Chapter Twenty-Two

Kaitlyn

The door slides open and there are so many people in front of me, I can't see inside just yet. I turn around and see Ashley looking back at me. She waves and mouths the words, “I love you” to me and I smile, giving her a hand-heart gesture in return.

I know she's scared. I know she's worried. I am too. But I also believe that Wyn and the rest of the Dragonborn will be able to protect me. And will be able to defeat Nyro. The idea that so many of them are giving up their homeland though – because of me – tears me up inside. I can't even begin to express how utterly miserable I feel about that.

“It's our turn,” Wyn says to me softly.

He leads me by the hand into the chamber where they keep the thing they call the Dragon Door. The room is dark. Pitch black. Except for what I assume is the Doorway to Chondelai. It hovers a few inches above the ground, the surface a myriad of vibrant, vivid colors, swirling all around. It pulses with an inner light and glows brightly.

“It's beautiful,” I say, a touch of awe in my voice. “It's absolutely beautiful.”

Wyn gives my hand a gentle squeeze and leads me to the door. I stop just before it and stare, both entranced by its beauty and somehow terrified of it at the same time. I reach my hand out and put just my fingertips through to the other side I'm irrationally afraid that they'll be lopped off, but I can't help it. When my fingertips touch the surface of the Doorway, it sends out ripples, like touching the surface of a still pond. The swirling colors on the Doorway react, darting around, moving and pulsing like they're alive.

I look to Wyn and see the smile on his face. He seems charmed by my awe over what he's showing me. He can't possibly understand what this is like for me though. I mean, I live in a world where things like magic, dragons, wizards, and magical Doorways don't exist anywhere but in books and the movies. And yet – there they all are, standing right before me as real and plain as day.

How could I not be awed by it all?

“You okay?” he asks.

I give him a lopsided little smile. “I'm not sure.”

“Well, we'll figure that out together too,” he says.

I let him lead me into the doorway. And just before we pass through it, I grit my teeth and close my eyes, my stomach writhing and my heart beating so hard, I'm sure they can already hear it in Chondelai.

“You can open your eyes now,” Wyn says gently.

And when I do, I'm stunned by what I see. The sky is an elegant shade of purple with two moons, one red and one blue hanging full and fat above us. Stars – more than I've ever seen, even out in the wilds of Missouri – dot the sky, twinkling like chips of diamonds.

The land around us is mostly in shadows, but we're standing in a field with grass as high as my hip – grass that glows a light green from an inner light. It's like phosphorescence in the ocean – only in grass. There's a slight breeze that carries the scent of something sweet. Something citrusy. And yet, something unlike anything I've ever smelled before.

“What do you think?” Wyn asks.

I turn around in a circle, taking in everything about this gorgeous world that I can. Absorbing it. Soaking it all in. I know I'm never going to see anything like it again, and I want to remember as much of it as I can.

“I think that I'm really regretting not bringing my phone,” I say. “Pictures of this place would be amazing.”

“We need to get going,” Zarik says. “It's going to be daybreak soon.”

The men are already stripping down and handing their clothing to Ella. She's stuffing them in a bag. I look away, feeling the heat creeping into my cheeks. These men are all ripped and gorgeous – they could easily be leading men in any movie in Hollywood. And although they don't seem embarrassed about their nudity, I feel awkward standing there with them.

“You'll get used to it,” Ella says with a laugh.

I turn to her, focusing my attention on Ella – and away from the men. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” she replies.

“Why are you staying here?” I ask. “And not coming back to LA?”

She shrugs. “I want to be where Zarik is,” she says. “He'd stay in LA if I asked him to. But I know he loves it here. I know he'd regret not being able to ever come back. And I don't want to do that to him. Besides, there's really nothing keeping me there anymore and I've always loved it here. I think I can be very happy here.”

I nod and look around. “It is beautiful here.”

“What about you and Wyn?” she asks. “Is it serious?”

I feel the heat in my cheeks again and look away. “I – I don't know,” I say. “Maybe?”

“Do you want it to be?”

I nod without hesitation. “He's not like anybody I've ever met before,” I reply. “I think I can see myself being very happy with him.”

“Then grab the chance,” Ella says. “Don't wait. Like they say, life comes at you fast. Don't sit on your hands and let it pass you by.”

I give her a small smile. “I'm not sure he feels the same way,” I say. “I mean, I think he does, but I'm not sure.”

Ella scoffs. “I've seen the way he looks at you,” she says. “Trust me, he feels the same way.”

I hear a strange noise behind me – sort of a growl and a snuffle. Turning around, I feel my heart leap into my throat when I see three dragons standing there looking back at us. Ella laughs.

“Sorry,” she says. “The look on your face though. Priceless.”

“Yeah,” I say, a nervous laugh escaping my throat. “I guess that takes some getting used to as well, huh?”

“Very much so,” she replies. “Getting used to having hot men parading around naked in front of you is a whole lot easier.”

“Wonderful,” I say, my tone wry.

The green dragon lowers it's long, serpentine neck and Ella walks over toward it. As if a sudden though occurs to her, she turns and looks at me.

“I guess you need to know how to ride a dragon, huh?” she asks and laughs.

“Yeah, it would be helpful.”

“Just climb on like I do,” she says as she slings the large pack over her shoulders. “Grab hold of anything you can and hold on tight.”

“Yeah, that doesn't sound all that safe.”

“You have to trust your dragon,” she says. “Trust that they'll never let you fall. Ever.”

The green dragon makes a mewling sound, gently nuzzling her with its large head. The blue dragon that had been Wyn steps forward and lowers its neck the same way. I look at him for a long moment, letting those glowing blue eyes bore into me. I feel an energy surging through me. An energy fueled by trust – and love.

“You're not gonna let me fall, right?” I ask.

The dragon chuffs in response – which, I take to mean no, he won't let me fall. My stomach churning, my heart pounding, I climb up onto Wyn's back. He settles himself and I get situated, holding on to the small horns protruding from his back.

“I swear to God, if you let me fall, Wyn,” I say. “I'm going to kill you. But before I do that, I'm going to turn you over to Ashley and let her do her thing first.”

The dragon makes a noise that almost sound like an amused laugh. I adjust my grip and settle in. And when I feel the dragon beneath me tense and see its wings begin to flap, I close my eyes and grit my teeth. As I feel us rising and feel the wind blowing past me, my hair streaming behind me, I try to stifle my scream. I try, but fail. I let out a high-pitched scream and hunker down, terrified.

“Open your eyes. It's amazing.”

Ella's voice is faint, but I still hear it over the wind in my ears and the sound of the leathery wings flapping. Amazing. That's subjective. Ella has the benefit of having ridden a dragon before. I have a hard enough time flying coach on a commercial airline. The fact that I'm now sitting on the back of a creature up until recently, I thought was nothing more than a myth, with the open air streaming by me is going to take a little getting used to.

But slowly, my morbid curiosity gets the best of me and I open my eyes. Only slightly at first, but the view is enough to take my breath away. The sun has started to creep over the far horizon, bathing the world below in delicate hues of red and gold.

It's light enough that I get my first real look at Chondelai and the beauty of it all is stunning. There are endless fields are spread out below me. Rivers. Forests. Snow-capped mountains in the distance. I look to my right and see an ocean that looks as clear and blue as anything in the Caribbean.

And maybe the best thing about this new, alien world is that no matter where I look, there are no skyscrapers. There is no urban sprawl. No factories. No pollution. No signs of “progress.” The world around me looks so pure. So pristine. So – beautiful. I can see why Ella is so charmed by it and thinks she can be very happy here.

It's only after a moment of soaking in this natural beauty around me that I realize my screams have stopped. Instead, I'm laughing wildly, relishing the sensation of flying. I'm flying! My nervousness has flown away on the wind and I feel nothing but giddy. Excitement. This whole thing is so unbelievable and it's like I'm flying through a dream.

After about an hour in the air, the dragons begin to descend. There is a vast forest below us and on a hill, I can see a castle. Around the castle, rivers cut their way through the land, flowing through the forest and around the small town that's spread out around the foot of the hill the castle sits on. It reminds me of something out of a fantasy movie or a renaissance fair – which is really the only basis of comparison I have.

The dragons all set down in a clearing on the edge of town. They quickly shift back into their human forms and throw on loose robes that Ella tosses them.

“This is my home,” Wyn says as he ties his robe around him. “This is the home of the River Clan.”

The forest looms all around us, dark and majestic. There's the smell of musk and damp earth in the air and coming from seemingly everywhere is the high pitched-chirping sound of what I assume or some of Chondelai's native birds. They make sounds I've never heard before but their birdsong is absolutely beautiful.

I see the way he's looking around and the expression on his face. It's as if he's taking it all in one last time, knowing he's not coming back. And seeing that look in his eyes breaks my heart. I want to tell him it's not too late to reconsider – but another part of me, the selfish part of me, doesn't want to.

“It's amazing, Wyn,” I say. “I can see why you love it here so much.”

“Yeah, it's something.”

“Wyn,” a voice calls.

We turn and see a man stepping out of the crowd of people who'd gathered around the edge of the clearing.

“King Nepham,” Wyn says, bowing his head. “It's good to see you again.”

“I wish you had come under better circumstances,” he replies.

“As do we,” Wyn says. “Please allow me to introduce Zarik of the Forest Clan, Deyro of the Fire Clan, and Ella of the Children of the Dawn.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you all,” he says. “Welcome to the Riverlands.”

Wyn takes my hand and stands me in front of his King. I'm not sure whether to bow or curtsey or do nothing. So, I opt to stand there like an idiot, giving him my best forced smile.

“Your Majesty,” Wyn says. “This is Kaitlyn Howard –”

“The vessel of the Ba’Chul,” he finishes for Wyn.

“She's much more than that,” Wyn says, giving me a small smile. “Especially to me.”

Ella cuts me a quick glance, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. I feel the heat in my cheeks when Wyn speaks and feel a flutter in my stomach. The King looks between the two of us, a smile slowly spreading across his face.

“I can see that,” he says. “Forgive my rudeness, Ms. Howard. These are difficult times.”

“Times we're hoping to bring to an end,” Zarik says. “And to never have them revived again.”

“It would be a wonder to wipe out the Shadow Clan once and for all,” he says.

“That's why we're here,” Deyro says.

“The Shadow Clan assaults the Council Keep,” he says. “The siege has been raging for days.”

“Have they breached the castle yet?” Zarik asks.

The King shakes his head. “Not even close. It's almost as if they're not trying all that hard.”

“It's a feint. A stalling tactic,” Deyro says. “They're waiting for their Ba’Chul to arrive and do the heavy lifting for them.”

“That makes sense,” he replies.

“We are going to bring this to an end,” Zarik says. “But we're going to need your help.”

The King looks at all of us in turn, his face growing serious. After a long moment, he nods.

“I'll do anything I can to assist,” he says. “If it means destroying the Ba’Chul and the Shadow Clan in one fell swoop, I am all for it.”

“Excellent,” Wyn says, stepping forward. “Let's go over what we need.”