head back to him.
“Is Maribel with you?” Dusk asked, looking around in search of her.
“I am afraid not. She is too far along to be traveling much anymore. But do not worry, she is quite safe with the rest of my herd. No harm will come to her.”
Dusk tried not to look too disappointed.
“You all seem to be in distress so I thought I would lend a hand. The amount of magic on the breeze yesterday made you easy to find and I assumed trouble was brewing.” He looked at all of them individually. “And it seems I was right.”
“The heart has been taken,” Lyra said, hanging her head. “And the eye.”
“That is indeed bad tidings. However, things can change quickly, as I am sure you have noticed. The dragons have always been great bringers of change and I don’t doubt you can do it again. I am afraid I don’t have much to offer, but I will do what I can.” He turned his gaze to Tara. “You, come forth.”
Tara snapped her mouth shut and looked at Dusk.
“You heard him. Go.”
She nodded, straightened herself up, and hobbled over, using the stick to keep herself upright.
“I see your friend here sacrificed the gift I gave him in order to save you,” Fayard said, gesturing towards her leg with his horn and the stitching. “I cannot fix it entirely, but I can help speed your recovery along.”
He leaned down and touched the tip of his horn to her wound. Dusk watched as the skin knit itself back together and turned bright red, like a fresh scar across her leg. The stitching disappeared entirely and she was left looking like she’d had weeks to heal already.
“Take it slowly, the internal damage will need to heal mostly on its own.” Fayard turned his attention to Lyra. “I can do the same for you if you will allow me. I know your magic is much diminished without the heart.”
“It’s almost completely gone,” Lyra replied to the surprise of everyone. “I gave everything I had to keep the heart safe and when I lost it, I lost nearly all of my power.”
“It will return,” Fayard said gently, striding over to her, his hooves sinking into the sand. “Balance always returns to the world, even without the gods’ help. For now I can help you recover. It is the least I can do for the last of the dragon lords.”
Fayard took his time moving across Lyra’s body, touching many of her wounds in turn, starting with the largest. He’d covered over half of them before he turned away, sweat gathering on his flanks.
“That is all I can accomplish for now,” he breathed. “My body has its own limitations.”
“Thank you Fayard,” Lyra said, leaning down to press her nose against his. They stayed there for a long moment as if lost in conversation.
“Do you know what we should do, Fayard?” Dusk asked, stepping towards them. “Nedarya plans to use the crystal to destroy as much of the world as she can and we don’t have a lot of time.”
“My suggestion would be to stop her,” he replied simply.
Dusk huffed in his direction, unamused if he was trying to be funny. “Yes, but how?”
“I do not know. I am just a unicorn.” He saw the frustration on Dusk’s face and added, “But your plan to continue east seems like a good one. Now that you are healed you can move faster. I typically find that trying to overthink my future steps before I take the next one causes me to trip over my own hooves. A foal does not think about walking, they just do. Maybe you should employ the same mode of thought.”
“In some weird way, that makes sense,” Lex nodded.
Dusk was glad Lex knew what was going on because it looked as if the rest of them were completely confused.
“Well, I must be going,” Fayard said, stepping up beside Dusk. “Please take three more of my hairs and try not to lose them this time.”
If a horse could smile, Fayard was doing it, a gesture that was full of hope for their endeavors. Dusk took the three hairs as instructed and wrapped them around his finger for safe keeping.
“This will be the last time you see me,” Fayard said quietly, leaning down to Dusk. “This difficulty, though it affects us all, is yours to confront. Fate has spoken and made obvious that this is your journey. You are the common thread. There is nothing more I can do to help you. Be brave and do not give up.”
“I’ll do my best,” Dusk nodded.
“Maribel will be happy to see how much you have grown. You are no longer a foal, but a cunning stallion making his way through the wild world with great purpose. You have come far, Apple-Giver.”
“Tell her I love her.”
“Of course.” Fayard turned and looked back at the rest of the group. “Farewell to you all and I wish you luck on your journey, for the sake of us all.”
With that he turned and trotted into the trees, disappearing completely from view within a few seconds. The smell of wildflowers died away with him and Dusk stared for a moment longer, thoughts buzzing through his head. Eventually he shook them away and looked back at his companions.
“If one more goddamn animal comes to visit us, we might as well open a fucking zoo,” Tara said, glancing up at Lyra.
“If you just insinuated that I am an animal, I will gladly eat you here and now.”