Page 35 of Draekora

Then everything went black again, to the point that Xiraxus himself must have passed out, because his next memories were of him waking up in the midst of the Silverwood, with no Alex in sight.

She then learned that their bond allowed him to find her at the base of the Golden Cliffs being rescued by a group of MeyarinZeltora,who forcedlaendranectar down her throat to heal her talon-crushed abdomen. After they took her away, he flew around the city in frustration until he saw her fall off the balcony of the Meyarin palace and swooped in to save her.

“As you just saw, Alex rescued me from the one known to her as Aven Dalmarta, currently a prince of Meya, but in her time he is disinherited after having been banished from the Great City,” Xiraxus explained to the group of now noticeably agitated draekons. “In the future I visited, he is… very evil. If Alex hadn’t helped me, I would have been captured and unable to reopen the same space tunnel I journeyed through. I had only seconds before the originalabrassawould have been lost to me. Without her help, I would have never been able to make my way back home.”

He took a gusty breath and continued, “Because of that, I panicked, and yes, I entered theabrassawith a mortal. I could not—would not—leave her there for Aven to find, not after seeing the fear on her face at my mere mention of him. I didn’t think my actions through, and when she nearly died during the trip through the Void, I truly believed the only course I could follow was to create the bond between us and share my life force.”

Relatively calm up until that moment, Alex jolted at his words.I’m sorry—can you repeat that last part? I think I must have heard you wrong.

Um… Surprise?he responded as his mother stepped forward again.

“The laws of our race dictate that no draekon shall bond with a mortal owing to the fact that, when the mortal dies, thevaelianalink is severed, meaning that the draekon dies, too,” Zaronia said, giving Alex even more unwelcome information about their bond. “With Xiraxus inheriting leadership over Draekora in the coming years, this is a concern for all of us.”

“We cannot execute the mortal,” called out a rusty-coloured male draekon with vibrant aqua eyes. “If she dies, he dies. Better to keep her alive and seek out a way to break the bond without harming Xiraxus. Just because it has never been done before doesn’t mean it cannot be. She is young—if we keep her safe up here, we will have many years to find a solution.”

Safe up here?Alex repeated.I can’t stay here, Xira! I have to get back to my time!

“Kriidon has a point,” said a ruby red female. “As far as I’m concerned, Xiraxus acted foolishly, but he did it from a noble heart. Neither of them should be punished for his actions. The mortal shall remain with us until we determine our next course of action.”

“Thank you for your opinion, Vesaphina,” Zaronia said. “Anyone else?”

One by one the draekons all agreed that no punishment should be set for Alex—or at least not the deadly kind, anyway. Every single one of the council members opined that she should stay firmly put on Draekoran soil for the rest of her life, which was something Alex simply couldn’t abide. It was only when it appeared everyone was getting ready to finish up and disperse that she realised it was up to her to offer a different view.

“Excuse me,” she called out, sliding down from Xiraxus’s back and ignoring his low rumble of warning. She, of course, spoke the common tongue, but she also knew that, thanks to thevaeliana, they now all understood her, loud and clear. “What you’re all forgetting is not only that I don’t belong in this era and need to get back to my real time, but it’s actually better for Xiraxus—for all of you—if I do.” Her voice gained confidence as she explained, “You see, I’m not technically born yet—not for another few thousand years, if my timeline knowledge is correct. If you keep me here, I’ll have maybe seventy or eighty more years to live, at best. Probably less, knowing my luck. But if you let me return to my time, Xiraxus will have a few extramillenniato live.”

The draekons muttered amongst themselves, restlessly considering her words. Then a loud voice spoke up in a melodic language reminiscent of the one Xiraxus had uttered to create thevaelianabetween them. It wasn’t Draekoran, nor was it Meyarin, but something else entirely. Whatever tongue it was, Xiraxus must have been fluent in it since Alex could easily understand what was said.

“The girl must return to her time. If she doesn’t, all hope for the future of this world will be lost.”

Feeling shivers of foreboding, Alex repeated those ominous words in her mind. She couldn’t see who had spoken them, but the voice was strangely familiar, as absurd as that sounded.

I don’t believe it, Xiraxus said, craning his neck.It’s Aes Daega.

Aes Daega?Alex asked, the name recognisable, though she couldn’t put her finger on why.Who is that?

Before he could answer, a figure robed in white walked into the centre of the amphitheatre and up onto the dais where Alex stood between Xiraxus and Zaronia. A weathered hand pulled back the hood, revealing the face underneath.

“Lady Mystique?” Alex said in a disbelieving voice, finally understanding her sense of familiarity. “What on Earth areyoudoing here?”

The woman had the wisdom of the ages in her deep, fathomless eyes as she peered intently at Alex. “Lady Mystique, you say?” she asked in her foreign, lilting language. “Hmm. I do like that.”

The woman still looked as old as time, if perhaps slightly less wrinkled and hunched over compared to when Alex had seen her at Raelia a fortnight ago.

“Whatareyou?” Alex breathed out, even knowing that her phrasing was possibly considered highly impolite. “You have to be immortal, but you don’t look like a Meyarin.”

Strike that, her last phrase was impolite. She’d basically just called the old crone unattractive in not so many words. And even if itwastrue, Alex hadn’t meant to say it so openly.

Fortunately, Lady Mystique laughed heartily in response. “Oh, I can see why I will come to like you, Alexandra Jennings. You are a delight.”

“Great Aes Daega, what did you mean by saying Alexandra must return to her time?” Zaronia asked.

Lady Mystique—or Aes Daega as she was apparently known here—turned to the leader of Draekora. “If she does not return, all life in this world will be destroyed. I have seen it—then and now.”

Alex heard a panicked ringing in her ears at the old woman’s words, and the mutterings of the other draekons reached fever pitch to the point where Zaronia had to bellow out a roar in order to calm the assemblage.

“You are sure about this?” the purple draekon asked.

“I am certain,” Lady Mystique said. “Her return is imperative if there is to be even the slightest possibility of this world’s survival. Even then, the outcome will still largely depend on her choices in the days to come. But shemustbe there to make those choices.”

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