Lilly paced in the room, wondering what Gersius was doing. From the moment he left, she felt tense. She wasn't sure what was going to happen when he confronted Thayle. Thought the woman had agreed to join them Lilly realized she had indeed pressured her. She had done exactly what Gersius told her not to do. Now she worried he would not accept her because of it. She had hoped to eavesdrop on the conversation by listening to his thoughts, but he had moved away from her. Going so far that she couldn't feel anything but the strongest of emotions.

He had been gone a long time, and the link to him had faded as he moved away from her. She could still feel something, but it was thin and hard to understand. Then suddenly there was a sharp spike of passion, and just as suddenly it was gone.

Now she waited, slowly feeling the binding link grow as he drew nearer. When he entered the Inn, he felt odd. He was calm, as if he was relieved and about to rest. The strength of what she felt grew and grew until she knew he was right outside the door.

She moved to the center of the room and waited as the door opened.

Gersius stood in the hallway and glared at her with his arms folded. He suddenly felt tense, and she tried to look into his thoughts, but all she was him glaring at her.

“What did she say?” Lilly asked more nervous than she had ever been in her life.

There was a profound silence before Gersius responded. He reached to his right and pulled a trembling Thayle into the doorway. Her hands were at her side, and she fidgeted with her fingers. She cast her head down, but she looked up at Lilly with sad eyes.

“I want you to help Thayle gather her things. She will be staying in our room from now on,” Gersius said.

Lilly clapped her hands together and started to cry as she ran to the woman and wrapped her in her arms.

“I am so happy!” she cried as Thayle broke into tears of her own. The two women hugged tightly as Lilly clung to her.

Thayle suddenly gasped, and Lilly backed away from her to look in her eyes.

“What is it?” she asked Thayle.

“I felt it! I felt the emotion across the link,” Thayle whispered.

“I am feeling Lilly’s overwhelming happiness. You are feeling my response to it I believe,” Gersius said.

“It feels so good,” Thayle said, wiping her eyes.

“You two need to get over this moment. I am feeling both of you, and it is quite overwhelming,” he said.

“I just. I need some time,” Thayle began to stammer then put her hands over her face. “I can't believe I’m bound!”

“I think we can stay one more night. We all need some time to adjust,” Gersius said.

“Come, my lover, let us get your things,” Lilly said, leading Thayle by the hand back to her old room.

Gersius watched them go as he felt them over the bind. Lilly was a blazing star of joy, but Thayle was more like a storm at sea. Her emotions tossed and turned as the weight of what she had done sank in. He decided to go downstairs to give them a moment to be alone and talk.

Later he took them both with him for a walk through the city and back to the ruins where he had bound Thayle. He told them that this was all that was left of the Stemple to Balisha, and he pointed to a distant horizon and explained where they needed to go.

Thayle and Lilly held hands the entire time, and Thayle seemed to be getting her footing back, but he was sure it wasn't going to last. He could feel her over the bind now, and while Lilly had felt angry in those early days, Thayle felt terrified.

When night finally came, and they sat down to eat, Gersius was having second thoughts. He watched the woman who would be his wife. She ate her food with nervous movements and kept looking out the window. She was watching the moon trace the sky and worried what the late hours of the night would bring. He knew she was afraid of being in his bed and what he might expect of her.

When the time finally came, he could feel Thayle's dread, and he whispered into Lilly's mind that the woman was terrified.

“What do we do?” she silently said back.

“Take her back to her old room and spend the night with her,” he told her.

“But what about you?”

“I will be fine. Thayle's heart was ready to help you, but it wasn't ready to be bound, married, and sleeping with a man. She needs more time to adjust.”

Lilly nodded and carefully took Thayle’s hand and led her away. He waited at the table until he could feel Thayle’s sudden relief. He then got up and went to bed. He smiled as he laid there, feeling the waves of sensation coming from his wives next door. The binding link had some interesting advantages he mused. As he lay there feeling their love, he thought of Thayle. He would give her all the time she needed to prepare for him, but he sincerely hoped that wouldn't be long. He went to sleep as he felt them come together in love.

They walked through the trees in the early mist of the morning. Gersius had wanted to get a good start on the day and get Lilly saddled up and the packs tied before noon. Thayle was in much better spirits as she walked beside him in her armor, with Lilly to her right.

“Thank you,” she said to him as they walked. “I appreciate you giving me some time.”

“When you are ready, Thayle,” he said.

“You really are a kind man, Gersius. I am honored to be called one of your wives,” Thayle said.

“I am the one who is honored. What you and Lilly have done for me is beyond my ability to be grateful for. I will never be able to tell you how much you both mean to me.”

“Well, I can see the truth of it in your aura, so you don't have to tell me at all,” Thayle said with a smile.

He looked over to Thayles right and saw Lilly's smiling face as she walked beside her holding her hand.

“I can feel that you approve of my words, Lilly.”

“My husband, I approve of everything you do, and I strongly approve of your choice in wives,” she answered him in a sweet voice.

They reached the hidden packs and saddle, and Lilly gave them both a last kiss before undressing to change forms. When she was once again the blue dragon Azurastra, she pulled the saddle up on her back.

Gersius worked to get the saddle belted, and the bags attached as Thayle stood by Lilly's head and spoke with her.

“Are you well, Lilly?” she asked.

“I'm fine, my love, but I will miss being able to kiss you both.”

Thayle reached her hands up to Lilly's great head.

“Come down where I can reach you,” Thayle called.

Lilly lowered her head, so her eyes were level with Thayles.

Soft lips came to Lilly’s nose and kissed her up and down several times.

“I will see to it that you get plenty of kisses,” Thayle said.

Lilly locked her blazing blue eyes on the tender woman and smiled.

“Thank you, Thayle,” Lilly said a tear welling in her eye.

“Thank you, my lover, for inviting me in,” Thayle said back to her. “I am grateful beyond words to be your wife.”

Gersius had to look up as Lilly swelled with emotion and love. He saw Thayle holding her great head looking her into her eyes.

“Thayle, I was very emotional the other night, and I worry I pressured you into doing this. I will understand if you change your mind,” Lilly said.

Thayle smiled at Lilly's words. She had indeed pressured her, but Thayle had made up her mind.

“Gersius and I spoke, Lilly. There will be no children for a long time. He wants to fight the war first, and that could go on for several years. Thayle bit her lip before continuing, “Hopefully, this will give him and I time to grow together and learn to love one another as strongly as you two do.”

“I understand, but my offer still stands. If you change your mind, I will not be upset.”

“Thank you, Lilly, but let's see how things go for a bit.”

“We are ready ladies, come, let's begin,” Gersius said motioning Thayle to part with Lilly.

Thayle smiled and gave her a last kiss on the cheek before moving to Gersius. He helped her up into the saddle then climbed up behind her. He handed her the ropes that went around Lilly’s neck.

“Here, wrap the ends around your wrists,” he said to her as he handed her the ropes.

“But you always do this,” Thayle argued. “How will you hold on?”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tightly to his chest then bent down to whisper in her ear.

“I have something to hold on to.”

“Are my two lovers ready to go?” Lilly asked.

“We are ready,” Thayle replied for them both.

With a smooth grace, Lilly began to race across the ground heading north in the direction Gersius had pointed out from the temple ruins.

Thayle rocked in unison with Gersius, pulled so tightly to his chest they moved as one as Lilly tore across the countryside easily crossing fences and stone walls.

“I almost wish we could be here when the farmers find her tracks,” Thayle called out to Gersius.

“I am sure we will hear all about the monster tracks when we get back,” Gersius replied.

Thayle thought about Lilly’s words and the notion of backing out. She realized that she didn’t want to. It wasn’t Gersius or his love she was frightened of it was what was expected of her. Still, she knew that she would stay this course, nothing would make her leave this love. With that thought she felt unusually at peace and decided to be daring. She tipped her head back and rested it on his shoulder.

“You do not have to do that,” he said to her.

“My husband is holding me tight. I wanted to let him know I appreciate it,” she said.

“I can feel that!” Lilly yelled from up ahead. “No making her blush unless I can see it!”

“You can feel me, Lilly?” Thayle asked.

“Sadly, no, but I can feel his sense of satisfaction. He feels that when you blush,” Lilly called back as she dashed across a small stream and into a large open field of grass and yellow flowers.

“So you feel satisfied when you make me blush!” Thayle asked him, turning her head to give him a shocked look.

“I refuse to answer the question,” he said.

“So you really have been coaching her on how to make me uncomfortable!”

“I may have given her a few ideas,” he said trying to hide his smile.

“No wonder she has been like a prowling tiger. You have been telling her to hunt me!”

“And now you are caught,” he said in a laughing voice, “Though, I had nothing to do with what caught you. I warned Lilly not to pressure you. I regret she used my desire for children to pressure you.”

“In Gersius's defense, I would still have hunted you. He just told me how to do it better,” Lilly called back.

“You two are terrible!” Thayle cried out.

“For what it is worth, I am glad things worked out this way,” Gersius said.

“I am too,” Lilly called back.

“I suppose I am as well,” Thayle said blushing again.

They ran on for the better part of the day crossing lands that became more wild and overgrown as they headed for the northern horizon.

The land here was slowly becoming more hilly, and the trees became dense in places with thick underbrush and fallen branches. The trees were tall enough that her body was tangled in the branches and only her long neck rose above them. Progress slowed when Lilly had to double back at times to get around impassible areas.

“I wish I had my wings,” she lamented on several occasions.

“I wish you had them too,” Thayle said when they had to climb a particularly steep slope and had to use the ropes to remain in the saddle.

They struggled on that day, pressing deeper into the northern wilds. It wasn't until sunset that Gersius called a halt.

“I think we should stop. It would do us some good to use our legs,” he said.

“I am kind of hungry, but not really. I can't explain it,” Thayle said.

“Have you drank anything?" Gersius asked.

“No, have you?” she replied.

“Are you two picking up more of my traits?” Lilly asked, twisting her head back to look at them.

“Could we be?” Thayle asked.

“I hope not,” Gersius said dejected. “I bought a lot of food.”

They came to rest on the slope of a gentle hill. They found a flat area of gravel to set up camp which consisted of two bedrolls and one small bag of dried fruit. They placed the beds side by side against Lilly so she could protect them while they sleep.

Around them, the plants were weedy with masses of ferns mixed with tall grass. The landscape was alive with the sounds of crickets, and the stars burned brightly in a clear sky.

“I am never going to get over the night time being clear as day,” Thayle said, standing on the hill looking out over the vastness of the land.

“It does seem to take some getting used to,” Gersius said.

“I never lit a single candle in my room,” she said with a smirk.

“I need you to do me a favor,” he said to her as he stood by her side and took her hand.

“What is it, Gersius, I mean my husband?” she said hesitating on the word husband.

“That comes very naturally to Lilly. You can call me Gersius if it is easier.”

“I’m sorry, I panicked when you took my hand. What did you need?”

“I can feel Lilly over the bind. She is feeling sad that she can’t hold you. I am going to tell her to change back and leave her with you while I walk around the camp to protect it.”

“She wants affection?” Thayle asked.

“Yes she does,” he replied.

“What about you?”

“You are not ready, and I will wait.”

“I meant you and Lilly!” Thayle said smirking.

“I will be fine. Tonight is for you and her,” Gersius replied. “I just want her to feel better.”

“I will make her feel better,” Thayle said blushing.

“I know, that is one of the reasons I am glad your hear.”

“One of the reasons?” Thayle asked.

“Yes, the other one is you make me feel better,” he said and walked back to Lilly.

Thayle watched his aura pulse white as he walked away.

“Lilly?” he called to her.

She was perched at the edge of the rocky patch laying on her side with her head up high to watch the land around them.

“What is it my love?” she said her dual voice sounding sweet and yet powerful.

“Change, Lilly. I will watch the camp for a bit. You and Thayle can talk, or whatever you do when you two are alone.”

Lilly's head raced down to meet him and look him in the eyes.

“I love you!” she said her burning blue eyes focused on him.

“Change my love, she is waiting,” he replied as he stroked her jaw.

The familiar white mist filled the air. Gersius finally had the good sense to look the other way before the light blinded him and when he looked up a beautifully naked Lilly stood before him with blazing blue eyes.

“Thank you,” she said, coming up to kiss him gently.

“You are welcome. Thank you for trying so hard to make me happy. It was a great display of your love to ask Thayle to have our child.”

She smiled gently and looked around a bit before gazing into his eyes.

“I don't know how or why my life has led me here, but I am glad I am here with you,” she said running the back of her hand down the side of his cheek.

“Lilly, we have both suffered great loss to be here together, but when I look into your eyes, I know my loss was worth it. Now go, Thayle wants to talk with you.”

She smiled and turned to face Thayle who sat a dozen paces away on a log.

“There's my sweet concubine!” Lilly called as she walked over, smiling.

“Lilly!” Thayle barked back.

“How did I end up with two wives?” Gersius said shaking his head as he headed out.

He walked slow circles around the camp looking over now and then to see the two women holding one another, and occasionally kissing. He could feel Lilly's happiness and sheer contentment. He was surprised at how strongly he could feel Thayle. Her emotion was a general sensation of excitement and joy.

He wandered around the camp for several hours when a white flash drew his attention back to the camp, and Lilly was looking at him with her dragon head held high.

“Welcome back husband,” she said to him as he walked in.

Thayle was busily pulling her robe on and tying the front.

“I could have waited another minute,” he said.

Thayle smiled and let her shaking hands drop. “It’s silly. Sooner or later, I am going to have to let you see and more,” she said.

“That may be a long time from now. There is no rush,” he said, walking over to his bedroll. “Besides, if we wait long enough you might inherit Lilly's ability to lay eggs,” he said while sitting down.

Lilly laughed a deep shocking laugh, and even Thayle had to cover a giggle.

“Did you girls have a good, talk?” he said, settling down and leaning his back against Lilly's side.

“I enjoyed it,” Lilly said.

“I found it rather interesting,” Thayle said, “Though I may have frostbite.”

“I said I was sorry!” Lilly protested.

“I do not want to know,” Gersius said putting his hands behind his head and looking up at the stars.

He notice Thayle looking at her pack and then back at him.

“Would you two mind if I communed? I mean if I did it here?”

“You want to talk to your Goddess?” Lilly asked.

“I haven't had a chance since last night. I want to reconnect, and I was afraid to do it where you would see it, Gersius.”

“Thayle, you are not me. You talk to your Goddess, and you do it right here with us,” he said.

“Thank you,” she said, going to her pack and getting out her silver bowl.

She sat down and crossed her legs, putting the bowl in her lap.

“I thought you told me you did that naked?” Lilly asked.

“She looked up at Lilly with shock and then glanced at Gersius.

“You need to do it properly,” he said smiling.

“Both of you are terrible,” she said with a smile and pulled a water pouch out and began pouring a small bit in her bowl to create her mirror.

She let her mind clear and allowed the divine energy to flow back and forth.

“She isn't doing any talking?” Lilly said to Gersius.

“Shush Lilly, she is communing. It is a form of meditation where she opens her mind and lets the Goddess speak to her. She just wants to feel connected,” Gersius said.

“So she will hear her Goddess’s voice?” Lilly asked.

He shook his head. “She will feel her power flow through her. It will give her peace and focus to rest her mind. Sometimes you hear snippets of words. Or you get a strong feeling over something in your heart. Occasionally you even see a vision.”

“Why do you never let your God speak to you anymore?” Lilly asked.

“I cannot forgive what happened in Whiteford, Lilly,” he said shaking his head. “And I do not want to talk about it.”

Lilly met the matter drop and turned to Thayle as they both watched her stare into her mirror. Gersius smiled as Lilly’s mind filled with images of Thayle doing it naked.

Time became meaningless to Thayle, and when she finally opened her eyes, Lilly had her head in Gersius's lap. He was gently stroking the top of her head while he spoke to her.

Gersius noticed her move and looked up.

“So what did your goddess tell you?” he asked.

“She said well done,” Thayle said emptying her bowl and putting it away.

“Well done?” Gersius asked.

“About you two about helping you with your love.”

“You did do well with that,” Gersius said.

“Did she say anything else?” Lilly asked.

“Something about asking and forgiveness.”

She closed her pack and walked back to her bedroll besides Gersius.

Lilly lifted her head, and Thayle crawled in to sit beside him with her back to Lilly’s side.

She snuggled into both Lilly and Gersius, and Lilly put her head across their legs so they could both gently stroke her.

When the two fell asleep Lilly lifted her head high and looked out over the hills. She wondered where this road as going to lead, and why was she in love with two humans? She sighed and looked down at the two, who meant so much to her heart. “I love you,” she whispered and with a toothy smile set herself to the task of keeping her loves safe.

The morning light of the sun was a welcome sight.

Gersius stood alone on a hill looking north at the distant trees. The clear area on the hill slope would end soon, and the dense forest would begin. The trees there were much taller, tall enough for Lilly to walk under them if she dipped her head. They would be easier to navigate, but visibility would be limited.

He thought about meditating and opening his heart to Astikar but shook his head. He looked over his shoulder to see Thayle tying up he bedrolls while talking to Lilly. Thayle pecked Lilly’s head with kisses whenever she got too close. He left his spot on the hill and made his way back.

“We should find the river today, or early the next,” he said, coming back to camp.

“Then all we do is follow it, for who knows how long,” Thayle said.

Lilly looked at the distant trees and wished she had her wings again.

“Why must there always be forests?” she asked.

“It is the wilds, Lilly. Most of the land is untamed and blanketed by forest,” Gersius replied.

“I like my valley better,” she said, looking at the trees.

“Can I please plant some trees in the valley?” Thayle asked.

“Of course my love,” Lilly responded, “You can have half the valley for a forest if you wish.”

“I only need a little bit for a grove,” Thayle said.

“So we really are going to live in my valley?” Lilly asked.

“I promised you I would bring you back,” Gersius said.

“Yes, but you didn’t promise to live there with me,” Lilly replied.

“I am going to live where my wife is,” he said. “I will build a beautiful house, and you two can fill it with love.”

Lilly and Thayle exchanged glances, and Lilly stood up.

“Then let’s hurry and get this all done so we can build our house,” Lilly said.

They climbed back up with Thayle holding the ropes again while Gersius held her waist. They trekked into the dark of the forest snaking their way through tall pines whose lower branches had long since fallen away. The forest floor was nearly barren with only occasional patches of scrub where a fallen tree allowed enough light to reach the forest floor of golden pine needles.

“This is slower,” Gersius said.

“I have to keep turning to go around trees,” Lilly called back as she carefully stepped over a gully. “They are easy to walk under, but they grow so close together.”

She climbed over a small hill and suddenly jerked back.

A large brown animal stood before her. It was easily half the size she was and covered in matted fur. It stood up on its hind legs and let out a terrible roar. “A northern bear!” Gersius shouted as Lilly backed up.

The creature lowered itself back down and rapidly stalked in its mouth wide open.

“You are not worth my time!” Lilly yelled as it lumbered in.

A torrent of white ice and frost blanketed the creature, and when she stopped, it was just a ball of frozen fur one of its legs twitching.

“The nerve! Attacking a dragon!” Lilly snorted and continued on.

“At least it wasn't a giant,” Thayle said.

“There are far worse things than giants in the northern woods. It is why humans have not tried to settle them.” Gersius said.

They pushed on for several hours until they reached a large open clearing that stretched on for several miles. The weeds and brush here were thick and several feet tall.

“Well at least we are out of the trees,” Thayle said.

“This place smells rotten,” Lilly added.

“I can smell it too, something is dead and rotting,” Gersius said.

Lilly entered the field and headed straight across easily, gliding over the tall brush.

“Keep your eyes open,” Gersius said as they raced along.

They pushed on a minute more and then suddenly, Lilly stopped. The grass gave way to a barren, empty area. The ground here was bare earth, heaped up in mounds. The air was thick with the smell of rotting meat and animal waste. On the ground were five holes large enough for Gersius to crawl into. They went down at steep angles and twisted out of sight.

Lilly turned to look at Gersius and Thayle.

“What is that?” she asked.

Gersius looked at the tunnels and shook his head.

“It's a troll warren.”

“Trolls!” Thayle said in a panic.

“Go, Lilly, get around it and head for the trees,” Gersius urged her.

She shifted to move around it as a wailing cry split the air. A hairy mass came running through the tall weeds long spindly arms waiving in the air. It was seven feet tall and had a broad head with a mouth that seemed impossibly large. Its skin was a sickly dark green, and its hair was black. It had two jet black soulless eyes. Its nose was broad and flat, and its ears were long and pointed and folded down nearly touching its shoulders.

It ran at them wailing, and Lilly turned quickly to meet it stomping it with a powerful claw and grinding it into the dirt.

“Well that was disgusting,” she said, wiping her claw on the ground.

“Lilly, you need to run now!” Gersius called out as dozens of wailing cries filled the air. In the tunnels, large gangly green and black masses started to pour out, and around them, they could hear more calls in the distance.

Lilly didn't hesitate and took off at breakneck speed, forcing Gersius to grip Thayle tightly. He glanced behind him to see dozens of arms flailing in the air as the creatures pursued them.

“We are greatly outnumbered!” he yelled as they tore through the grass.

A troll appeared in her path, and she rolled right over it, her powerful claws slicing through its hide.

She nearly tripped on a second one, and when a third one jumped on her side, she quickly reached back and bit it. With a snap of her long neck, she tossed the flailing creature aside.

“Where are they all coming from?” she bellowed as she started to run again.

“This entire field is probably full of underground tunnels and chambers. They could come up anywhere,” Gersius replied.

She slid to a halt nearly topping Thayle and Gersius as the grass gave way to another cluster of tunnel openings. Trolls began to pour out hooting and screeching with clawed hands raised high. Lilly took a deep breath and froze them in their holes before running on.

“That will block those holes up!” she yelled back as she galloped away. Gersius saw the tide of trolls tearing through the grass behind them. They were not as fast as Lilly, but they also wouldn't tire. They would keep up the chase as long as they could see food. He needed to get Lilly into the trees and out of sight.

The tall and narrow trees of the distant forest line were rapidly getting closer when Lilly ran across another cluster of holes. She couldn't stop in time, and she launched herself over them, landing with a stumble and throwing Thayle and Gersius forward in the saddle. Around them, even more hoots and howls cried out, and black and green forms ran at them from every direction with arms over their heads waiving in the air.

Lilly ran straight for the trees plowing over anything that got in her way as the trolls swarmed in around her.

Gersius held Thayle with one hand and drew his sword with the other. A troll threw itself at Lilly's side but failed to get a hold. It was quickly followed another and then another. When one finally caught the leather strap of the harness to climb up, Gersius removed its arms.

Lilly jostled and bumped as she ran at full speed trampling trolls in her path.

Thayle saw a cloud of them coming from the left. She tied the ropes around one hand and used the other one to gesture as she called on her faith, singing a high musical tune. The plants and brush suddenly began to move, growing quickly and thickening. Vines flailed around and twisted around anything they could grasp tangling up trolls and creating a natural barrier.

Gersius was twisting around every way he could to make slashes at trolls that jumped at Lilly's back. One managed to grab hold of her bag of coins when it jumped at them, but he quickly ended its life by splitting its head.

With a horrible wail one managed to jump at Lilly's shoulders landing practically in Thayles lap, Lilly twisted her head around in an instant and clamped down on it with deadly jaws throwing it back off without even breaking her stride.

“Uuugh!” she bellowed. “These things taste horrible!”

“How did you expect them to taste?” Gersius yelled as he cut an arm off another troll that was hanging on.

“Like those last people you let me eat I suppose,” she said as she dodged to the side to avoid a large pack of the beasts.

“You let her eat people?” Thayle yelled as she turned another portion of the grasslands into a rapidly growing tangle of vines. She used the barrier to trip up a large group that was about to intercept them.

“I didn't want the bodies to rot and bring disease to the farmers,” Gersius yelled back as he sliced a leg off one troll on Lilly's back, sending it tumbling to the ground.

Lilly leaped again clearing another cluster of tunnel openings and crashed to the ground her feet sinking into the earth as the tunnels below her caved in. She struggled to get free as Thayle and Gersius tried to right themselves in the saddle. She got her front legs out and then cried out in pain as one of the creatures bit a foot from below. She flailed and struggled, throwing the two humans about as she clawed her way free and ran on.

Gersius looked behind them and felt fear. There were hundreds of trolls chasing them in a sea of black. He looked at Thayle, who was desperately trying to make her powers count. He could feel Lilly's pain whenever she stepped down with her foot.

He knew they were in danger despite Lilly being a dragon. The trolls would swarm over her biting and clawing. Trolls didn't know fear; they attacked mindlessly and savagely. So long as they could see food, they would pursue it endlessly. There was no way they could hope to fight so many. His order had battled troll swarms before, but he met them with hundreds of brothers.

The world seemed to slow around him as his anger built. He felt the love he had for Lilly and Thayle in his heart even as he felt their panic and fear. That feeling made him enraged that these monsters were threatening his wives. He looked up to the sky as his eyes began to glow a dull red. He raised his sword as he called out a command of divine power.

Thayle felt panic rising in her heart. The trees were close, but the trolls were closer. Lilly might be fast in the open plain, but she was going to be slower in the forest. They hadn't gotten far enough away to hide once they hit the trees. The trolls would likely gain on them and overwhelm them. It was then that she heard the rumbling thunder.

A great sensation of power and then pain rolled through her mind from the link with Gersius.

She heard Lilly call out in pain as she felt it even more intensely.

“Gersius, what are you doing!” she screamed.

The ground shook, and the air went brilliant white as Gersius called on the wrath of Astikar.

A sound like a tornado filled their ears, and Thayle looked over her head to see a pillar of fire race down from the sky and slam into the ground, all around it the field went up in flames, and it raced out in rolling waves of fire.

“Gersius!” she yelled as she saw him, suddenly stumble and fall. She reached out with her free hand to try and grab him barely managing to get a hold of the collar of his breastplate.

“What has happened to Gersius?” Lilly yelled in a panic as she darted into the line of trees.

“He has called on more power than he has prayed for!” Thayle yelled, her arm going numb trying to hold on to him.

“He hasn't prayed for anything!” Lilly bellowed back.

“And he has traded his own life to manage it! We need to find someplace to stop and get him into the saddle. I can't hold him much longer!”

Lilly tried to make her run as level as she could to prevent bumping them. Thayle groaned as her shoulder began to ache from struggling to hold on to the unconscious man.

The wall of fire had bought them some distance. The trolls had scattered running from the fire, but they could hear them through the trees, screeching and hollering.

Thayle fought to pull him back up into the saddle properly. Tears began to well in her eyes as her arm started to ache, then suddenly Lilly came to a halt, and the momentum carried Gersius right into her back.

“Why did you stop?” Thayle yelled, fighting the pain in her back and trying to drag Gersius into her lap.

“We have found the river,” Lilly said with panic in her voice.

“They why did you, oh,” Thayle said as she looked around Lilly.

The river was at least seventy feet below them in a canyon gorge that had to be two hundred feet across. She looked side to side to see they had run into a bulge with the canyon on three sides. They were trapped!

“I wish I had my wings!” Lilly bellowed as she began to panic.

Thayles eyes were wide with fear, Gersius was unconscious, and the howls of the trolls were not far behind.

“What do we do, Thayle?” Lilly called.

Thayle dropped the ropes and climbed down out of Lilly,s saddle.

“Thayle what are you doing?” Lilly called out as Thayle quickly dug at her pack.

She pulled out her silver bowl with trembling hands as the screeches got louder. She grabbed a small crystal bottle from her pack and ran to a nearby tree.

“I call on your power and grace my Goddess Ulustrah. Please hear your servant in her time of need. I call on your power and grace my Goddess Ulustrah. Please hear your servant in her time of need.”

She repeatedly chanted as she poured the water into the silver bowl.

“Thayle I can see them coming!” Lilly called.

Thayles hands shook as she lifted the bowl above her head.

“I ask your blessing on this your sacred water. Give it the power of your divine gift,” she said and then quickly poured the water out at the base of a tree.

A snapping and cracking noise was heard, and the ground around the tree split as roots as big as Thayle began to split the earth at her feet.

The tree suddenly shook and swelled, its trunk getting larger and its peak growing taller. It raced upward into the sky towering above the other trees. It grew on and one even as she turned to run.

“Lilly!” she screamed as she ran back.

“Thayle they are almost here!” Lilly responded as she looked out over the black tide spreading into the forest.

“Use your breath! freeze the base of the tree!” Thayle screamed as she threw herself onto Lilly's back and struggled to hold on to her bowl while grabbing the ropes and Gersius.

Lilly turned to see a tree towering like a mountain into the air.

“The base of the tree on the side that faces the river! Hurry, Lilly!” Thayle yelled.

Lilly ran for the tree, and her eyes lit up with brilliant blue light. She let loose with a blast of freezing deadly cold coating the base of the tree in ice and flash freezing it.

A loud snap echoed through the forest as the tree began to shudder. A huge split raced up the trunk from the ground and the giant began to lean over.

“Push it toward the canyon!” Thayle yelled.

Lilly raced to the side and put her shoulder against the giant trunk. She dug her claws in and pushed with all her might causing the tree to lean toward the river. The further it leaned, the louder the snapping and breaking became until the trunk exploded as the tree fell over, bridging the canyon over the river in a titanic crash.

“Quickly get across!” Thayle yelled.

Lilly scrambled out on to the trunk that was now three times as wide as she was and carefully tried to run across it. She had to snake around branches and nearly slipped when bark pulled away under her claws.

Thayle looked over her shoulder to see a cloud of green and black madness reaching the trunk of the tree and swarming across it like a plague of ants.

“They are still coming!” Thayle yelled.

“I have an idea!” Lilly yelled, and she struggled to turn around, facing the onrushing doom.

She took another breath and let out another gout of ice, coating the tree between them in a thick sheet. She quickly turned to keep running as the trolls reached the ice.

Thayle saw them running on like wild beasts, uncaring, and unafraid until they hit the ice slick. One by one, they slipped and slid falling from the trunk of the tree into the canyon below. They continued to swarm ahead mindlessly throwing themselves to their doom as Lilly made it to the other side.

“Go! Don't stop running until they can't see us anymore!” Thayle barked, and Lilly plowed on into the darkest forest she had ever seen grateful that she had the dragon sight.

They stopped ten minutes later, and Thayle practically fell out of the saddle with trembling fear.

She dragged Gersius from Lilly’s back and pressed her hands to his chest.

“What has he done to himself!” Lilly cried, “I can barely feel him!”

“I can't feel him at all,” Thayle said, desperately calling on her limited healing power.

A golden light began to spread out from Thayle’s trembling hands and drifted across his chest as she focused and tried to heal as much as she could.

“Thank the Goddess he is still alive,” Thayle whispered.

Gersius suddenly gasped and groaned, and Thayle could feel him in her mind again.

“It’s working!” Lilly said. “I can feel his strength growing.”

Gersius opened his eyes and weakly looked up into Thayle's panicked crying face.

“What... What happened?” he asked weakly.

“You foolish man!” Thayle yelled at him. “You haven't been doing your morning prayers! What made you think you could call on power like that!”

“I had to save you. I had to save you both,” he said, struggling to move his head.

Thayle hugged him to her chest and started to cry.

“Don't you ever do that again!” she yelled at him.

Lilly lowered her head and rested it against them both to join in the embrace.

“I had to save you,” he said again, weakly and closed his eyes.

“Thayle!” Lilly yelled.

“He is fine, Lilly. He has spent all his energy and more, he needs to sleep,” Thayle said her voice still broken and trembling.

Lilly hovered over them both and shed a tear as Thayle laid back on the ground with Gersius in her lap.

Thayle laid there looking up into Lilly's eyes, letting her tears roll down her cheeks.

“That was very clever of you,” Lilly said, moving down to hover right over Thayle.

Thayle reached up a hand and put it to the side of Lilly’s head.

Lilly shifted her back leg and looked around at her bitten foot.

“Oh, goodness, Lilly! I didn't realize you were injured,” Thayle said, struggling to get up.

“Thayle, stay there! It’s only a small bite. The ugly thing hardly broke a scale,” Lilly said. “Besides, can you even do more healing now?”

Thayle shook her head no and laid back down.

Lilly's head returned, and she buried her snout in Thayles shoulder.

“You saved our lives,” Lilly said.

“Gersius slowed them down and bought us the time we needed. I grew the tree, and you froze it to knock it over. We saved our lives.” Thayle responded, wrapping an arm around the side of Lilly's head.

“Maybe, but Gersius and I did things we are familiar with. You were very creative with your solution, and you did it under pressure, you are an amazing human.”

“Thank you, Lilly,” Thayle whispered.

Lilly pulled her head up and shook it.

“What is wrong?” Thayle asked.

“This forest floor is crawling with bugs,” she replied.

Thayle struggled to sit up and get her back and her hair off the ground.

“I will fix it, my love,” Lilly said and took a gentle breath.

Lilly breathed out slowly causing a freezing wind that she blew directly over Thayle and Gersius. Thayle felt the cold sweep across her skin but was protected by Lilly's love. The ground around her frosted over and froze, killing anything that was crawling in it.

Thayle sat there motionless and relished the sensation of being bathed in dragons breath, as the world around her turned to ice. She could hear a gentle tone in Lilly’s voice as the breath washed over her.

“That was amazing!” Thayle said when Lilly stopped. “So you can't harm us with your breath at all?”

“I suspect if I blow hard enough, I can make the cold painful. It might even knock you down or coat you in ice, but I would never do that to you,” Lilly replied.

Thayle was reminded of the night before when Lilly had indeed blown too hard. Thayle lifted her hands that glistened with frost, and she realized that she and Gersius were white with it.

“It felt amazing to feel your breath on me, to feel the cold but wasn’t harmed by it.”

Lilly leaned down and came closer to Thayle. She took another small breath and blew into Thayles face, chilling her with another breeze.

Thayle just closed her eyes and experienced it.

“Thank you, Lilly. I enjoyed that,” Thayle said.

“I will be sure to blow you more kisses later,” Lilly replied. “It should be safe to lay back down. There will be nothing left alive to crawl on you.”

“Winter kisses from an ice dragon,” Thayle said with a smile.

“Lay down my wife,” Lilly said while nudging Thayle with her nose.

Thayle laid down on the frozen ground and closed her eyes as she struggled to calm her racing heart. Gersius lay in her lap, breathing faintly and Lilly hovered overhead. She took a deep breath and let the exhaustion claim her.