Gersius awoke to find himself sleeping in Thayles lap. He struggled to lift his head to look around.

The little bit of sky he could see above was black and dotted with stars. Around him was a densely overgrown forest, thick with vines and brush. The trees towered up in straight reddish brown trunks whose lowest branches were easily fifty feet up.

It took him a moment to realize it was night as the dragon sight made it appear to be day. He blinked several times as if he could make it go away.

“You're awake,” Came Lilly's soft voice.

“What happened?” he asked, not remembering how he got there.

“Thayle says you called on divine power well above your level of preparation to use and traded your life energy to channel it.”

“I remember trolls. You were both in danger,” he said, looking around as he forced himself up.

“Is Thayle alright?” he asked, looking down at the woman who was sleeping on a bed of frost.

“She's fine. I think she was so frightened you had died that she exhausted herself in fear.”

He looked up at Lilly who was laying on her stomach beside them both; her tail curled around them protectively.

“Are you alright?” he asked her.

“I have a tiny bite on one foot that is irritating, but not serious,” she said.

“Come, let me look at it,” Gersius said.

“You sit where you are, Gersius. You won’t be channeling any more power today,” Lilly insisted.

He tried to get up, but every muscle in his chest hurt. He gave up and stayed sitting.

“Lay back down, there is no reason for you to be up,” Lilly said.

“I will get my bedroll,” he said, struggling to get to his feet.

Lilly brought her head down and nudged him back over.

“Just lay down. Thayle is more than comfortable enough,” she told him again.

He relented and laid down, putting his head back in Thayles lap.

We found the river,” Lilly told him once he was relaxed.

“You did?”

“Yes, it is about a mile back. But it's a canyon. We won't be able to follow it directly.

“We are above it then?” he asked.

“Yes, we are well above it.”

“Better to be above it. I do not want to be caught in a narrow canyon if we need to run again,” he said.

Lilly looked up and scanned the trees around them and then turned back to look down on him.

“Gersius, what are we doing?” she asked him.

“What do you mean?” he said, looking up into her blazing eyes.

“I mean us. When we first met, you had a mission, and it drove you and all your decisions. Now we're in the middle of some forest far to the north looking for a dragon temple. I don't even know why we are looking for it, and I don't know what drives you anymore.”

“Lilly, many things have happened that are out of my control. I had a mission and a goal, but the people I was trying to help turned against me. So yes, I lost my way, and my driving force, but it was a blessing.”

“How is that a blessing?” Lilly asked.

“Because I was so focused on my mission and my goals that I did not realize how much I was falling in love with you. It was only after my mission was gone that I could see the truth.”

“Oooooh!” came Thayles voice from beside him, her hand came to his chest and pressed him into her lap.

“I see you are listening,” Gersius said.

“You’re in my lap having a conversation with a dragon whose whisper is as loud as three men speaking, so yes I am listening,” Thayle said her eyes still closed.

Lilly smiled and continued speaking.

“I am your wife now, Gersius. Thanks to Thayle, we are passed the confusion of those days. What is your mission now?”

“My mission was to save the people of Delvarium, by recreating the dragon empire, but my wayward brothers have changed my path. I now need to clean the house of Astikar, establish a new Father Abbot, then rebuild the dragon empire,” he said.

“You make it sound like it is as easy as cleaning a bucket,” Thayle said.

‘It will be very hard and very dangerous. I need Lilly in order to make the prophecy happen, but you, Thayle. I would like to see you someplace safe.”

“I will be safe, right next to you and Lilly. there isn't a safer place to be.”

“Ha!” Lilly snorted. “You call earlier today safe?”

Gersius and Thayle chuckled at the remark.

“So what are we doing now?” Lilly asked. “Why are we looking for this temple?”

“Numidel told us it was important for you to go. He was even more insistent when he saw your wings. If there is any chance to restore your wings, I am going to take it,” Gersius said.

“I'm not sure I trust that dragon,” Lilly said.

“He seemed very kind to me,” Thayle remarked.

“Lilly, as a man who had strong faith, I understand the divine. If there is an ancient dragon Goddess and she is calling you, I very much want you to go. Many people in the world would wish to be called by one of the divines. I was not called.”

“Nor was I,” Thayle added.

“But you two are so strong in your faiths?” Lilly said, confused.

“That comes from hard work and dedication. Just because you were not specifically called does not mean you can't serve and add value. The gods rarely call anybody unless there is a dire need, and if you are being called, then perhaps there is a dire need for you to go.”

Thayle reached her hand to Gersius's face and caressed his cheek.

“I love how you explain things to her,” she said. “No wonder she has learned so much about us so quickly.”

“So what happens if we find this temple?” Lilly asked.

“I do not know. Our only task is to answer the call. What happens after that is up to the caller.” he said.

“Lilly,” Thayle interrupted. “Could you blow me another kiss, the ground is thawing.”

“Of course my lover,” Lilly said.

“What do you mean blow you a kiss?” Gersius asked.

“Just close your eyes and enjoy it,” Thayle said.

Gersius closed his eyes and heard Lilly inhale. He was suddenly awash in a wind of cold that seemed to caress instead of bite. He felt frost spreading across his face, and the air suddenly became crisp and clean.

He opened his eyes, and he and Thayle were both covered in crystals of ice and frost.

Thayle groaned in contentment. “I need to try that with my armor off,” she said.

“I will enjoy bathing you in my breath,” Lilly added.

“Didn't you complain she gave you frostbite the other day?” Gersius asked.

“She blew much harder on a very small tender area,” Thayle said blushing under her layer of frost.

“I told you I was sorry!” Lilly repeated.

“Why are you suddenly worried about my goals, Lilly?” Gersius asked her.

Lilly lowered her head down to him and rubbed his side with her nose.

“When you had your mission, you were so focused and driven, and you spoke to your God every morning. I liked hearing you sing to him. I don't understand the words, but they are beautiful.”

“I still have a mission, but now I have two wives that I love very much. I have to include them in the decisions I make.”

“You can't use us as an excuse, Gersius. I will follow you anywhere, and I’m sure so will Thayle.”

“I will go where you lead, husband,” Thayle said.

“Thayle, you hold a rank comparable to mine. You do not have to follow me anywhere. You could command hundreds to follow you into battle if you so wished.”

“I could, but I chose to follow you instead. I committed to that when I agreed to let you bind me,” she said, “But thank you for acknowledging my rank and ability.”

“Listen you two, neither of you is submissive to me. You are my equals, and in many ways, you are my betters. I will lead you so long as you want to be led, but you will never bow to me.”

Thayle ran her fingers down his jawline tenderly as a moment of silenced passed.

“So what of your faith then, Gersius? When will you sing to your God again?” Lilly asked.

“I have not forgotten who my God is. But I harbor to much anger to pray to him.” Gersius said. “I may be angry at Astikar, but I still respect him. I do not understand why he has allowed all this to come to pass. I am sure he has his reasons, but I can honestly say I don't care what his reasons are. I did the things I did out of faith in him and for his Glory. To be rewarded, the way I was rewarded was hurtful.”

“I would not survive a test of faith like that,” Thayle said.

“I do not pray to him because my prayers would be false. They would not carry the commitment of the heart that such a thing requires. I would be speaking empty words to curry favor for improper reasons. This would be a dishonor to him.”

“You are a great man to honor a God you are so angry with,” Thayle said.

“What will you do then my love?” Lilly asked. “Your faith was such a beautiful thing to behold, and your singing in the mornings would move my heart.”

“Maybe I will have Thayle make me a priest of Ulustrah,” he said with a smile.

“I would be honored to teach you, Gersius,” Thayle said.

“I will give it some thought,” he said, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

The night passed in peace as Lilly guarded her loved ones.

“Well, that was a waste of money. I should have just thrown it in Lilly's horde,” Gersius said as they stretched in the morning.

“I can't believe I’m not at all hungry,” Thayle said.

“I am not hungry or thirsty. I feel like I just ate a satisfying meal an hour ago,” Gersius said.

“You can still eat to enjoy it,” Lilly said as Gersius helped Thayle wipe leaves off her back.

“Are there any more of your traits you're going to share?” he asked her.

“All that is left to share would be sleeping for a hundred years and laying eggs,” Lilly joked.

Gersius looked up at Thayle who had a sudden wide-eyed expression.

“At least I won't have to suffer that one,” he said, walking to tie up his pack.

“Hey!” Thayle yelled at him. “If I start laying eggs you will have to sit on them!”

“Dragons are not like chickens. I do not believe they sit on their eggs,” Gersius said.

“We don't. It's why females often have large caves as lairs. The caves are always a cool temperature. We lay the eggs deep in the back and wait for them to hatch,” Lilly said.

“I envy your method of childbearing,” Thayle said, rubbing her stomach. “I wonder though if you could have a child with Gersius, would you lay an egg?”

They all three stopped to ponder it.

“I don't know?” Lilly said, lost in thought.

“And would it be one egg? How many eggs does a dragon lay?” Gersius asked as he helped Thayle up to the saddle.

“Usually two to five, Though my mother said that there have been dragons that laid only one egg, and some that laid as many as twelve.”

“Twelve children at once?” Thayle said, shaking her head. “I am frightened to have one.”

“So how many eggs did your mother lay, to have you then?” Thayle asked as Gersius climbed in behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“She had three. I have a sister and a brother, well, I guess I do.” Lilly said, pondering it as she started walking through the trees.

“You guess you do?” Gersius asked.

“Broodlings tend to fight a lot, and they don't consider themselves family. They only bond with the mother and not each other.”

“That is very sad,” Thayle said. “But I imagine it is part of the curse.”

“Have you ever tried to speak to your sister or your brother?” Gersius asked.

“Never, I don't even know where they lair,” Lilly said.

“Do they ever visit your mother as you do?” Thayle asked her.

“I don't know. I assume they do, but I really don't know,” Lilly replied.

“Maybe we will meet one of them one day,” Gersius added.

“I worry what would happen. If there is a dragon curse and they are like how I was, they would attack you two on sight. I would have to fend them off.”

“Lilly,” Gersius started. “I have always wondered. You were never like how dragons are described. You were willing to talk to me and bargain with me, and once you were in human form, you slowly started to open up.”

“I was so badly battered and dying, I was in shock, I was frightened, and from the moment I knew my wings were ruined. I knew I needed you to survive. I had no choice but to open up to you. I could not afford to let you leave me behind like you intended to do.”

“I, I was a different man back then,” Gersius said, lowering his head.

“You were only doing what you thought was right. You didn't know I had a human form.”

“I still regret that day,” he said.

“I regret many things that have happened, but I would not give you up to change them,” Lilly said, turning her head to look at him as Thayle let out another “Oooooh.”

“In many ways, what has happened to me has gotten us here. You would not be on my back if the vicious Dellain had not cut off my wings.”

“Please, Lilly. I do not even want to think of it,” Gersius said.

Lilly and Thayle could feel the sadness through the link.

“I am sorry, I didn’t mean to make you relive that day. Please just let it go.”

“So long as Dellain lives, I will never be able to let it go,” Gersius said.

“Let's talk about what we need to do then,” Thayle suggested.

“I assume you want me to go back to the river and follow it,” Lilly stated.

“Yes. We will follow it upstream until we find its source,” he replied.

They packed up and climbed back on to Lilly's back with the hope that today would be a better day.

Lilly set off across the musty forest floor in the shade of the tall trees. They fond the river in minutes, and Lilly and Thayle explained the giant tree to Gersius who complimented them on their skill.

They turned and followed the canyon heading roughly northwest. The forest here was dense with brush as the sunlight from the canyon penetrated deeper in and caused more growth. The ground was mostly level with the occasional stream that ran to the river or a fallen log that had to be crossed, but many hours later they were miles away from where they camped.

“Gersius,” Thayle said as they trudged along swaying on Lilly's back. “There is something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“What did you want Thayle?”

“You should be crippled. What you did yesterday burned your body from the inside out. I healed you enough to keep you alive, but you should be in pain still. You don’t even seem to be sore.”

“I feel fine,” he told her. “Maybe a little sore, my armor feels heavy today.”

“That's my point, Gersius. I can't heal like you can. I could not have done this.”

“Then, how am I being healed?”

“I think this has something to do with Lilly,” Thayle said.

Gersius was silent a moment as he thought about it. “So you think she is healing me somehow?”

Thayle sighed. “When you two came to my temple, I saw her sending you light. It isn't like a humans light; it looks more like a divine flow. Later, when you escaped Whiteford, I put you two next to each other to rest. Lilly had a spear wound that went right through her leg. I wasn't able to heal it because I spent all my power on you. The next morning the wound in her leg was nothing but an angry red and purple welt. She was on her feet minutes later when she should not have been able to move her leg at all.”

“So she heals quickly,” he said with a nod.

“There has to be more to it,” Thayle said. “I was surprised at how fast Lilly heals. I tried to convince myself it was the blessed water, but I don't think it is. It's some combination of the two. Lilly can't heal on her own, but when you do try to heal her, she heals much faster than she should. When I healed you yesterday that effect transferred to you. I could see her light swarming you while I healed. Almost like it was trying to help.”

Lilly paused in her tracks and turned her long neck around. “Forgive me, my loves, but I can't help but hear you. Do you really think I am healing him somehow?”

Thayle looked up at her. “I don’t know. All I know is I can’t heal like this. I doubt even Gersius could heal like this, and yet twice now he has recovered from wounds far more quickly than he should have.”

“And both times you had healed me and left me close to Lilly,” he said.

Thayle nodded. “And I saw her light flowing to you like a river racing to a falls.”

“What does all that mean?” Lilly asked.

“I have no idea,” Thayle said. “But something is happening. Do dragons heal unusually fast?”

Lilly shook her head. “An injured dragon will lay on its hoard and sleep until it recovers. Maybe it's a little faster, but I was never badly injured before that day in the valley.”

“I wonder if she had her hoard if she could have healed her wings?” Gersius said.

They both looked up as Lilly turned away and made a loud sniffling as she started to walk again.

“Oh, sweetheart, please don't be upset!” Thayle cried and rubbed at her shoulder.

“I miss my wings,” Lilly said with a sigh. “These last few nights while you two slept, I have cried because I wish I could cover you with them.”

“Lilly,” Thayle said softly. “I am so sorry I brought this up.”

Lilly tipped her head down but didn't look back. “Whenever I see the clouds, I am reminded of how much I enjoyed flying. You have no idea how much time I would spend soaring the sky.”

Thayle felt awful for reminding her of her pain, but Gersius spoke up.

“Lilly, I do not want to get yours or our hopes up, but Numidel was very insistent we go to this temple when he saw your wings. Maybe, just maybe, there is a chance,” Gersius said with as much encouragement as he dared.

“Yes, we can always hope,” Thayle said still rubbing Lilly’s shoulder, “There are plenty of stories of people with horrific injuries being healed months or even years later,”

“How were they healed?” Lilly asked.

“By something we humans call miracles,” Gersius said.

“What is a miracle?” She asked.

“It is when a divine decides to directly intervene, and change something, usually for the benefit of somebody worthy. Sometimes it isn't even a person who worships a divine, sometimes the divines find something in a person that they cherish, and they act.”

“I can't imagine anybody more worthy than Lilly,” Thayle said.

“Lilly is worthy of many miracles,” Gersius said.

“Oooooh,” came Thayles sweet voice as Lilly's dragon lips curled into a smile.

“I am glad you feel better,” he called out to Lilly.

Lilly smiled, even more, when she realized he could feel her.

“I do enjoy sharing this link with you. I just wish I could feel Thayle.”

“I wish you could feel me too, and that I could feel you back,” Thayle said.

“Well we can fix that,” Gersius said. “I will release you, and Lilly can bind you.”

“Oh Gersius I am bound to you because you are our husband, it’s more respectful that way.”

Gersius smiled, “Thayle, we both know you need a lot more time to warm up to me. But you are already warm to Lilly. I see no reason to keep you bound to me when you both want the link.”

“I agree with Thayle,” Lilly said. “You are our husband. You should have the link.”

“The offer stands then, whenever you two want it, it is yours.”

Lilly suddenly stopped and peered over a steep hill in her path.

“We may have to go around this. I think it may be too steep to climb down without dropping you two from my back,” she said.

Gersius peered over Thayles shoulder and around Lilly's neck.

It was a steep rocky slope that was covered with leaves and needles and spotted with trees. He looked to the right to see if he could see a way around it.

“I suppose we do need to go around,” he said, “It is just a small stream that has cut a steep gully, it has to level out someplace where we can cross.”

“The trees here are getting thicker. It’s getting harder to pick a path through them,” Lilly added.

They turned to the right and stuck as close to the edge of the gully as they followed it. Lilly had to begin snapping smaller trees to make a path she could pass through.

“I think I see a clearing ahead,” Thayle said, noticing more light through the branches before them.

Lilly's great blue head crawled out the dense leaves followed by her powerful arms as she stalked out into a small open glen of mossy stones and weeds. A pile of rocks covered in more moss and years of windblown leaves dominated the center of the clearing. Thick green vines crisscrossed the open area and climbed up the mound encasing it in a green prison.

“This area is clear because the ground is paved,” Gersius said looking down to see an occasional smooth stone under the years of overgrowth.

“We are days from even the bravest humans to live in the wilds. Who would have built something out here?” Thayle asked.

“This is old, a ruin of some kind, something long lost,” he suggested. “Maybe it is what is left of the northern empires from that war Numidel told us about.”

“He said it went all the way to ice sheets to the north,” Thayle remembered.

“I still can’t believe there were that many dragons,” Lilly said. “And that we shared in your world.”

“Why?” Gersius asked. “You share in our world, and we love you for it.”

Lilly shook her head. “You had to bind me to open my eyes to do that.”

“Numidel said that was because of the curse,” Thayle reminded her. “These ancient dragons would have been before the curse.”

Lilly nodded and carefully strode over to the mound of rocks that was taller than she was.

“Some of these stones look chiseled,” Gersius said as she walked around them. “Whatever it was, it has long since fallen to ruin.”

“What is that in the rubble?” Thayle asked.

Gersius leaned over and looked at the hill of stones. He could see a face inside.

“Lilly, can you pull some of those stones aside?” he asked.

Lilly saw from his mind what he wanted and walked up to the rubble and began to pull the stones over.

“Careful, the others may shift,” he said as she worked.

She tossed more and more aside until at last, they had a better view. It was a statue nearly as tall as Lilly's shoulder. It was severely battered and broken, but enough of it still stood to make them wonder.

“He must have been telling the truth,” Thayle gasped.

“I can’t believe what I am seeing,” Gersius said.

There before them was a statue of a dragon clutching to its chest as if in a hug, a human woman.

Lilly studied the image a moment and then suddenly smelled the air as Gersius looked up.

“We are not alone,” he said.

“How do you know?” Thayle asked.

“I have a sense for danger from Astikar. I feel it crawling up my skin. I can also see into Lilly's mind. She smells something off.”

“It smells sickly, like something long dead. I can’t figure out where it is. The sent is all around us,” Lilly whispered back. “And all I see are trees,” she added, sweeping her head about to scan the trees around the clearing.

Thayle glanced around them, searching the foliage. “Could you be wrong?” she asked as Gersius drew his sword. Thayle untied her shield from Lilly's side and braced her arm in it while she took her staff in the other hand.

“You need to get a sword,” Gersius said while slowly standing up on Lilly's back.

“Our order only uses force to subdue. We try never to kill; thus, we don't use swords.”

“I saw guards in your temple with swords, the arms master had an ax,” he said.

“The forces under arms will carry swords or other weapons, but the rank and file priestess does not,” she said.

“You are not a rank and file priestess, take Lilly’s sword,” he suggested.

“I would rather not,” Thayle said also coming to her feet.

A snapping sound was heard in the trees ahead of them.

“Why can’t we see it?” Lilly asked as she stared in the direction of the sound.

“Whatever it is, it is trying to remain unseen,” Gersius whispered back.

Lilly yelped as something suddenly grabbed at her tail. She twisted her head around and lurched forward to see a green vine wrapping around her tail at great speed.

“It has my tail!” she yelled, trying to pull away from it.

Gersius and Thayle turned to see the green snake climbing its way up her back.

“What is it?” Gersius said as he dropped from her back and moved to cut it off.

Thayle looked all around them and saw the danger. All around them the ground was covered in this thick green vines, they were standing in the web of a deadly plant.

“It's a creeper vine!” she yelled as Gersius hacked the green cord from Lilly's tail.

All around them, vines suddenly began to move. They wrapped around Lilly's legs, and she immediately let loose a gout of ice, freezing the deadly ropes to one side of her body.

Gersius found the vines challenging to cut as they began to flail around him. The green ropes were tough and woody. His sword would bite into them but not cut clean through. He struggled to hack them apart as they rose up and curled about them. One caught at his arm, but he twisted away and bumped into another. He struggled to keep moving his legs as vines curled about his legs threatening to trap him.

Lilly suddenly lurched under Thayle’s feet as the vines found her legs and began to drag her. She used her arms to tear at them, breaking them with her strength, but more and more of them were wrapped about her.

Thayle knew her staff was useless, and she tried to climb across Lilly's back to the sword on Lilly's pack. She fell and flailed as the vines tugged at Lilly again, dragging her to the side. She reached out with a hand and fumbled for the sword. Lilly suddenly lurched, and Thayle rolled to the side, dropping the blade into the forest floor.

She felt panic rise in her heart as Lilly let loose with another gout of ice and tried to tear vines from her legs. She realized that they were in terrible danger, and she was powerless to help them. She knew the vines only feared one thing, and that was fire, something she had no power to create.

“Ther are too many!” Gersius yelled as he stumbled free of a twisting green rope. “What do we do?”

“Gersius!” Thayle yelled. “Use fire!”

“I cannot do that again, Thayle! You will not be able to save me a second time!” he yelled as he hacked away.

Lilly suddenly bellowed out as a vine wrapped around her neck and twisted her head to the side, Thayle saw the fear in the dragon's eyes and her heart froze when mighty Lilly called for help.

Gersius sword arm became entangled, and the vine pulled him over, throwing him into more of the writhing mass. He reached down with his free hand and pulled out the dragon blade.

“Dassk!” he called out, and the blade lit with blue fire.

A shrill whistling sound split the air, and the blade passed cleanly through the vine with ease. He quickly began to hack away at the vines grabbing at him as he heard Lilly scream out.

“Thayle help!” Lilly pleaded as she nearly toppled over.

The forest to the side suddenly shifted and moved as the thick plants gave way. A large sickly mass of what looked like giant flower petals was exposed. The petals were as large as her shield and covered in barbs as long as her fingers. It dripped with a thick syrupy sap, and the smell of rotting meat wafted out.

Thayle knew these plants from her training. The central flowers were immobile, but they would spread their vines out to twist around prey and drag them into the barbed petals. The sap on the surface would paralyze any animal that was dragged in, and it would slowly die and rot feeding the plant.

“Ulustrah forgive me,” Thayle said out loud as she began to channel.

Gersius heard her voice. It sounded pained and discordant. It wasn't anything like the musical chants he had heard her sing before. He hacked another vine out of his way as he tried to get to Lilly. He could see Thayle on her back a black cloud forming around her hands. In his mind, he felt suffering from her across the bind.

Lilly tried to let out a gout of ice, but the vines had her head twisted, and she missed the sickly mass as she was dragged toward it. Gersius fell as his leg was grabbed and he turned to use wind razor to cleave himself free. His mind began to fill with a sense of sickness, and he looked up at Thayle who struggling to balance on Lilly's back finally reached out and grabbed a vine that was wrapped around Lilly’s shoulders delivering the blackness she was creating to it.

The plant made a wailing hissing noise that was deafening. All around him vines flailed and twisted in pain.

Around Lilly's neck, the green vines went black and began to tear and crumble. Her head broke free just feet away from the paralyzing petals, and she wasted no time in covering the mass with a layer of ice. The wailing noise turned into a muted screeching as it gagged with ice.

Lilly fought and kicked as vines went sickly and black and broke away.

“What did you do?” Gersius asked as he reached them.

Thayle knelt on Lilly's back crying.

Lilly finally tore the last of the rotting cords from her limbs and turned to look at Thayle.

“You saved me!” Lilly cried before seeing Thayles tears. “What’s wrong?”

“I turned a blessing,” Thayle said trembling.

Gersius heard the words and didn’t waste a moment, the vines attacking them had gone black and started to rot, but there were plenty of green ones still flailing about. He climbed up and scooped Thayle into his lap and grabbed the ropes.

“Lilly get clear of the vines!” he yelled.

Lilly nodded and bolted across them, trampling them even as they flailed at her. When they were well away, she slowed enough to look around.

“Thayle,” she said, looking down at her.

“I’m fine. I just feel sick.” Thayle said.

“You feel so sick I can feel it,” Gersius said with a dire tone in his voice.

“I don't understand what has happened?” Lilly said.

“She turned a blessing, Lilly. She made a blessing from her Goddess into a curse. This is a grave insult to the divine power,”

“I made them wither and rot,” Thayle cried.

“Surely her Goddess will understand! We were in danger!” Lilly protested.

“No one knows how a divine will react to such a thing. Few priests ever attempt it, and those that do are often punished,” Gersius said as he looked down at Thayle. “There are stories of priests being stripped of their power and marked so people will know their shame.”

Lilly was silent and looked down at the sobbing woman. Thayle lay curled into a ball with her eyes closed, crying like a child. She looked up at Gersius at a loss as to what to do.

“Stop a moment,” he asked.

When Lilly stopped, Gersius pulled Thayle into his arms and held her as firmly as his armor would allow.

“Be at peace priestess. You may have saved both our lives. Your Goddess will see the need, and not be harsh with you.”

“I have betrayed Ulustrahs love,” Thayle groaned.

“You saved us out of love, Thayle. You used your power to save the ones you loved, that is not a crime,” he told her.

“I should have seen it! I should have seen the danger! My order hunts and kills these things. We burn them out and use our powers to regrow the natural plants. You told me there was something there. I should have seen it.”

“Thayle, it was a green plant in a dense forest. How could you have been expected to see it?” Gersius asked.

“I saw the vines,” she said with a shake of her head. “I saw them all across the ground. I should have known. I am so sorry.”

“Thayle, I have led men to their deaths in hastily planned military campaigns. I should have seen the dangers or the flaws in my plans. My entire mission to find Lilly sent thirty men to their graves all for a danger I should have seen. Do not blame yourself for this. You saved our lives, your Goddess will understand, or I will be angry at two divines!”

Thayle opened her eyes and made a little laugh, “Let's hope you don't have to add Ulustrah to the pain in your heart, Gersius. What I feel there already is far too much for one man.”

“You wanted into the link. It is not always love and happiness, sometimes there is pain,” he said, looking down at her.

“Nothing great can be forged without pain, Gersius. A rock must be battered and broken to make a grand statue. It has to be chipped away until all that is unnecessary is gone to reveal the beautiful form inside.

Gersius nodded and pulled her tight, “This is why I am glad you are with us,” he whispered in her ear as Lilly began to walk on again. He sighed as he clutched her tight. He knew what she had just done. He silently hopped she would not pay the price.