The base of the mountain was gorgeous. There was a large lake in front of it, with a small bridge that goes across it. The night stars reflected beautifully in the lake. It was like seeing two skies at once.

Khaemon walked in silence with me. It was strange. Unlike Wren and Zershoon, he hardly spoke at all. I didn’t know what to think about it. My brows furrowed as I followed him across. Izulaeth flew overhead. I was starting to question why I didn’t just ride Izulaeth to the top of the mountain. He was surely big enough to carry me. He was big enough to knock me off the gryphon after all, and he carried me to the strange part of the desert.

“Izulaeth,” I signed, not that it mattered because the dragon couldn’t see. I jogged towards Khaemon, stopping right before I reached him. His clothes were thin as I could feel the warmth exuding off of him as I touched him.

He turned his attention towards me. “Yes?”

“Could you call Izulaeth down here, please?” I gestured.

He nodded and came to a stop. He brushed his brown hair out of his eyes. “Izulaeth, come here please,” Khaemon yelled. “I can translate the words you want to tell him, if you’d like.”

I blinked in surprise. While his assumption was right, I didn’t know if I liked the idea of someone speaking a private conversation aloud, even if no one was around us. There was no other way for Izulaeth to understand me though. He spoke, but he never responds to my hand signs, except for the time I asked his name. Whoever talked to him before was nice enough to teach him one phrase in sign language.

I shivered as Izulaeth neared. He flew just above the lake, but his wings created cold bursts of air.

“What do you need?” Izulaeth said slowly. His voice rippled through the air. It’s strange to hear him speak when he used to growl at me every chance encounter.

“Tomorrow morning,” I started while Khaemon spoke my words aloud. “Could you carry Khaemon and I to the top of the mountain so we can speak to the Sky Guardian?”

Izulaeth looked forward. He blinked slowly. It was a little strange to have to wait for his answer. Erisa said that he was mine and would do anything I wished, that I shouldn’t even need to ask. How did she know so much about the dragons when she was a servant to Rukaiya? It didn’t make sense. Why does this dragon have a special connection with me and not Zershoon or Wren or Djorn or Silrae? The thought of his name made me sick. Would he ever forgive me for what I did to him?

“I can not fly you both that high,” Izulaeth said. He closed his eyes. “I’ll carry you. Why do you want to get there so quick?”

I looked down at the cracks in the boards as I walked over them. “Because she’ll tell me everything.”

“Everything?” Khaemon asked.

“Who my parents are, what they did. Just everything about them. I never met my birth parents. My adoptive parents died when I was young. I want to know about them. I want to know who gave birth to me and who raised me. According to Rukaiya-”

“You spoke to the Goddess of Death?” Khaemon interrupted me before I could continue what I was signing.

“I have. She speaks to me and I don’t understand why. I reject being her priestess, yet she talks to me,” I signed.

“Because,” Izulaeth started. “Because she loves you like she loves all her descendents.”

A warm feeling rippled through my chest. That statement made sense, it just was strange to hear. “If she loved me, why are all my parents dead?’

“Because we all face hardships and we have to learn to grow. I lost my best friend to the humans you just fought. You’ve seen the wounds on the people I live with. Why does the Goddess of Death allow us tieflings to face unrightful persecution?” Khaemon stopped in the centre of the bridge. “It might be why you exist. To end the persecution we face. To help us move through the grief we feel for those who have fallen, and help us make a better future for those who haven’t been born yet. I know you don’t like the idea of being someone people depend on, but that’s your role. Like my role is to guide you to the Sky Guardian.” He exhaled, and his breath formed a small cloud in the air.

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“What you do next matters most,” Izulaeth spoke.

From there, Khaemon and I walked in silence while Izulaeth flew beside us. I couldn’t help but feel contested. I didn’t want to be what Rukaiya wanted me to be, but Erisa, Djorn, Khaemon all did what she wanted them to be with glee, even though they suffered. How did that make any sense? Were they really happy just doing whatever she told them to do? Were they happy being puppets controlled by a puppeteer? That didn’t sound like living. It sounded like they were trapped in a cage.

“Are you there?” I asked in my head.

“What do you want?” A response came quicker than expected.

“Is everyone really happy doing what you assigned them to do?”

“You’re the only one that has a role from me.” And like that, the feeling of her disappeared from my mind.

Why did they just follow her willingly and claim their role was given to them by her? My brows furrowed even deeper.

Izulaeth landed on the shore of the lake. It was covered with snow. A smile crossed my face as it began to snow over Khaemon and I. I walked past Khaemon and ran to the shore. I held my hands out and caught the snowflakes, watching as they melted instantly. I spun around with glee. It’s been so long since I’ve seen snow, and its better than I could have ever imagined.

“It’s nice to see you finally relax. I’ll set up a fire.” Khaemon got to work immediately, not giving me a chance to respond. But he’s right. It is nice to relax and enjoy myself. More than anything, it’s nice to feel like there’s a weight off of my chest.

I watched as Izulaeth jumped between the water and the shore. He created large waves, and even large rain drops.

“Join me!” His tail wagged back and forth, and his whole butt moved with it.

“I’ll pass. It’s too cold out,” I gestured. He cocked his head to the sign.

“Sorry little man, it’s too cold for Asara and I to join you,” Khaemon called to him.

Izulaeth whimpered, but went back to playing almost immediately.

I sat down beside the fire. It crackled loudly. I watched as the ash blended with the smoke. “Your village, what do you think about it? Humans and tieflings living together?”

Khaemon sat down across from me. “Its the future that many of us are fighting to protect. My home is only the start.”

I looked across the lake and could see the lights of the house in the village coming to life. “Who are we fighting against?”

“The Queen. She’s why the persecution against the tieflings started. She fears what we represent.”

“What do we represent?”

“We represent the Goddess of Death.” Khaemon laid down on the ground. “Does representing her in more than one way frighten you?” He turned on his side to look at me.

I nodded. “More than anything.”

“Hopefully you find what you’re looking for with the Sky Guardian.”

I laid down on my back and stared up at the snow falling down. I hope to find what I’m looking for too. I closed my eyes and thought of what my parents were dreaming of when they made the village. Is this what they wanted me to see when I came here? Did they know I would come here?

I embraced sleep as it came for me.

===

My whole body shook as I awoke. I looked around me immediately for Izulaeth and Khaemon. My eyes landed on the two immediately. I run to Izulaeth’s side, shoving him as soon as I reach him.

“Wake up,” I rasped.

Izulaeth stirred awake, waking Khaemon at the same time.

“Where are we?” Khaemon groaned.

Izulaeth’s mouth lit ablaze, revealing a snowed in cave.

“We definitely didn’t fall asleep here last night,” Khaemon said as he looked around in awe.

I couldn’t help but be in awe either. We were asleep by the lake, and now we were here, wherever here was. It was amazing. I touched the icy wall of the cave and shivered even more. My teeth clacked together.

“Are you prepared to face the consequences of your actions?” A booming feminine voice echoed throughout the cave. It was eerie, and sent Izulaeth into hiding behind me.

“Who are you?” Khaemon called.

Big, glowing, yellow eyes revealed themselves. “The one you revere,” it said. Fangs as white as the snow showed themselves as well.

“The Sky Guardian,” Khaemon whispered.

I stepped forward. “Whatever we did wrong, I’ll take on the punishment for all of us. Just let Khaemon and Izulaeth head home, safely,” I said. My voice cracked every other word, and I wondered if I would even be taken seriously.

A laugh came from the beast in front of us. “Little one, I think you’re ready to save the world.”