Once the women were in the sled and the men were on horses, the oxen started moving. Ayla sat between her mother and grandmother, with Kerra on her lap. Rhobart, on top of his horse, walked next to the sled, his eyes on Ayla. While the women talked about dresses and other things, Ayla glanced at Rhobart. There was something different about him. She could feel it in her heart. In her soul. And every time he looked at her, she felt like her face was on fire. Maybe she was the one that was different. After what felt an eternity, the sled finally stopped in front of the Royal Palace. Kerra jumped out of Ayla’s lap. Rhobart dismounted and went to help Ayla. He offered her a gloved hand, and she grabbed it and stepped out of the sled. The other men helped the two Queens and her grandmother. Rhobart, not waiting for the others, led Ayla inside the Palace. “You will like it here. I can hardly wait for you to see your room. I personally chose it for you. It is close to my room.” The pala
After dinner, a maid took Ayla to her room and helped her get ready for bed. Ayla was in bed, when she heard scratches on the door. She wondered if it was Kerra and she got up and opened the door. Kerra stood on the hallway in front on Ayla’s room. “You want to come in?” Ayla asked. Kerra was about to go inside when the voice of two men caught her attention and she started running. Not wanting anything to happen to Kerra, Ayla decided to follow her. She grabbed her cloak and put it around her shoulders and ran after the snowcat. Kerra stopped in front of two golden doors. One of them was ajar. Ayla picked up Kerra and was about to return to room when she heard her father and King Hagen speak. “It is obvious my daughter and your son like each other,” King Amul said. Ayla got closer to the doors. “They are just friends. You heard my son,” King Hagen retorted. “Of course, they are friends. They are still children. But when they are older, they could get married. Myrthana and No
Ayla sighed. “You and me both. He is always so mean to me!” “When you come to live in Nordmar, you will never have to see him again.” Rhobart tried to get the kite down from the roof, but it got stuck on something. He pulled harder, and Ayla heard how part of the kite’s fabric ripped apart. “I’zoratxu!” Rhobart muttered under his breath. “What does that word mean?” Ayla asked. “It means—” Rhobart shook his head. “It’s a bad word.” “It’s a curse word?” Ayla asked. Rhobart chuckled softly. “Yeah.” “Is it worse than idiot?” “Much, much worse. I will tell you what it means when you are older.” Rhobart looked at the sky. “I don’t have time to make another kite. Soon we will have to get ready for the O’neltxero.” Late in the afternoon, two maids came to help Ayla get ready. After the maids washed her, they helped Ayla put on the dress Queen Enna gifted her during breakfast. It was a beautiful white dress made from soft, warm wool. Hundreds of beads were sewn on it in the form of
When Hraa woke up, it was late afternoon. She was pressed against the dragon’s warm body, his wing wrapped around her. She tried to free herself but the dragon growled in annoyance. “You have to let me go!” Hraa said. “I have to return to my tribe.” “No,” Hraa heard a voice talking inside her head. “You are mine now. My t’aja. My mate.” Hraa stopped struggling. “You can talk? she asked the dragon. He snorted. “Of course, I can talk. I am Xa, king of the sky and the dragons. And you will be the queen of the dragons.” “I can’t be the queen of the dragons since I am not a dragon. Now, let me go! I want to return home.” Xa removed his wing and Hraa stood but before she could get away, Xa grabbed her with his strong claws and flew away with her. Hraa was furious with the dragon. She could not believe the dragon had kidnapped her. But, as Xa flew, taking Hraa farther and farther away from her family, she promised herself that she would find a way to escape the dragon. Xa took Hraa to
“Hraa?” she heard Xa’s voice in her head. “Is that you?” “Yes,” she replied, her voice soft as a breeze in his mind as she went straight for the black dragon that was about to attack Xa again. “Get away from here! Tha is much stronger than I anticipated, and he will kill us both. I can’t bear the thought of something happening to you, my t’aja.” Hraa did not stop. She would not stop. Her griffin body was much smaller than Tha’s, but she was more agile. She tried to shred his wings just as he had done to Xa, but the black dragon rotated in the air. Tha forgot about Xa and attacked the small griffin, but he could not catch her. It angered him that such a small creature would evade him. Hraa knew there was no way she could defeat the dragon, so she did the only thing she could think about. She flew around Tha until she was facing him, and with her last powers, she went straight for his eyes. Tha didn’t even have time to react when the griffin clawed his eyes, blinding him. He roa
They looked at it, and the minutes slipped by. When Ayla thought nothing would happen, the tree started glowing and vibrating. She watched in fascination, wondering what would happen. The clock struck midnight, and fireworks illuminated the sky, but Ayla’s eyes were still on the tree. For one moment, she thought she saw something coming out of the tree. “That is odd,” Rhobart frowned. “I thought she would come.” “Who?” Ayla asked. Rhobart was about to answer, when a loud firework made Kerra hiss and spat before running away. “Kerra!” Ayla yelled. When Kerra didn’t stop, Ayla ran after her. Rhobart called Ayla to return, but she was afraid something would happen to Kerra. She chased after the snowcat and before she knew it, she was in the village surrounding the Royal Palace. “Kerra!” Ayla yelled, hoping the cat would stop running. Kerra climbed the stairs of the Fire Church. One of the doors was ajar, and Kerra got inside. Ayla rushed after her. The church was quiet, as there w
Sarya began singing a beautiful song. “A boy and a girl, Two halves of the same soul Fate brought them together. One look, one touch, and they knew Eternally, their love will be. Here she comes, your bride to be, Take her hand and bring her close And the tree will bless you both.” Daya opened the box and took out a knife made from dragon bone and the hilt from magic ore. A red ruby, and a sapphire were encrusted on the pommel. Ancient runes were engraved on the blade. Daya stared at the dagger. “Is this the first knife? The one used of the first n’alxaes?” Sarya nodded. “It took me a long time to track it. It will make the bond between Ayla and Rhobart stronger.” “I see. Rhobart and Ayla put your left palm facing up,” Daya said. When they did as Daya asked, she made a cut across their palms. Ayla winced. “Rhobart, take Ayla’s left palm into yours,” Daya instructed Rhobart. Rhobart did as Daya asked. When their palms touched, Ayla felt a change in her body. It was as if i
Ayla woke up with a big headache. Light was coming through a window, making her feel worse. The bed was shaking. She closed back her eyes. “She is awake,” Ayla heard her mother’s voice. Ayla snapped her eyes open and saw her mother and grandmother. “How are you feeling?” her grandmother asked her. “My head hurts. And the bed is moving with me,” Ayla replied. Someone snorted. “You are not in your bed; you are in a carriage,” Galian’s voice came from nearby. Ayla blinked. “Why are we in a carriage?” “You don’t remember?” her father asked. He sat across from her next to Galian. Ayla tried to remember, but nothing came to her mind. Did they go to visit someone? But if so, why couldn’t she remember anything? “No,” she replied. “The Fire Mage did say she hurt her head pretty bad when she slipped on the ice. After all, she had been sleeping for days,” her mother said. Ayla sat, even if it made her sick. “What ice?” Ayla asked. King Amul narrowed his eyes. “You remember being in