Legend of the Realm

by Alexandra Ott

  “Ari was right,” I say to him.

  He gives me a tiny, concerned chirp.

  “We did sense someone in the Realm last night. The plague… it came from the Vondur.”

  FOURTEEN

  I don’t know how it’s possible, but I know I’m right.

  It all makes a horrible kind of sense.

  The Vondur have poisoned the Realm.

  I rush back down the rocks as fast as I can, the urgency of this discovery giving me the strength to run. By the time I emerge from the cliffside, the baby gyrpuff has fallen asleep in my pocket, and dawn is only an hour away.

  I expect that I might have to break the quarantine boundary spell to get Little Puff out, but I quickly discover the flaw in Seeker Ludvik’s spell—since it doesn’t affect humans, as long as Little Puff is in my pocket, the spell doesn’t stop him, either.

  I find Lilja where I left her, sleeping peacefully beside a cluster of now-bare bilberry bushes. She wakes reluctantly and gives a snort of indignation when Little Puff pops his head out of my pocket. Little Puff trembles at the sight of the dragon, then looks up at me with a questioning chirp.

  “It’s okay,” I say to both of them. “We’re all friends here.”

  Lilja snaps her jaw closed and huffs.

  “Don’t be so dramatic,” I say, rolling my eyes at her. “He’s just a baby bird. He’s not going to hurt you.”

  Lilja makes a great show of turning away from me when I try to climb onto her back, but the promise of more bilberries and a little coaxing from my gift eventually calm her down, and she’s steady for the entire flight back to Dragon’s Point. She gives Little Puff one last, distrustful examination before nudging me with her snout in farewell and flying back into the Realm.

  I look down at Little Puff. “Well,” I say. “Looks like it’s just you and me again.”

  Now, of course, I have a new problem. Magical creatures aren’t supposed to leave the Realm—I certainly learned my lesson about that during the Seeker competition. But I don’t know where to take Little Puff within the Realm where he’d be safe. He’s too vulnerable to be on his own, and most creatures in the Realm would view a tiny, defenseless bird as a nice snack. Ordinarily, I’d take him straight to Seeker Larus and ask him what to do. But given how much trouble I’m already in for sneaking into the Realm, that seems like a bad plan. I could lie and say I found him elsewhere, but something tells me Seeker Larus won’t fall for it.

  So it looks like I’m just going to have to break the rules. Again. Not to mention breaking a few more boundary spells on the way out of the Realm.

  “Come on, Little Puff,” I say, giving my pocket a gentle pat. “I know where you’ll be safe.”

  The sun is just peeking over the horizon by the time I reach Runa’s farm. Luckily, she and her family rise early, and she’s already walking into the field with Hundur the sheepdog by the time I crest the top of the hill.

  “What happened?” she asks as soon as I reach her. “Did the cure work?”

  “No,” I say. “The gyrpuff is still sick.”

  Runa’s face falls. “I’m sorry. I hoped I’d gotten it right.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I say. “I think I’ve figured out why we can’t cure it.”

  Quickly I explain about the stream, the glacier at its source, and the pulse of Vondur magic I felt inside.

  Runa’s eyes go wide. “That’s why our healing magic doesn’t work on this plague!” she exclaims. “The Vondur are dark magicians. Their spells feed off natural sources of magic like ours. That’s what my papa said, anyway, after they came onto the island. That’s why the plague seems to feed off healing gifts instead of being cured.”

  “I don’t know how the Vondur did this,” I say, “but maybe we can figure out how to cure it, now that we know what it is.”

  Runa nods. “There must be some kind of ingredient that we could…” She trails off, deep in thought.

  I close my eyes, picturing the Realm. What’s the most powerful plant there? Something so magical, so legendary, that it could—

  “Oh!” My eyes fly open.

  “What? What is it?” Runa asks.

  “This is going to sound ridiculous. In fact, it might be impossible.”

  “What is it? What are you talking about?”

  “Fairy’s Gold,” I say, and Runa’s mouth drops open. “I know it’s impossible,” I add quickly. “Probably just one of those legends everybody repeats. But… it’s supposed to be the most magical plant ever to exist in the Realm, right? What if that’s the missing ingredient? And that’s why the Seekers never figured out the cure the first time—they never had any Fairy’s Gold to try. Papa’s told me so many stories about it. What if there’s a reason those stories exist?”

  To my surprise, Runa seems to be considering this idea seriously. “But even if that’s true, how will you find any? How will you even know where to look?”

  “I don’t know,” I admit, “but I’ll figure it out! At least now we know what to look for. If I can find it, I bet it will be the perfect missing ingredient for your potion, and then we can cure the plague for good!”

  “I don’t know for sure that it will work,” she says doubtfully, tugging at one end of her braid.

  “It has to. The more I think about it, the more perfect it seems. Fairy’s Gold is supposed to cure everything, and to be one of the strongest magical plants Seekers have ever found. Exactly what we need. If I can find it, can you work with it?”

  “I suppose so,” she says. “I can whip up another batch of the potion and have it ready for you. But how will you find it?”

  “Leave that to me,” I say. “I have a plan.”

  Runa looks skeptical, but I grin at her. “Did I mention you’re a genius?”

  She waves a hand. “We knew that already.”

  Little Puff chooses that moment to make a tiny chirp in my pocket, and Runa freezes.

  “Bryn,” she says slowly, “why is your pocket moving?”

  “Oh,” I say, giving Little Puff a nudge, “there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

  Little Puff pops his head out of my pocket, blinking up at Runa, and her eyes widen. “That’s a gyrpuff!”

  “Yes.”

  “In your pocket!”

  “Yes.”

  Runa blinks, steadies herself, and fixes a stern look at me. “Bryn. Why is there a miniature gyrpuff in your pocket?”

  “He’s a baby,” I say. “His egg only just hatched. But the rest of the gyrpuffs abandoned their nests because of the plague, so he was left behind. He doesn’t have anyone to take care of him, and he’s too vulnerable to leave in the Realm alone. Not until he grows up.”

  Runa knows me too well and figures out exactly where I’m going with this.

  “No,” she says immediately. “No, no, no.”

  “Please?” I say, giving her my cutest pleading expression.

  “Don’t even think about it. I am not hiding a baby gyrpuff for you.”

  “You literally can’t get into any trouble for this,” I say. “I’m an official Seeker now! Taking care of the Realm’s creatures is my job. So if I ask you to look after him, you’re just helping a Seeker.”

  Runa wrinkles her nose. “Something tells me the rest of the Council won’t see it that way. And my parents definitely won’t.”

  I huff. “The rest of the Council doesn’t matter. I get just as much say as they do—or I should. And your parents don’t have to know. He’s tiny. Just hide him in a safe place.”

  “How would I even take care of him? I don’t know anything about gyrpuffs.”

  I grin, knowing that she’s already agreeing to help. Quickly, I give her a few instructions about feeding times and nesting materials.

  “I don’t know…,” she says, but I can tell she’s caving in.

  “Here.” I reach into my pocket and withdraw the baby gyrpuff, holding him up for her to see. “I’ve been calling him Little Puff for now.”

 
; The gyrpuff shakes out his feathers and blinks up at Runa, his big eyes fixed on her.

  “He’s so cute,” she whispers. “And so tiny.”

  I smile. “Do you want to hold him?”

  Five minutes later, Little Puff is snuggling in the palm of Runa’s hand, and the two of them are already becoming fast friends. “I’ll be back to check on him,” I say. “And to let you know how the Fairy’s Gold search is coming. Have a potion ready to go for when we find it.”

  “Okay,” Runa says, not taking her eyes off Little Puff. I give the baby gyrpuff a goodbye pat and head for home, knowing I couldn’t have left him in better hands.

  * * *

  By the time I reach my own hut, it’s well past dawn, and Mama is standing in the doorway, watching me walk up the garden path.

  Oops. I gulp.

  “Brynja,” Mama says loudly. “Do you want to tell me where exactly you’ve been at this hour? Are you sneaking out of this hut again?”

  I consider my words carefully. There’s a chance Mama knows how long I’ve been gone, and getting caught lying will only put me in more trouble. But there’s also a chance she doesn’t know I’ve been out all night, in which case I don’t want her to find out. “I went to see Runa,” I say slowly. “I needed to ask her a question about healing magic before heading into the Realm today, so I had to leave the hut early. Sorry if I woke you.”

  Mama gazes at me for a beat too long. “Just because you’re a Seeker now,” she says finally, “doesn’t mean you don’t have to follow the rules of this house. There will be no sneaking out without telling anyone where you’re going. Understood?”

  “Yes, Mama.”

  She thrusts the well bucket in my direction. “Fetch the water for breakfast.”

  I sigh. “Yes, Mama.”

  Apparently even Seekers have to do chores.

  I rush quickly through breakfast, thinking about the plague and the possible cure. Papa picks up on my distraction instantly. “Something wrong, Bryn?” he asks, raising a spoonful of oatmeal.

  “No,” I say. On second thought, I add, “Papa, what do you know about Fairy’s Gold? The real thing, not the stories.”

  Papa slurps his oatmeal for a moment, considering the question. “Some say it’s a myth,” he says finally. “No Seeker has seen any Fairy’s Gold in a hundred years. But there are enough stories about it to suggest that it’s real—or may have been real, once.”

  “If it’s real, why can’t anyone find it?” I ask. “If, say, you had an icefox to guide you to different plants in the Realm… Couldn’t you find Fairy’s Gold that way?”

  Papa raises a brow. “I suppose you could try,” he says. “If the plant is real, I suspect it’s so rare that even the icefoxes may not have seen it. They can only guide you to things they’ve seen, remember. But it might be possible.”

  I perk up. That “might” is all I need. “Thanks, Papa.”

  “Don’t spend too much time chasing myths, now,” he says. “I’m sure there’s plenty of work to be done in the Realm.”

  “Of course,” I say. I decide not to share my theories about the cure—not yet. I’m afraid Papa might be too skeptical, and I don’t want anything to kill the hope that’s rising in my chest. I consider telling him about the Vondur magic too, but Elisa is still at the table, playing with one of her toy unicorns, and I don’t want to scare her by mentioning the Vondur. She’s had a couple of nightmares about them ever since they interrupted the third trial. I’ll have to ask Papa about all of that later.

  “Speaking of work,” I say, quickly slurping down the last of my meal, “I’m going to be late to meet Ari. We wanted to get an early start this morning.”

  Mama nods at my empty bowl. “Dishes first.”

  I sigh. “Yes, Mama.”

  Luckily, the delay in leaving the hut is exactly what I need. The other Seekers should have left Dragon’s Point by now; they have too many things to do in the Realm to worry about sticking around to discipline me. And they’ll be focusing their efforts on the spread of the plague around the southern cliffs, which means that I can sneak up to the northern forests without being seen. Probably. And if they do see me, well, how much more trouble could I get into, really?

  So I’m not expecting to encounter anyone as I stride up the plateau to Dragon’s Point—which is why I’m shocked to see a silver dragon lying at the top, with a figure cloaked in green sitting at her side.

  Lilja. And Ari.

  I don’t even know what to say to him after our fight. How could he betray me like that?

  I don’t want to tell him what I saw in the Realm last night either. Clearly he can’t be trusted to back me up in front of the other Seekers, and what if he tattles? No, best not to tell him for now. He already knows about the Vondur, anyway, so he understands what we might be facing.

  I glare at him and cross my arms over my chest. “What are you doing here with my dragon?”

  I say this just to get a rise out of him, so I’m surprised when he says simply, “Hey.” He brushes a stray curl behind his ear as he stands, one hand on Lilja’s side to steady himself. A faint yellow light dances across his fingertips. He’s probably using his gift to read my emotions again, which is irritating. “I figured you’d be here, once the other Seekers had left.”

  “Oh, so now you can read my emotions. It’s just when I need your support that you can’t seem to figure out what I’m thinking.”

  “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean for that to happen. I was caught off guard, and… And the other Seekers intimidate me sometimes. I’m not as good at speaking up to them as you are. I just froze.”

  “Yeah, well…” I actually wasn’t expecting an apology, and now I don’t know how to respond. “Well, I’m still mad at you.”

  “I know.”

  “I thought you were on my side.”

  “I don’t want to be on anybody’s side. I think we all need to work together.”

  “But I already told you before that none of the other Seekers ever listen to me or take me seriously. You were the only one who might stick up for me, and you didn’t.”

  “I’m sorry. Really. But I also need you to listen, Bryn. Sometimes you’re so busy moving forward with your own ideas that you don’t listen to anybody who disagrees. I tried to tell you that we should’ve just been honest with the other Seekers from the beginning, and I don’t think it’s fair that you’re blaming me for a problem that your lie caused.”

  “I’m not trying to blame you. But the reason I have to be focused on my own ideas is because nobody else listens to them. I’ve been saying from the beginning that we need to find a cure for this plague rather than just focusing on establishing the quarantines, but no one is listening. If I don’t do it myself, nobody else will.”

  “But do you even know how to cure it?”

  “As a matter of fact, I might.”

  That gets his attention. He shoves his hands into his pockets and rocks back on his heels, studying me. “What do you mean?”

  “I think I figured out what the missing potion ingredient is. Fairy’s Gold.”

  Ari frowns. “Be serious, Bryn. I thought you really had something.”

  “I am serious.”

  His frown deepens. “Fairy’s Gold is a myth, just like… well, just like fairies. No one’s ever seen it.”

  “That’s not true. It’s just been a while since anyone’s seen it, but that doesn’t mean the stories aren’t true. Besides, I have an idea.”

  Ari sighs loudly. “Nothing ever goes well after you say that.”

  “It’s a brilliant idea, thank you very much.”

  “Sure it is,” he says skeptically, brows raised.

  “Well, fine, if you don’t want to hear it…”

  “Okay, okay. Tell me your idea.”

  “Icefoxes. What if that mama fox we met before could lead us to Fairy’s Gold? If she’s ever seen it, she could take us there!”

  Ari still looks skeptical, but he tilts his h
ead, considering this. “Icefoxes only travel in the northern and central forests, so the Fairy’s Gold would have to be located somewhere in those regions. If it exists anywhere else, the icefox wouldn’t know about it.”

  “But those forests are some of the largest territories in the Realm. So there’s a good chance it exists in one of them, at least.”

  “Seems unlikely, though. I mean, no one’s been able to find Fairy’s Gold for ages, if it even exists. What are the odds we’d be able to find it?”

  “Odds have nothing to do with it. We’re the only ones determined enough to actually look for Fairy’s Gold. I bet the other Seekers never bothered because they thought it would be too hard to find, or they thought it was just a myth. We could be the ones to find it, if we try. Besides, do you have any better ideas?”

  Ari sighs again. “I suppose it’s worth a shot. But this time, let’s agree that if we’re caught, we’re both going to take the blame for it, and we’re going to stick up for each other. Agreed?”

  I grin. “Agreed.”

  We might still be a little angry at each other, but at least we both care about the same thing: saving the Realm.

  FIFTEEN

  Lilja is very upset about our destination, and she makes sure to let us know.

  She hates the cold of the northern forests, and she knows from our previous trip that she’ll be left behind while Ari and I walk across the glacier to the icefox dens. So as soon as Ari and I try to steer Lilja farther north, soaring high above, she begins her temper tantrum.

  Huffing loudly, she ignores the nudge of my gift and starts to turn away from the forest. Her spikes rise in indignation, as does a rumble in her throat.

  “Lilja!” I say. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  She leans harder into the turn, forcing me to grip her scales for dear life instead of steering her with my gift. Behind me, Ari nearly loses his purchase on her back, and he lets out a curse. “Stubborn, disobedient dragon!” he shouts into the wind.

  I can sense his gift in the air as he tries to calm her emotions and get her to respond to us. I add my gift to the mix, pushing even more firmly against her.