Mel blinked her eyes open and a large white room took form in her field of vision. She was in a bed in the hospital with white curtains drawn for the most part around her. But at the side there was an opening and next to it Austin sat on a chair, staring out into nothingness. Mel turned toward Austin and he seemed to snap out of his thoughts.

“You’re awake?” Austin said.

Mel shifted her body on the bed and sat up with her back against the pillow. Her body ached in more places than one, and her arm was wrapped in a white bandage. Her mouth felt dry, and she licked her cracked lips, feeling like it had been forever since she’d tasted water.

Austin seemed to notice this and handed her a glass of water from the bedside table. Mel took down three big gulps and handed back the glass to Austin.

“What happened?” Mel asked.

“I could ask you the same,” Austin said, shaking his head at Mel. “What were you thinking?”

Mel looked at him in confusion, feeling her mind whirling around, trying to find anything solid to grab onto. But she seemed to be lost in a world of mist at the moment. Austin sat down on the chair again and leaned back with a deep sigh.

“They found you out in the wastes. Your arm was bleeding, and you were unconscious. They brought you here to the hospital. They don’t know what you were doing out there or who saved you.”

Mel shook her head, feeling like something was wrong with what Austin said. Her mind seemed to find something solid and grabbed onto it. Mel gasped for air.

“The dagger?” she said. “Where is it?”

A frown descended on Austin’s forehead. He brought up a finger to his lips and shushed Mel.

“It’s in your backpack,” he whispered. “On the floor.”

Mel looked down, seeing her backpack dirty and burned at one side. She didn’t remember anything about a fire, but threw herself toward it. She roamed around, leaning out over the bed. Until her fingers brushed the metal of her dagger and she heard a soft ringing. Her heartbeat slowed and Mel leaned back into her bed, relaxing.

“What’s wrong?” Austin asked.

“I was afraid they took it,” Mel said. “Last thing I remember was the dagger laying on the ground a small distance away from me and a shadow looming over. I was afraid whoever saved me took it for themselves.”

Mel remembered the blue cloak that had fluttered past her vision before everything had gone black. For a moment then, she had thought it was Austin who had saved her. A blush crept up her cheeks and she felt ashamed suddenly. Austin hadn’t saved her, why had she thought he would?

“You’re lucky then,” Austin said, dragging a hand over his face. “That they didn’t recognize it as a magical item and didn’t turn it over to the governor. Who knows what he would have done to you? Things have changed lately.”

“What do you mean?” Mel asked.

“You’ve been out of it for a few days and ever since that first attack with the dragon,” he said. “Aldrion has been in a panic. The governor announced yesterday that he was changing the hierarchy. He put the elemental warriors in charge of the army, led by my father.”

“Okay,” Mel said. “Is that a bad thing?”

“I don’t know yet,” he said. “But knowing him and his agenda, things are about to change. I spoke to Marcus too and things seem to be changing in the army as well.”

“Since when are you speaking with Marcus?” Mel asked.

“He’s been here to see you,” Austin said. “He’s worried about you. We all were.”

Mel frowned. “I’m sorry I made you worry. But I wanted to handle this on my own. I couldn’t ask any of you to risk your lives out in the wastes just so I could find some truth about my ancestor or the dagger. Gabs was right about that. I should never have involved you or her in the things I did.”

“No,” Austin said. “Gabs wasn’t right. You should have come to us first. I could have gone with you out there to find out the truth about the dagger. With things changing here in Aldrion. This could be a good time to present some new innovative magic like a double imbue. Before they do something dangerous.”

“What do you mean ‘do something dangerous’? Who is?”

“The governor and the elemental warriors,” he said. “They have ordered the dragon forge to experiment with dangerous weapons. They’re planning to kill that dragon at any cost.”

Mel felt a shiver run down her spine. “We need to leave Aldrion, then. Go back to the valley, to safety. We can’t stay here.”

Austin nodded. “Maybe, you and Marcus could go back. Perhaps Gabriella will join you. But what if the solution is hidden in the ruins of Bahlan? Just like you seem to think. If we could get there and back only once, before they do something stupid here in Aldrion. Then maybe we could save the city.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“I don’t know,” Mel said. “Being a hero doesn’t seem to work out for anyone.”

Austin chuckled. “I’m not asking you to be a hero, Melissa. I’m just asking you to not run away again.”

“Maybe,” Mel said. “This time, I think I should talk to Marcus and Gabs first. Make sure they want to stay and figure this out. I’ve learned my lesson now. I won’t try to run away on my own. If we do this, we’re doing it together.”

Austin smiled. “Glad to see you coming to your senses. I missed you, Melissa.”

#

Mel found Marcus sitting on his bed alone at the army base. His broken leg was stretched out straight and the other one rested leisurely down to the floor. Marcus looked up and met Mel’s gaze, like he’d known she was here.

A thin smile stretched out over his lips and a golden circle formed around his irises from the sunlight streaming in through the window. Mel smiled back and sat down next to him on his bed.

“I’m sorry, Mel,” he said.

Mel’s eyes shot up to him, but he was staring at the floor.

“No, I’m sorry,” she said. “Last time I saw you, I yelled at you when you were in the hospital and then I left Aldrion, making everyone worried. I shouldn’t have done any of those things.”

“Please, listen to me,” he said.

Mel’s eyes widened, feeling like she was missing something.

“I should never have forced you into a relationship with me,” he said. “I don’t know what I was thinking, Mel. I just didn’t see it.”

Marcus dragged a hand over his face and let out a deep sigh.

“I thought you were going to change your mind if I just showed you how good it could be. That you were just shy or hesitant. I don’t know why I never listened to you. When you came to the hospital and told me you’d never wanted to be with me, it was like my eyes finally opened and saw you. I don’t know why I couldn’t see it before. But now that I can, I feel so ashamed of my behavior. That night at the Last Stance and the one in Stonehearth after Gabriella’s party, it wasn’t okay. I’m so sorry.”

Marcus’ gaze turned to Mel and their eyes caught for a moment. Mel saw genuine sadness and guilt in him and she felt guilty, too. She could have been so much more clear toward him. Told him what she was feeling and not strung him along, fearing he would leave her.

“I’m sorry too,” Mel said. “This really isn’t all on you. I could have done more. A lot more to make it clear. I agreed to parts of it, the dating and the dinners and…”

Mel shook her head. God, this was such a mess.

“Can we just move on from this?” Marcus asked.

Mel’s eyebrows dipped.

“Can we just be friends from now on?” Marcus asked. “I don’t want to force you or pressure you or even wait for you anymore. I just want my friend back. So, can we just be friends?”

Mel’s face broke up into a smile and she felt the stress and anxiety of this conversation roll off her back.

“Yes,” she said. “I would love that.”

Marcus smiled back at her and Mel wasn’t sure if he had said these things because he truly felt them or if he was just trying to do what she wanted. But it didn’t matter at that moment. Mel felt like she wanted to move on from this, no matter if Marcus was truly over her or not.

“It’s bad here in Aldrion,” Marcus said, breaking the moment of silence between them. “I don’t know what we should do. I know you want to stay and attend Falden and I know the dragons might not be what we thought. I don’t expect you to understand, but I still believe in them, not the black dragon who is destroying Aldrion. But the ones that speak to me sometimes. I believe in the other dragons.”

Mel swallowed.

She felt like Marcus was insane. How could he believe in the other dragons? What other dragons?

Mel wanted to scream at him that the ones who spoke to him were not to be trusted. Nothing was like they had thought it was. The black dragon proved that, and they couldn’t trust anything anymore. But she bit down on her lip, forcing herself to not ruin the friendship that was still so new between them.

Mel didn’t want to have a foundation built between them on her conforming and not speaking her mind. But she felt, in this matter, that Marcus was entitled to his own beliefs. He had decided to be her friend and to see her for who she was. That would have to be enough for now.

“I think we need to stay here,” Marcus said. “I know it’s not what we came here to do. To protect people from the void. We came here to find the dragons, and we will. But right now there are attacks almost every night, and I fear what the new government constellation, with the elemental warriors at the top, might do. Austin seems to fear them too, and some of them are his own blood.”

Mel nodded.

“But what would you say if I told you I wanted to go out into the wastes again? But this time with Gabs, you, and Austin. Sneak out together and search the ruins of Bahlan. Get to the bottom of things and see if we can find the secret about my dagger or my great grandfather. Try one last time before Aldrion falls. Would you do it?”

Marcus looked down at his leg. His face was stern and his jaw clenched.

“I don’t think I could follow you there,” he said. “Even if my leg was healed until then. I think my destiny is here in Aldrion, protecting people from the void. I think I found my place. I just need to figure out how I can best help people. I’m not so sure about how to do that anymore, not if the governor is planning something risky.”

“I understand,” Mel said. “I don’t know if I will go out there again. But I wanted to ask you first. Instead of running away and making you chase me down. If I go back out there, will you wait for me here, then?”

Marcus gave her a smile. “No, I won’t. I don’t want you to take it the wrong way. But I need to figure out my own place in this world, not just follow you. I think I got it all wrong before. I think I put too much pressure on you. We will find a way to fight back against the void and protect people, but I will try to be more levelheaded about it in the future.”

Mel nodded, thoughtful of Marcus’ change in perspective. He didn’t feel like a puppy who followed her around anymore and it was for the better. But it also meant Mel would have to rely on people she didn’t know as well. On Gabs and Austin. She hoped they would both come with her when the time came, and she hoped they were strong enough to survive out there.

Something had changed in her after her expedition into the wasteland, if she could call it that. She had realized just because she could do something alone, without Marcus holding her back, she didn’t need to. Mel could rely on others in a way she had never wanted to do before.