Emalynn POV

“Not even my thick fur can keep me warm in this ice cage,” I mutter as my teeth chatter. I rub my hands along my arms trying to warm myself since I had to give up my cloak. This situation has gone from bad to chaotic. The cold fog has cleared, but my body stays tense. It was only a few minutes ago the giant white lizard charged at me, and I fear her anger won’t be soothed by Eriz like I had planned. Everything has gone to shit since Athyra spotted us before we were ready for her. Braxton, the giant green orc, hasn’t moved from his spot between Athyra and me. The men have their eyes trained on Athyra who keeps glancing back and forth between Eriz and me. The fancy elf has situated himself near Eriz, and I can hear the pounding of footsteps approaching us. And, if that wasn’t enough, Ro transformed back into her human body…without any clothes. She must be freezing her ass off because I can hear her teeth chattering from behind the tree.

“Emera, are you alright? Your teeth might fall out from all the chattering.” Braxton asks me in a low voice, trying not to disturb the grumpy lizard.

I try to bite my tongue, but words fly out of my mouth faster than I could process. “Really, Braxton? Are any of us truly okay here?” I quietly yell back at him. “Our fate depends on this grumpy white lizard forgiving me for shooting her boyfriend with an arrow!”

Athyra snapped her head in my direction and focused on me. “You little rat! How dare you insult me when I squish you like the pest that you are. You are nothing but a careless, clueless idiot, monkey girl.” She turns to advance toward me causing Eriz and Silas to run in between the two of us. Athyra growls at the three men between us as her claws crack the ice beneath her. She narrowed her gaze at her human companion. “Do you have a death wish, Eriz?”

Eriz doesn’t flinch as he approaches Athyra. “Hardly,” he answers her. “In fact, I think it’s time we let walk away from this, Athyra.”

“I can’t do that, Eriz. Not when this clueless child plays with a weapon she can’t control while her little dog fights all her enemies for her. Besides, the mutt has a hefty bounty on her head. I can use that money to buy your freedom and start my own treasure horde. It’s a win-win.” Athyra says coolly.

Eriz stands directly in front of Athyra’s narrow and fierce snout. “Not like this.” Eriz pleads with the dragon. Meanwhile, Silas whispers to Braxton. Was now the time to be whispering to each other? Our lives hang in the balance…

Athyra gives a dry laugh. “There’s no better time. The wolf reached her limit sometime ago, and she lays a shriveled mess beyond the clueless monkey. It will be easy.”

Braxton immediately reacted to Athyra’s words by glancing back at me. My “wolf familiar” was nowhere to be found. The same damaged wolf that limped past him only minutes ago has disappeared from my side, and everyone here has taken notice of her absence. “Emera, where did the wolf go?” Braxton asked me quietly.

How can I answer this without causing trouble for Ro? The truth was there was no way to explain away. Any answer may lead them all to find Rory behind the tree trunk. “I told her to leave.” Athyra began to laugh again. She seems to know that Ro hasn’t left the area. This situation has become more dangerous based on Athyra’s behavior.

Ahtyra shook her head. “You’re lying, little rat. The wolf-”

A cracking noise caught everyone’s attention as we watched an opening appear in the ice cage that surrounded us. A familiar voice filled my ears, causing tears to escape my eyes. The warm, familiar voice called out to the giant white lizard, and I felt something in me break as Myrra walked through the opening in the ice. I fell to my knees, letting my body crumble at the base of the tree. Ro was balled up, suffering from the cold and her extensive injuries while my energy feels like it has been sucked out of my body. I wanted to rip the glamor charm from my neck and run into the safety of Myrra’s arms. All I could do in this moment was watch Myrra begin to scold the white dragon with a whole party of people around her.

“Athyra! Look at the mess you have caused.” Myrra flipped her ax sideways to keep the sharp edges away from Athyra as she slammed her down on Athyra like a mallet pounding on a peg. Athyra cried out as the ax hit her head, and her whole body collapsed to the ground. The dragon’s body began to take a human-like form as she shrank in size. In less than a minute, a scaly, light blue, young woman replaced the snow dragon. “Tactless child, you and Eriz must return to the guild immediately.”

Athyra pushed herself off the ground to look up at Myrra. “What did you do to me?”

Myrra explained how the wizard in her party prepared a spell to cause Athyra to revert back to her humanoid form. It was how Myrra planned to drag Athyra back to the guild to face her crimes from her rampage. Myrra was acting as my savior once again although she had no idea that she was saving me. She has always had this habit of showing up like a storm settling the chaos with her fierce presence. Myrra had Eriz come to help Athyra to her feet. She called Athyra and Eriz her guild mates… When did the lizard join the guild? I have only been away a few months.

Silas turned to Myrra with a look of relief across his face while Athyra rambled under her breath to Eriz. Braxton hurried over to me as I silently watched everyone around me moving. Tears still streamed down my face. Braxton sat on the ground trying to talk to me. His voice called my name over and over again, but my gaze was locked on to Myrra. I know Braxton doesn’t understand what’s happening to me right now, but I feel like I am stuck. It was too much. Seeing the closest thing I have to a mother not even notice me because I have to hide myself was torture. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Athyra look at me with a sly smile. What was wrong with her?

“Fine. I will settle for a deathless revenge.” Athyra said loud enough that I could hear her. Eriz looked at Athyra curiously. “Myrra,” she called out, causing Myrra to look at her.

“Yes, Athyra?” Myrra answered.

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“I think the broken little monkey over there may want to have a word with you. I believe you know her. Her name is Emalynn.” Athyra grinned.

Myrra and her whole party turned toward me with a questioning look. “I think you are mistaken-”

Athyra chuckled. “Don’t you recognize your almost daughter through a simple glamor charm?” Eriz quietly questioned Athyra, but her focus was on me.

“What?” Myrra nearly choked on her words looking from Athyra to me.

“Oh, and the one called Rory is slowly freezing to death behind that tree,” Athyra finished.

Rory! Damn it. Once Myrra appeared, I completely lost all sense. Without a second thought, I rose to my feet and wiped away my tears. Braxton tried to help me, but I just brushed past him. I walked over to Athyra with as much confidence as I could muster. “What are you talking about, mighty dragon? My name is Emera. My familiar behind the tree is indeed in a weakened state, but her name is Rosewyn. I don’t know anyone named Rory.” I bid Eriz to release his hold on Athyra, so she could come toward me. He reluctantly let her go at my request. Everyone’s eyes were on me, but I couldn’t let their concerned looks stop me now.

“You are quite the liar, monkey girl.” Athyra gritted her teeth as she shuffled toward me. Her humanoid form was sleek, beautiful, and bruised from her constant battling in her dragon form. She held one arm in hand as she stood in front of me. Her tall form imposing itself over me. The things she must have gone through and the toll of her constant use of magic had drained of her energy.

This won’t end. I know Athyra won’t forgive me without a real act of revenge. I have no idea how she found out my real identity, but I have to satisfy her somehow. Ro won’t survive much longer. Eye for an eye and flesh for flesh as the old saying goes. “I did hit Eriz with my arrow though, so you deserve your pound of flesh.” I reached down to pull my knife from its sheath and handed it to Athyra. “Take your flesh and be at peace.”

Everything happened so quickly once Athyra grabbed the knife from my hand. She whispered, “My revenge has been satisfied,” as she stabbed my gut and let go of the blade. Athyra backed away from me with a look of peace on her face. All her malice toward me had melted away like the legends of a dragon’s emotions consuming until the dragon satisfied their desires. Athyra’s thirst for revenge was quenched, and she was free. Was the fabled curse of the dragon’s consuming emotions real? It certainly seemed that way.

A chorus of shouts and curses were flung about the air like rain coating the area. Myrra, Braxton, and others ran toward us as Eriz ripped Athyra further away from me. I held my gut where the knife pierced my skin. There was a piercing pain consuming my body, but it felt far away at the same time. I felt myself fall backwards into some strong arms. The scent belonged to Braxton, and something felt comforting about his musk. So many voices panicked around me. My body began to feel numb from the pain. Blood spilled out of me, but I could faintly feel a warmth on my stomach. Was this Braxton’s healing magic? My vision faded to black before I could say anything.

The next day…

“Em,” a voice calls out.

My eyes flutter open when I hear Myrra’s voice calling to me. She knows it’s me. Did I fail to keep others from discovering that I am Emalynn? Possibly. I only get glimpses of the world around me because my eyes refuse to stay open. From the fragments of the scene around me, I can tell that I am in some sort of tent. There’s a brown canopy above me, and I feel myself lying down on a thin bed roll with a blanket on top of me. My body no longer shivers from the cold, and I am still breathing. Everything blurs together as I try to remember how I got here. Flashes of Athyra stabbing me run through my mind as well as Rory finally transforming back from her wolf form. I remember Braxton’s warm arms catching me after Athyra pulled away from me. He must have healed me and saved my life.

I don’t have the strength to move, but I make out the red headed version of Rory laying near me out of the corner of my eye. Rory seems to be alive, which means my sacrifice saved Athyra and Rory from their suffering. It was an instant decision to speed up the conclusion of whatever clash of wills was happening. Athyra had been consumed by her emotions causing her to go on a dragon rampage. The only way to stop her was to give her exactly what she wanted because I knew I had no strength left at the time. No one was ready for a fight with an revenge obsessed dragon. What Myrra taught me about dragons back at the guild academy ended up coming in handy.

Myrra grabbed my hand after noticing my fluttering eyes. “Don’t rush yourself to get up, Em.” She commands me. “You need rest although your wound has healed.”

Braxton must have healed me up while I was out. Now, I have to thank the big lug for saving my life. He’s going to get all excited again and fawn over my cuteness, but that's a problem for later. Myrra was here acknowledging me. It warmed my heart to have her next to me like when I would get sick as a kid. Her expression told me she was both relieved and frustrated at the same time. I could feel another lecture hanging over my head.

“Em, I am so proud of you and angry with you all at the same time.” Myrra admitted. “You let Athyra seek her revenge to satisfy her, but at what cost? How can you so freely allow the life I saved end abruptly?” Myrra’s voice was muddled from her crying. Her words were so soft no one except us beasts could hear her words as she spoke to me. “I don’t know how you got here or what caused all of this, but this orc assures me that he will continue to heal you when I leave.”

Wait, she’s leaving? My grip on her hand tightens allowing her to know that I can hear her talking to me. Is she leaving so soon because of her work or because she is upset with me for sacrificing myself to Athyra’s wrath? I try to force myself to speak, but my lips never move. My eyes refuse to stay open long enough to get a good look at her, but she continues talking again as if she can sense my distress over her words.

“I have to leave, Em. It’s already been a day since you were stabbed by Athyra. We waited here for some sign that you were going to wake up.” Myrra said. “Eriz told me how Athyra was sent to hunt you and Ro down because her employer wants whatever ancient magical item you guys had at the time in Old River Woods. Also, Eriz wishes to warn you that his employer will likely reach this forest in a week. It’s the same dark elf that Elias told me about in his letter. I wish I could stay to face this employer of theirs, but the Gleaca Council has called for my return since I captured Athyra. She must answer for her crimes against Gleaca.”

Athyra was hunting us down for that creepy dark elf. Why would she do that? She’s a dragon! Shouldn’t a job like this be beneath her? Whatever. Rory or Rosewyn as Myrra has been calling her beat the dark elf once. As long as she recovers, we will stand a chance at ending this. Would we be able to return home if we eliminated this guy?

“The Gleaca Council has put a bounty for a wolf folk hybrid. Someone might think your odd familiar is this wolf folk hybrid given her unique ability to have a human form. Even when you face Eriz’s employer, it would be dangerous for you to return anywhere that you have been previously. Athyra had been a bigger concern at the time, however now that I have her, the council will focus their resources on hunting this hybrid. Beware.” Myrra warned.

My eyes snap open to look at a somber looking Myrra. This was no joke. Damn. We can’t go home. Elias warned us that it could be months or years on the run. I hoped that we could return home eventually, but I am not sure that’s a possibility. More people will come after us with rumors of my unique familiar floating around. My life at the guild was over at this point. Ugh. This means more nights in a damn cave. Stupid caves.

Myrra reaches “The elf wizard found Rosewyn behind the tree after you were stabbed. She’s in bad shape, so you must recover quickly to protect her. I will leave some supplies for you and Rosewyn.” Her voice broke into sobs. “Please, my daughter, live past this. I want our paths to cross again.”

Shit. Of all the times for my body to refuse to move, why now? Tears fall past my eyes as I feel Myrra hug my still body. I want to hug Myrra and assure her that we will be fine. I know we will because Myrra, Elias, Leah, and everyone at the guild are waiting for us to return. Please, Heaven, assure Myrra and everyone else that we will come home one day. We will win against our enemies. We will be safe. As I finish my prayer, Myrra sits back up. She looks at my eyes watching her and wipes away my tears. Gently, she fixes my hair with one hand while the other holds my hand tightly.

Sunlight pours into the tent when someone pulls back the opening of the tent. A male from Myrra’s party stands in the opening. “Myrra, we must go. If we stay any longer, they will begin to send people after us.”

Myrra nods at him and gives me another hug. She whispers her love for me before pulling away from my still form. Myrra gets up and hugs Ro once before leaving the tent. My heartaches to watch Myrra leave us as seeing her for the first time yesterday did. The only difference was the strength she gave by sharing her love for me. I don’t feel broken this time, but my whole being still hurts. Myrra, my mother, my teacher, my savior, I swear I will make it home to you. I close my eyes and feel another bout of slumber take over.