“Did Charlotte make it?” I whispered as I felt the last bandage wrap around my chest. With careful hands, Sebastian picked me up, carrying me away from the shouts of conflict.
“I’m taking you to her now, princess.”
His whispers got a satisfied sigh out of me, before I closed my eyes, letting exhaustion wash the pain away.
* * * *
I was greeted with a hero’s welcome, much to the relief of Myrtle and Kennith. The two of them looked like they had been worrying about me for the entire day while my brother’s guard buddies played cards. Yet despite the happy attitude, I couldn’t help thinking about Aria, and if she’d be okay.
I was told to wait, that this cabin was the meeting point for everyone involved. I heard every excuse given me to persuade me she was safe, but I know what she did. She let Lazarus ram into her most exposed area, potentially killing her instantly, just to keep me safe. To let us make the definitive strike. It didn’t even kill him.
The waiting was excruciating as I watched Myrtle draft each and every word, not a single acknowledgement that I was there. I knew that was how she wrote but seeing it while everyone else loudly hollered and played cards was a new kind of jarring. I couldn’t stop worrying about her. I couldn’t get Aria out of my mind.
“Ashe, I think something’s wrong,” I finally blurted out after what seemed like an eternity.
“There could be a lot of different reasons why…” Ashe began as the door opened.
Sebastian was flanked by two other mages, all looking like they’d escaped a warzone. Aria’s tiny body was being carried by the arch mage, blue blood coloring her crimson dress. Her jacket had been hastily draped across her body. Bandages were wrapped all over her, almost covering her tiny form.
At first I stood up in shock, the entire room did. Was she dead?
“Huu…” Aria softly snored as I gripped my chest, feeling the pressure in my chest relieve itself. She was alive.
“She’s okay, thank the Trinity.” Ashe said what I didn’t have the time to, as Sebastian placed her off on the side, spreading out her furred jacket like a blanket.
“Okay and alive are not the same thing.” Sebastian turned to me in particular. “Although injuries won’t cripple her like they would with us, she’s still in a lot of pain. She needs time to regenerate.”
I ignored his order as I rushed over to his side.
“Don’t touch!” Sebastian gave one last warning as I stroked her forehead. I needed to know. I needed her to know.
“Mua…Charlotte.” Her sparkling eyes flickered open, and for a short moment I could feel all my worry, all of my fears about this day evaporate.
“Good.” She closed her eyes again, this time with a smile. She was warm to the touch, as if her regeneration had finally animated her body into producing warmth. I slowly lifted my hand to let her stitch herself back together.
“How long is she going to be out?” I turned to Sebastian as the rest of the mages began to settle in with Ashe.
“She should be up tomorrow, though it may take a few weeks or even a month or two before she’s fully healed. Admittedly, I don’t even know. All I know is that she’s in a lot of pain.”
I nodded as I scooted over to her side, watching the cabin figure out among themselves their next steps. I was too busy, too spent. I leaned back against the cabin walls, listening to Aria’s soft snoring.
“We made it. You know,” I whispered as I felt my eyes grow heavy. This was the earliest I’d ever slept in years. Aria didn’t say a thing. She didn’t need to.
“I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow…” I drifted off to the dreaming world, right by Aria’s side. I had a dream that night, of Aria and I watching the ocean waves pass us by. Maybe I’ll tell her about it tomorrow. Maybe she’ll tell me about her dreams too.
Epilogue
The sharp spring winds blew through my hair as the muted sun beckoned us forwards. Below me was Central Valley in bloom. Soft pinks, greens, and blues dotted the scenery, each produced by another tree waking up from their winter slumber. The soft chirps of birds were overtaken by the occasional swoosh of Aria’s massive wings, though she was content to glide most of the way there. She was really excited to explain to me something about the air currents and oceans, but I had no idea what she was blabbing about.
Whatever it was, the two of us were enjoying a lazy flight and sharing stories.
“Well, I agreed I’d be back for spring,” I shouted through the wind as I heard an entertained rumble beneath. One thing that I was discovering about Aria was that there were little physical ques for whatever she was feeling, even in dragon form. A rumble was like a chuckle, but more tenor.
I’m glad she found my mother so amusing. In fact, I was a little worried that they’d get along too well. “I’m serious! My mom was all like ‘Oh, I don’t care if you’ve married the richest nobleman, you’re coming back here for the spring.’” Another rumble followed by a slight purr. She was making a lot of noises today.
::I would like to meet your parents in an official capacity. Do-over.::
I agreed. The last few months had been hectic, from figuring out just how much damage we had inflicted to the church to discovering the Acadamae was destroyed. It was only the swift intervention of Roland that saved us from having to make desperate replacements.
Then there was the issue of Cestra’s barrier. While Aria had initially wanted to dispense with it immediately, she realized the wisdom in waiting until we were better armed against other dragons. That fight with Lazarus had taught her how dangerous fights with other dragons were.
There was also her newfound responsibilities as a royal dragon. She had decided that she would bring dragon rule to the southern provinces once again. An ambitious project, but one that would keep the question of heirs off her for a few years.
Also one that kept me close to my family.
I rubbed her back like a cat as she purred, leaning in for some personal talk. “You think they’d be surprised? Probably.”
It was nice that I could lean into her and she could still hear me. Made it feel extra personal. As for couples stuff, the two of us have been practicing flying together. I think it was more accurate to say that I’d been practicing holding on for my dear life while she flew around for fun, but she insisted that having me around was absolutely crucial. She’d also been trying to get used to her mother’s magic, something that she was having little success with so far. All it looked like to me was her focusing really hard on a dog, and a rock. Riveting.
::I believe they will be delighted. Or I will make them delighted.::
My voice raised a playful scowl. “Hey! No! Bad Aria. No threatening my parents!” I laughed as she let out a soft croon in reply, entire flocks of birds fluttering from their spring nests in surprise. It was breathtaking how fast Aria was. The same daunting trip that took us weeks was now a little more than a single day, with Aria depopulating a small forest every time we stopped for food.
“There it is!” I pointed at our little town, still with the same blacksmith. The practicing range was exactly the same as I had left them, with not a single building looking out of place. As we flew by, I could hear excited shouts down below. Everyone was coming out to see a dragon fly by.
“There!” I pointed at the large dirt patch on the edge of town. Aria beat me to the punch as I felt her tense, swooping towards the makeshift landing pad. The crowd had now grown into the entire town as we landed, a cloud of dust springing up from our descent. Aria’s wings had a bad habit of that.
“Don’t transform until I’ve gotten off okay?” I reminded her as I felt her mentally grumble.
