Calling it a girls' trip had apparently been a mistake.
Mostly because Tadewi had spent the first three hours explaining all the ways we could die.
"The northern pass is unusable."
Willow's wings shifted beneath us.
I sat between two ridges along her back, staring at Tadewi.
"Dead?"
"Possibly."
"Soldiers?"
"Probably."
"Something worse?"
"Almost certainly."
I sighed.
"You are terrible at this."
Tadewi glanced over her shoulder.
"At what?"
"Girls' trips."
Her orange eyes narrowed.
"This is not a girls' trip."
"We've already established that it is."
"You established that."
"Willow agreed."
Beneath us, Willow rumbled.
Tadewi looked down.
"That was not agreement."
Another rumble.
Louder.
I grinned.
"Sounded like agreement."
Tadewi muttered something in a language I didn't recognize.
Probably Air.
Probably insulting.
I decided to accept it as surrender.
The Water Kingdom had disappeared behind us hours ago.
Ice had given way to forest.
Forest to rolling hills.
Then hills to jagged stretches of stone that climbed steadily toward the distant mountains.
The Air Nation waited beyond them.
Somewhere.
Tadewi had deliberately kept us away from the main routes.
No villages.
No military roads.
No watchtowers.
Nothing Mortimer might already be watching.
It made sense.
I hated that.
Because sensible routes were apparently longer routes.
And longer routes gave me more time to think.
About Veyra.
About Fire soldiers.
About the bond sitting quietly inside my chest.
About—
No.
Not today.
I looked down.
Trees blurred beneath us.
I could reach for him.
I hadn't.
Not since leaving.
The thread remained.
Faint.
Distant.
Alive.
That was enough.
It had to be.
For today.
"How much farther?"
Tadewi turned slightly.
"To the border?"
"Yes."
"If we continued flying, several hours."
"If?"
"We're landing."
I frowned.
"Why?"
"Because we're not crossing today."
"What?"
Willow began descending before I could argue.
"Tadewi."
No response.
"Tadewi."
"We need rest."
"I'm not tired."
Willow snorted.
Traitor.
"I'm not."
Tadewi looked over her shoulder.
"When did you last sleep properly?"
"Last night."
"How many hours?"
I didn't answer.
"Lyra."
"Hours are an arbitrary measurement."
Willow made a sound suspiciously close to laughter.
I slapped her back.
"You're supposed to be on my side."
Her descent became steeper.
Apparently not.
"We could reach the temple tomorrow if we keep moving."
"And we could reach it exhausted."
"I'm fine."
"You have said that so many times it has lost all meaning."
That sounded annoyingly familiar.
I frowned at the back of Tadewi's head.
"Have you been talking to Revik?"
"Unfortunately."
"He's corrupting you."
"I am considerably older than Revik."
"Then you're corrupting him."
"More likely."
Willow landed in a clearing.
Hard enough that my teeth clicked.
She lowered herself.
I slid from her back.
Tadewi landed beside me moments later disending with practiced ease.
Willow shifted.
Green scales disappeared.
Then a very smug Earth princess stood in their place.
I pointed at her.
"You did that deliberately."
"Did what?"
"The landing."
"I have no idea what you mean."
"Heavier than it usually is."
"What can I say, I'm tired."
I considered that.
Fair.
Tadewi had already started walking.
"Where are you going?"
"To find somewhere defensible."
"For the night?"
"Yes."
I stared after her.
"We still have daylight."
"Correct."
"We could keep moving."
"Also correct."
"Then—"
Tadewi stopped.
Turned.
And looked at me.
That look.
The one older women apparently learned somewhere between thirty and deciding everyone younger than them was an idiot.
"Lyra."
"What?"
"Tomorrow we enter territory occupied by an army that does not sleep."
I closed my mouth.
"We do."
"An army that does not tire."
I crossed my arms.
"Yes."
"An army controlled by the same being currently occupying your mate."
My chest tightened.
Tadewi's expression softened slightly.
"We don't know what waits beyond that border."
I looked toward the mountains.
"We rest tonight."
I hated it.
Which probably meant she was right.
"Alright, we rest "
Tadewi nodded.
"Good."
Willow walked past me.
"I'll find water."
I watched her go.
Then Tadewi.
Then the rapidly darkening sky.
Girls' trip.
Wonderful.
We found an old traveller's shelter less than an hour later.
Calling it a shelter was generous.
Four stone walls.
Mostly.
A roof.
Also mostly.
A fireplace.
Completely.
Which apparently made it luxury accommodation by Tadewi's standards.
"I've slept in worse."
I dropped my pack.
"So have I."
Willow looked around.
"It's dry."
"So is a coffin."
Tadewi stared at me.
"What?"
"You've spent too much time with Revik."
"That's what I said about you."
Willow laughed.
I looked at her.
It occurred to me that I'd heard Willow laugh more today than I had during the entire time I'd known her.
Actually—
I'd laughed more today too.
Not much.
But enough to notice.
I didn't examine that too closely.
Willow had found a stream.
Tadewi had apparently packed enough food for a small army.
And somehow—
despite explicitly banning it—
she produced a bottle of wine.
I stared.
Tadewi looked down at the bottle.
"This is medicinal."
"That's wine."
"Medicine can have many forms."
"You told me no wine."
"I told you Willow couldn't bring wine."
Willow stopped unpacking.
"You specifically said someone needed to survive this group."
"And I intend to."
I pointed accusingly.
"You brought it for yourself."
"Yes."
I looked at Willow.
She looked at me.
Then we both looked at Tadewi.
Tadewi pulled the cork.
"Share."
We moved simultaneously.
She sighed.
Night came slowly.
For once, nothing happened.
No gods.
No armies.
No shadows.
No ancient voices inside my head.
Just fire.
Food.
Wine.
And Willow attempting to explain why Earth nobility considered eating with your fingers inappropriate while actively eating with her fingers.
"The irony is palpable."
She looked at the piece of roasted meat in her hand.
"We aren't at court."
"So manners only exist when people are watching?"
"Essentially."
"I knew royalty was a scam."
Tadewi drank.
Willow pointed at me.
"You spent months living in the Fire palace."
"Against my will...at first."
"You ate at the royal table."
"Badly."
"I heard."
I narrowed my eyes.
"From who?"
"Revik."
"Of course."
"He said Raiden had to teach you how to use cutlery."
"He did not have to."
Willow smiled.
"He said you threatened a fork."
"The fork started it."
Tadewi choked on her wine.
I stared.
Willow stared.
Tadewi coughed into her hand.
Then looked at us with complete dignity.
"Continue."
I grinned.
"Oh, absolutely not."
"What?"
"You laughed."
"I did no such thing."
"You nearly inhaled wine."
"Age."
"You're blaming age?"
"Frequently."
Willow started laughing.
And somehow that did it.
I laughed too.
Not the little breath through my nose I'd been passing off as laughter lately.
Actually laughed.
Tadewi looked between us.
Her mouth twitched.
Then she surrendered.
For a while...
we were idiots.
Completely.
Gloriously.
Idiots.
Willow told me about the first formal banquet she'd attended when she was thirteen.
She had tripped over her ceremonial robes and taken an ambassador down with her.
"I don't believe you."
"It happened."
"Earth Princess Willow?"
"I was thirteen."
"You knocked over an ambassador."
"He shouldn't have been standing there."
I pointed at her.
"That's exactly what I would've said."
Tadewi shook her head.
"Both of you are exhausting."
I leaned toward her.
"Your turn."
"No."
"Yes."
"I have no embarrassing stories."
Willow and I stared at her.
Tadewi stared back.
"None."
"You're lying."
"I am not."
"You were young once."
"Debatable."
Willow leaned forward.
"There must be something."
"No."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Did you ever steal anything?"
Tadewi's eyes shifted.
Barely.
I gasped.
Willow saw it too.
"What did you steal?"
"Nothing."
"What did you steal?"
"I borrowed a horse."
Silence.
I slowly lowered my cup.
"You stole a horse."
"Borrowed."
"For how long?"
Tadewi drank.
"Tadewi."
"Approximately three weeks."
Willow burst out laughing.
I stared at her.
"Three weeks?"
"The journey took longer than anticipated."
"Did the owner know you were borrowing it?"
"He became aware."
"When?"
"When I returned it."
I slapped my hand against my knee.
"You are never allowed to criticize me again."
"I returned the horse."
"After three weeks!"
"It was unharmed."
"You stole it."
"Borrowed."
"Without asking! Theft."
Tadewi pointed at me.
"You once infiltrated a criminal operation, assaulted several men, broke children out of locked rooms and stole a ledger."
"That was different."
"Naturally."
Willow was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes.
I looked at her.
"You have absolutely no room to judge anyone, Ambassador Killer."
That made it worse.
And I—
Gods.
I couldn't remember the last time I'd laughed like this.
Maybe before Raiden disappeared.
Before Earth.
Before the prison.
Before—
No.
I stopped the thought.
Not tonight.
I took another drink.
Tadewi watched me.
She didn't say anything.
For that alone, I loved her a little.
The thought surprised me.
I looked away.
And heard something outside.
My smile disappeared.
Willow stopped laughing.
Tadewi's cup paused halfway to her mouth.
Footsteps.
Several.
Not careful ones.
Branches snapped.
A man's voice drifted through the darkness.
"Well, well."
I sighed.
Of course.
One peaceful night.
Apparently even that had been ambitious.
Seven men stepped into the firelight.
Then an eighth.
Armed.
Swords.
Knives.
One bow.
Their clothing didn't match any kingdom's military uniform.
Mercenaries.
Or bandits.
Sometimes the difference was whether someone had paid them recently.
The man in front looked at the three of us.
His gaze lingered on Willow.
Then me.
Then Tadewi.
He smiled.
I already disliked him.
"Evening, ladies."
Nobody answered.
His smile widened.
"Travelling alone?"
I looked at Willow.
Willow looked at Tadewi.
Tadewi took another drink.
The man frowned.
"Asked you a question."
Tadewi lowered her cup.
"Keep walking."
I almost smiled.
The man laughed.
Behind him, the others joined in.
Wrong choice.
"Don't think you understand the situation."
Tadewi looked around.
Seven men.
Three women.
Then back at him.
"I understand perfectly."
Another man stepped forward.
"Looks like you've got decent packs."
There it was.
"Food."
His eyes dropped toward our belongings.
"Coin."
Then Willow.
"Jewelry."
Willow glanced down at the small gold clasp at her shoulder.
Then back up.
"No."
The man blinked.
"No?"
"No."
I covered my mouth.
He looked at me.
"Something funny?"
"Little bit."
He stepped closer.
"Maybe you need someone to explain how this works."
I stood.
Tadewi sighed.
Not frightened.
Annoyed.
"Lyra."
"I haven't done anything."
"Yet."
The man looked between us.
"Give us the packs, valuables and horses."
"We don't have horses," I said.
His eyes narrowed.
"Then how are three women travelling out here alone?"
I smiled.
"Very carefully."
One of the men laughed.
The leader didn't.
"Last chance."
Willow rose.
She was taller than me.
Much taller.
The man's confidence faltered for approximately half a second.
Then returned.
Poor decision.
"Sit down."
Willow's eyebrows rose.
Oh.
Oh, I liked that.
She took one step toward him.
"You should leave."
He drew his sword.
Willow looked at the blade.
Then at him.
"That was your second mistake."
He frowned.
"What was the first?"
"Stopping."
He swung.
Willow moved.
Fast.
Not backward.
Forward.
She stepped directly inside his reach.
One hand caught his wrist.
The other drove into his elbow.
Something cracked.
He screamed.
Willow twisted.
The sword hit the ground.
Her elbow hit his face.
He followed shortly afterward.
I blinked.
Oh.
I needed her to teach me that.
Immediately.
Someone grabbed me from behind.
My body reacted before my mind did.
Drop.
Turn.
Heel into shin.
His grip loosened.
My elbow went into his stomach.
I caught his wrist.
Twisted.
His knife fell.
I caught it before it hit the ground.
He stared at my hand.
Then at his empty sheath.
"How did you—"
I smiled.
"Old habits."
I flipped the knife.
Drove the hilt into his temple.
He dropped.
Two.
Someone rushed Tadewi.
She didn't even stand.
The man swung.
She leaned.
The blade missed her by inches.
Her staff came up beneath his wrist.
Turned.
His own momentum carried him forward.
Tadewi rose smoothly.
One foot shifted behind his ankle.
She pulled.
He went over her hip.
Hard.
Flat on his back.
She sat back down.
Picked up her cup.
I stared.
She looked at me.
"What?"
"I need you to teach me that."
"Pay attention."
A fist came toward my face.
I ducked.
It passed over my head.
"I am."
"To your opponent."
"I'm multitasking."
I drove my shoulder into the man's ribs.
He stumbled.
Raiden would've told me I'd dropped my left side.
Revik would've told me my footing was too narrow.
Muir would've told me to stop meeting force with force.
I adjusted.
Widened.
Turned with the man's next strike instead of against it.
Caught his forearm.
Used his momentum.
He hit the wall.
Hard.
Better.
Muir would still complain.
But less.
Someone came at Willow with a knife.
She blocked his wrist.
Headbutted him.
I winced.
"That's excessive."
"He has a knife."
"So did mine."
"You stole yours."
"Skill."
She kicked the man's knee.
He folded.
Willow drove her fist into his jaw.
Aggressive.
Direct.
No wasted hesitation.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Mental note.
Train with Willow.
A man swung at Tadewi.
She stepped aside.
That was it.
One step.
His sword passed her.
She caught his elbow.
Turned her body.
Suddenly he was flying past her and directly into another mercenary.
Both collapsed.
Second mental note.
Train with Tadewi.
When we weren't infiltrating an occupied kingdom.
Or forcing gods to speak to me.
Or preventing a war.
Or rescuing Raiden from an ancient embodiment of Darkness.
My schedule was becoming unreasonable.
"Behind you," Tadewi said.
I spun.
Too slow.
A fist clipped my cheek.
Pain flashed.
I stumbled.
The man smiled.
I touched my lip.
Blood.
I looked at my fingers.
Then him.
He stopped smiling.
"Oh," Willow said.
I glanced at her.
She had another man pinned against the wall.
"What?"
"That look."
"What look?"
"The one right before you do something stupid."
"I don't have a look."
"You do."
Apparently everyone had decided I had faces now.
The mercenary lunged.
I moved.
Raiden.
Shift left.
Revik.
Control the wrist.
Muir.
Move with him.
Me.
Cheat.
I stepped onto his foot.
Hard.
He cursed.
His balance broke.
I drove my knee upward.
He folded.
Then I caught the back of his shirt and introduced his face to the table.
The table lost.
He stayed down.
Willow stared.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"That was a face."
"It wasn't."
Tadewi's staff cracked against someone's ankle.
"Focus."
Right.
There were two left.
One looked around.
At his friends.
At Willow.
At Tadewi.
At me.
Then made the first intelligent decision anyone had made since arriving.
He ran.
The last man stared after him.
"Traitor!"
"Smart man," Tadewi corrected.
The remaining mercenary looked at us.
Slowly.
Then dropped his sword.
I breathed hard.
Adrenaline hummed through me.
My lip hurt.
My knuckles hurt.
My hair had come almost completely loose.
And—
I felt...
Good.
Really good.
Willow nudged the unconscious man at her feet.
"Seven."
"Six," Tadewi corrected.
"One ran."
"That still counts."
"It does not."
"It absolutely counts."
I looked between them.
"Are we scoring?"
Willow smiled.
"Now we are."
"Excellent."
Tadewi sighed.
The conscious mercenary stared at us.
His gaze landed on me.
More specifically—
my hair.
Most of it had fallen free.
White.
Iridescent in the firelight.
His face changed.
I watched recognition arrive.
Slowly.
Beautifully.
"Fuck."
Finally.
Someone with observational skills.
Willow looked at him.
"What?"
He didn't answer.
His eyes moved to mine.
Violet.
Then my hair.
Then back.
"You're..."
I smiled.
"Yes?"
"The Primal Dragon."
Silence.
The man on the ground nearest him groaned.
"What?"
His companion didn't look away from me.
"That's the fucking Primal Dragon."
The groaning stopped.
I crossed my arms.
"In fairness, you were warned."
Willow frowned.
"Were they?"
I thought about it.
"No."
Tadewi closed her eyes.
"Lyra."
"They should've inferred it."
The man's gaze moved to Willow.
Really looked at her.
Her clothes.
The Earth insignia at her belt.
His face somehow became paler.
"No."
Willow smiled.
"Hello."
His eyes snapped to Tadewi.
Her orange eyes.
Her staff.
Recognition.
Horror.
I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
"Oh, don't worry," I said. "It gets worse."
"Fuck."
Tadewi pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Are you finished?"
She pointed toward the mercenary.
"Tie him."
I grinned.
"Yes, Chief."
We tied all seven of them.
Six unconscious.
One extremely cooperative.
Their weapons went into a pile.
Their coin—
Tadewi made me give back.
Apparently stealing from people after they'd attempted to rob you was still stealing.
I disagreed.
Strongly.
Willow sided with Tadewi.
Traitor.
Again.
Then we discovered the real tragedy.
Dinner had burned.
Tadewi stared at the blackened remains.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
She looked at me.
"You ruined dinner."
I stared.
"I ruined dinner?"
"You threw a man into the table."
"The table isn't the fire."
"He knocked the pot."
"He had a sword!"
"He did not."
I paused.
"Knife?"
"No."
"Bad attitude?"
Willow snorted.
I pointed at her.
"Don't."
That made it worse.
She started laughing.
I looked at Tadewi.
Tadewi's mouth twitched.
"No."
I pointed.
"Don't you dare."
She broke.
Actually laughed.
And then I did too.
I don't know why.
The food was ruined.
My lip was bleeding.
Six men were tied together outside our shelter.
One was beginning to wake up and looked deeply unhappy about it.
None of this was particularly funny.
But Willow was laughing.
Tadewi was laughing.
And suddenly—
so was I.
I laughed until my stomach hurt.
Until I had to sit down.
Until Willow dropped beside me.
Until Tadewi told us both we were behaving like children while visibly struggling to breathe herself.
And for a little while...
nothing existed outside that room.
No Mortimer.
No war.
No gods.
No prophecy.
No Fire Kingdom.
No Raiden.
Just us.
The thought came quietly.
And killed my laughter.
No Raiden.
My smile faded.
Tadewi noticed.
Of course she did.
"What?"
"Nothing."
She gave me a look.
I sighed.
"I didn't think about him."
Willow's laughter softened.
"During the fight," I said.
Neither spoke.
"I didn't think about where he was."
My fingers tightened around my cup.
"Whether he was awake."
The fire cracked.
"Whether Mortimer was hurting him."
There.
The guilt arrived.
Ugly.
Immediate.
"For maybe twenty minutes..."
I swallowed.
"I forgot."
Tadewi sat across from me.
"Good."
I looked up.
"What?"
"Good."
"He's trapped inside his own body."
"I know."
"And I was laughing."
"I noticed."
"Tadewi."
She leaned forward.
"Will worrying about him every second free him?"
I hated questions like that.
No."
"Will exhausting yourself until you can no longer think clearly make you more capable of saving him?"
I glared.
"No."
"Then you are allowed twenty minutes."
I looked down.
Willow nudged my shoulder.
"And more."
I looked at her.
"Generous."
"I am a princess."
"Apparently."
She smiled.
Then it softened.
"You love him."
My throat tightened.
"Yes."
Saying it wasn't frightening anymore.
Maybe that was the strangest part.
"I miss him."
Not the bond.
Not his power.
Not the prince.
Him.
"I just..."
I stared into the fire.
"I miss him."
Tadewi passed me the wine.
No wisdom.
No lecture.
Just wine.
I took it.
"Thank you."
"Don't tell anyone."
"Your reputation?"
"Exactly."
I drank.
Then looked at Willow.
"Your turn."
Her eyebrows rose.
"My turn for what?"
"Emotional vulnerability."
"No."
"That's unfair."
"Life is unfair."
"Tadewi?"
"Leave me out of this."
"You started it."
"I did nothing."
"You gave me wine and feelings."
"A regrettable combination."
I looked back at Willow.
"Come on."
She sighed.
"What do you want to know?"
Everything.
I settled for—
"Do you like being a princess?"
That surprised her.
She looked into the fire.
For a long time.
"Sometimes."
"Very convincing."
She smiled faintly.
"I love my people."
"I didn't ask that."
Her eyes met mine.
No offense.
Just understanding.
"No," she said quietly.
That surprised me.
"Why?"
"Because everyone knows who you're supposed to be before you enter the room."
Something in my chest shifted.
Willow turned the cup between her hands.
"The Earth Princess."
"Strong."
"Controlled."
"Useful."
"Marry the correct person. Say the correct thing. Fight when expected. Smile when required."
She shrugged.
"Sometimes I wonder what I would have become if no one had told me first."
I stared at her.
That...
I understood.
More than I expected.
"People look at the dragon before they look at me."
Willow's gaze lifted.
"I know."
"The Primal."
I picked at a loose thread on my trousers.
"Sometimes I hate that word."
"I know that too."
Silence.
Then Willow smiled.
"Sometimes I envy you."
I laughed.
"Why?"
"You say whatever you want."
"People generally dislike it."
"That's the part I envy."
I grinned.
"See? This is why we're friends."
Willow blinked.
I did too.
Friends.
I hadn't meant to say it.
But—
Yeah.
We were.
Willow's smile changed.
Warmer.
"Apparently."
I looked at Tadewi.
She immediately shook her head.
"No."
"We haven't even asked anything."
"I know your face."
"Apparently everyone does."
Willow leaned forward.
"Did you ever fall in love?"
Tadewi nearly dropped her cup.
I gasped.
"Oh, excellent question."
"No."
Too fast.
Willow's eyebrows rose.
I pointed.
"That was suspiciously quick."
"There is nothing suspicious about it."
"There absolutely is."
Tadewi stood.
"I'm going to check the prisoners."
I grabbed her sleeve.
"No."
"Release me."
"Never."
"Lyra."
"Who was he?"
Her eyes narrowed.
"I never said there was a he."
Willow and I went silent.
Tadewi did too.
Oh.
I smiled slowly.
"Interesting."
"You are both intolerable."
"Who were they?" Willow corrected.
Tadewi stared at us.
Then—
slowly—
sat back down.
"There was someone."
I leaned forward.
Willow did the same.
Tadewi looked disgusted with both of us.
"Many years ago."
"How many?"
"Enough."
"That's not a number."
"I learned that from you."
Her eyes narrowed.
I smiled sweetly.
"Continue."
Tadewi stared into the fire.
For the first time that night, she looked older.
Not weak.
Never that.
Just...
like someone who had lived an entire life before I ever met her.
"They were kind."
That wasn't what I expected.
Tadewi smiled faintly.
"Infuriatingly kind."
"What happened?"
"Life."
I waited.
She didn't elaborate.
For once—
I didn't push.
Maybe because I knew what it was like to have something that belonged only to you.
Something too fragile to hand over before you were ready.
"Did you love them?"
Tadewi looked at me.
Then into the fire.
"Yes."
Simple.
Quiet.
Certain.
My chest tightened.
"Do you still?"
She thought about it.
"Some part of me probably always will."
I looked down.
Maybe love didn't disappear.
Maybe it just changed shape.
Tadewi nudged my foot with hers.
"Do not make that face."
"What face?"
"The one where you turn my private life into a lesson about yours."
I stared.
Willow laughed.
"She caught you."
"I wasn't."
"You absolutely were."
"I hate both of you."
"No, you don't," Willow said.
And annoyingly—
she was right.
We stayed awake far too late.
We talked about stupid things.
Important things.
Things that somehow became both.
Willow wanted to travel somewhere no one knew she was a princess.
Tadewi wanted to hear children laughing inside the Air temples again.
That one quieted us.
"What about you?" Willow asked.
I stared into the dying fire.
"What?"
"If there was no war."
I frowned.
"No Mortimer."
Tadewi added.
"No prophecy."
Willow smiled.
"No kingdoms demanding anything from you."
"What would you do?"
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because I didn't know.
I'd spent most of my life thinking about tomorrow.
Food.
Shelter.
Survival.
Then suddenly I'd become the Primal Dragon and everyone wanted me to think about eternity.
Nobody had ever asked what I wanted in between.
"I don't know."
The admission felt strangely vulnerable.
Willow didn't laugh.
Tadewi didn't offer an answer for me.
So I tried.
"I'd want..."
A home?
Raiden flashed through my mind.
Dark hair.
Blue-silver eyes.
That irritating almost-smile.
My chest ached.
I kept going.
"I'd want somewhere nobody cared what I was."
Willow listened.
"Somewhere I could wake up and the most important decision I had to make was what to eat."
Tadewi smiled.
"Ambitious."
"I've had a complicated life."
"What else?"
I thought.
"A garden."
Both women stared at me.
"What?"
Willow blinked.
"You want a garden?"
"Maybe."
"You've never mentioned gardening."
"I've never had a home."
That silenced her.
I shrugged.
"I liked Raiden's mother's cherry trees."
There.
Raiden again.
But this time it didn't hurt quite as badly.
"Maybe something like that."
Willow smiled.
"A house and a garden."
"Don't make it sound boring."
"It sounds peaceful."
Peaceful.
Yeah.
Maybe that was what I wanted.
Not a throne.
Not worship.
Not power.
Peace.
I looked at them.
"And you're both visiting."
Tadewi sighed.
"Are we?"
"Frequently."
"I wasn't consulted."
"You are now."
Willow lifted her cup.
"To Lyra's imaginary garden."
I lifted mine.
Tadewi stared at us.
Then raised hers too.
"May the plants survive her."
"Rude."
We drank.
And for one night—
I let that future exist.
Morning ruined everything.
Not immediately.
First there was cold.
Then Tadewi kicking my boot.
Then me considering murder.
Then Willow informing me my hair looked like something had nested in it.
Then discovering one of the mercenaries had somehow worked his gag loose and had been complaining for approximately an hour.
Normal problems.
Wonderful problems.
We handed the men over at the next settlement.
Tadewi gave the local guards a painfully detailed explanation.
I gave them a shorter one.
"They tried to rob us."
The guard looked at the bruised men.
Then at us.
"All of them?"
"Yes."
"Just the three of you?"
I smiled.
"Girls' trip."
Tadewi walked away.
Willow followed.
I hurried after them.
By midday, the mountains had changed.
The trees thinned.
The wind sharpened.
And Tadewi stopped joking.
We climbed the final ridge on foot.
No dragons now.
Too visible.
Tadewi reached the top first.
Then froze.
Willow stopped beside her.
I climbed the last few steps.
And understood.
The Air Nation stretched beyond the ridge.
Mountains.
Deep valleys.
Ancient bridges suspended between cliffs.
Stone towers built impossibly high.
I imagined what it must once have looked like.
Banners snapping in the wind.
People.
Life.
Instead—
silence.
An Air watchtower stood on the nearest ridge.
Blackened.
Its upper level had collapsed.
The old blue banners were torn.
Something darker hung beneath them.
Mortimer's mark.
Tadewi didn't move.
Yesterday she'd been laughing.
Stealing wine.
Telling us about stolen horses and old love.
Today she stood at the edge of her stolen home.
And I finally understood why she had needed last night too.
I moved beside her.
Didn't say anything.
Just reached for her hand.
Tadewi looked down.
Then at me.
Willow stepped to her other side.
She took Tadewi's other hand.
For a moment, the three of us stood there.
No princess.
No Primal Dragon.
No tribal leader.
Just—
us.
Tadewi inhaled.
Slowly.
Her fingers tightened around mine.
I looked toward the ruined tower.
"Girls' trip?"
Tadewi turned her head.
Her mouth twitched.
"You're an idiot."
"You came."
Willow smiled.
Tadewi looked between us.
Something warm entered those orange eyes.
Then disappeared beneath determination.
"Stay close."
I squeezed her hand once before letting go.
"You too."
She nodded.
Yesterday, we'd been three women around a fire.
Laughing.
Drinking.
Talking about lives that might exist when all of this was over.
Today—
we were walking into Tadewi's stolen home.
I looked at Willow.
Then Tadewi.
And together...
we crossed into the Air Nation.