by Logan Jacobs
At first, I didn’t see anything happen, and my mouth pulled into a frown, but after a moment, the red glow around the egg grew even brighter, and a small crackling sound came from my lap as the break in the egg shell slowly began to fuse back together.
“It’s working,” Asta breathed.
Kas didn’t say anything. The Valkyrie had her eyes closed and both dragon scales in her hands as she muttered in the old language.
I glanced up at Eira, and the redhead’s green eyes were fixated on the little dragon egg in my lap.
I knew Kas was powerful, but to heal this egg all on her own was fantastic.
I could tell it was especially important for Kas to do it, too, because she’d struggled to help the mother dragon in Alfheim. In all actuality, she’d been the only thing that kept the female alive, since she’d stopped her from bleeding out, but I knew Kas was still upset about not being able to heal her right away.
Preyna had come to our aid, and it all worked out, but I could tell Kas felt like she’d failed the mother dragon in some way.
Even magic had its limitations, and that wasn’t her fault. All she could do right then was keep the mother from dying.
I’d never considered magical limitations before I met Kas and actually spent time with a sorceress. Before then, I’d assumed magic was a quick fix for anything and everything, but I’d quickly learned that wasn’t the case. Sometimes magic failed, even for brilliant sorcerers.
Now, though, Kas was the only one here to heal this little egg, and she was doing it all on her own. The sorceress’ powers were growing, and I knew one day she’d be as strong as Preyna, if not stronger. Ramir was her father, after all, and Preyna had even admitted the old man was stronger than she was.
The crack in the egg slowly closed, and soon it was whole once more. Then the vibrant red light dimmed and disappeared completely, but Kas continued to mutter in the old language.
“Kas,” I whispered, but the strawberry-blonde didn’t stop what she was doing.
“Kas, hey.” Eira shook the sorceress slightly, and Kas jerked her eyes open and breathed in deep before she looked around in a wild panic.
“Are you alright?” Asta asked, and she looked at Kas with confused yellow eyes.
“What happened, did it work?” Kas asked.
“Were you in a trance or something?” Eira pushed, and her red eyebrows furrowed together.
“What?” Kas shook her head. “No, I was just really focused. Did it work?”
“See for yourself.” Asta smiled and gestured to the egg in my hands.
“Ohhhh.” Kas looked all around the little egg and grinned at me. “I did it?”
“You did it,” I chuckled.
“Oh, thank goodness,” the strawberry-blonde breathed, and she put her hand on her chest. “I was so worried it wasn’t going to work.”
“You’re stronger than you think,” I told her.
“I know.” She nodded. “But magic isn’t a sure thing, and I wasn’t sure how long this little baby would last in there if we didn’t heal him quickly.”
“That’s a good point,” I agreed. “I can’t be sure of that either, but--”
Suddenly, I felt something move inside the egg.
“What?” Asta asked, and her yellow eyes were wide as she looked me up and down. “What’s going on? You just made a weird face.”
“I felt the little dragon inside,” I whispered. “It moved.”
“What?” Kas squeaked, and she looked down at the egg. “Is it going to hatch?”
I focused on the feelings of the dragon inside, but all I could sense was a small bit of comfort emanating from the egg. The dragon moved again, and it seemed to settle into a different position before it went still.
“Did it move again?” Eira asked.
“Yes,” I laughed. “But I think it was getting comfortable now that its egg is healed. I got a small sense of comfort, but now nothing. I think it’s gone dormant again.”
“Awwww, the little guy just woke up for a second to get comfy.” Asta smiled so big her cheeks pushed her eyes closed.
“I think so.” I smiled back and turned to Kas. “Good job, that was amazing.”
“Oh, thank you.” The strawberry-blonde blushed slightly. “I’m just glad he’s okay.”
“Me, too,” I agreed, and I looked around the room. “I’m going to start putting the eggs into these trunks. We’ll take them to the valley first to see if any mothers claim them, and whatever ones are dormant and unclaimed, we’ll take to Preyna and the council.”
“Alright,” Eira said. “Asta, Kas, and I can keep looking around.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “Let me know if you find anything.”
“On it,” the redhead said.
Kas reached out and stroked the small egg for a second, and then she smiled at me, stood up, and walked over to one of the nearby shelves.
Asta bounded off to join Eira at the desk Svass and the other little dragons were still on.
During the egg healing, Blar, Inger, and Uffe had joined Svass and the little green male on Kas’ scarf, and they were all curled up and snoring softly.
I stood up and started to carefully place the eggs in the trunks. I figured the frost giants weren’t using them anymore, so we may as well take them.
There were so many eggs, I wasn’t even sure they were all going to fit in the trunks we had on hand. We might have to make use of Kas’ bottomless satchel, though there were so many things in that bag already, I wasn’t sure I trusted it to carry the eggs as well.
Still, I didn’t want to have to come back to get them. Blar’s portals were good, but they weren’t exactly precise yet, and it would be easiest for all of us if we could make one single trip with the eggs.
“Uh, Rath, I think you’ll want to see this,” Eira said as I placed a dark-purple egg in the trunk.
“What is it?” I asked as I quickly walked over to where the redhead stood in front of the desk.
“It’s a letter from the Elf King,” Eira said, and she held out the paper to show me.
“What does it say?” I asked as I took the page she offered and started to read it.
The letter was definitely from the Elf King, though it didn’t outright say it. It talked about the eggs and how the frost giants’ payment would arrive via courier after all the eggs were delivered to the training camp.
“There’s this one, too,” Asta said, and she handed me another piece of paper.
I looked over the writing, and my eyebrows pinched together with confusion as Blar leaned down from my shoulder to look at the paper, too.
“This is meant for a dwarf named Garnlif,” I said.
“Yes.” Asta nodded. “It appears to be from the King, too, though. The paper is the same.”
“It is,” I agreed as I looked over the paper carefully.
Each page had a small golden mark in the upper right-hand corner, so even though the letters didn’t outright say they were from the Elf King, it was clear they were.
I wasn’t sure if he wasn’t smart enough to disguise the fact that it was him better, or if he simply didn’t care, but either way, it was easy to tell who it was since we knew about his deal to get the eggs. And the handwriting was the same for both as well.
“What’s it say?” Eira asked.
“It asks the dwarf to make some special--” Asta started.
“Weapons,” I finished, and my eyes went wide as I looked up at Eira.
Her green eyes bored into mine, and as warriors, we each understood what this meant. The King was definitely planning an attack. If I had any doubt about that before, it was gone now. Kings didn’t have weapons commissioned so they could sit around their yards. These were going to be used, and now we just had to figure out where and when.
“What kind of weapons?” Kas asked as she walked over and looked down at the page with pinched together eyebrows.
“It doesn’t say exactly.” I shook my head.
“Why
would the frost giants have this letter?” Eira asked, and her brow furrowed with confusion.
“I was wondering that, too.” I pursed my lips.
“Do you think the frost giants are trying to get more money out of the Elf King?” Kas asked.
“What do you mean?” Eira inquired.
“Could they be intercepting his messages so they can hold it against him?” the strawberry-blonde asked.
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “That’s definitely something to consider. I wouldn’t put it past these bastards.”
“Does it say anything else?” Asta asked.
“It only says he needs the weapons they discussed to be delivered before Asgard summer is over,” I said.
“That’s in a few weeks,” Eira said.
“You’re right,” I agreed. “That’s not much time at all.”
“That still seems like a long time for a dwarf to make weapons,” Asta said. “Dwarves are very proficient blacksmiths. These weapons must be quite large.”
“That’s not good.” Kas frowned.
“No, it’s not,” I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck.
“What are we going to do?” Asta asked.
“We’re going to stop him,” I told her with a determined nod.
“Right,” the elf girl agreed, and she flashed me a sweet smile.
“Right now, though, we should get this little guy home.” I gestured to the small dragon curled up on the table.
Svass, Inger, and Uffe were all curled around him, and I could sense the little boy felt completely at ease in his slumber.
“I hate to wake him,” Kas said as she smiled down at the little reptiles.
“I do, too,” I chuckled. “But we should be going, and I’m sure he misses his family.”
“Let’s hope his mother is there waiting,” Eira added.
I nodded, but I was concerned about that as well. I wasn’t sure when the baby was taken, and there was no guarantee his mother would be there waiting for him.
If she wasn’t, he’d be welcome to stay with us, but it was always sad to see an orphan, even if it meant adding another baby to our family.
The girls and I gathered up all the eggs, and then we did one last look through the room and the pockets of the frost giants to make sure there was nothing else left. After that was done, Blar opened a portal to Alfheim, and we took the chests filled with eggs and stepped through.
The little green dragon didn’t want to leave Svass’ side, so he rode with her on Eira’s shoulder, but I could sense his understanding of where we were as soon as we stepped through the portal into Alfheim.
Though he’d only been in his home world as an egg, he instinctively knew it was where he belonged, and I looked over to see a huge smile on his little reptilian face.
“Do you see your mom down there?” Asta asked as we walked over to the edge of the cliff.
The little dragon looked down, and the scales above his eyes pinched together, but then he turned to the white-haired elf girl and shook his head. I could see his dark-blue eyes glisten with emotion, and I knew he was upset he didn’t see his mother yet.
“Come on,” I said as I picked up the chest full of eggs once more.
I led my team down to the valley, but as we walked, a loud sound filled the air, and suddenly, there was an ear-piercing screech.
I looked up and saw a massive dark-blue female headed right toward us.
“Um, Rath,” Kas breathed. “She looks angry…”
“She does,” I murmured, but I didn’t think that was it at all.
The little green dragon on Eira’s shoulder let out an excited squeal, and he flew up to the large blue dragon and circled around her head.
The two of them danced in the air for a moment, and then the huge female landed in front of us and used her front paws to pull her baby to her face so she could nuzzle him.
“Awww.” Asta smiled and clasped her hands under her chin. “That’s his mom.”
The huge female looked at us, and then her piercing white eyes landed on mine, and she gave me a small bow as a show of gratitude.
“We’re happy we could help,” I told her.
As I tuned into the emotions of the dragon, I got the sense she’d missed her baby for a long time. It seemed he’d been taken a couple years earlier at least, which only made me think I was right, and the frost giants had been working on their egg collection for some time.
The giant blue mother turned toward the valley, but her baby flew over to Svass and nuzzled his face against hers before he followed his mother.
“What about the rest of the eggs?” Kas asked once the mom and the baby flew away.
“We’ll see if there are any mothers who can claim them,” I said.
“Will they be able to sense if it’s their egg?” Eira asked.
“Yes.” I nodded. “Mother dragons know their babies, no matter if they’re dormant or not.”
The large brown dragon who’d greeted us before met us again as we entered the valley.
“We have eggs for the mothers to look through,” I told him, and I set the chest down.
Kas and Asta set the chest they were carrying down, too, and we carefully pulled the eggs out and lined them up on the ground.
Mother after mother came over to sniff and look at the eggs, but ultimately, only four of them were reunited with their families. That still left several dozen orphaned eggs, and I could only take solace in the fact they were dormant and comfortable for the time being.
I thanked the brown dragon again, and then we put the eggs back in their chests before Blar made us a portal back home.
The little dragon had gotten quite good at making portals to places he knew, and we stepped through the swishing air into my courtyard in Asgard. The sun was already set for the night, and though it was dark, the scent of home immediately put me at ease.
“Are we going to give these eggs to Preyna to look after?” Asta asked, and she looked down at the chests and frowned.
“Yes.” I nodded. “We’ll do that first thing in the morning, but it’s late now, and I think we all could use some rest.”
“Right,” Eira agreed. “Let me help you get them inside.”
“Thanks,” I told her, and the redhead and I carried the chests full of eggs into the cottage.
While we were inside, I poured four pint glasses of mead, and I filled up another pitcher to bring out with us. I figured we’d all need at least two drinks after the day we had.
By the time Eira and I made it back outside, Kas and Asta had a fire going, though I wasn’t sure if that was their doing, or one of the dragons. Either way, the warmth felt good on my feet as I stretched my legs out near the flames and thought about everything that happened that day.
We’d managed to save all those eggs from the Elf King, but we’d also uncovered his plan to create weapons he was most likely going to use against the rest of the nine realms.
Since we’d uncovered the Elf King’s plan in his study, I was hoping this whole mess would be coming to an end soon, but it looked like it was going to take longer to end the dragon trade than I would have liked.
Still, even with the notes we’d found, I looked around at my women and my dragons, and I couldn’t help but feel a certain sense of pride. I’d hatched Blar, Inger, and Uffe, and now we had Svass as well. Each of them was beautiful and unique, and I was incredibly fortunate to have them on my team.
Kas had been with me since the beginning, and the strawberry-blonde sorceress was incredibly talented and brilliant. Asta had joined us soon after, and her bright, optimistic personality was a gift to behold.
Eira hadn’t been with us long, but she was incredibly skilled as a warrior, and it was a pleasure to have her with us.
My team had grown so large in such a short amount of time, but I wouldn’t trade any of them for all the jewels in all the nine realms.
The girls all stared into the fire as they sipped their mead slowly, and the dragons wer
e all curled up in one big pile in front of the flames. Blar laid on his back and snored softly while Inger rested her head on his chest, and Uffe curled up by his feet.
Then Svass made herself incredibly comfortable as she climbed up onto Blar’s belly, sprawled out across it, and snored lightly just as he did.
I shook my head at the adorable little dragons but then frowned at how sad the girls all looked. I could sense they were upset about the notes we found from the Elf King, but there was nothing we could do about that right then, and we had plenty of other victories to celebrate.
“Hey,” I chuckled, and all the girls looked up at me. “We saved several dozen eggs from the hands of the Elf King today.”
“You’re right.” Asta smiled. “I’m happy we were able to save them. The Elf King isn’t going to be happy, though.”
“I’m sure he won’t be.” I nodded. “And that will only give us an advantage when it comes to defeating him.”
“Right,” Eira said, and she looked at me with green eyes that sparkled in the firelight. “We’re going to get this bastard if it’s the last thing I do.”
“I’ve been thinking about the notes we found, and all the terrible things the King is planning, but you’re right, we’re going to get him.” The sorceress grinned at me. “And we did save those eggs today.”
“And we’ve saved plenty of other dragons, too,” I reminded her.
“We have.” She nodded. “Each time we free a dragon, it’s one small blow against the entire dragon trade.”
“We’ll dismantle it brick by brick if we have to,” I assured her. “But it will come crumbling down.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Eira grinned.
“I think we should all drink to that,” I said as I held my pint of mead up to the sky.
“Hear, hear,” Asta said, and she held her cup up.
“Hear, hear,” Kas, Eira, and I laughed, and we all took large swigs from our glasses.
“There is one other thing we have to celebrate,” Eira said, and she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You.” The redhead smiled softly.
“Me?” I chuckled. “I’m--”
“The entire reason we’re able to be a part of this,” Eira finished. “And I’m sure I speak for Kas and Asta, too, when I say thank you for letting us be on this journey with you. This is by far the most important thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
