Anders perked up slightly when he saw Ivan usher an elf into the medical tent. Too exhausted to shout, Anders reached for Ivan as he entered the tent.

Ivan stopped abruptly when he caught sight of Anders, “Anders, you look exhausted.”

“Have you seen Maija, Max or my cousins?”

Ivan pointed past Anders and gave a quick nod toward the fortress wall, “They’ve set up a few tents near the northeast end of camp, just past the fortress wall.”

Anders bobbed his head and turned to head where Ivan had pointed.

Ivan caught him by the arm as he turned and said, “Get a bite to eat and some rest while you can. The other two dragonriders haven’t returned. We’ll give them a few more hours, but if they’re not back by dusk you, Zahara and I will need to go look for them.”

“Okay,” Anders said through a long yawn.

“I’ll come find you after a bit. I need to meet with Red before we leave,” Ivan said. “He’s gone back to the battlefield to mourn his father.”

Anders’ eyes moved awkwardly to his feet. Jorgen’s death and the battle with Thargon seemed a lifetime ago. So much had happened over the course of the last day that hours were beginning to blend into one long blur of action and emotion. “Give him my sincere condolences,” Anders managed to say.

Ivan looked to Zahara before responding, “I’m sure Red will want to thank both of you for avenging his father’s death. If it weren’t for your timely arrival, Zahara, we would’ve all been taken by Thargon’s axe.”

Thank you, she said, using their telepathic link. I wish all of the warriors shared that same sentiment. Zahara peered around at the gathering of Rollo Island warriors.

Anders had forgotten that none of the Rolloan people had spent time around dragons. Zahara’s arrival as the battle was raging must’ve shocked them.

There are still many here who would like to see me dead, or in chains, she said squinting her large purple eyes and glaring at a warrior as he walked past.

“As long as the elves are here, you’re safe,” Ivan said reassuringly to Anders and Zahara.

Her loud exhale came out with a soft growl. She flicked the tip of her tail to one side.

“Thanks, Ivan, we’ll see you after a short while,” Anders said and started off toward his family and friends.

As they made their way across the encampment, Anders found it oddly pleasing how those in their way parted for them.

Once at the far side of the Rolloan camp, Anders spotted Max, Bo and Maija sitting in the grass with his cousins. As they approached, Anders’ mouth began to water at the smell of lamb roasting on their small cookfire. Bo and Kirsten shuffled to the side, making a place for Anders to join them. Zahara lay down directly behind them, keeping her eyes fixed on the turned heads of several Rollo Island warriors. Anders sighed audibly as he plopped down on the ground. He leaned back against Zahara’s large neck, folding his arms behind his head and closing his eyes.

“You look exhausted,” Kirsten said.

“Here. Have some food,” Maija said, moving to hand him the spit of mutton she’d been roasting.

Anders reached out gratefully and smiled as their hands briefly touched. Hardly able to keep his eyes open, he said in a hushed voice, “Thank you. This is exactly what I need right now.”

Giving him a quick wink, she passed the backside of her forefingers along the side of his head, brushing back his tangled hair as he smiled up at her. After a sweet moment of exchanged looks, she returned to the other side of the fire and sat back down by Thomas and Max.

While Anders chewed on the delicious mutton, the rest of the group looked at him wide-eyed, waiting for him to speak. They wanted to hear about how he’d suddenly acquired the bond of a dragon. Anders didn’t notice their looks; he merely put his head back against Zahara’s scaled body and chewed the roasted meat with his eyes contentedly closed.

Zahara suddenly pulled away from him and rose to her feet, leaving Anders to topple backward onto the flat of his back. All this good-smelling food is making me hungry, she said before running a few steps and leaping into the air, her wings spread and flapping as she flew away.

“Hey,” Anders shouted rising to the flat of his elbows on the grass.

I’m going fishing, she said as she flew off toward the sea.

Turning his gaze back to the fire, Anders, at last noticed the dumbfounded looks of his cousins, Maija and Bo. “I’m sorry, I forgot you guys can’t hear what she’s saying,” he said as he pointed the stick of meat in Zahara’s direction. He swallowed a bite and explained, “The smell of the lamb was making her hungry, so she decided to go fishing.” He took another large bite from the skewer and looked at them as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

“Well,” Kirsten said, gesturing expectantly as she leaned forward over her crossed legs.

“Well, what?” Anders said through his mouthful.

“Tell us how the heck you all of a sudden have a dragon and can use magic!” she shouted in a mix of frustration and excitement.

“Oh yeah, right,” Anders said, swallowing and continuing in a calm tone. “It all started after I found her one night on the Bareback Plains. I guess that isn’t entirely true, though; she was the one who found me. I snuck out from our campsite in the middle of the night. I wanted to walk alone to clear my head. At first, I thought she was a bear about to maul me. Long story short, she was lost and lonely and had a feeling about me, so she showed herself to me. She’s a very young dragon and was separated from her parents. Anyway, I kept our meetings a secret from Ivan, Red and Max.”

“Who are Ivan and Red?” Thomas interrupted.

“Oh yeah, you don’t know Ivan and Red yet. We have so much catching up to do, don’t we? Red is the large dark-haired Rollo Island warrior who you might’ve noticed in my heat during the Grandwood Games. And Ivan, well you haven’t met him yet I suppose, but well, um, he was friends with Uncle Theodor during the War,” Anders said, hesitating when he saw the still-fresh pain of the loss of their father on their faces.

“Okay,” Thomas said clearly urging Anders to continue talking about the dragon and not their murdered father.

“I suppose I should first tell you how I met them,” Anders said.

“That’s alright,” Kirsten said. “Max told us how you got here. With the Rollo warriors, shipwreck, orcs, elves and all.”

“He just forgot to mention their names,” Thomas added, looking over to Max. Max shrugged, letting out an effortless excuse for his lack of detail when recounting their story, “hey, so I forgot to mention their names.”

“Anyway,” Anders continued. “After the first night, I continued to meet Zahara in secret while everyone else slept. She followed us as we traveled toward this fortress. She told me how she’d been searching for her family, but everyone she’d come across up to that point had scared her. She hadn’t approached anyone for help until she showed herself to me.

“She followed us for several weeks as we headed first to the land of the elves. When we were attacked by orcs, she came to our aid, fighting brilliantly for a young dragon. I went to check on her after the ordeal and that’s when we learned that Ivan was planning to counsel the elves in their capital city, Cedarbridge. I convinced Ivan to take us with him because that’s where Zahara said her parents were heading when they became separated. Once we got there, I asked around and, sure enough, the elves found her parents for us. It was hard at the time, but we had to leave one another once she’d found her family.”

“Wait, so how come she’s here if you left her with the elves?” Kirsten asked, pointing toward the sky where Zahara circled over the sea. “And why does she need her parents? She seems old enough to be on her own.”

“She might not look it, but Zahara is only two years old,” Anders said.

The group gasped collectively. “She’s only two?” Maija said in surprise, turning back to watch Zahara looping and diving into the water in pursuit of her meal.

Anders nodded, “I know. Hard to believe, right?”

“So, you left her with the elves?” Kirsten asked, waiting for Anders to explain how Zahara came to be with him now.

“Yeah, I knew we had a special connection, but I couldn’t keep her away from her family, especially at such a young age,” he said.

In awe, Maija tilted her head to the side and put her hands up to her heart.

Anders blushed and smiled, then continued, “That’s when Nadir joined us,” he paused, seeing their blank expressions. “He’s an elf prince. The elf king sent him with us when we left Cedarbridge. The elves were supposed to meet us here before we marched on the fortress, but they were waylaid en route and arrived after the battle had begun. Sensing danger, I guess, Zahara decided to follow them to find me. In the height of the battle, Zahara suddenly appeared, saving me and many others who would’ve been defeated by Thargon, and that’s when she gave me the gift.”

“What gift?” Thomas asked.

“Magic,” Anders said.

“That’s how it works?” Thomas asked.