The last week had been a blur. When Violet had appeared back in Vallo, she didnât remember anything of the forests and mountains before. Neither had Tairn and Andarna, but their collective annoyances had been based on their own missing memories rather than Violet having been gone, so at least it seemed like they had been together when theyâd been gone.
Tairn had opted to stay behind for this patrol, leaving her with Andarna as they traveled through the forest. People were trying to figure out how to get the portal beast back to itâs proper place and Violet had signed up for extra shifts to keep herself busy. She was already planning on exploring with Andarna - why not make herself useful at the same time?
They walked a standard path now, with Andarna fly-hopping her way through the underbrush, chasing creatures as they were startled out of their hiding spaces. âI love this place. There are so many things to do.â Her sweet voice was so excited as she gave another pouce, and Violet laughed. This was one of the few upsides to it, that Andarna got a little more freedom and much less worry about them being hunted down, but--
Violet and Tairn missed their people too much to really settle. Things still felt unfinished and Tairn was crankier than ever without Sgaeyl. Violet understood that, and felt his pain on a daily basis even if he tried to shield her from it.
âJust donât jump in poison-â Before she could finish that warning, her phone pinged with a new arrival marker and Violet looked down at it. âHey, thatâs close. Letâs go freak them out with a dragon greeting.â That was only a half-joke, she didnât really want to immediately send someone screaming, but the idea was amusing enough in her head.
It only took a few minutes for them to arrive to the designated spot, and Violet stopped mid-crunch of a stick. She froze. âViolet? Whatâs wrong?â Andarna was at her side in an instant, blended into the thick forest lush with her black and green scales. Violet reached out to steady herself on Andarnaâs side before so hesitantly speaking. She felt insane in this moment, like she was seeing a ghost. âLiam?â
Deigh was dying. Liam felt it the moment it happenedâa searing hot passing through him like the length of a blade. He watched Deigh careen toward the ground, no longer able to keep himself airborne, and his heart felt like it was breaking, too. All he could think about was getting close to his dragon, being with his dragon. It was all he could do to stay conscious, to keep himself moving until he could get to Deigh.
He knew they would die together. There was no other way around it. Dragons could sometimes survive their ridersâ deaths, but no rider could survive without their bonded dragon. He hadnât expected it to happen like thisâso early, not even a full year through the quadrantâbut he had no regrets.
His eyes fell closed, and when he opened them again, the pain was gone. The sun shone above him, and he blinked against its light before pushing himself to his feet. It didnât take him long to decipher that his surroundings were an unfamiliar forest. Nothing was the sameâno dragons, Xaden, Violet, Imogen, or the rest. The venin and wyvern were also gone; there were no signs that a battle had raged here at all. He should probably be grateful for that, but it only made him more suspicious.
Heâd barely gotten to his feet, raising a hand to brush a few little leaves and flower petals from his hair when he heard someone else nearing, crunching a stick as they approached. His head whipped toward the noise, then the voice, and he immediately lit up, thrilled and relieved at the face that greeted him.
âViolet!â he called out, striding forward to close their distance. It wasnât until he got closer that he noticed how pale and stricken she looked and quickly demanded, âWhatâs wrong?â
She blinked. And then again. And then, to Andarna, Violet whispered, âHeâs real, right?â
Because she couldnât believe it. Her brain didnât know how to comprehend this, even if this world had already shown her dozens of strange magic and miracles sheâd never expected to see. Fuck, even the little item in her pocket was one of those. Andarna understood, at least, because she was so sweet and soft as she leaned into Violetâs side and nudged her. âHeâs real. Go on.â
That was all it took before Violet moved quickly and launched herself into Liamâs arms. It felt like no time at all had passed and forever all at once. He was here, and he was alive, solid, right there and she didnât know how to comprehend any of this. She didnât want to pull away to look at him but she had a dozen questions. âAre you okay?â
Liam hadnât clocked the dragon beside her until she turned to address them, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. That black dragon was much too small to be Tairn, and last heâd seen Andarna, sheâd been gold and feathertailed. He opened his mouth to ask if Violet had somehow bonded a third dragon that he hadnât been aware of, but before he could, she jumped him. He let out a laugh and wrapped his arms around her firmly, letting all the confusion fade out of him.
âIâm okay,â he confirmed. He was quiet for a moment as he tried to reach out to Deigh and realized that connection was missing. The pain was gone, but there was an emptiness in its place where his dragon had once been. âDeigh? Is he okay? I thoughtâŚâ He trailed off, unable to say it. Maybe it wasnât true.
Oh, fuck. How was Violet supposed to tell him anything? So much had happened since Liam and she didnât know how to get out of any of it. How many people they had lost after Liam, Xaden.
She just wanted to lean against him and never let him go, instead of going into all of that. But he deserved the truth about Deigh, just as Violet would have wanted to know about Tairn. She remembered the days of showing up without them and how empty and cold it felt. Violet just shook her head against his chest. âWhen I first got here, neither Tairn or Andarna were here either. It took Tairn a few days to catch up and Andarna even longer but-â
Okay, she had to stop mumbling into his chest; it was just getting weird now. Violet leaned away to look up at him. âThis place is weird. Unpredictable. I guess the magic of it is how we can survive without our dragons here.â
Violet may have leaned away, but Liam didnât let her go. He had protected her for so long, and that wasnât going to change nowâeven if it sounded like sheâd beat him here by a stretch. He didnât know this place, and he didnât trust it. Violetâs reassurance helped, but it wouldnât easily quell his worries.
It was nice to know Deigh could still show up, though. Alive, hopefully. And he was alive, too, which he had been sure not ten minutes ago he wouldnât be. He would give whatever this place was credit for that.
âDid you bond another one?â he asked, nodding toward the black and green-tinted dragon sitting a few feet back from them.
âWhat?â Violet was confused by the question, and only partly because she was still there being held by Liam and it was comforting. She hadnât had a lot of hugs, especially recently, and in some ways had just felt so alone here, even making friends.
Liam of all people just made her heart swell. How much she had missed him, how quickly heâd made an impact on her life in just a matter of months. The guilt she went through and-
Oh, shit, heâd asked her a question. Violet had to shake out her thoughts and strained to look back at Andarna. Heâd missed that too. âFuck. No. Sorry. Thatâs- Thatâs Andarna, Liam. Sheâs, uh, very special?â At that, Andarna preened and fluffed her scales so that they took on her standard black and purple iridescent sheen.
Liamâs eyebrows shot up as Andarnaâthis was Andarnaâstraightened up to show off her scales. She was beautiful but didnât look a damn thing like when heâd last seen her or, really, like any other dragon heâd seen. Tairn was black in color, but he didnât have that underlying sheen like she did.
âWow.â He finally loosened his grip on Violet while he stared at her dragon. He noticed that her tail had changed and briefly met her eyes before he realized what he was doing and averted his gaze respectfully. âWhen did that happen?â
Andarna was still showing off and Violet couldnât help but laugh at the preening. It was good to laugh instead of fall on the opposite end and cry all over Liamâs chest, even if the emotion she currently felt was trapped in her chest. âUh, recently, I guess. She used a lot of power and it accelerated things pretty fast.â
It was hard to tell this story while leaving big parts of it out, and Violetâs smile fell away again, so quickly. She swallowed that lump in her throat. How was she supposed to do this? âDo you remember asking me to look out for Sloane?â
Liam couldnât help smiling at Andarnaâs preening, too. She was awfully pretty, and it was very clear she knew that. He was glad to see she was doing well; heâd seen much less of her around Basgiath than heâd seen of Tairn, and she was infinitely less terrifying, especially in this happy mood of hers.
His gaze shifted back to Violet when he heard his sisterâs name, though. His expression turned somber â there it was, the confirmation that what heâd just come from wasnât some strange dream he couldnât escape. He did smile, though it wasnât meeting his eyes like it usually would.
âI remember.â He nodded. âIs this a sitting-down kind of talk, or should we walk? You know your way around, right?â
Violet was both glad he understood and sad all at once. She didnât have to explain fully, which would just break her heart all over again, but Liam knowing already broke her heart in the same way. Fuck. She could steel herself against it, and be strong for him.
So she looped her arm in his, because she had no desire to let him go so soon. To Andarna, âGo fly ahead, weâll be fine.â Andarna huffed in return, but took off - her wings were strong enough to carry herself into the sky (a little wobbly, but Violet was very careful not to think about that), though she didnât go far. âI will stay close to protect you.â
With a little shake of her head, Violet started the path theyâd take to the DOA office. âI should bring you in so we can get you a communication device, some money, and a place to live. But we can walk it. Do you want to hear about Sloane first or other things?â
Liam accepted everything she said with a nod. He had no idea what she meant by communication device or where sheâd bring him in, but he trusted Violet implicitly. He didnât trust this placeâwhatever or wherever it wasâbut he could take that in stride if Violet wasn't suspicious.
âLetâs start with Sloane,â he said, falling into step beside her. He could stand some happy news, and it had been a year since heâd last seen his sister. The other things, and all the complications that came with them, would be there later.