Dragon War

by Shay Roberts

  A depressing thought hits me. If Rose did survive and continued to live among her people after the age of twelve, she probably married someone in the tribe. She may even have had kids. If that’s true, it would be hopeless to try to reconnect with her.

  If I think about this anymore, my brain will explode, or my heart will break.

  Driven by hunger, I go to the dining hall for lunch. I sit alone, ignored by everyone. I see Philip at his table with the royals, but he doesn’t even glance at me.

  I’m so tired. After lunch, I go to the men’s dorm to take a nap. Maybe when I wake up, I’ll be back with Rose, and this re-do at the Academy will turn out to be a bad dream.

  It’s night by the time I wake. The other students are sleeping in their beds.

  On my glasspad I find a bunch of missed messages about classes I was supposed to attend.

  I check to see if there’s a message from Rose. But of course, there isn’t, because she never came to the Academy.

  It suddenly occurs to me to check the codex in the archive. Before, it showed us the date of the Draig’s demise. What would it say now?

  Excited, I slip out the shower room window and hurry across campus.

  When I reach the library, it’s closed.

  I wave my glasspad, and sure enough, the door opens. Even in this corrected timeline, Southam has left me his permissions. I doubt this was a mistake on his part. He’s been trying to help me.

  I cross the small library and use the pad to open the archive door.

  Once inside the archive, I grab one of the glowing glass spheres from the shelf and walk down into the stacks.

  I see no tracks in the dust on the floor. It doesn’t look like anyone’s been here in ages.

  The codex, a Latin history of the Picts, is right where it was before. I take it down from the shelf and sit at a reading desk.

  My stomach clenches as I open the codex, unsure of what I’ll find. As before, it says nothing about the dragons. But I’m hoping to find information on the Draig. The last time I was here, the codex said the Draig were destroyed in 385 CE.

  But this time, there is no mention of the Draig at all. Does that mean they were never destroyed? If so, then the Nameless Legion was defeated, and Rose grew up with her people and had a normal life. Maybe she was happy. I hope that’s true.

  My eyes begin to tear up. Sitting here without her, in this vast, dark archive, makes me feel so alone.

  Forcing myself to concentrate, I flip through the rest of the codex to make sure there is no mention of the Draig.

  When I reach the end, I find a new page! This page is also written in Latin, in the same faded ink as the rest of the codex. My heart stops as I read it.

  T,

  I deeply apologize for my absence. Please do not search for me. I will return to you when the time is right. You have my word. Learn everything the Academy has to teach. We will need you.

  All my love, R.

  My mind reels.

  I read the note again, and again.

  I have so many questions. Where is she? Why hasn’t she returned already?

  We will need you.

  Who is “we?”

  How, and when, did Rose manage to add this note to the codex? I’m guessing the note was written after the codex was created, since Rose’s handwriting is different than the author’s. The ink and vellum used for the note looks very old. It’s possible she wrote the note hundreds of years ago, if not a thousand.

  For a moment, it occurs to me that Rose may not have written this note. After all, I’ve never seen her handwriting before. What if someone else wrote this? What if it’s part of an elaborate conspiracy to keep me away from her? Is Philip behind this?

  No, Philip would just explode my head. Rose wrote this note in a place where she knew only I would discover it. It has to be legit.

  More than ever, I want to find her. But clearly, she wants me to attend classes here and stay out of whatever intrigue she’s involved with.

  I get a creeping feeling this has something to do with Professor Villalobos, and that binding pendant he gave her. Rose said the gift would help her remember Villalobos if the timeline changed.

  I open my glasspad and pull up a list of the professors and their classes. Villalobos is not on the list. He’s not a professor here. That’s very interesting.

  What should I do? Should I respect Rose’s wishes? Should I stay here and be a good little student until she comes for me? Or should I defy her wishes, ditch the Academy, and go looking for her?

  What would Rose do if she got a message like this from me?

  I’ve heard that if you love someone, you’re supposed to set them free. But that’s easier said than done.

  One of my tears falls on the codex, blotching the ink on Rose’s note.

  I see a few faded circles on the parchment, evidence of past tears. I press my fingers to them, knowing they are Rose’s tears.

  Bonuses

  Respected Reader,

  This is your author, Shay Roberts. You have reached the end of the book. I hope you enjoyed it. If you want more of Tyler, he also appears in Ash's Saga.

  As a thank-you for reading Dragon War, please go to http://shayroberts.com/warbonus to receive the following …

  Dragon War jigsaw and slider puzzles.

  Information about the next book in this series. Here you will experience Tyler's reunion with Rosemarie as they depart on an epic quest!

  You will also receive updates, a newsletter, and notices about reader discounts and giveaways!

  Please accept these gifts with no obligation by visiting:

  http://shayroberts.com/warbonus

  Happiness is a good book!

  Your personal scribe,

  ~ Shay ~

  Acknowledgments

  It takes a lot of great people to make a great book. Thank you, one and all.

  Afiya, Alisa D. Combs, Cathy Pontious, Christine Woinich, Damian Southam, Eliza Dee, Elizabeth M. Meadows, Isabella Le Roux, Joyce E.S. Kelly, Katherine Tomlinson, Kathy Knuckles, Leila Roberts, Loralei, Lyla Roberts, Margaret Cambridge, Marina Elez, Rebecca Brown, Ryan W. Schukei, Silvia Pascale, Susan Reeve, and Veronica McIntyre.