Anders, look at her. You’re practically twins, Maija said.
Please, don’t tell her anything. I don’t want to complicate things. We need to get back to the city. Your sister could be in danger.
Maija left his thoughts, but he could still feel her emotions pressuring him to say something about it to Hannah. “You said you wanted to talk strategy?” Anders asked, ignoring Maija’s thoughts and trying to focus on how eerily similar he and the rider looked.
“As you know, there is a massive army marching from the coast right toward the city where you and your army plan to stage your battle,” Hannah said.
“Which is exactly why we should be flying back there before they attack,” Anders said.
“There is time. The dragons will be the first to attack. We haven’t seen them flying to join the army yet.”
“How do you know that?” Maija asked.
“As I said before, we have been observing and deciding which army, if any, we should join.”
“Oh,” Maija replied with a frown.
“In our observations, we’ve noticed that you, Anders, have a different skill set than we were trained with.”
“In what way?” Anders asked.
“Where we have excelled in masking our presence to other sorcerers, you have learned the long-lost secrets of the inhabitance crystals.”
“I don’t know that much,” he said. “We only know what Zorna explained to us.”
“It’s more than we know. I have been trying to use the one you let fall into the hands of the wraith. It will not work for me, yet you seem to have taught non-bonded people how to use them. I brought you and the others here to show us how to use them. You have enough for all of us to wield their powers.”
Anders thought for a moment before responding. What do you think, Zahara?
She shares your blood; I can smell it on her. She speaks the truth and I think you can trust her. Imagine what we could do with a dragonrider’s army and this wealth of power.
Anders sighed, “We can show you how to use them if you get us back to the front lines before the enemy attacks.”
“Why do you think we brought the ones who can use crystals with us?” Hannah asked.
“You brought two of them. Thomas can’t use one and Inama doesn’t have one,” Anders replied.
“They both have crystals, which is why we brought them, too,” she said.
Anders wasn’t going to argue further with the rider. They had to make this quick so they could get back to Aquina. Anders followed Hannah as she led them to Kirsten, Thomas and the others. As she called for the dragons and riders to gather, Kirsten and Thomas came running up to them.
“Anders,” Kirsten said, giving him a hug.
Anders caught his cousin in his arms, “Kirsten, I’m alright. I’m glad you’re here.”
“They said you were in danger and they needed our help,” Thomas said.
“They saved us,” Anders said, motioning to the Northland riders.
“The rest of the army is coming behind us. Rune said they would arrive by dusk,” Kirsten told him.
“Good,” Anders replied.
Evans and Inama greeted them next. “So, you have one too?” Anders asked Inama.
She nodded and pointed her thumb to Kirsten, “She let me try. Says I'm a natural.”
He nodded, then Hannah motioned for his attention. Anders continued to explain everything Zorna had taught him about the inhabitance crystals.
Most of the Northland riders caught on much more quickly than Anders had anticipated. They had the advantage of knowing the ancient language. Each practiced with the one crystal Hannah had taken the week before. After this first try, he passed out more crystals to the riders.
A dragonrider who’d been standing near the outer edge of the group pushed his way to Hannah’s side and spoke to her in a hushed tone. Anders saw Hannah’s face turn stark white. She whistled once, immediately gathering the attention of the two dozen dragonriders.
“We ride now,” she shouted.
The Norfolk riders rushed to their dragons. Anders stood at Zahara’s side. He’d only handed them half the crystals Zahara had in her bags. Anders glanced at Maija, noticing she too had a large sack of the sapphires.
Hannah looked at them, “The dragons are moving to Merglan’s aid. We must ride.”
Anders nodded. He grabbed Kirsten while Thomas went with Maija. Evans and Inama were summoned away by two nearby Northland riders. Joining them in the air, Zahara and Raffa flew alongside the flight of dragons.
Being surrounded by so many dragons with bonded riders was something Anders had never dreamed would happen. For a moment he and Zahara were overcome with joy, then instantly reminded of the reason why they they’d taken flight so suddenly. The battle would begin soon. As the sun began to rise in the east, Anders wondered if it would be the last he would ever see. Anders speculated what the sudden presence of what appeared to be a close relative would mean for his future. Was he really the one the Prophecy spoke of? After spending so much time denying that he was meant to be King, he had finally come to terms with it. Now he learned the Prophecy may not have been referring to him all along.
Chapter 94
The Beginning of the End
Maija, Anders said as they flew alongside the Northland riders across the Bareback Plains.
