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The atmosphere turned thick and suffocating, thick and raw as drying clay.

Zyphrael swept his gaze over them. "Well? Does anyone have a problem?"

The loudest dissidents turned away.

"No?" he pressed.

His insistence made the first Drokai snap. "Our laws forbid this."

He paused and let her statement sink in until everyone was awaiting his answer. Then, he introduced me.

"This is Mira Hill—Brindle Grask’s pupil," Zyphrael announced.

A sharp silence sliced through Serenflora, wrapping the locals with a cloak of doubt and uncertainty. Some were elated, but others were cold and chilling. He wasn’t finished.

"If that were all, she wouldn’t be here," Zyphrael continued. "She’s here because Yakana has seen a talent for soul manipulation and has chosen her as a potential guardian. In doing so, he has helped her develop her cores and—"

"You brought a human who can dismantle the Bramble?" a fairy interrupted. Once he spoke the words, panic, and hysteria gripped the crowd and in a stranglehold. It snowballed out of control instantly, and I thought that there would be a riot—but it stopped on a dime.

"Silence!" Zyphrael yelled. Everyone stopped flying and turned. "Our leaders have weighed the risks and benefits of helping her. Nethralis. Emael. Yakana. And after meeting her and learning her motivations and seeing her talent, they have chosen to trust and build this woman and her companion. They have chosen to stand beside her, and their followers, we will trust in their wisdom and judgment, not because they’re infallible or right—but because we must. Because that is the Drokai way."

Soldiers on the outer ranks responded with a strange military grunt, a Drokai "Harooh!" spoken in unison for dramatic effect.

Zyphrael swept his gaze over the crowd, casting judgment on all those watching, and continued.

"You may not agree. You may question their judgment or fear Lady Hill. But remember…" He paused and waited for the area to fall silent. "Yakana, too, was human once."

A strange feeling of vertigo stabbed into me. I knew so little about Yakana and while I had been fed basic information on him, I was told that he was an amalgamation of souls. So… was the person I was speaking to, the being known as Yakana, one of those souls? Likely.

"Yakana was human," he repeated. "And this forest stands because he died protecting it from an army looking to conquer the forest. Now, we face that same situation. Neophytes across the Multiverse are consolidating their forces while we’re weak, and Yakana has chosen to aid us again, and he’s done so by training this woman. You may ask why? But that should be obvious. With Brindle’s magic, we may be able to repair the Bramble. Improve it. Breathe life into other parts of the forest and restore our soul gardens. Just as Mira would be a dangerous liability, she’s also an invaluable asset if we treat her well and train her. It’s a risk, but Yakana proved that the two weren’t mutually exclusive. And when Yakana, Brindle, Emael, and Nethralis stand behind her—it’s hard to call our leaders foolish for doing so."

The dissidents turned to me in a new light.

"What’s more important is knowing that we have a choice. If we’re called to war, do you need Mira’s help? Or can we do it on our own?"

"Harooh!"

"Do you think that will ever change? Or do you think we’ll stand strong as we always have?"

"Harooh! Harooh!"

"Exactly. Our leaders made this decision, not out of desperation or fear or convenience. They did it because Mira brings with her a new hope and call for prosperity. We’re not looking out the walls or into the past, we’re searching into the future. So focus on our preparations and believe in your leaders! Respect our guests and guardians and keep focused! Drink your drinks. Love your children! Make your peace with your gods! For tonight, we feast—and tomorrow, we prepare for victory!"

"Harooh! Harooh! Harooh! Harooh!"

Zyphrael sent me a sidelong glance and nudged my head toward a table at the end of the house. I didn’t know what to think about it, but I nodded and sat down. Not a moment later, the dissidents broke off, and the hot springs fairies and curious denizens flooded in around me, asking me questions in a flurry.

Kline jumped on the table to protect me, and the females squealed.

"It’s him!" one cried. "Can we pet him?"

"I um… sure."

The fairies cornered Kline at surreal speed, cutting off his ability to even create a portal, and before he could even turn back to ask why I had forsaken him, six fairies were petting and hugging and complimenting him, and despite his insistence that he was being tortured, his piercing lack of action against it told a different story about his feelings.

"Tell us about yourself!" a young boy cried. I turned and found hundreds looking at me.

"Uh… I’m… not from this world. But… I can tell you about my world?"

Somehow, in a matter of minutes, I had hundreds of fairies and nymphs asking me questions under the sparkling light of the sprites, and I told them about Earth and its food and its machines that challenged the heavens. I told them about space travel and satellites and weird things that people did. Soon, I forgot all about my grievances and relaxed, accepting a fruity drink that Kline—who used his nose and magic to determine poisons—sniffed and deemed clear. And before long I was feeling good and tipsy and loved.

It was a wonderful moment.

2.

Kyro watched Mira with a slight smile. Then he turned to Zyphrael with a wide grin.

"Didn’t know you were a softy," he said.

"I didn’t do it for her," Zyphrael sneered. "I did it for the sake of our leadership."

"Hoh? So all the impassioned rhetoric was all for Nethralis. None of it came from watching her grow… listening to her. Secretly loving her cat."

Zyphreal’s face contorted into a scowl. "Kyro, if I could, I would—"

"I thought it was rather admirable," Nethralis said from their side.

Zyprhael’s cheeks flushed, and he looked away. "As I said, My Lady. It was nothing."

"Oh, no, no," Kyro said. "It was definitely something. Tell me, what was it you would do if you could?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, nothing."

"Stop clowning," Nethralis said. "Zyphrael did what was right for the Drokai and that’s all that matters." She paused and watched Mira get swarmed by fairies. The children were bringing her sweets and drinks while drunk men flirted like shameless animals, and women touched her cheeks and made declarations about health and beauty. "So?" she asked Kyro.

"So what?"

"So? Do you think that she’ll do it?"

"Be a guardian?"

"Yes."

He nodded. "Yeah. I do."

Zyphrael’s eyes drifted from Kyro to Mira and then back. "Why?"

Kyro shrugged. "She’s… decisive. Doesn’t overthink things… but the real reason… is that she’s got an awful personality. Absolutely dreadful. There’s this subtle temper in her. It’s like smoldering coals. I can’t even drink without her snark and ambition bleeding through. Untenable."

Nethralis raised an eyebrow. "So you like her?"

"Absolutely not." Kyro took a drink. "I love her."

"Poor taste in women as always," she said with a smile.

"I’ll drink to that."

"So? What’s the real reason?"

Kyro stopped lifting his flask halfway and paused. He thought about it deeply and turned to her. "Let me ask you something. In all these years we’ve known each other… have I ever failed to repay a debt?"

Zyphrael snorted. "You owe half this city. People will die before you pay back—"

"No," Nethralis said. "You haven’t."

"No, I haven’t. And like it or not, I owe Brindle a debt." Kyro lifted his flask again. "The fact I like ’er’s just a plus." He took a drink.

3.

Like all great nights in your life, you regret them the next day. I woke up with a raging hangover, something that I didn’t think was possible, and ended up drinking Diktyo River water like a degenerate to get my stomach right again. Everything felt backward and wrong and disgusting and twisted and ridiculous. Thankfully, the water did wonders and a pleasure trip to the spring was healing beyond imagination.

But there was a bit of loneliness mixed in there as I spoke to the Drokai women and cuddled with Kline. Because I knew that in only a few hours, I would have to leave this magical world and all the social interaction I could get here and return to Aiden and Halten, who would be leaving soon after.

Then it would be me and Kline and Lithco… and Kyro…

As I thought about it, I also had Elana and Brindle and Emael as well. Somehow in the dark and lonely wasteland called the Areswood Forest, I had managed to meet people.

I hoped that continued.

Time pressed on.

I toweled off with Desiccation and accepted little fruits and gifts from the females. In exchange, I gave them cores, a universally valuable commodity, in exchange and said my goodbyes.

After that, I ate breakfast with Nethralis and discussed things one last time before she saw me to the outer gates that Zyphrael had unlocked four days before. The brambles and twigs and leaves unraveled like a clock separating its gears and I walked out onto a path, which I could now see teaming with Drokai tending the flower patches on the great walkway out of the forest.

Emael was there, lying in the shade with Kyro sitting on top of her, wearing a scarf over his eyes with the lean of a Mexican taking a siesta against a tree during the Mexican-American war. He looked rough for wear, leaning on two comically large bags that looked like small pillowcases, filled to the brim with strangely shaped objects, neither of which looked comfortable. There was also a boat tied to Emael’s back that made me nervous. The whole sight was mildly uncomfortable—

—but I pushed it down and turned to Nethralis to thank her, but she beat me to it.

"Before you go, I want you to take this." A group of fairies brought me the bag that Emael had me take. It was a full bag, but it was filled to the brim with an aromatic blend of herbs and stalks and grains.

"What is it?" I whispered.

"That doesn’t matter. Just dry and grind, mix two parts water to matter, and paint the paste on Halten’s wings. It should heal them."

"Wait… you’re going to help him?"

Nethralis nodded. "You’re our ally, and Halten saved your life. Since Emael trusts his motives, we’ve decided to help him."

My heart ached as I looked between her and Emael. "I…" I paused. I wanted to say, I couldn’t possibly, but I needed them. So I swallowed my pride and said, "Thank you… I will… repay you for this… all of this. Your hospitality… the elixirs… the aid… this…"

"Thanks are shown in actions, not words," Nethralis said. "If you want to thank me, show me that my trust was founded."

I swallowed and nodded. "I’ll do what I can."

Nethralis smiled. "Good."

I smiled back and looked at Zyphrael, who turned away. Some of the ladies in the back, including cute nymphs, waved as sprites flew in circles.

"Can’t be too bad if the sprites love you," Nethralis said. Then she turned to Kyro. "It’s time, Kyro. So if you’re gonna do it, do it,"

Kyro groaned and shielded his eyes from the sun. He grabbed the jagged bag he was resting on and threw it to the ground with a clank. "Hey… pupil. Can you be a dear and hand that to the good people?"

I folded my arms and turned to him. "What is it?"

"All my debts."

"Bullshit."

"No, it’s his debts." Nethralis flicked her hands, and the bag levitated, flying toward her. She opened it, and there was a mountain of tiny gold and silver coins, as well as vials, gems, and cores." She smirked at Zyphrael’s gobsmacked expression and then pulled out an orangish blue core. "Looks like you had to work for it this time," she mused.

"Yeah, because someone I know broke my hot streak," Kyro said to Zyphrael.

Zyphrael scoffed. "Unbelievable. You’ve owed half this clan for decades… and you had this?"

"Well, yeah. If you pay back this person before that person, everyone gets pissed and demands their money. So it’s best just to make emergency payments and save up for one haul. Now…" Kyro groaned and grabbed his stomach and fluttered back onto Emael’s back and lay down. "I’m going off to die. So at least let me suffer in silence."

Zyphrael’s face flushed red with anger, and I giggled. He sent me a piercing glare, and I tried to lock up, but I couldn’t. It was just too damn funny.

Mira…

Emael’s voice sounded in my head, and I looked back with a wry smile. "Sorry. We’ll go." I turned back. "Bye."

"Bye!" the fairies said in the background. A dozen females swarmed Kline like he was a suave charmer, and he rolled his eyes and meowed but pawed at them gently before shaking his fur and walking off like a stoic man. It was cute.

"Take this." Nethralis flicked me the core she took from Kyro’s bag. "See if you can’t bribe Halten’s freedom."

I nodded and held it against my chest. "I will." Then I walked to Emael, who created steps with her legs again, and I walked up them, getting onto her matted mossy fur again. I turned back one more time to Serenflora. It was a beautiful location… a magical location… that I would never forget. I waved and yelled my goodbyes as we walked through the path, exiting the illusionary barrier and scaling down the mountain. It was time to heal Halten and see Aiden off. We had a long ride to Tranea Crypt, and the Harvest was around the corner. It was time to move.