Kael’s Mission

ANDRA

Andra stood on the highest rope bridge in Bellris and gazed out at the city below her.

The Freemen were busy with the tasks of the morning. Messengers carried loads of warm bread from the baker to the ration station, and the soldiers filed through the center of town toward the fields for training.

Everything was normal, as it should be…except that Kael was gone.

And though nobody seemed to be worried about his absence, Andra couldn’t shake the sense that something was wrong.

She crossed the bridge in long strides and followed the staircase that wound around the hollow tree.

There was one person she hadn’t asked.

Andra passed through the bustling town center. Acquaintances called out to her, wishing her a good day.

While any other morning she would have relished in being part of a community, today she was preoccupied with regret.

She replayed her conversation with Kael over and over again, cursing herself for being so elusive.

Even more frustrating was the fact that even now she couldn’t answer his simple question. She still didn’t know.

Possible futures ran through Andra’s head as she crossed through the town center. Kael’s question demanded responses she didn’t have.

~Would I leave, if I could? Would I chase after my old dream of living quietly with Talias?~

~Or would I follow a new path? One that’s unfolding before me so quickly it’s making my head spin?~

~A new path with Kael…~

Andra shook her head, trying to dispel the awful unknowns.

She found Egan by the footpath, watching as the Freemen army reported for duty.

“Chin up, soldiers! Where’s your pride?” he shouted to the group of young men.

With his hands on his hips, Egan was cocksure and domineering as ever.

Andra swallowed the discomfort that climbed up her throat and stood tall. Egan had no power over her.

She had already proven that.

“Egan, do you know where Kael is?” she asked.

“Good morning to you too,” he replied, turning toward Andra and leering down at her with bloodshot eyes. “How foolish I am to think you would approach me about any topic other than your master.”

“Kael is not my master,” she replied through gritted teeth. “But he has gone missing, and I’d like to know where he is.”

“I’m sure you would. Well, let me tell you, ~dear~, that he has left on some important mission. Even I don’t know exactly where he’s gone. Perhaps you will learn that Kael prefers to keep some secrets.”

Egan smirked and continued, “It is not an admirable quality in a leader, but alas. One cannot change a dragon’s scales, as they say.”

Andra scowled. ~What kind of important mission? What could be more important than helping the Freemen prepare for battle?~

“Don’t worry, little miss. Everything is under control here in Bellris. I am seeing to it personally.”

Andra turned away from Egan.

“I just don’t understand why he would disappear without telling me,” she muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

“Why would Kael need to tell the slave girl where he’s going?” Egan’s voice was as cold and sharp as a blade, and Andra was surprised at how it cut her.

“Well, since you seem so concerned about the comings and goings of the Freemen, let me be the first to alert you of my actions. I must be off.” Egan’s eyes glinted with cruel mischief. “Don’t worry that pretty little head of yours.”

With his last words, he let the fake smile fall.

He turned away from Andra, leaving her fuming.

“Ugh!” she burst out, stomping her foot on the ground. She wished her training session was earlier in the day so that she could imagine she was sparring with Egan and take him down.

But since Andra had some time, she could go see Tiri, which was just as good.

She sighed as she followed the small footpath to her right.

When she reached the break in the trees, Andra could see Tiri leaning down to drink from the lake, her purple tail wrapped tightly around her body.

The dragon looked up, and as soon as their eyes met, Tiri pounced, extending her wings and soaring toward Andra.

Andra ran to meet her. The dragon flew low. Tiri carefully grabbed Andra in her talons and the two tumbled together in the grass.

~“I’m happy to see you, sister,”~ the dragon said to Andra, ~“but I can feel your unrest. What’s wrong?”~

Andra sighed. The two rolled to a stop with Andra splayed across Tiri’s pale purple stomach.

Andra hugged her for a moment, closing her eyes. At least she had Tiri. At least she wasn’t alone.

~“Of course you have me! You’ll never be alone again,”~ the dragon promised. ~“Now tell me what plagues you.”~

~“Why did Kael leave in the night? Maybe it’s silly, but I’m nervous. Maybe because of our conversation…”~

The fire that always burned when Andra was near Tiri grew even brighter, like a hug for her mind and soul.

~“I sensed Eithne departing in the night…,”~ Tiri told her. ~“But I don’t know where they’ve gone.”~

Andra clung to Tiri, feeling desperate and sad.

And in addition to concern about Kael, Andra was upset that she cared so much.

Clearly, Kael didn’t think they needed to tell one another everything. ~So why do I?~

It was silly to expect that Kael would factor Andra into his plans.

He was the leader of a rebellion, and she was just a slave girl.

~“Stop!”~ Tiri demanded. ~“It hurts me when you think of yourself this way. I think the real problem is not that Kael left…it’s that you don’t know how you feel.”~

Andra sighed. Maybe the dragon was right.

~“So tell me about this other man in your heart…Talias.”~

~Talias.~

Her old friend’s face popped into Andra’s mind. His warm brown eyes and messy blond hair…

Talias was kind and playful. Happy right where he was, never longing for more than he was given.

~“He sounds very different from Kael,”~ Tiri piped up.

~“He is,”~ Andra replied, thinking that the two couldn’t be ~more~ different. ~“Talias was the reason I first saw you, Tiri. He encouraged me to sneak into the ceremony.”~

~“Well, I certainly like him for that,”~ Tiri said fondly.

Andra smiled at the memory.

She wondered what Talias was like now. ~Would he still mean what he told me that day in the dungeon?~

~Was he still thinking of her, dreaming of a quiet life together, simple but free?~

~“Oh, Tiri,”~ Andra sighed, ~“what should I do?”~

~“I don’t know, Heart Song,”~ the dragon replied after a thoughtful pause. ~“It’s a decision only you can make.”~

Andra sighed. For so long, all she had wanted was to be able to make her own decisions.

But this one…this one was too hard.

~“No matter what, I’ll be there with you,”~ Tiri promised.

Andra stared up at the cloudy, unfeeling sky. Beneath her, Tiri was warm and strong.

Andra didn’t know what her future held, but at least her heart song would be there with her. For now, that was enough.

KAEL

~“We’re nearly there…”~ Kael encouraged his dragon as she raced through the night.

~“I’m flying as quickly as I can,”~ Eithne replied.

Kael knew they were making good time, but he was still anxious. Every moment that he wasn’t there, the Freemen were missing his leadership.

His decision to leave had been rash, but it was the only way. He would finish this task, and then he could devote all of his attention to the upcoming battle.

~“Don’t worry too much,”~ Eithne encouraged him. ~“Colmen and Egan are in control. You have to trust them.”~

Kael frowned. He trusted Colmen, that was for sure. But Egan…

Thinking of the way he had treated Andra made Kael’s blood boil.

~“Calm yourself, my West Wind,”~ the dragon warned, sensing his rising heat.

Even though Egan was a Freeman, a Rider, and a great soldier, Kael could never truly trust him.

He had made Andra feel powerless, controlled… as she had for so many years.

Kael wanted to make sure she never felt that way again. He needed her to know that no man had power over her.

And to do that, he had to complete his mission.

He saw the lights of Thys twinkle on the horizon, just over the trees. Luckily, Thys wasn’t far from Bellris. Well, not far for a Sky Rider.

But Kael knew that the hardest part wouldn’t be getting to Thys. It would be finding Adelbrand.

Eithne soared low to the ground at the outskirts of the town.

While some of the larger buildings were made of stone, many of the village’s buildings were low houses of straw and clay.

Kael felt the familiar rush of adventure low in his stomach. Though he wouldn’t admit it, he was thankful for it; it distracted him from Andra.

He could think of something other than his heartache and the nagging anxiety that she wouldn’t choose him the way he had already chosen her.

He didn’t have any say in the matter, really. His heart had decided.

And the fact that Andra hadn’t made a decision made him fear that she could never return his feelings for her.

But for now, that didn’t matter. The important thing was that she would be ~able~ to make that decision for herself.

Kael slipped from Eithne’s back and trailed his hand up her neck before settling on her cheek.

~“Be careful, West Wind,”~ the dragon urged him.

~“I always am, Heart Song,”~ he replied. ~“I’ve broken people out of prison before.”~

He placed a soft kiss beside her eye and darted away from Eithne along the cobblestone streets.

In the dark night, Kael moved like a thief—stealthy and silent. Tonight, he was not so different from a criminal.

He approached a tall, stone building and began to scale its wall. Kael’s heart beat with the effort, but his muscles were well-prepared.

From the top of the building, he squinted toward Thys’s prison. Through one of the barred windows, Kael could make out the massive, unmistakable silhouette of Adelbrand in the candlelight.

His wild hair haloed his head, making him appear chaotic and mysterious.

Which he ~was~. Adelbrand was not only completely unpredictable…

He was also the most powerful sorcerer that Kael knew.

~“Are you sure about this?”~ Eithne spoke into his mind from afar.

~“I’m sure,”~ the warrior replied. ~“It’s the only way to free Andra from the Judges’ grasp, once and for all.”~