“Even if you feel better, immediately getting up and walking around after that can’t be good for your health!” Colette scolded. “That goes for both of you. Malori, you can barely stand. Adonis, you just coughed up a lung,” she glanced down at the mess she had begun to clean up. “That might not even be an exaggeration.”

Malori wanted to argue, but didn’t have the strength to. Almost the moment it was clear that Adonis was no longer in any danger, Colette scooped Malori up and placed her on a nearby armchair, draping a blanket across her. Obviously she couldn't exactly stop the Archmage, but being hoisted up in a princess carry so suddenly had almost caused what few active brain cells she had left to shut down completely. Exhaustion didn’t even begin to cover how she felt. The mere thought of even adjusting one of her limbs or muscles was enough to make her want to wail in despair, if that wouldn’t have been more effort. Colette had taken great care to make sure she was in a comfortable position with her back and neck supported, which she couldn’t have been more thankful for.

Adonis seemed more bewildered than anything. If the amount of dried and drying blood on their chest and bedding was at all a bother to them, they certainly didn’t show it. They hadn’t said a word since their initial observation, though there was an attempt to get up from bed. They continued to press a hand to their chest, each breath taken looking deep and almost overexaggerated. With each one, they looked a little more taken aback, like if they took one too many, their lungs would go right back to being the decayed mess they had been before.

“Gods, you’re both insistent on giving me a heart attack, aren’t you,” Colette sighed, wiping the sweat from her forehead as she finally finished scrubbing the blood from the floor. Malori wondered why she hadn’t used magic to at least assist her, but there were more pressing questions at the moment. Like what questions the Archmage was inevitably going to ask her. “I’m just… happy that both of you are okay.”

There was so much relief in her voice it was almost infectious. Malori could have mistaken her for the one with breathing problems just from the sheer size of the breath she let out. Adonis managed to give her a weak smile. It was probably meant to be comforting, but given their current state, it looked anything but. Nevertheless, she dropped the sponge into the bucket of water she had been using and went to Adonis’s side.

“You really have no trouble breathing? Any at all?” she asked quietly, enough worry to kill an elephant in her eyes.

Adonis took another breath, deeply in through their nose, then out through their mouth. They shook their head. “I don’t even know how to describe it. There’s no pain in my chest. I don’t have to strain to get a singular breath.” they said in awe. Their voice was still strained and raspy, but significantly less than it had been when Malori first met the human. One more breath. “I never knew air could feel so… clear.”

“This is clear to you?” Colette smiled. “You’re in a stuffy room with two other people, no open windows, and filled with the scent of… of soap…”

Malori furrowed her brow. The other woman put a hand to her mouth as she trailed off. Her shoulders spasmed in a sob. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she fell to her knees, supporting herself on the bed.

“Adonis, I thought you were going to die,” she choked out, clearly holding back a full meltdown as she gently took their other hand. “I didn’t know what to do. I’m supposed to be the most powerful mage in the country, and I couldn’t do a thing.”

Slowly, as to not upset her, Adonis pulled Colette into a hug. “I didn’t really know what was happening. I was barely conscious. I just knew everything hurt, and I couldn’t breathe. Then…” they squeezed Colette tighter. “I’m sorry I scared you like that. I never meant to.”

“Don’t apologize. Please don’t apologize. I know you didn’t mean to. Like I said, I’m just so happy that you’re okay,” she sobbed.

“I didn’t know you were friends with a miracle worker,” Adonis mused, glancing at Malori and earning a blush from her.

“If I’m being completely honest, I didn’t know either,” she laughed through the tears. “She is rather incredible though, isn’t she?”

Malori squirmed in her seat, unsure for the hundredth time how to react to such praise. “I-I couldn’t just do nothing…” she murmured, finally finding the strength to move her mouth and speak. “I’m sure Colette would have d-done the same.”

The Archmage seemed taken aback for a moment, wiping away some of the tears. Releasing the embrace with Adonis, she stood up and approached Malori, sitting on the edge of the chair to put a comforting hand on her leg. “Malori, it doesn’t matter if I would have done it. You did do it. You shouldn’t take away from that.”

“She’s right, you know,” Adonis grinned gently. “I’m… alive, because of you. It doesn’t particularly matter if anyone else could have. They’re not here right now. You are.”

The little esper stared down at her lap, trying not to show how flustered she was. The two of them shouldn’t have been acting like this. She was glad Adonis was alright of course, but surely this was too much? Why was Colette focusing on comforting her instead of interrogating her? There had to be questions. Why weren’t those taking priority?

She was pulled from her thoughts by the sudden sensation of the woman’s arms wrapping around her, pulling her as close as she’d pulled Adonis.

“My friend is still here because of you,” she said softly. “That feeling of looking down at someone you care about more than you have the words for, and thinking–no, knowing–that you can’t do anything to help them? The thought that this is going to be the last time you ever see them? That helplessness… I don’t even know how to describe how horrible it was. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Malori, before you saved Adonis, you asked me to trust you.”

The two of them separated from the embrace. Malori blinked in utter disbelief as she looked into those thoughtful eyes. She didn’t even need to read Colette’s emotions with her abilities. Everything was painted right there, plain as day. The fear, joy, care, relief, gratitude, it was all right there, like words on a page.

“I trust you, Malori. I still do, and will continue to,” the sheer determination in her words seemed almost out of place in how gently she spoke. “Isn’t that what friends are for?”

They were such simple words. Words she’d read millions of times. Words she’d imagined even more. To hear them spoken so earnestly, it broke the dam that had been holding back a flood of tears she wasn’t even aware of. She didn’t know what Colette’s expression was as she buried her face in the Archmage’s shirt, tears pouring out more heavily than she thought possible as she cried out. Despite the sudden outburst, Colette pulled her in, gently patting her back as she held her. Malori squeezed tighter, as if letting up even a little bit would cause the woman to vanish into thin air.

“It’s okay, Malori,” she soothed. “It’s okay, I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to stay.”

Her grip only tightened at the calming words. When she felt Colette’s hand start gently running through her hair, it just made her cry harder. For some reason, her wailing sounded so muted, while her friend’s voice was as crisp and clear as a mountain stream. Another set of arms wrapped around her, from next to her this time.

“Adonis…” Colette grumbled.

“I know,” they assured her. “I think that this is worth it though.”

The Archmage sighed, but somehow, Malori knew she was smiling. Both of them continued to hold her, patiently comforting her as she let out all of the overwhelming emotions that had pent up for so long. Every time she thought she was finally beginning to calm down, she’d realize her situation, and the tears would start flowing again. This was real. Right? That had actually just happened. It wasn’t a daydream, or a hallucination.

A headache began to pulse through her skull with every sob, but the pain felt like it was barely present. Like she was hearing about someone else having one, not experiencing it herself. As the time passed, the tears finally began to dry. Less from a space of actually having calmed down, and more from a complete lack of energy. There were few things as draining as crying, and even fewer as cathartic. She didn’t let go of Adonis or Colette. She didn’t want to. She could have stayed like this forever.

“I’m going to clean myself off,” Adonis rasped, ever so slowly removing themself from the embrace after one last comforting squeeze. “None of it got on you, but it is starting to get to me a little bit.”

“Please make sure the water is hot? The steam is good for your throat.”

“I know. I’ll be careful not to overdo it too,” the chuckled happily. “You know where everything is. I know you’ll take care of her.”

Colette didn’t say anything. Malori felt her hug tighten ever so slightly though. As Adonis’s uneven steps left the room, Malori slowly lifted her head for the first time in what felt like it could have been years. She must have looked like a complete mess. She could feel the tear stains on her cheeks, and could only imagine what sort of facial expression she was making. A large wet stain was clearly visible on Colette’s jacket. Malori felt her cheeks get hot as she desperately prayed she hadn’t accidentally blown her nose or something without realizing it. It didn’t seem to bother her though.

Admittedly, she hadn’t expected to see tears in Colette’s eyes too. Small tracks were painted down her cheeks where they had been falling silently. Had she been crying the whole time as well? It took everything in Malori’s power to keep herself from starting all over again. Her exhaustion actually worked in her favor for once. She closed her eyes, resting her head on Colette’s chest. The rhythmic beating of her heart gave her something to focus on other than her own feelings.

“I’m sorry,” her voice was barely a whisper.

“Malori, what could you possibly apologize for?”

Her throat felt tight. “You had to deal with… m-me, breaking down like this. That shouldn’t have been y-you and Adonis’s problem.”

She could feel the other esper’s chest contract as she let out a long sigh. It didn’t sound exasperated or annoyed, strangely enough. It just sounded concerned.

“That’s not something you need to apologize for. I wouldn’t be a very good friend if we laughed together while you cried alone,” she soothed.

Malori’s chest felt tight again. “Why are you so insistent on b-being my friend?” there was a touch of desperation in her own voice that she wished wasn’t there.

“I already told you. I don’t think I really have a reason. It just felt right.”

There was a beat of silence.

“Th-that doesn’t happen to me.”

“What do you mean?”

She sunk deeper into Colette’s embrace. “People don’t interact with me unless they want something from me.”

“Malori…”

“I just–I don’t know how to f-feel about it. It’s alien to me. What about me is worth spending time with? I’m just a silly girl who doesn’t know what she’s doing. All I ever do is drag others down with me. What could anyone possibly–”

“Malori.”

She snapped out of the downward spiral. It was more firm than she was used to Colette sounding, but without the underlying annoyance that had been there when interrupting Alice. She glanced up at her, silent.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” Colette assured her. “But I couldn’t stand hearing someone say such things about someone I care about.”

Malori averted her eyes. She felt small.

“I-I don’t know what else to think.”

“I know.”

“I’m sorry for saying that.”

“It’s alright.”

“I’m sorry for lying.”

“It’s alright.”

“I’m sorry for apologizing for everything.”

“Apologizing seems to make you feel better. You can apologize as many times as you need, Malori. I’ll be ready to forgive you every single time.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. Why did she have to say things like that? Any more would make her start crying again. “You p-probably have questions about everything.”

“Well, that kind of goes without saying. There are more than I can count.”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Why haven’t you a-asked any of them?”

“Because you haven’t said you’re ready for them yet.”

Tears pricked at the corners of Malori’s eyes. “You aren’t fair.”

“I’m sorry.”

Now Colette was apologizing to her. What a mess of a situation she’d made for herself. She didn’t even know what to say next. She just wanted to let more time pass until Adonis came back and they could ask the original questions they’d come to ask in the first place. Hopefully they hadn’t kept Ingrid and the others waiting for too long. Time as a whole was very blurry after spending that much energy both healing Adonis and crying her eyes out. Colette didn’t seem to mind her staying there. Every little stroke of the woman’s fingers through her hair made her feel a little bit more calm. A little bit safer. Despite everything, she still couldn’t bring herself to fully trust Colette. If she was really going this far for her, then maybe it would be nice to be proven wrong. It certainly wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world. She felt… happier, here. She dared to let herself feel the slightest bit of hope that all of it was real.

“Ice with irregular properties…” Adonis murmured, deep in thought. Once Malori had fully calmed down and Adonis had cleaned up, Colette informed them of why they had come in the first place. As usual, the young human was happy to accommodate, especially after what had just occurred. They still walked using their crutch, but their steps didn’t seem as labored as the first time Malori saw them. They scanned the bookshelf before removing one and flipping it open. “There are plenty of different potential causes. I suppose I should ask where exactly these friends of yours are?”

Malori bit her lip. Were they allowed to tell Adonis about what they were doing? Colette hadn’t exactly gone over that with her beforehand.

“They’re in Reach,” Colette said boldly. “They just recently entered the region, and mentioned a mountain being practically covered in ice such as that.”

Adonis didn’t seem too bothered by the declaration, just nodded and continued flipping through the book. “I have a… preliminary guess. I’m not sure if you’ll like it though,” they admitted.

“W-What is it?” Malori almost didn’t want to know, but her curiosity got the better of her.

“Well, there’s a creature known for having ice form out of pretty much nowhere for miles around it. If the ice is localized to the mountain, then they likely haven’t been there for very long,” they started, moving to show the two women the page. “Big enough dragons, after making their lair, start to have a direct effect on the environment around them. Ice that refuses to melt sounds very similar to an ice dragon. Not to mention, they tend to prefer building their lairs in caves dug into the mountains. Think of it as something like an ant hill with all of the tunnels and chambers.”

Malori’s heart sank. Her mouth felt even dryer than it had before. An ice dragon? Would those four really be able to get out of a fight like that unscathed? Panic began to set in as she thought of them being frozen and eaten by an enormous beast like that. This time, she wouldn’t even be there to heal them if they were severely injured. The best course of action would likely be to inform the group and tell them to try and find a different way to examine the Dark Zone. How were they supposed to do anything with it there? Even worse, how would they even get it to leave?

A comforting hand found itself on her shoulder, almost immediately helping her relax slightly. She turned around to see Colette.

“You’re worried about them, aren’t you?”

Malori stared at the ground, clutching her skirt to try and relieve some of the tension. She nodded, not wanting to give a full answer.

The Archmage let out a long, concerned sigh. “We should let them know right away. We can work together and get a plan ready for how they move forward. Running headfirst into a dragon is sure to get someone hurt.”

Obviously someone was going to get hurt. She was worried one of them was going to die. The only person with any ability to provide magical healing was Ingrid, and they hadn’t packed any healing potions that weren’t already used. Scarily enough, she wasn’t sure which was more dangerous; their fight with Berith, or what they were about to march into. She supposed she wasn’t going to be getting any sort of frame of reference. The fact that Kallen wasn’t grievously wounded, nor Natalia malnourished and exhausted did fill her with a little bit of hope, but she was still scared of what was to come.

“Y-You’re right. They need to know what they’re g-getting into. M-Maybe they can find a way to investigate without…” she trailed off. Colette squeezed her shoulder a little tighter.

“We should be heading back to the castle so we can tell them. Alice seemed very impatient. I’d rather not deal with her being even more irritated with me.”

Right, Malori certainly remembered the way Colette had cut her off so firmly. Even for someone who hadn’t known her for that long, it was easy to tell that she wasn’t happy at all with it. She’d only gotten more abrasive since arriving in Acyrgos, though it was at least a little understandable. It wasn’t exactly a good situation, and given the way Alice emphasized Ingrid making her own choices, she couldn’t have been very enthused by their capture and subsequently being ordered around like pawns. Despite all their time together, she couldn’t say she missed Alice being close. Especially with all of her prying questions.

“Um, Colette, b-before we go…” she trailed off, but her friend gave an understanding nod as she began getting up to leave. “A-Adonis?”

“Yes?”

“I-I’m going to be here for a while, and I was wondering if you’d be c-comfortable with me coming by to check on your condition. I want to make sure it doesn’t w-worsen again, and I could possibly do something about your other symptoms,” she explained, more confidently than she’d expected.

Adonis smiled. “I’d like that very much. Thank you, Malori. For everything you’ve already done as well.”

Her body felt lighter as she carefully rose out of the chair. She couldn’t even stop the smile from cracking across her face. She helped someone. They were grateful. Beyond that, they were happy. Her smile widened. She made someone happy.

“I’m happy to bring you into the city whenever you want to check on them,” Colette assured her. “Though Adonis? Please take the rest of the day off? I don’t think it would be very wise to immediately start pushing yourself when you were half dead a little over an hour ago.”

“Fine, fine,” they playfully rolled their eyes. “I meant to catch up on some reading anyways. Have a good day, you two.”

The three exchanged their goodbyes before the two espers went on their way. They exited back onto the street, Colette once more using her abilities to lock the door. While the positivity from Adonis certainly felt good, it didn’t change how exhausted Malori was. She felt like she could barely walk the short distance to the alley to teleport back to Colette’s room. As she stepped through the freshly opened portal, she immediately walked over to the cot that had been set up next to the Archmage’s bed and slumped face first into the pillow. Undoing the illusions placed on her could come later. For now she just wanted to be off her feet.

A small chuckle came from Colette as she followed behind, bringing another smile to Malori’s face. Colette’s laugh sounded nice. It was always so gentle and caring, like she was always grateful for a reason to smile. It was infectious.

“Do you want me to do the talking in the link? You look like you want to go to sleep immediately.”

Malori managed a weak nod at the offer. She needed to assist in setting up the mental link, but not having to converse sounded wonderful at the moment. Too much mental energy.

Without even looking up, she could feel Colette sit down on the side of her cot, forgoing her own bed to be closer to Malori for the link. Taking each other's hands, they established their own link before beginning to activate the Compass. Realizing the device didn’t have an actual name, Colette had been happy to let the other girl call it that. Activating it was always a strange sensation. It felt tingly, for lack of a better term. Like touching it for too long would make her arm start to go numb. Joining Colette’s mind, they pressed against it. Rather than taking a single book off of a shelf, it felt more like they were linking hands to scoop as many as they could into their grasp. Of course she’d never actually do that, they’d inevitably drop some books or damage others, and it would be hard to put them down. Maybe she needed a new way of envisioning it. The thought of damaging books gave her a pit in her stomach.

It wasn’t long until she could see the purple glow in the corner of her vision even with her face in a pillow. She turned her head to look at it as it activated. No matter how many times she saw it, it was always so pretty. Taking in her fill, she closed her eyes again, rejoining the link to her friends with Colette. The beacons they had left with each of them called out, like four guiding stars in the darkest part of the sky. Reaching out like they had so many times before, they tried to connect, but something blocked them. Assuming it was just because of exhaustion, they tried again, only with the same result.

Malori furrowed her brow. What was happening? Another attempt, another failure. Closely prodding the magic with her mind, she quickly realized why. Some sort of magical barrier had been set up. A window that they could see through, but couldn’t pass. She gulped as she continued prodding, looking for any sort of gap or crack that would allow their minds to slip through and warn them, but the wall was perfectly solid. This must have been another effect of the Dark Zones. She opened her eyes, seeing Colette struggle with it for another moment before gasping with exertion as she gave up on piercing it.

“That isn’t very good,” she panted, quickly recovering herself. “I don’t understand, it worked fine when we spoke to them last.”

A realization dawned on Malori. “They kept m-moving…”

“What?”

“It’s Alice and Kallen. Kallen is far from someone who enjoys w-waiting around doing nothing when there’s something in front of her, and Alice… Alice i-isn’t particularly fond of following orders.”

Colette grimaced, then slumped back on the cot. Malori adjusted her position so that they could at least lay down next to each other.

“That’s not good.”

Malori bit her lip. The four of them were about to go into what was potentially a fight with a dragon. An actual dragon. Surely Alice or Ingrid could realize what they were getting into beforehand, right? If not, would they be able to fight something like that without prior knowledge of potential weaknesses or ways to exploit it? She hoped they’d be okay. She had no idea if Berith was comparable to a dragon, or vice versa, but either way it was going to be incredibly dangerous. Before she knew it, her heart was beginning to race.

“Hey.”

She was pulled out of her spiral by Colette’s voice. Focusing back on reality, the woman was looking at her, concern painted on her face. She caressed Malori’s cheek with the back of one of her hands. The touch alone calmed her down a little bit.

“You’re worried about them, aren’t you.”

Worried that her voice would break if she spoke, she closed her eyes and gave a simple nod. She felt Colette scoot a little closer.

“I know the feeling well. I always worry about Ivar biting off more than he can chew. Politics aren’t exactly a fight with a dragon though,” her voice was gentle as she spoke. “All we can do right now though is have faith that they’ll be okay. I don’t know them as well as you do, or how well they can fight or escape from such a place.”

“Th-They’re very skilled in a fight,” Malori murmured, still not opening her eyes. “I suppose I still can’t help being a l-little afraid. But honestly, I’m t-terrified. I feel like any moment I’m going to start panicking because they might be about to die and—I’m sorry...”

“It’s okay, Malori. You never need to apologize for caring about those close to you.”

She relaxed a little more. “Colette? Can I a-ask you something?”

“Of course. What is it?”

She bit her lip. It felt like a strange time to ask, but she needed something to get her mind off of what those four were likely getting themselves into. “W-Why did you stop Alice earlier? And make her a-apologize?”

There was a beat of silence between them.

“I didn’t like hearing someone be so rude to someone I care about,” she sighed. “I know it’s not my place, but when I see and hear you interact with them, I can’t help but feel like they don’t treat you as kindly as they should.”

Malori’s heart skipped a beat. Such an earnest answer never failed to surprise her, no matter how many she heard. “I-I-It’s fine, r-really.”

“Malori…”

“It’s f-fine.”

“It sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself more than you’re trying to convince me.”

Even with her gentle and caring tone, the statement still felt like an emotional punch in the gut. How could she respond to that? Was she supposed to deny it? She wasn’t even certain if it was true or not.

“When we went into the city, you kept seeming so surprised with everything. Not just the new experiences, but the little things. When I’d help you up after you fell. Laughing in the cafe. Holding your hand to show you around. I know I was a new person, that’s part of why I tried to get to know you better. But every time, it seemed more like you were experiencing completely new things. You said you’ve been with them for a while now, but… Have they ever helped you when you fell down? Made you laugh? Seen you mess something up and not use it as an excuse to make fun of you?”

Malori didn’t know what to say. Even without directly reading Colette’s emotions, all that there was was concern. Her brain was screaming at her that this was a trap, that Colette was just using her, trying to drive a wedge between her and her friends. They were about to fight a dragon. They might have been about to die. This was a terrible time to start having doubts about them. The more she spoke and the more those waves of emotion radiated off of her, those screams made less and less sense. She’d been waiting so long for the other shoe to drop without ever confronting the idea that maybe it wasn’t going to. She curled in on herself, the torrent of emotions and confusion starting to overwhelm her.

“I’m sorry, that was a lo–”

“No.”

Colette stopped.

“They h-haven’t. Since the b-beginning, it feels like I’m barely more than a p-passing thought in their minds,” she admitted. “Natalia and Alice don’t like me. They’re mean, and when I screw up, u-unforgiving. Alice taunts me at e-every turn. I know it’s what she does, even with Ingrid and N-Natalia, but it doesn’t work for me. I-I don’t like being made fun of like that. They’re all things I’ve heard too many times. And Kallen barely seems to r-realize that I exist.”

The Archmage didn’t say a word, just took Malori’s hand in hers and gave it a comforting squeeze as tears began to poke at the corners of her eyes.

“The only one to give me a p-proper goodbye was Ingrid. The only one who f-felt like she was even really trying to be kind to me was Ingrid. When she and Alice confessed their love for each other, I-I was so happy for them. It was the happiest I’d seen them. But ever since then, it’s felt like Ingrid’s s-stopped trying. She was the first person I c-called my friend, and I just don’t know what to do.”

Colette squeezed her hand tighter. “It’s okay not to know,” she soothed. “Trying to navigate these things is never easy. Magic has formulas, specifications, rules on how it works. People don’t. Most people don’t know what they’re doing. I know I don’t. I mean, I came on a little strong, didn’t I? Ask Adonis or Ivar, they’ll give you the same story.”

Malori leaned her head against Colette.

“I can tell that you really do care for them, and want to be their friend. I think that’s wonderful. The amount of compassion you have has been admirable since the beginning. You shouldn’t have to forgo your own comfort or boundaries to appease others though. You’re a person too, Malori. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be loved. Just like everyone else.”

Tears started to flow more freely for the second time that day. She wasn’t ugly-crying this time, but it was still embarrassing. “I-I just want them to listen to me…”

“I know. Malori, I’m never going to tell you that you shouldn’t be friends with someone, or try to push you away from your friends. I want you to know how much I care about you though,” she assured her, once again starting to run her fingers through the other girl's hair. “Friendship should go both ways though. It’s two people caring about each other, mutually. You deserve to have that.”

“W-What should I do?” she choked.

“Talk to them. Once they finish with the Dark Zones, they’ll be coming back here. When that happens, you should tell them how you feel. Communication is more important than anything in all types of relationships. If they truly consider you a friend, and want to keep you as a friend, they’ll listen. You’ve been adamant that they’re all good people, and I trust your judgment. I’m sure they’ll be willing to talk things out.”

Malori felt Colette’s other arm wrap around her, pulling her into a hug. She reciprocated it. Already those words had merit. It went both ways.

“I think I’d l-like that.”

“If you’d like me to be there, I can be. I understand if it’s something you feel you need to do alone as well.”

“No, I think it would be b-beneficial to have you there. I feel calmer around you. I… It isn’t as l-lonely.”

“I feel better around you too, Malori,” she smiled.

Neither of them spoke any more. They continued to hold each other, not caring about the time that passed by. Malori couldn’t help but smile a little bit. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. Even thinking about such an important talk felt exhausting though. She definitely needed to wait until they were back. It was a talk that needed to be in person, and she needed to spend as much time as she could finding the right words. For once, that was okay. It wasn’t something she needed to rush. There was one thing she was completely certain of, piercing through the worry that was left about them.

They were going to fight that dragon, and they were going to win.