JEREMIAH

I still couldn’t believe my brother hosted the festival. I was shocked at how well he looked too. When he left the sick room, he looked like a zombie. Only half a cup of pig's blood and whatever medicine the doctor gave him was in his system. It occurred to me much later that Ky must have taken blood from Iara. My fangs were growing in, but I still didn’t have a taste for that sort of thing. The thought of drinking entire cups like my elders did made my stomach turn. But seeing how well it healed Malachi up, I couldn’t complain.

No one went to the festival after the husk attack. Once bright nights filled with loud and happy chatter were empty. The wind howled through the alleyways and all doors and windows were locked tight. Lanterns and stalls were left abandoned on the streets. The few people that were out looked terrified, lost. Kenneth wasn’t even allowed out. His father forbade him. So much for the best last festival.

I forced myself to go. I knew Malachi probably would have liked me to stay home. I wanted him to rest as well, but I knew what he was doing. He couldn’t let people know he almost died. If Malachi needed to act as though everything was normal, then so would I. I sighed, going through the motions of the fair. No one was at any stalls or manned the games. No one had their food carts open. I still walked along the alleys in hopes to find a vendor selling anything.

Eventually I did find one. He was overjoyed to see me. He ran a pastry cart. His stall was like the light at the end of a dark tunnel. I bought a few things from him and went back on my way. As I picked at a soft cookie, I headed back into the town square. I could see Malachi and Iara abandoned their stone thones and were headed over to me.

“You should go home,” Ky said to me. His voice held all the strength it did before.

I held a cake out to Iara. “I want to be out here,” I insisted.

Iara took the cake gratefully and brought it to her mouth immediately. Around bites she spoke. “I guess if you get attacked all I need to do is break the curse.”

Ky gave her a stern look and crossed his arms. “I would prefer if you never had to do that again.”

“Oh,” she gasped. She pulled her bag to her front. I almost didn’t notice the ragged leather pouch. She dug in it for what felt like forever. How many things did she have in there? When she found what she was looking for, she pulled it out and presented it to me. “Rey said I should give this to you.”

I frowned and took it in my hands. The almost disintegrating parchment cover was too worn to read. When I flipped to the first page, I even struggled to read that. It was in our native language, but the words were too shaky. It looked like it was written by a toddler. After straining long enough to make out the scratch, I realized it was about dragons. I looked back at her in a question.

“Rey taught me to write by making me transcribe books she had laying around. I don’t know what happened to the original book, but she gave me this. She said you might need it?” Iara took another big bite of her cake.

I nodded and looked back down at it. “Would you want to help me after?”

“After what? There is virtually nothing to do now,” Malachi sighed. His eyes scanned the empty square. At that moment he looked completely defeated. He struggled to gather energy to be here, just to not even be seen.

“Help with what?” Iara asked.

I tucked the parchment under my arm. “With the dragon egg. Kenneth isn’t allowed out right now and I haven’t gone to the library to read any new books. I have this now, but it’ll take me a while to read it. And since you’re such a powerful witch I thought you would know what to do,” I reasoned. I looked at the Princess expectantly.

Her eyes widened and she brushed some of her loose hair behind her ear. “I don’t know much about dragons, much less how to hatch them.”

“You could hold it,” Malachi suggested.

I felt my heart quicken with excitement. “That’s right. If the dragon is alive inside it, you can know what it’s thinking!”

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Iara finished off her cake and nodded. “I suppose so.” She brushed her hands off on her dress and turned toward the palace. “Well, let’s go then.”

“I’ll stay out,” Malachi said. He turned back to the stone chairs and waved us on. Iara gave him a worried look, but my brother held up his left arm. I saw the glint of silver on his wrist. “If anything happens I can let you know.”

She nodded and I followed her to our home. “How long have you had the egg?” she asked, falling in step with me.

“Around the time you came,” I replied. “But you have to be quiet when we get to the palace. I don’t want everyone to know.”

She nodded and we walked in silence the rest of the way. I led her all the way to my chambers, careful to make sure no one saw us. I closed the door tightly behind me, making sure it was locked. I didn’t want anyone barging in.

“Wow,” she whispered. Iara’s eyes bounced around my room. She went up to a pile of books on my desk and started reading the spines. “If only Malachi was half as interested in reading as you were.”

“The only reason I read so much is because of my blessing. His blessing is more wilderness themed,” I said. I walked over to my bed and lifted up the mattress. Right under was a metal lock box. I pulled it out and unlocked it with the key I kept in my pockets at all times. I brought the egg into my lap and let my eyes take in the sight. I hadn’t pulled it out for quite some time. The shell glittered in the low light. It was as breathtaking as it had been the first time I saw it.

“It’s beautiful,” Iara said. She sat on my bed next to me.

I held the egg out to her. “You can hold it.”

She shook her head. “I shouldn’t. You keep hold of it.” The blond reached a hand out to the egg. She hesitated for a moment and bit her lip. “I don’t want you to be disappointed if I don’t find out anything new.”

“I’ll be more disappointed not trying,” I replied quickly. Anything is a step forward at this point. I wanted so desperately to hatch the egg. If we had a dragon then maybe things would go back to how they once were. Ivar wouldn’t be so confident in hurting us.

Iara rested her palm against the surface then. Her eyes went glassy and she didn’t move. I don’t even think she breathed. She was as still as a statue, except for the tears that formed and rolled down her cheeks. She was frozen like that for an uncomfortable amount of time. My heart skipped a beat as I yanked the egg away from her. She was right, she shouldn’t hold it.

When the touch was broken, she gasped, falling forward. She almost fell right out of the bed. Her hands shook as they went up to hold her chest. You could practically see her heart beating through her clothes.

“Are you okay?” I cried out. I let the egg rest on my bed and I stood up to hold her shoulder. I was worried she would actually fall on the floor.

She wiped her cheeks off and nodded. “Sorry. She’s very vocal,” Iara said between gasps.

“She?” I gaped.

The princess nodded. “She likes you a lot too.”

“W-what else did you find out?”

Iara stood and looked back at the egg. “She didn’t know anymore than you do. But I do know that the booklet I gave you should say something you don’t know yet. Read it over and let me know what you find out.”

I nodded and let my hand fall from her shoulder. “Thank you, Iara.”

She nodded. “Now if you’d excuse me, I really need to eat after that. I feel weak,” she laughed in embarrassment.

“Do you want me to walk you to the kitchen?”

She shook her head and turned to the door. Before she took a step though, she stopped and reached her hand back into her bag. “Before I forget though, I have something else for you.”

I looked at her in a question as she produced a small glass jar. Inside was what looked like a crystal on a chain. At the bottom, grey sand pooled. It could have been ash if I didn’t see the shiny granules in it. She offered it to me. “What is it?” I asked.

“It’s a scrying crystal. Usually if you ask it a yes or no question, it can answer, but I made this one differently.” She shook the jar and let the sand settle back at the bottom. “It can still answer yes and no’s but this one can also draw messages in the sand. You can ask where someone is.” She offered it to me once again. “You’ll have to get to know it some. Keep it in your pocket, ask questions you already know to make sure it works for you.”

I took it in my hand and nodded. The jar fit neatly in the c of my hand. It was cool to the touch. When looking at the crystal more closely, it reminded me of the dragon’s shell. Shines of purples and reds glittered on its surface. It was sealed with white wax, the cork completely covered. “Thank you,” I said.

Iara nodded once and turned to the door again. She shut it quietly behind her. I pocketed the jar and headed back to my bed. I gently placed the egg back in her box and hid it away again. I was nervous to keep the egg out for too long. If someone found it other than my family I was scared of what they might do. I let myself fall back into my bed and I started to read the booklet Iara had given me. It was frustrating how slow I had to go. The words were next to impossible to decipher even with my blessing. I would be here for a while.