by Emily Wilson
“So... this is where you’ve been?” Aleon asks Riley.
“She keeps me pretty busy. This is why I’ve been stuck in this hot mountain. She doesn’t like rules.”
Azrian tries to ignore their conversation as he steps closer to the dragon. “Are there others like you?”
“How should I know?” she asks, snapping her jaws at him. “You heard the girl, I'm not allowed to leave.”
“Okay, but... you're a dragon. What's really stopping you? Couldn’t you just—” Az waves his arms to gesture to the dragon’s still smoldering body, “—your way out?”
“Yes... I suppose you’re right.” She glances over at Riley and huffs out smoke from her nostrils. “I could take her as a snack.”
Riley rolls her eyes and tosses a hand in her direction. “You don’t scare me, Cinny.”
“She sure scares me,” Teagon admits, still near that boulder they hid behind.
Azrian grins. From what he can tell, Cindreg isn't chained down or otherwise restrained, which means she's here of her own accord and not nearly as dangerous as she seems. She's likely just bored and too old to put up with their questions. “Well, I don't suppose there’s any chance you want to give us a ride to the Wasted Waters?”
That seems to get Kato’s attention. “Is that possible?” he rushes out, stepping closer to the dragon.
Cindreg looks excited — so excited that her spiked tail catches on fire and snaps a little too close to Aleon. “I would l—”
“No,” Riley says sternly. “You're not to leave this mountain until you've learned to control your fire. Until then, you're mine, and we’re not going anywhere.”
There's a moment when Azrian wonders why the Regnum chose her instead of an Igneme, but when Cindreg curls in on herself and lays down with a thud that shakes the ground, he thinks he gets it. Riley's a Cogitare, and maybe Cindreg’s imprisonment here isn't as voluntary as it sounded.
“Shadows, Riley. Now I have to go on a boat!” Kato all but pouts as he walks to lean against the rock. “You’re a shadowhead.”
“You wouldn't be saying that if you knew Cinny’s body count. The second she got clear of Tizor, she'd eat you and then raze half of Athoze. She's here for a reason.”
Azrian slides his hand in Kato’s and tries to smile at him. “Remember all that apologizing I did earlier? If you promise not to go all brute on everyone, I'll do it again.”
It makes Kato squirm and stand straighter again. He only looks conflicted for about ten seconds before he nods. “Yeah... okay, deal.”
ALEON STICKS AROUND until Kato, Azrian and Teagon get the hint and leave, but they don't go quietly. Teagon whistles and makes a rude gesture behind Riley’s back, and even Azrian teases him before ushering the other two out. When he's finally alone with Riley and Cindreg, he steps closer to her. “Are you allowed to leave this area, or do you have to stay near her?”
Riley’s smile is unreadable as she moves in, too. “Depends. I can go for short periods of time. What’d you have in mind?”
“I’m an Itinerae, so we can at least cut out travel time. I was thinking dinner in the city and maybe a trip to the tavern? It seems like you need a drink, and I—” he freezes, knowing he hasn't actually made his feelings to her known “—just thought it might be fun to go.”
Her eyes sparkle at the invitation and she looks over at Cindreg as she contemplates it. “That does sound fun. Can you jump me to my room so I can change first?” Riley steps in more and grabs his hand.
He doesn't have time to be surprised by the gesture since her acceptance stunned him first. Aleon stutters out something that he hopes is at least an agreement, then teleports them outside of Riley's room without bidding the dragon farewell. “I should go change too. We got stuck in the corridor right before we found you, I'm a little dirty. I'll be back in ten minutes, is that okay?”
“Yup.” She bumps him with her shoulder and opens the door. “See you in ten.”
When she closes her door, he panics — outright, completely panics. He didn't expect her to say yes or to agree to go that night — nor did he expect to see her at all. He jumps himself back to his room and starts rifling through his clothes as quickly as he can, but after his fourth outfit change, he gives up and steals one of Teagon’s shirts. Though his brother is thicker than he is, he prefers his tunics to be skin tight, which means they fit Aleon well enough to work. His reflection in the mirror doesn't thrill him, but it doesn't disgust him either, and he decides that’ll have to be good enough.
Aleon lands outside of Riley's room just as she opens the door. His greeting dies on his tongue and he gapes at her, not understanding how she managed to look as pretty as she does in such a short amount of time. Her blonde hair is longer than the last time he saw her, but he didn’t notice before since it was pulled back.
She smiles, closing the door behind her and looking down at his outfit too. “Hey, we match.”
“We do? We do,” he agrees with a blush. He chooses not to tell her the shirt doesn't even belong to him, and instead holds out his arm for her. He will be a good date, even if it kills him to try to have some semblance of charm. “What are you in the mood for, milady?”
“Oo, no one’s ever called me milady before.” Riley bumps him with her hip and takes his arm. “How about you surprise me?”
12 The Mission
Azrian watches Kato nervously as they wait in the common room. Any minute now, Jasestros and Tague will arrive and they'll have to be on their way — Aleon offered to take them, but he can only jump them as far as the coast since they only know a rough location. From there, they'll be on their own. “You ready for this, Jellycrai?”
The look Kato adopts has Azrian regretting the question. “Ready? To go to the one body of water with sea dragons? Sure. What are we waiting for?”
Shadows. This is going to be miserable, Azrian thinks. “Yeah, that's fair. Let’s just go say goodbye to Axis and Nut. At least it'll be a nice distraction while we wait.”
Kato follows silently but once they’re out in the fresh air, he seems to relax before Azrian’s eyes. He pulls him in for a hug and whispers an apology into his ear. “I’ll try and be better. This isn’t your fault.”
Nut and Axis approach them looking worried, but the raccanis squeezing in between them feels so normal it makes them both laugh. “Hi, Nut,” Azrian says as he pets his head. “We gotta leave for a few days. You’re going to have to get your snacks from Alstro or Neginah until we get back.”
The snap at Az’s hand tells him he doesn’t like that, but Kato flicks his nose. “No biting. We’ll be back, and no you can’t come. I saw you cuddling up to Hanigen, he probably gives you the most snacks, huh?” Nut climbs up Kato’s leg and wraps his little arms around his neck, chittering something in his ear. “I’m sorry, little buddy... I can’t understand you anymore.”
Nut bites his earlobe and jumps down, sprinting his fat little body toward the few trees lining the base of the mountain. Axis stays put and watches with evident amusement, but Azrian stops him when he finally stands up. “Ax? I know we can't hear you, but... can you tell us somehow if we'll be okay here? Will we make it back from the Wastes?”
The valianis doesn't nod. He doesn't do anything beyond stare at them both, then slowly follows Nut toward the trees.
“I don’t need to read minds to know he responded cryptically. ‘You are on the right path Azrian Mihr, son of Ender. Stay the course,’” Kato mocks, rolling his eyes at the beast. “Ass.”
Azrian leans against Kato and chuckles, but the complete lack of response from Axis is making him nervous. Kato is likely right, and if this trip would be the end of them, Axis would tell them — or at least he hopes. “Okay, Jellycrai. I think we’d better get moving.”
“But I like it right here.” Kato wraps his arms around Azrian so tight he can hardly breathe, and Az stays in that embrace until it becomes physically painful to do so. He taps Kato’s arm to get free with a quiet gasp, then touches
the scar on Kato’s left temple.
“We’ve been through so much worse than this. Hopefully, it'll be a smooth trip and then we’ll have what we need to make real changes around here.”
Footsteps behind them steal their attention, but the familiar faces of Jasestros and Tague are welcome sights. Jase ruffles Azrian's hair as he clasps Kato’s shoulder with a face-splitting, dimpled grin, but Azrian finds himself watching Tague. He looks older than the last time Azrian saw him despite it only being a handful of months ago, and the way he's looking at Jase like he's going to drop dead at any second tells Azrian there's more to their story than they know.
“Your hair is longer,” Tague comments as he tries to fix the mess Jase left behind. “And did you get taller, Kato?”
Kato shakes his head and looks between them all. “Wait, did I? I’m pretty sure I stopped growing years ago.”
Tague chuckles and meets Azrian’s gaze. “He still doesn’t get jokes?”
“Not always. He's getting a lot better, though... mostly at my expense.” Az follows them back inside the mountain and tries not to listen as Tague starts whispering last minute pleas to stay behind. It doesn't shock him that he’ll have more than one uneasy companion on this journey, but he's not eager to find out why — Tague’s already been to the Wastes; if it were truly safe, he wouldn't be nervous.
He doesn’t comment, but Kato’s grip tightens in his hand as they walk back to where they’re meeting up with Aleon. By the time they arrive, Jase is the only one trying to keep an easygoing facade.
“You guys sure about this?” Aleon asks as Ronan hugs Az tightly.
“We have to be. You should’ve heard them, Ale. They're not going to do it themselves.” Az plants a kiss to the top of Ronan's head and passes him off to Kato, then picks up the satchel he'd packed for them and takes a deep breath. “Just don't forget to come pick us up. Four days, same spot.”
Like the first couple of times they'd brought up the return plan, Aleon looks skeptical. “What if you're not there?”
“If we’re not there, assume the worst,” Jase says in a deceivingly playful tone. “It shouldn't take long.”
Tague slaps his arm with the back of his hand. “We better come back. Or I quit, J.”
Kato looks as if he doesn’t want to say goodbye to Ronan, but he pulls away and forces a smile. “We got this. We’re unstoppable, remember?”
“Yeah,” Az says in a high-pitched, absolutely unconvincing tone. “Completely unstoppable. No way anything bad could happen, not to us.” He feels bad almost instantly for letting it sound like a lie, but he can't take it back now. He lets out a slow breath and steels his features into something a little more becoming of a Videre about to embark on another dangerous adventure and nods once. “Yes,” he tries again. “We’re unstoppable.”
AZRIAN GRIMACES AS Kato slumps back over the side and groans, his forehead coated in sweat. “So much for being a faeching Sana.”
Tague stands clear across the boat to avoid Kato’s sickness as much as possible. “Seriously, just... heal yourself or something.”
“I don't think it's that easy,” Azrian yells back. “Just give him a little while to adjust.” He rubs Kato’s back and hides his face as he gags, though he won't leave his side. “Breathe, Jellycrai. Focus on your mission.”
“My mi—” Kato turns and narrows his gaze. “Shadowhead.”
Jase tilts his head back with a laugh and comes over, unfazed. “Even Tague was sick the first few times. You get used to it.”
“Hey, you said that was our secret.”
Azrian hands Kato some water and stretches out, letting the waves lull him into a very false sense of security. “At least we have a real ship this time,” he offers. “And blankets and food and water. It's already better than our first voyage.”
“What was that like?” Tague asks, finally making his way closer.
“It was awful, but not as awful as Deadrun,” Az explains. “We didn't know if we were going to live or die, but at least on that boat... we knew if we died, it would be our own faults. We had an Undare with us then, too. Do you guys remember Callisto at all?”
Jasestros nods. “Vaguely, yeah. He's a good man from what I can recall. What's he up to these days?”
Kato clears his throat to answer. “He’s with his family in Coldhallow. He’s part of the reason I learned how to block people’s minds out. Cal didn’t like being around me much until I learned, but he is a good man... even if he wanted mine.” The smirk behind that shows Kato isn’t bitter about it, he just likes claiming Az when he has the opportunity. “Speaking of, we should probably go get him to help.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Now buckle up. We travel fast, especially once we get to the Wasted Waters. The less time we stay there, the better,” Jase says.
“What happened last time?” Azrian asks. “You don't have to tell us, but it seems like something went wrong and I think we have a right to know what it was. It's too late to turn back, anyway.”
They share a look that makes Kato sit up straighter. “That bad, huh?”
“Well, yeah. I didn’t think I’d agree to come again but... if J is going...” Tague trails off with a shrug, looking up at the Undare.
Jase kisses him quickly, which surprises no one. “I got hurt pretty bad last time, but we’re not going that direction. And thanks to Tague here, I'm as good as new now. Who knew some of these islands had magic plants?”
“I knew,” Tague says with a grin. “I know which ones will make your nose itch too, so don’t cross me.”
Kato seems to like seeing them this way because his posture relaxes. “How long have you two been together now?”
“Since right after Deadrun,” Jase explains as he pulls Tague a little closer. “I volunteered to help the Regnum because of my mom, and he offered to come with me. I think it took us all of two days after that.”
Azrian grins. “Then there's us, I had to work on him for months.”
Kato looks at him with a surprised expression. “I was new to these things. I didn’t realize you wanted me; I had only experienced my hand before you.”
Tague laughs so hard he starts to cough, but the general mood has gotten a lot lighter thanks to this conversation. Azrian puts his entire hand over Kato’s face and playfully pushes him back as he joins in with laughter of his own, but he knows Kato isn't wrong. “I wasn't exactly obvious about it, I guess. I wasn't really sure what I wanted, and I didn't want to get you to do something you weren't ready for. It worked out exactly the way it needed to, I think.”
“It did. Our first time was—”
Az cuts him off this time, blushing at how hard their companions are laughing at them — but he has to admit, this trip is getting easier now that they have Kato distracted. Anything is better than him hurling over the side of the boat.
With that goal in mind, Azrian keeps the conversation steered to their budding relationships and the hardships they'd all faced to get to where they were. He's thankful that now, they’re able to laugh about most of those hardships, but he knows they need information and they're running out of time to get it. “Okay, fun’s over. What exactly are we looking for? The Regnum didn't tell us much before you guys got there, just that there was some sort of magic somewhere in the Wasted Waters that we need to find. Do you know anything more about it?”
“It's the Atarax,” Jase explains. “Basically, it's this orb thing that used to belong to one of the gods. Like, the Cettia kinda gods, not the minor ones like the soil gods. Supposedly it's some kind of forcefield. Best guess is that it's on Ursina Island, so that's where we’re headed.”
“What are these gods? I keep hearing about new ones and I’m just confused at this point,” Kato asks.
Tague sits forward on his knees to answer. “These are the olden gods. People pray to the soil gods for a good harvest or the sun gods for a shorter winter. But really, that’s just to make themselves feel better. These gods are much more than that, like C
ettia. I don't know everything about all of them, but I think I know more than most. They’d probably be forgotten by this point if parents didn’t use them to scare children.”
“And this one is...”
“Osyn,” Tague answers. “She's the god of protection and peace. The Atarax was her weapon of choice, though it's really more of a shield than anything.”
“Did she use it to protect anyone specific?” Kato asks.
He shakes his head. “She didn't have followers like some of the others did. Osyn tried to stay out of things, I think... but the Atarax has been lost for generations. Who knows how long she even had it?”
Azrian sucks in a breath and lets it back out hard enough to draw attention. Realizing how dramatic that sounded, he smiles apologetically. “Sorry, I just didn't anticipate going on a scavenger hunt for something that we can't guarantee even exists anymore, let alone is somewhere we’ll find it. How will we know what it looks like?”
“All we have is a drawing.” Tague unfolds a paper and hands it over. It has similar markings to the sword, but it’s obvious it says something different. If only they could read it. “I’ve been studying the language, but... it’s really hard. So far I’ve just translated the word ‘protect’ but I brought my book. Supposedly, the orb appears colorless... sometimes it looks blue or maybe gray, but it’s impossible to tell which, and the handle is black. That’s all we know... oh, it might be high up? I remember my mother repeating a saying about how Osyn was always above us. I could be wrong, but I’ve always gotten the feeling it would be above us... you know, protecting us.”
Azrian smiles. For once, it seems like they're after something good, and if they manage to find it, a lot of good could come out of it. “Okay, well that’s something,” he says lightly. “At least we know what it is now. Part of me thought the Regnum only sent us out here because they wanted to get rid of Kato since he yells at them so much.”
