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Chapter 12
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It was getting late. Tundor had helped Lothinar remove the remnants of the enormous dining room table and a couple of the broken chairs. They were so much kindling at this point. They stacked the lustrous wood fragments out of the backyard. Siophra had found a rag and a bottle of vinegar somewhere and was scrubbing and dabbling at the small bloodstains on the floor where Marg had met her demise.
"Before you head home, I have a question, Father." Said Lothinar. "It's about your grandmother taking you to Chelseben. Did I understand that correctly?"
Standing beside him, his mother gasped. "Albarad, is what our son said true?"
"You're not the only one with secrets coming into this marriage, Ardwella." He said, giving her the side eye, but then he turned his gaze back to Lothinar.
"I did say that I'd been to Chelseben, son," Albarad said calmly. "but not via golden dragon. My grandmother used the ancient portal in the capital. Even then, she said it was on its last legs. She said the 'legtricity' was getting very low."
"Could you tell me where that portal is?" Lothinar asked. "Perhaps there is something we can do to make it usable again." He gazed at the golden moon, still low in the sky. "It might be easier to solve the problems that will lead to Chelseben falling if we can get up there to help Zinariya."
"I remember the room where my grandmother took me. I can probably find it again. Hey!" Albarad said suddenly. "This isn't some trick to try and get me involved in taking over for Mandel because that is out of the question. I'm not a politician. I never wanted to be."
Lothinar's mother was still staring at his father in shock.
"You're the lost heir. The missing prince. How could I not have realized this?"
"I thought you did." Said Albarad. "Especially when you snuck Muina into my bed. That would have been a good way to try and wrest the kingdom back away from the usurpers. Pretty dangerous if Argent was to find out, though."
"Muina and I just thought it might be a good idea to try and infiltrate the upper levels of government with someone who wasn't insane. Someone who might be able to look more favorably on giving the dragons another chance. Maybe not devour every magical egg they could get their hands on." Ardwella said.
"I'm not trying to get you to reclaim your rights to the throne, father. I'm much more interested in the portal you mentioned." Lothinar said. "If I can get it working again, it might save the planet."
Albarad sighed. "I was pretty young. There were secret doors. I will need to see it and hope something jogs my childhood memories. Getting there, though, Night-Sky certainly isn't up for that. We will need the assistance of your dragon friends, or we'll be down to the horses. Not that I find a several-day trip on horseback getting reacquainted with my son a bad idea."
Lothinar grinned at him." I'd enjoy that, father, but time will be a significant factor here."
Are we having a shortage of large dragons again?" asked Siophra, walking over.
"Just trying to allocate travel resources since Zinariya's teleportation is out of range," Lothinar replied. "We have certainly become spoiled when flying on dragon back is the slow way to get somewhere."
"Let's see," said Tundor. "Esmarilla will probably be back soon. She's out burying her mother, poor thing. I suspect she is headed back to the capitol soon anyway. She would probably be willing to give someone a ride. He nodded towards Albarad. Mo-Rung might be available, but taking him away from Mavis now might be bad."
"You're very insightful, Tundor." Lothinar agreed. "I think Mavis and Mo-Rung are both emotionally fragile right now. I prefer to leave them out of anything stressful if we can. She's also going to help facilitate Mandel's recovery. We certainly want him better as quickly as possible."
"Going back to the Capitol will probably give me the creeps," Siophra said, squinting. But I'd be willing to give someone a ride on Tundor." She gestured to the sizeable white-haired elf, "Assuming you are willing, of course."
"We're not leaving right away, are we?" Tundor asked. "I made Candasar a promise that we'd spend tonight together." He paused and blushed. "As elves. It would be our first time all over again. She said she's looking forward to it."
"Don't tell me anymore!" said Siophra, covering her ears. "I'm going to get jealous!" Then she grinned and slapped him on the back. "What are you still doing here talking to us?" she demanded. "We will be leaving in the morning. Go Go. Get out of here!"
Tundor wasted no time in running into the house.
Siophra grinned. "He did look eager, didn't he? How many bedrooms does this place have anyway? She asked.
"Enough that they can find some privacy," Lothinar said. "I'm going to shield myself from Candasar's thoughts for a while. I don't think she would appreciate my telepathic peeking."
"You're shaming me. I was going to peek," said Siophra. She sounded a little embarrassed. "Now I'll have to recuse myself mentally. I wanted to give him some pointers."
"Do you think Tundor would appreciate that kind of help?" asked Lothinar.
"Being elves, they are going to have many more options when they make love," Siophra said.
"Perhaps you should allow them to figure those things out for themselves, at least for now. It adds to the surprise," said Lothinar. If I know Candasar, she should be able to give him sufficient encouragement, at least for tonight."
"What am I supposed to do with the time then?" Siophra asked. "At least you have Ardwynn upstairs. She's probably already waiting for you to come up. I've got nobody. Poor me!"
She flinched at Lothinar's embarrassed expression. Albarad's too. Ardwella cleared her throat.
"Hey! Don't look at me," Albarad said quickly. Eyeing his wife. "Two sisters are already too much for me. I've got my hands full."
"No. Husband, That's not what I was suggesting at all," said Ardwella. "It's pretty apparent to me, at least, who Siophra has been pining for."
"Don't give my secrets away, sister," said Siophra.
Zinariya broke in through her bond with Lothinar.
"It's Cantrell, of course," Zinariya told Lothinar through the bond. "She's been interested in him since he carried her body into the house when Argent's daughters attacked her. I, too, was taken with his strength and gentleness."
"That is a terrible idea. For both of you!" answered Lothinar. "It's unfair to Mavis and might have huge political ramifications. You need to stop."
"Talk to your aunt. I'm over him. I'm making other long-term plans, " Zinariya said.
"I'm afraid to ask what those might be," Lothinar said. "Your mother's wishes are fundamental to me."
"Don't worry. Xerxes is pretty old, but he's still got some good years left in him." Zinariya replied. "Mom will just have to get over it."
"Xerxes? That's the ancient, scrawny guy you met when you first arrived! He must be over eight hundred years old!"
"Are you jealous, Lothinar? You sound jealous!"
"I am very concerned about you making poor decisions. Zinariya. They are going to affect everyone. Mostly, I want you to be happy and well-adjusted. You should take some time to think about it, but if you love this... Xerxes, I will try to convince your mother..."
"You're no fun, Lothinar. I was trying to make you jealous, and you just went all noble about this. Xerxes is a wrinkled old prune. I would never...."
"Get some sleep, Zinariya. In the morning, we all are going to hit this problem hard. The first thing I'm going to try to do is get up there with you. I might have to see what you're dealing with to understand what we need to do. I will make a fast trip to the capital in the morning and find the transport portal my father was talking about. If it works, I'll be seeing you in no time."
Seeing that he'd been telepathically interrupted, Lothinar's parents and aunt had already gone inside the barn. Lothinar caught up with them. Albarad was saddling three horses.
"Sorry about that. Zinariya wanted to tell me something," he said.
Albarad nodded. "Of course. We all understand," he said.
"Ardwella's going to stay with the baby, but I will bring Siophra back in the morning. We will travel together. He pulled his son in for a confidential whisper. "Siophra is going to spend the night at our place. She thought a little distance from Tundor during this night of exploration might allow her to sleep better." He winked.
"It's not just the dragons doing all the exploration at this point," Lothinar replied. "Everything I've been doing is new. I'm trying not to be terrified every day. The moon might be falling and did you know that Firestorm is convinced that I am destined to be her lover?"
"She's pretty young." his father said.
"Did you somehow miss the part that she's a dragon dad? All you've got to say is: 'She's pretty young?'
"Well, she is. I remember when she hatched like it was yesterday. Try to stall. Maybe she'll find someone else. Maybe he will even be a dragon. But you know the heart wants what it wants." his father said sagely. I haven't exactly been an excellent example of a traditional relationship myself, you know. Marrying two sisters and all that. I was worried your mother would suggest a trifecta for a minute back there."
"At least you all would all be the same race!" Lothinar exclaimed.
Albarad shrugged. "From what I've been led to understand, you are not entirely pure elf anymore anyway, Lothinar. Didn't Vanquish change at least some parts of you into a dragon?"
"Uh, yeah. I sort of forgot about that, I guess." Lothinar said.
"Look. Don't worry. I saw Firestorm in there. She's beautiful, fierce, and loyal. She took action when she needed to. She had your back. As far as the sex part of it goes, while she's an elf, you probably won't be able to tell the difference. If I were you, I'd be more worried about the naked mental vulnerability that comes with that package. She'll be inside your head. She'll know your secrets. Every marriage needs a little bit of mystery. You won't have much. But with your bonds, you already don't. Not really. Night-Sky has already exposed my big one several times. He's got his own agenda. I'd never have agreed to be bonded with him if I hadn't needed him to stay alive to rescue Heirwynn from that terrible situation."
"Yeah, that was bad," said Lothinar.
"Speaking of Heirwynn, you may have noticed that she's staying. Ardwynn accepted her offer to help with the baby. Snow will be coming over in the morning when we come back. I'll have Snow watching you all like a hawk, so treat your new adopted sister respectfully. I'm not so much worried about you. I'm more concerned about the females in your small clan. Night-Sky will stay with me for now. They won't like splitting up, but it's not that far between here and my place. Albaarad took a huge breath.
"Have I given you enough fatherly advice yet, my son?"
"I don't think I've ever heard you say that many words all at once!" Lothinar said, laughing. "Wow!"
"It's late. Think about what I said." Albarad smiled. "I'm proud of you son. Get some sleep. Tomorrow, we need to save the planet."
The three elves climbed on horses and rode out into the night. Lothinar wearily turned back toward the house, walked up the steps, and entered.
"Sssh!" came Heirwynn's voice from the darkness of the front room. Everyone's asleep. "Well, probably not Tundor and Candasar, but they've finally quieted down."
"So why are you waiting for me down here in the dark?" he asked.
"I'm just making sure," she said softly.
"Sure about what? My father told me you were staying to help with the baby. I thought that you discussed that with my wife."
"I'm making sure that it's alright... with you."
"Why wouldn't it be?" he asked. "You're not planning on murdering us all in our sleep or something, are you?"
She chuckled at that. Lothinar couldn't see her face in the dark.
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"No, quite the opposite. I want to make myself useful to you. Your father made me part of your family. He saved me from a couple of really terrible situations. I want to be very helpful. I want to belong somewhere."
"It sounds like you probably belong at my mother's house. She no doubt needs your help with my little sister as well."
"Muina and Ardwella have that covered. Now that Ardwella is back, at least. You named your son Harvey. That means a lot to me. I feel like I'm connected to him somehow. And now to you."
Lothinar sighed. "He was a brave man. From what I've heard, you're also a brave young woman. Welcome to the family," he said. He slipped past her on the stairs and ascended into the darkness of the second floor. As he entered the Master suite, a little of Cheleseben's light trickled through the window. Ardwynn stirred.
"I heard your voice downstairs. You must have been speaking with Heirwynn," she said. "I've asked her to stay on. She's going to be helping me with Harvey."
"Do you need help?" he asked.
"I'm probably not going to be a great mother, Lothinar. I didn't have the best example. I'm sure it will be even worse now that Michelle is gone. She had a way of keeping me focused on what's important. "
"And you think having another woman around here will make it easier for you?" he almost laughed, but he didn't.
"I want to be your partner. I'll probably follow you around like a puppy. I love you, Lothinar, and worse yet, I'm suddenly very insecure. Things are changing. We have new challenges. There will be places that you are going where you can't take Harvey and me, but maybe you'll let me go with you once in a while? Do you think you could let me do that? She sounded hopeful but resigned.
He sat down heavily on the bed.
"I'm missing the days." he said. "when we worked as wardens together. I always enjoyed your company, Ardwynn. I'll take you everywhere I can." He paused, scratching his head. "But, like you said, things have changed quite a bit since then. It's not just about us or our friendship anymore. We've both been through a lot. You left me, Ardwynn. It almost destroyed me."
"I know," she whispered. "I'm sorry."
He laid down next to her in the soft, warm bed. She moved closer, reaching out to touch and caress his face. His eyes were shut. Unexpectedly, he opened his mouth, and a little snore came out. He was asleep.
"I guess I won't be wanting this," she said to herself. She placed the closed vial of Mung Bean extract on the nightstand. "Not that I needed it." She looked at Lothinar in the moonlight. "He's so beautiful," she thought.
Firestorm is terrible at hiding things, especially in this house. I’ve lived here before. I know all the good places.
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"What do you mean you can't transform?" asked Lothinar. "You were able to do it yesterday."
"I tried early this morning, " Candasar replied worriedly. I was a little hungry. Firestorm ate most of the steaks while I was distracted. I was hungry for a deer. It was a long night, and I wanted to clear my head by flying. I went out to the yard early and tried to change into my dragon form. I just can't. Nothing happened."
"How about you, Tundor?" Lothinar asked.
The well-muscled white-haired elf walked a short distance out into the front yard; The air sparkled as he became a huge white dragon. "Phew," he said. "That's a relief."
Lothinar walked over to Candasar. He activated his inner sight. He took a good look around inside the blue dragon's elf' body. She squirmed a little under his intense gaze but endured it.
"Uh-oh," he said. "It's really early, but you're pregnant."
The look on her face was indescribable. Tundor, however, whooped with joy.
"So that answers that question," said Ardwynn grinning. "The fetus is protected. Something in Candasar's body is going to stop her from changing back while she's carrying a baby. It makes sense! It's unrealistic to expect an unborn elven child to suddenly turn into a dragon egg. If she had gotten pregnant as a dragon, I'm sure she would be unable to shift until after she laid the egg!"
"I'm stuck as an elf?" Candasar asked in horror. "For how long? Surely not for nine whole months! Then what? Will I have to go through a live childbirth? Like Ardwynn did?"
"Yes, just like I did when I was coming back from Silvantra riding on you, my dear." cackled Ardwynn.
"Will my child be an elf or a dragon" Candasar suddenly asked.
"An elf, I'm pretty sure," said Lothinar. "I can't see it turning out any other way."
"We wanted more children." Tundor rumbled.
"Yes, but dragon children!" Candasar said. "I don't even know what to think right now!" She lowered her head and ran into the house.
Lothinar looked at Tundor. "You or me?" he asked.
"You're smaller," grinned Tundor. "I don't think she's going to want to talk to me right now anyway."
"I'm sure you're right," Lothinar replied. He climbed the steps.
Candasar was up in her room. The same room where she had gotten pregnant just last night.
Lothinar knocked on the door and then went in without awaiting a reply. Candasar was lying on her back, with one of her arms across her face, The inside of her elbow was covering her eyes. She lowered her arm and glared at him.
"I never expected this. You will remember that I resisted letting Marg change me. I knew that there had to be a catch." she said angrily.
"It's really not so bad," Lothinar said.
"I'm totally useless now!" she snapped back. "How am I going to help you? Take you anywhere. Help you fight? I can't even fly you to the capitol. My daughter is stuck up on the moon, and I'm stuck here in this soft, squishy.... pregnant body! I feel my boobs growing Lothinar. I'm not even supposed to have boobs!"
"You don't feel. that. It must be your imagination. .. It's way too early. You just got pregnant last night. For pregnancy to make your breasts grow takes a while. Or so I'm told. You may need to talk to Ardwynn about that."
"Sure, I'll just ask Ardwynn. About everything. She’s obviously the expert. Now what? Do I just sit here for nine months and take up knitting? What am I going to do if the moon falls? I won't even be able to fly away. I'll die!"
"I won't let that happen," he said with great certainty. Neither will Tundor, for that matter."
He paused, thinking.
"If you really are that upset, there is one thing that I could do," he said.
"What's that?" she asked.
"I could end the pregnancy. Now. Today."
"Kill my baby?" she asked.
"It's extremely small right now. It wouldn't take much at all. I could just...."
"No!" she said, sitting up and glaring at him. "Please don't do that."
"I'm just giving you options, Candasar. You are the one that was complaining. It would make me very sorry to do it, not to mention how Tundor would feel. Of course, neither of us has to bear your burden. Carrying your baby to term. Only you really have the right to make that choice."
"I will accept this child," Candasar said. "Whatever price I must pay. Even if it is an elf, it will be filled with our magic."
"That's what I was hoping you would say," said Lothinar. "I was terrified you might take me up on that. Let's go on this voyage of exploration together. We might find something wonderful in the destination.”
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Michelle stood on the foredeck. She had both hands outstretched in front of her. She was about to shoot a blast of blue magic into the medium-sized sea serpent coiled around the vessel's bow. Then she noticed something unusual. The serpent had a sword in its mouth. It was glowing red. She dropped it onto the deck. For Michelle quickly noticed it was, indeed a she. The sword stuck upright in the wood.
"Do not attackss. I haves comes to claims the rewardses thats the red ssword promissssed me!" The serpent hissed loudly. “Takess me to the Lothinar!"
Enderline looked at the sword vibrating vertically in the wooden deck. “Now, where in the world did she find that?” he asked.
“A few hours off the coast of Silvantra,” Michelle answered. “Right, where Lothinar dropped it, fighting some Rocs. Do you think it would be too much trouble to ask if you could turn just one of these ships around? I think he’s going to need the electrical generation abilities of this sword to save the planet.'”
“How can Lothinar having that sword back help save the planet?” Enderline asked curiously.
“He needs it to prop up the moon, which is going to fall soon.”
“Now I’ve heard everything.” Enderline scoffed. “The moon looked perfectly normal last night!”
“No! Magical human girl isss corrects. Wees cans feels ssomethings hass changed withs the tidess! Moon makess tidess!” The sea serpent hissed.
“Roth!” The king bellowed. How far away are we right now from Silvantra?”
“We are just slightly under halfway, Your Majesty,” Roth replied primly.
“Exactly how many dragons and their bonds are currently on the flagship? Enderline asked.
“The Sinspirilla is light on dragons. We do have almost all of your unbonded soldiers on board, though. We are carrying only my dragon, Ember, and Queen Pricilla’s, Ivy. Unless you count…her.” Roth gestured to the long grey sea serpent now coiled around the foremost spar.
“Run up the full stop semaphore. We will transfer most of our food supplies to the other ships. Then the other ships will continue on to Silvana. The Sinspirilla is turning back.”
Enderline looked at Michelle. ‘Also, I need to write a letter to your father explaining things. I was hoping you could deliver it to him, along with the rest of the young dragons. To do that, you will need to transfer to another one of my ships. Your father may have questions impossible to answer in a letter. I’m also charging you….well, asking you to ensure the rest of my ships are protected from other aquatic visitors for the duration of the journey. I feel that with you with them, they have the best chance of arriving safely.
“I will change ships and deliver your letters. If you have someone that can row me over. I obviously can no longer fly. If at all possible, I will also get the young dragons safely to Silvantra. I will start educating them immediately.” Michelle replied. She watched as sailors began scurrying around in the rigging, lowering the huge sails.
“Thank you. Us splitting up is probably for the best anyway,” Enderline confided to Michelle quietly. “I think your presence makes Pricilla very nervous.”
The small fleet of ships finally came to a stop out in the open water. It took some time to transfer supplies and a little more to finish juggling the crew by dingy. Michelle was among them. She found herself aboard a tidy ship named the Starfish. The sea snake remained curled tightly to the front of Enderline’s flagship. She was on a mission to find ‘the Lothinar’, and Michelle was obviously going the wrong way. The red sword was still stuck in the wooden deck. The serpent had strenuously objected when Enderline had sought to remove it.
“It’ss onlys fors the Lothinarss!” She had hissed angrily at the attempt to store the sword elsewhere.
Finally, the sails were raised again, and Michelle watched as the Sinspirilla and Enderline sailed out of sight. The little fleet was still over three days from Silvanta, even with the very favorable winds they were now experiencing. Enderline would have a much harder time heading back. Michelle hoped the sea dragon minded her manners. She suddenly realized that she hadn't even asked for her name.
Arjori remained tightly curled around the bowspit. Her eyes carefully followed the sailors doing their busy jobs in the rigging as the ship began the arduous task of tacking back and forth against the wind steadily blowing off the mainland. She was guarding the red sword. It was her opportunity to find a different kind of life. Far away from the stupid, overly persistent males who continuously sniffed after her. She wasn't ready for a life tending eggs in the underwater grotto. There was a big world out here.. There was a lot still to see. She wasn't hungry. She had eaten well just days before. She had feasted on the body of a huge Roc that had sunk to the bottom near her tribe's nesting grounds. The bird meat was a surprising delicacy, although she had swallowed too many wet feathers. She alone had found the soggy bird and the sword, which was hidden in the mud under the carcass. She had listened to its strange voice replaying the strange words in her head over and over until it had finally clicked.
“Not my fault! You dropped ME! Lothinar!” it kept saying over and over. When the distracted sword finally noticed her, it insisted that she take it to the surface to find the Lothinar. The sword's request became an obligation and an obsession in her mind. At least now, she was making some progress. These humans seemed to know where to find the Lothinar. She really hoped it wasn't too far from shore. Slithering in dry places tended to be dusty and uncomfortable.
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Daisy awoke in a large comfortable bed. She was alone. The room was well-furnished and had private indoor plumbing, which was always nice. She performed her morning absolution and cleaned up under a luxurious hot shower. It was amazing. As she was finishing up, there was a knock on the door. She was only wearing a towel but cracked it open. It was an apologetic palace servant bringing her, of all things, fresh clean clothes. Cantrell hadn't been kidding when he had said he would take care of things. She accepted the clothes gratefully and closed the door. There were three choices of dresses in three different styles. She put on the simple but well-made blue one. It was knee-length, and It brought out her eyes. A few minutes later, there was another knock. It was Cantrell.
"I was hoping you might be free for breakfast," he said. "In case you are hesitant, I promise that the cafeteria has things other than mung beans."
She laughed. "I'm sure it does. You had me at the company I would be keeping."
He paused, "I hope you weren't hurt or offended that I declined your advances yesterday. I'm a little old-fashioned. I keep my commitments, and I really do love Mavis."
"You're sweet to ask," she replied. "I did some thinking last night. I don't even know why I tried to do that. I think I've become so used to being dependent upon a male, even a horrible one, that I felt I had to immediately fill a void. I realize now that was a really bad idea."
"I could use a friend," he said. "I'm also alone here in the city at the moment and bearing great responsibilities. I wasn't kidding when I said I might need a hug."
"One chaste hug coming right up!" she said, smiling. She pulled him in and gave him one. She even leaned in with her shoulder so that her breasts wouldn't press on him too noticeably. He stepped back awkwardly.
"Thanks. he said. "I'm not lying when I say that it helped somewhat. After breakfast, I've got some names to go over with you. Distant relatives of Argents family. Cousins mostly. I want to ask you if you can connect them with any of our records of misdeeds or troublemaking. That sort of thing."
"It sounds like you are certainly being thorough. I'm also surprised that you actually trust me. We really just met. yesterday, and I could be misdirecting you terribly."
"Why would you do that?" he asked. He didn't sound surprised, just curious about her possible motivations.
"I might have some personal grudges I wished to settle. Folks that I dislike personally that aren't really a threat to you or the crown. You could help me get rid of them."
Cantrell narrowed his eyes. "Is that what you are doing? I mean, your husband was obviously personal."
"Oh no. He was a traitor." Daisy said. "Although he probably thinks of himself as a patriot. He's loyal to Argent, or at least his memory and his family. He was actively engaged in standing in Mandel's way. Causing disruptions and trouble wherever and whenever he could. I think I heard you ask him about his brother. He was killed a few weeks back while fighting."
"Yeah, unfortunately, that was me." Said Cantrell. "I was working with an assassin and she sent me up to a balcony he was on. He had a bow. I had a knife. It was closer than I preferred it. He almost got me."
"So, you're a real hands-on guy. Taking on the enemy yourself, personally. It takes bravery and a special kind of demeanor to be able to function like that."
"So, that's been a problem for me, I have to admit," Cantrell said, shrugging. " I learned a little trick from my bonded dragon. It's a way to turn down my conscience. It's a temporary measure. It all comes crashing back down on me when I turn it off, but at least I can function in the interim "
"Your bond. She's the big black dragon everyone's seen flying around. And she's the sister of the white dragon I met yesterday? The one with the regrets and lost loves? The white one called her Esmarelda?"
"Not quite. Her name is Esmarilla," said Cantrell as a gentle correction. "She and some of my other friends are flying in later today. I'm really looking forward to her coming back. All of them, actually. They are searching for something. They are going to be checking for hidden passageways here in the capital."
"That sounds very mysterious and exciting," said Daisy.
She let Cantrell take her to breakfast and then looked through lists of names and sketches of some of the people that Cantrell had deemed suspicious. She did find a few that she knew had been active in the rebellion and pointed them out to him. By the time she was finished with that, it was lunchtime. Cantrell and she ate in the cafeteria yet again. Just as they were finished, he got a strange happy smile on his face.
"They made good time!" he said. "Come on! I'll introduce you to my friends. They will be landing in the main courtyard any minute." They rushed downstairs. His excitement was infectious.
Daisy looked up. A huge white dragon, even bigger than the one yesterday, was coming down fast. On his tail was a slightly smaller black one. She glanced at Cantrell.
"Yep. That's my Esmarilla. That's Albarad riding her. Lothinar is with him. He's Albarad's son. The big white dragon is Tundor. Oh, that's a surprise. There is a female elf that I don't recognize riding together with Siophra. Esmarilla Is telling me that the dark-haired elf is actually Candasar. She's Tundor's mate.
"Tundor is mated with an elf?" How's that supposed to work?" asked Daisy incredulously.
"Oh, she's not an elf all the time. She started out as a dragon." Cantrell said mischievously. "She's not too happy right now. That was her first trip when she wasn't actually doing the flying. Esmarilla said she complained all the way here."
"You have some strange friends, Cantrell," said Daisy.
The dragons landed, and Candasar was the very first to jump off. "I'm never giving Michelle a hard time about flying again!" she said, obviously relieved to be back on the ground.
Daisy turned her attention to the blonde elf that had been flying with Candasar. They locked eyes. It was like looking into a mirror.
"So who's this?" Siophra demanded. She had a very strange look on her face. It probably looked exactly like her own.
"Oh! Said Cantrell. "I'd like to introduce you all to my new friend Daisy! She's helping me weed out the last participants of the rebellion."
"It can't have escaped your attention that she looks exactly like me," said Siophra.
"Does she?" asked Cantrell, surprised. He looked again. "Oh wow. She does. How did I miss that?"
"Just what are you trying to pull here, Cantrell?" Siophra asked. "Don't tell me that I've missed my opportunity and that I'm too late."
"Late for what?" Cantrell asked.
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