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Dusk woke in a bed so soft he felt like he was floating. He rolled over, head sinking into the pillow made of the fluffiest feathers to have ever graced Udalara. Cracking open one eye he saw Lex at his side, mouth partially open and drooling onto the luxurious pillow. Stifling a laugh he scooted in and wrapped his arms around Lex, trying not to disturb him too much. Both of them smelled like the flowery soap from the bath. Even the sheets had their own pleasant smell, like fresh air and sunshine. Out of the corner of his eye he caught movement in the room. He automatically reached for the dagger in his boot, which wasn’t there because he was naked. Instead he stayed absolutely still, worried that someone had broken in. After a long moment he noticed the light of the fireplace grow a little brighter and the figure came to the foot of the bed with a stack of clothing. They sat it down on a padded chest and lifted their eyes, making contact with Dusk. With a slight bow they left noiselessly, pulling the door closed behind them.
How anyone ever got used to this sort of thing, Dusk couldn’t guess. It was one thing to never have to lift a finger for yourself and another for random people to invade your personal space at all times as part of their daily responsibilities. There were people to help them bathe, to get dressed, to hold open doors, to clean up after them, to cook for them, and even to stoke the fires in the middle of the night while everyone else was asleep. To Dusk it was nothing short of sheer insanity. Never once in his life had someone done those things for him except for cooking and he hardly qualified the food at the mines as edible most days. But then he thought of Eiran and their night together in the baths.
His finger absently rubbed the silver ring on his left hand. It had been a while since Eiran had been in his thoughts. They’d been so caught up trying to stay alive that there was little time left for anything else. He was glad he always wore the ring. His bag had been left behind with the book from Captain Duillearga and the white scale Tephyss had given him along with several bags of dragon dust that could be useful, although dangerous. But the ring was still with him and that was something he couldn’t bear to have lost, not for his or Cyrilo’s sake.
His thoughts drifted south, to the continent beyond the sea, where Cyrilo and Captain Duillearga were sailing. He figured they’d had plenty of time to get there and possibly had even made a few trading runs. Cyrilo had talked about fostering trade between the humans and the Rhyka down there. He was determined and quick to take control when the need presented itself. Dusk hoped they were doing well and wished he could speak to them. Maybe they could give him some advice on what to do next. Or even better, maybe they could help. But that would be impossible. The journey alone would take them well over a month just from Emerald Deep and Dusk didn’t know how far away the southern continent was.
Dusk rolled to his back, leaving one of his hands fingering through Lex’s hair. None of them really knew what they should be doing to stop Nedarya. As far as they knew the heart still remained broken, but it would only be a matter of time before that was fixed and the next part of her plan enacted. How long any of it would take was beyond him. He assumed she’d bring the heart back to Alamond and finish her plans there, but with the glass destroyed at Anthurium, she’d need to move the heart slowly, even if aided by her magic. It was doubtful another mirror existed large enough to transport the heart without breaking it further. Even with what power she had, he doubted she could move it across the continent very quickly by land. It might give them enough time to gather the strength to stop her.
But he knew he was only guessing. They’d need to speak more with Lyra to develop any real plans. Only she really knew how the heart could be repaired or transported and how long that might take. He hoped, for all their sakes, that they had more time. Remembering the connection she made with him and his promise to check in, he sunk back into his pillow and closed his eyes. He reached out with his thoughts, finding the thread that ran between them and with his mind’s eye he plucked at it so it vibrated.
There was a long pause.
“Yes?” Lyra’s sleepy voice replied to him, the yawn implied in her tone.
“This is a strange way to talk,” he thought back, watching the connection pulsing to the sound of the voice inside his head.
“This is how I always talk,” Lyra mumbled. “In case you didn’t notice, dragons don’t have the best mouths for speech.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“Did you need something?”
“Just checking in to let you know everything is fine here and that we got a night’s rest.”
“Is that all?”
Dusk paused for a moment. “No,” he replied truthfully. “I’ve been thinking about what we should do next and how much time we have. I know we need to stop Nedarya, but I don’t really know where to begin.”
“We have some time. How much, I’m not sure, but at least a couple of weeks. The heart will resist being moved by magic and slow her down. Most likely she will also need time to recharge the eye before she can put the heart back together.” She was quiet for a long moment. “Why don’t you come to me tonight and we’ll all speak. That will give me some time to think and guess at what fate has in store for us.”
Dusk was relieved to hear they had at least a little time to plan. “Okay. We’ll come after dark.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
With that, the thread went still and there was nothing but silence. Dusk opened his eyes, taking in a deep breath. He hoped they’d have a plan of action soon. As much as he enjoyed the respite, every passing moment made his anxiety grow, like a monster trying to burst out of his chest. Sometimes it was all he could think about. A shifting against his arm broke his stewing and he glanced down at Lex’s blue eyes staring up at him.
“Already awake?” Lex asked, rolling over so that his back was against Dusk’s torso and hugging his arm.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“You didn’t. Are you okay? You look a little too serious for this early in the morning.”
“Yeah I’m fine. Just thinking.”
“A dangerous pastime”
“I know.” Dusk squeezed him, pulling him in a little tighter. “There was a person in here stoking the fire and they left us clothing,” he muttered. “I’m never gonna get used to this.”
“I spent my whole life not even noticing them,” Lex sighed. “I should get a little less used to it.”
They laid there as the minutes slipped by, enjoying the warmth of the bed and their own company to one another. Dusk felt peaceful lying there with Lex. It was something he didn’t get enough of. Eventually his growling stomach led him to speak again, knowing he needed to get out of bed.
“Hungry?” Lex asked, turning over and kissing him quickly.
Dusk nodded.
“Why don’t we go into town for food? Travel around a bit and make a day of it.”
“We don’t have any money,” Dusk said.
Immediately he realized how foolish that was to say, given their surroundings. Lex just laughed and threw back the blankets. He crossed the room, still completely naked, and pulled open one of the drawers at his desk. A small chest was cradled between his hands as he came back and sat on the edge of the bed. He handed it to Dusk and flipped the lid open. It was full to the brim with gold, silver, and platinum coins, easily more money than entire towns would see in a hundred years.
“Not to brag,” Lex chuckled. “But I may have stolen all of that from my parents while they weren’t looking.”
“Why? Couldn’t you just ask for it?”
“You’d be surprised how hard it was to get any cash around here. I think they suspected I was going to run at some point as I got older, so they made sure I never had more than a couple gold at all times. I think that was mostly Tiernan’s doing.” He reached over and ran his fingers through the coins. “It wasn’t until I’d managed to sneak into their treasury a few times that I realized I could never take all this with me. If I ran off and built a big house with all this, or had the means to purchase anything on the road, someone would be sure to notice my trail. So I just pocketed what seemed right and left the rest here.” He looked back up at Dusk, an annoyed look crossing his face. “Then Brand and his thugs relieved me of almost all of it the day you met me.”
“They did call you stupid for having so much money.”
“I hardly think a handful of gold is a ridiculous amount! Not compared to all this anyway.” He sighed and flipped the lid of the box shut. “My parents will pay for whatever supplies we need from town, so no need to worry about any of that.”
“I feel strange asking them for that.”
“I don’t. It’s the least they can do to help us save the world, right? Money isn’t gonna mean a whole lot if we’re all dead. I’ll just leave this here for a rainy day.”
Just then there was a knock on the door.
“Are you two idiots up yet?” Tara’s voice called from the other side.
“Yes!” Lex cried back.
He stood up and took the chest back to the desk, turning around just as Tara stepped in without asking.
“By the gods, Lex! Put some fucking clothes on!” she cried, turning her head away.
“Why? This is my room you’re barging into. Besides, it’s not like you haven’t seen me naked before at a bath or anything.”
“Your dick was the last thing I wanted to see before the world ends ”
“Why?” He looked down and wiggled his hips a little. “I think it’s kinda cute. Do you want me to tell you his name?”
“Boys...” Tara sighed, storming out of the room and pulling the door closed behind her.
“That’ll teach her I suppose,” Lex laughed to himself. “She really likes to just barge in on people. She’s been doing that since we met.”
“Does... does your thing really have a name?”
“My thing?!” Lex looked utterly bemused. “Are you afraid to say the word ‘dick?’”
“I think we need to go get some breakfast,” Dusk replied, immediately changing the subject.
Lex tried to keep pushing him, but he just pulled his clothes on without replying and walked out of the room. He met Tara in the hall and waved her on, both of the heading for the main part of the building. They had to stop and ask a servant to lead them, but eventually made it to the foyer where they’d entered the day before. Standing at the top of the stairs was Lady d’Ronja, clearly waiting for them.
“I had a feeling Alexander might try to sneak out without explaining himself,” she said, glaring down at the other two. Then her face immediately softented, “But that has nothing to do with you two.” She paused, waiting for them to respond.
“He... should be along soon?” Dusk offered up, hoping that would satisfy her.
“Ah. Good.”
She was wearing a shoulderless floor length green dress trimmed with gold and her dark hair was up once more, but this time with two thin dagger-like pins holding it in place. Somehow she looked even more formidable than the night before, but instead of a dull fear in her blue eyes there was a flame raging. With her husband and son returned, she looked ready to take on the world. Slowly she descended the stairs until she stood in front of both of them, her hands clasped in front of her.
In a low voice she said, “So you mentioned you flew here on a dragon and it’s currently in our forest.”
“Yes ma’am,” Tara replied automatically.
Dusk turned to look at her, a smile spreading across his face. Tara was always quick to fluster when it came to pretty women.
“Wonderful. I was worried my husband had returned to me without all his wits about him and that I was harboring insane people, but I’m happy to find him whole along with the lot of you, although a little bit worse for wear if I’m being honest. I don’t think living off the land agreed with my husband. He’s always been a bit delicate.”
“Not to sound rude ma’am, but we sort of noticed,” Tara murmured, afraid to anger their host.
Lady d’Ronja smiled. “Between you and me I think it was good for him. He could use more fresh air and exercise. Maybe just in smaller doses to start.” She paused, turning to Dusk. “He really was enchanted, wasn’t he? He doesn’t seem to recall anything.”
“There’s a lot to that story,” Dusk nodded. “But the short answer is yes, he was definitely enchanted and has missed the past ten years. He’s been with us for a few weeks since Tiernan was killed and although it was hard at first, Lex eventually came to believe him.”
“He was terrible to that boy,” Lady d’Ronja whispered. “I had to stand by and watch him break Lex down over and over again, knowing if I said anything I would be reprimanded and possibly mysteriously disappear. That happened more than a few times while Tiernan was making visits to this house in secret. But if Lex can believe and forgive him, so can I.” She looked between the pair of them. “What exactly is going on out there in the world?”
The sound of boots pulled their attention away as Lex stepped into the foyer, dressed in clothing that made his mother’s nose wrinkle.
“What are you wearing that for?” she asked, giving him a once over, skipping pleasantries entirely.
“Good morning mother,” he replied with a sigh, shaking his head. “We’re going into town for the day and I don’t want to be noticed.”
“I can send you with guards. No one will bother you.”
Lex walked up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Mother, I’m not going to run away again and the people that are after us won’t be stopped by guards. I love you and I’m sorry I ran off, but we have some important things to do. I promise I’ll explain all of it soon.”
“We’ll explain tonight,” Dusk added. “After we talk to the dragon.”
“Oh no you’re not,” Lady d’Ronja said, tapping her foot against the stone and pointing a finger at Dusk. “If you for so much as a moment think that you’re going to barge into my home with a dragon and not let me meet it, you are sorely mistaken.”
Lex sighed. “If we take you to meet the dragon will you please let us go into town for the day?” he droned, his eyes turned towards the ceiling.
“Yes.”
“Good. Now please give us some gold and leave us alone.”
Her face fell, staring at Lex with an unimpressed motherly look. “Gods above. It’s almost like you never left...”