Andy was right: Alex and Aether were made for each other.

Turquoise was observing them from above, on top of Erinite. She could still feel the fear radiating off of Aether, but she wasn’t actually afraid anymore—at least, not really. Some part of Turquoise’s brain kept telling her that Aether could have a dark side, but she ignored that part.

She glanced down at the two again. Alex and Aether were trading jokes with each other, trying not to laugh at each one. They were slick and dumb jokes, but Turquoise loved them. They gave her a warm feeling—like she was back at home, hanging out with Alex and her friends peacefully. It drove out the icy cold temperature, and made her feel calm. She urged Erinite a little closer.

“What do you call a boulder with the courage to move?” Alex asked.

Aether thought for a moment, then shrugged. “YOU tell ME.”

“A bolder.”

“These are the SLICKEST JOKES I’ve ever HEARD,” Aether snorted. “I love them. Keep going.”

“Why don’t you try to come up with one?” Alex prodded. “It’s not that hard. It doesn’t have to be the best joke in the world.”

“Hrm. FIIINE. What did the snow fox say to the OTHER snow fox?”

Alex shrugged.

“‘You’re looking a bit SQUEAKY.’”

Alex laughed. “Squeaky?”

“Snow foxes make the CUTEST, squeaky-bark noises you’ve ever WITNESSED. I want to cuddle them SO BAD, but they NEVER let me APPROACH!” Aether explained with an indignant snort.

Turquoise heard Alex sigh wistfully. “I’ve always wanted a fox, but I could never catch one. I’ve only seen one once.”

“I’d help you catch one,” Aether offered.

Alex was silent for a few seconds, as if he was mulling this over. “If we managed to catch one, what would we name it?”

“Cutie, Fluffball, Mr. McWhiskers, Softie, or Alastor.”

Alex chucked. “Why Alastor?”

“Alastor means ‘PROTECTOR OF MEN’ in another language.”

“Wow. I like it.”

“HALLOOOOOOOOO!!” Turquoise and Erinite dove to the side of both of them.

“Hi Turquoise!” Alex said, grinning mischievously. “Lost already?”

“In your dreams,” Turquoise snorted, then looked down at the ground. “Rock shaking avalanches! Look!”

Below them, the fog had parted. The sun was setting, and it cast a gold fiery glow on the untouched snow below it. Multicolored prisms flashed up at them. Every shadow cast by a snowdrift was a million shades of blue, from royal blue to sky blue.

“Welcome to the PHANTOMDRAGON KINGDOM,” Aether said, smiling. “Where I live on a daily basis.”

“What are those?” Alex pointed off to the distance, where they were headed. As they got closer, Turquoise saw that they were a group of weird animals—some type of fat bird. They were black and white, and waddled on two legs. Their wings were so small, they looked more like arms, and Turquoise thought that they must be flightless. They honked loudly, waddling away from the riders and their dragons as they approached, then swooped past. Both Turquoise and Alex kept looking back over their shoulders at the strange avians.

“Those are PENGUINS,” Aether said. “They poop EVERYWHERE, but they’re really cute if you see them YOUNG. They’re flightless, but INCREDIBLY good swimmers, and they eat FISH. They travel around in LARGE groups, wherever the food is most plentiful. They are REALLY fun to watch, because they slide on the ice BELLY-FIRST.”

“They’re SOO CUUUUTEE,” Erinite said. “Eeeeeeeeee look at that little tiny penguin! It’s so FLUFFY!”

Aether grinned at her.

Alex shook his head. “Sometimes it baffles me what weird animals we have on the Surface.”

Turquoise nodded, and they flew in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the scenery. Erinite kept staring at every penguin they passed by.

“So, Aether,” Turquoise ventured. “Where did you live before you found us?”

“I lived in an IGLOO, an icehouse. They are easy to build, and well insulated—although oddly shaped like a DOME.”

“Cool!” Erinite said. “Um, no pun intended.”

They all laughed.

Aether did a barrel roll through a cloud, then came back up. “So where EXACTLY are we headed? I PROBABLY should’ve asked this question before I joined your team, but I LIKE you guys.”

Turquoise smiled. “It’s okay, Aether. We’re headed to the Trade Island, if you’ve ever heard of it.”

Aether’s face darkened. “Do I KNOW of THAT place. It’s where all the thieves, murderers, cheaters, fake merchants, assassins, and who KNOWS what else like to congregate. You’ll be CAREFUL going there, and beware of WHO you TALK to. You never know if they’re lying to your face, trying to get a cheap deal out of you, or just messing with you.”

Turquoise shuddered. “Why does Pathtalon want to go there?”

Aether looked at her. “Wait. PATHTALON?”

Alex exchanged looks with Turquoise. “Yes,” he answered, looking slightly confused. “Pathtalon. We introduced him to you…”

“Oh.” Aether looked slightly embarrassed. “It’s a little HARD for me to remember details, or stay on TOPIC. I don’t remember hearing HIS name.”

“I feel the same,” Erinite said. “But do you know Pathtalon or something?”

Aether nodded. “It was part of the PhantomDragon gossip a long time ago: the runaway prince, who SHUNNED his father’s ways.”

“I thought he just spoke human,” Turquoise said.

Aether shook her head. “No. You SEE, the SpineDragon way is COMPLETE chaos, violence, and entertainment. SpineDragons kill for FUN. Newcomer? DEAD. Furry animal they’ve never seen before? DEAD. Humans? DEFINITELY dead. Most of the time, they don’t even EAT their victims—they toss them to the Boneva. THAT’S why the SpineDragon Kingdom STRUGGLES with food. Their claws are so SHARP, they kill any plant life just by STEPPING on it. The dirt is SCRAPED away, replaced by stone and gravel. It makes for GREAT mining conditions, but not really a place for LIVING. But it’s their own fault, the ROCKHEADS.”

Turquoise stared at the ground for a minute. She almost felt sorry for the SpineDragons, despite all the times they tried to capture and kill her. No wonder Pathtalon ran away. Maybe when the war was over, and Zaerux was gone, they could all of fix that.

“Do you know what types of dragons we might face on Trade Island?” Turquoise asked.

“There is ONE good thing about it,” Aether replied. “Dragons and humans live in HARMONY there, buying, trading, stealing, and selling together. You might find a human selling a DRAGON piece of armor, or a DRAGON selling a HUMAN sword. There is ONE language there, a sort of MIXTURE between dragon in human. You guys will fit RIGHT in—you CONSTANTLY say words in human between your dragon sentences.”

Turquoise and Alex looked at each other. “I think it’s because we’re still learning dragon, so we substitute human words for dragon vocabulary. Some dragon words are hard to say, since our tongues aren’t made for speaking dragon words,” Turquoise said slowly. “Sorry if we’ve been inconveniencing you.” She paused. “Jeez, I sound like Sapphire.”

Alex grinned. “She does say words like that, doesn’t she? The other day, she said ‘floccinaucinihilipilification’, and I had to ask her how to spell it, and what it means, and how to say it in dragon.”

“How did she SAY it in a SENTENCE?” Aether asked, looking perplexed.

“She said, ‘the StealthDragons have floccinaucinihilipilification towards us.’ It means to consider something useless, apparently.”

Turquoise and Erinite looked at each other, then at Alex. “How—what—I don’t think I’ll ever use that word. What, did she inhale a dictionary?” Turquoise sputtered.

Alex nodded. “She did, in fact.”

Turquoise grinned. That sounded exactly like something her friend would do. Even when they were walking through the Barren Wasteland together, she never ceased to use extensive vocabulary.

Suddenly, a blur of white shot past them. Jade and CloudWing whooped loudly, then slowed down to point at the cliffs below them, which dropped suddenly. Erinite and Turquoise gasped.

The ocean.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Sapphire had told Turquoise about several books she had read about it, but none of them prepared her for the actual thing. Untamed, unwavering, unknown. It stretched on forever, as far as Turquoise could see and beyond. Hisss, Shhhh…..Hisss, Shhhh…..each wave hitting the cliffs was like a message to Turquoise. She could tell that there were many secrets hiding beneath the blue waters. Even an artist like Sapphire couldn’t draw something like this perfectly.

As they got closer, the smell of salt crept up Turquoise’s nose, and the spray hit her feet.

Erinite dove to the waves, skimming them and then coming back up.

“Look!” Andy called, pointing from on top of Pathtalon. Everyone looked, and Turquoise saw a hazy stretch of land in the distance. Trade Island! Everyone flew towards their destination with renewed determination.

After a few minutes, Turquoise could tell it was going to take them a while to get there. Terrarestria still looked very close, and Trade Island didn’t look any closer. However, as they flew on, Turquoise could see human ships sailing away and towards the island, some with fish, others with boxes of goods.

Turquoise didn’t know how much time passed before they were closing in on the docks, but it felt like forever. She was itching to explore the marketplace and see what it was like. She and Alex landed first, hopping off and waiting for the others. once they were all on the dock, Alex was practically hopping up and down. He looked like someone who was waiting to open their birthday presents.

“Eager to die?” Turquoise teased.

Alex grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. “Actually, I was hoping that Aether and I could find a fox here.”

Aether nodded. “We might. They sell all kinds of stuff here.” She eyes the nearest fisherman suspiciously, as if he were a thief in disguise.

“We don’t have anything to barter,” Pyrite said, looking worried. “How will we get anything?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Sapphire replied. She opened her satchel and rummaged through it. She pulled out the moose trophy and handed it to Pyrite. She took it, looking surprised with how heavy it was.

“That will get you some money,” Sapphire said.

“Can I have a moose head?” Alex asked.

“You get the wooden box.” Sapphire handed him a beautiful trinket made out of red and golden-brown wood. It had a gold clasp that looked like real gold, along with some dragon carvings on the lid.

“We can grow some glowcrystals, too,” Erinite offered. Tanzanite nodded, and they both concentrated. Soon, rainbow spheres that put off light popped out of the ground, along with quite aa few gems and minerals. They passed these around.

“It’s always nice to have a treasure magnet at your side,” Alex said.

“Don’t lose any of it,” Andy warned.

“Alright,” Jade said. “I’ve been trying to come up with a plan, and here’s what I’ve got: Turquoise, Alex, and Andy go one way, along with Aether, Pathtalon, and Erinite. Pyrite, Sapphire, and I go the other way, along with CloudWing, Shadowstar, Tanzanite, and Roewyn and Carrion to search for food. Does that sound fair?”

Everyone nodded.

Alex raised his hand. “What will we do?”

“Search for any information you can about the Jungleswamp, BloodDragons, and ForestDragons,” Pyrite said. “Try not to anger any serial killers or pirates, please. And no stealing!”

“Aww,” Alex said. They all grinned.

“We rendezvous in the middle of the island. CloudWing says there’s a well there,” Jade said. “See you guys there!”

As the others went off, Alex led the way into the other direction.

“Woah, Alex!” Andy called. “Stay with us. We do not want to get separated here.”

Pathtalon nodded. “Alex, you said you were looking for a fox?”

Both Aether and Alex looked towards him.

“I think I know where we can find one,” Pathtalon said. “He comes around here a lot, and doesn’t sell his goods at a very high price. Follow me.”

Everyone followed Pathtalon as he led the way to a booth on the far side of the market from where they had previously been standing. As they passed, marketers called out to them.

“Get your exotic weapons here!”

“Don’t listen to that llama turd, his weapons are always dull! Come to my place instead, where you can sharpen your blades with this very special magic rock!”

“Oh yeah, well—” and so went most of the shouted advertisements. Turquoise found herself disliking the place the longer she stayed. Weren’t they supposed to find information, not get a fox?

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“Here he is.” Pathtalon gestured to the booth nearest to them. There were several customers in front of them, so they went to the back of the line. Turquoise noticed both dragons and humans in the line, eyeing each other. She couldn’t see the owner of the booth.

Aether growled. “I don’t like the LOOK of this place.” It was hard to tell where she was looking with her pure white eyes, but Turquoise was pretty sure that she was watching a few dragons to the side, who seemed to be exchanging money form under cloaks that hid their faces.

“NEXT!” A deep voice called in front of them, and the line moved ahead. Their group was next in line, with nobody behind them.

Soon, there was another “NEXT!” and they were at the table.

“Rey,” Pathtalon said.

“Pathtalon,” the other dragon acknowledged with a grunt. He was a StealthDragon, which stirred some resentment in Turquoise’s gut. His eye darted back and forth from place to place, calculating, deciding, and seeming to note different details. His large claws clicked on the booth table. His entire body was covered in nasty scars, and where his wings should have been was a mangled mess of skin. He had one eye patch on is left eye, which made him look more intimidating.

“We’re looking for a fox,” Pathtalon said. “Any kind will do. Do you have any in stock?”

“Hmm.” Rey ducked behind the table. “Is there anything else I could interest you in? You seem like a respectable group. You there, young lady!” He pointed to Turquoise. “See if this fits you.”

Before anyone could object, Rey placed a human-sized helmet on her head. It fit perfectly, and was quite snug and comfortable, with lots of oxygen.

“Um, no thank—” Turquoise started to say, but Rey seemed to have lost interest.

“You there!” He gestured to Andy. “Here, try these on.” He shoved a pair of normal-looking boots into Andy’s arms.

“Wait, but—”

“Rey.” Pathtalon tapped his claws on the table. “Do you have a fox?”

Rey shook his head. “No, but I do have—”

“Then we’re done here.” Pathtalon raised his snout slightly. “Unless…”

Rey seemed eager to continue haggling. “Yes?”

“Do you have any information on where the ForestDragons are?”

Rey roared with laughter. “ForestDragons? No one has seen those in hundreds of years!” He laughed again. “But if you were to find them, they’d be in the Jungleswamp, in the top of the canopies, which are hard to get to. But beware—venomous snakes, carnivorous plants, and quicksand all block your path!”

Pathtalon nodded. “Thank you, Rey. Let’s go, guys.”

They all turned to go.

“Wait,” Rey called. “I need my—”

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a roar from the other side of the market. People and dragons ran screaming away from whatever it was. Lightning hit the sky from the ground, and the wind picked up.

“CloudWing!” Alex cried. All the humans got on their respectable dragons and ran towards the commotion.

“WAIT!” Rey called again. “I need—”

He was cut off by the screaming people and dragons.

Too late, Turquoise realized she still had the helmet on. she reached to pull it off, but the visor snapped shut on its own.

That’s funny, she thought, confused.

“What is funny?” A voice asked. Turquoise turned around on Erinite’s back, but no one was there. She felt like it has spoken directly into her ear.

“W-what?” she stammered. It was getting harder to concentrate with all of the noise.

“What what?” the voice asked. “Hello? Who is this?” It sounded like an older, surly gentleman talking in her head.

“Turquoise…” Now she was getting more and more confused. She could barely hear her own voice, and the jostling was quickly turning into a stampede. Erinite took to the sky, but Turquoise realized they had become separated from their small group.

“Turquoise,” the voice murmured. “A gemstone with a beautiful blue hue. I love turquoise. You are not turquoise.”

Yes, I am! Turquoise thought. Now shut up so I can find my friends!

“Ooooh, feisty little whippersnapper, are you? Heh. Well, Turquoise, YOU were the one who put me on your head, might I remind you, missy. It is rude to disrespect your elders. Who taught you your manners, anyway?”

‘Put me on your head’? What does that mean? Turquoise was starting to get dizzy. She thought she saw their friends on the ground, blurred, gathered in a circle, but her mind wouldn’t respond. The voice speaking to her drowned out all the noise, making it sound far away and insignificant. What was she doing again?

“Oh, my,” the voice said. It was so gentle. “You are confused. I can see deep into your soul, young one. You miss your mother, and want revenge on your enemies. You care for your brother, but regret not spending enough time with him. You are worried that you won’t reach your destination. You are scared, drowning in a lifetime of worries and cares but trying to cover it with happiness. I can help you, Turquoise. I will be your guide. Go, save your friends.”

Suddenly, her mind cleared. In fact, it didn’t just clear—Turquoise felt more confident, more sure of herself.

“Erinite!” She said, her voice slightly muffled by the visor. “There!”

They dove towards Turquoise’s friends. As they got closer, Turquoise realized something with a sinking heart. “The dragons are chained!”

CloudWing, Roewyn, Carrion, Tanzanite, and Shadowstar all had muzzles and were chained together. Pathtalon, Aether, Andy, and Alex were nowhere in sight. The dragon’s powers seemed to be blocked by the chains somehow.

It was up to Turquoise.

Erinite roared and swooped down to the ground. Turquoise saw the captor of her friends, a large fisherman about seven feet tall and big, rippling muscles. He was wrapping chains around Jade, Pyrite, and Sapphire.

Without even hesitating, Turquoise rolled off of Erinite and came up running. She grabbed a nearby sword sticking out of a box and charged the fisherman.

He turned around and laughed. “A little dainty princess thinks she can put on a helmet and take on a giant?” he mocked. He drew his own sword, smirking.

Out of the corner of her eye, Turquoise saw Erinite freeing the other dragons, but Turquoise couldn’t help her now. She didn’t know what she was thinking to charge the fisherman, but somehow she knew she was going to win.

“That’s right,” the voice said. “Feint to the ground, like you’re going to strike low and try to sweep him off of his feet. Then aim higher instead, and disarm him.”

Turquoise followed his commands and crouched slightly while running, pointing her sword down. The fisherman laughed again.

Then, it happened in slow motion. Turquoise reached her target, but she flicked her sword upwards at the last moment. The blade, along with all of her momentum, hit his hilt—sending the sword crashing out of his hand. Turquoise halted and pointed her sword at his chest, not even out of breath.

Pyrite, Sapphire, and Jade whooped.

“Nicely done, nicely done,” the voice complimented. “Couldn’t have done it better myself. You’re a good listener, Turquoise.”

The fisherman raised both hands into the air, crossing his eyes to look at her sword point. “W-what are you going to do?”

Erinite had freed all the dragons, and trotted over to the humans.

“We’re going to leave,” Turquoise said calmly. “You won’t follow us, and we won’t bother you ever again. Deal?”

“Deal,” the fisherman said. He slowly got to his feet, trembling.

Just then, Alex and Andy ran into the scene, gasping for air like beached whales.

“Did…we…miss…anything?” Alex panted. He was holding a cage covered in a cloth so Turquoise couldn’t see what was in it.

“Come on,” Turquoise said, hopping on top of Erinite. The others followed.

Suddenly, a voice screamed, “THERE!”

Rey and half a dozen other dragons charged towards them, roaring.

“Escape!” the voice prodded Turquoise. “I don’t want to go back to that dragon! Fly away!”

“GIVE THEM BACK!” Rey shrieked. “THEY’RE MIIINE!!” He reared on his back feet and tried to claw at them, snarling, but it didn’t help.

They were already in the sky.