He woke up feeling as if he were on a cloud. He was floating, calm, but a discomfort he didn’t quite understand. Frustration? Anger? Perhaps it was the symptoms of that night, and although the sun was well overhead, he didn’t know precisely how long he stayed that way.

His friends and even Blanche were asleep, all safe in the shade of various palm trees, too exhausted to pay attention to what was around them. The calm that sanctuaries conveyed; he could attest to that. Then, before he could sit up, Leith stirred in her seat.

“She’s dreaming,” Finnian muttered to himself.

With her eyes closed, they moved even in that state, a sign of how active her mind was. Ead soon awoke, flying silently to his side, observing the scene as well.

“What’s the matter?” hummingbird said, in a slightly sleepy voice.

“Leith is having a nightmare,” Finnian said, furrowing both eyebrows.

“How can you be sure?”

He could answer that his instinct told him so, that it was enough to see her tense body to understand that she was not resting like the others. It could also be due to their bond, but they did not always keep active. Any answer would do, although none would help her. Sitting next to the dragon, he approached her carefully, not wanting to alarm or scare her. He was unaware of what he could do to help Leith, not now, not as she was. For that very reason, he rubbed her gently, seeking to relax her.

“All is okay. You are safe. You are loved.”

How many times did he have nightmares that left him broken inside? Finnian ignored the one time he woke up feeling worse than when he managed to fall asleep. He didn’t know how to avoid them either, but what would help make them less painful. The dragon emerald’s gaze finally opened, first observing her surroundings, disoriented, and then looking at him.

“You were dreaming,” Finnian said, forcing a slight smile, “You were having a nightmare.”

“How...?” she began, then shook her head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you,”

“Don’t apologize. Do you want to talk about it?”

“You should be resting,” Leith reproached him.

“Maybe that burden that keeps you from sleeping is what you need to share with someone,” Finnian said.

No one else would listen to them, though they both knew that wasn’t the problem. The dragon hesitated, even sitting up to look at the large crystal. Perhaps words were not necessary, but there were thoughts they did not express, and they had to decide whether they wanted to share them or not.

“The kidnapping, the escape... Calamity may not be a dragon slayer, but he reminded me of it,” Leith admitted.

Leith’s brother. The family did not know where she was and did not even know if her message by the stars had reached them, not to mention that they had no answer either. Perhaps the desert clans could inform them about his whereabouts. Still, so much uncertainty was in the dragon’s heart, and it did not leave her even for a second of each passing day.

“Our story is not the same as him,” Finnian said.

“That doesn’t solve anything that happened,” Leith replied. “I couldn’t help but feel angry, more than that.”

“You’re forgetting one slight detail or several.”

And after saying those words, he pointed with both hands to the rest of the elthean. No one had been left alone, not like when he had to flee for his life and did not know if he would be able to see his family or not. Instead, now they could count on each other. Distance may have been a problem, but it also influenced what they did to affect them less.

“I’m better than this. Other dragons are driven by their baser instincts,” Leith said.

“That doesn’t stop you from getting angry, though. What would you like to do to vent that frustration?” Finnian said.

She hesitated for a moment and then let out a roar and a flare, all straight to where there was nothing she could destroy. The sound was so sudden that those present jumped to their feet. None of them understood what was happening, but as soon as Leith let out a laugh, the momentary tension turned to slight irritation.

“We were venting some pent-up rage,” Finnian explained.

Nero joined in with a howl, Aer and Rune let out a scream, and even he joined in a moment as varied as it was bizarre. Whoever was watching them would think they had lost their minds. Oh, but they had an audience! After a few seconds, they heard applause from the Signer, who could pass for a party pooper.

“You are incorrigible,” Blanche said. “Anyone else would have preferred to sleep on.”

“What a rude awakening you have,” said Finnian.

There was a reason for everything, though. As exhausted as they were, staying asleep for the whole day would only unbalance them more. Resting for a few hours would allow them to see their situation with different eyes and enjoy water so fresh it would wake up even a dinosaur fossil. After clearing up, Ead scanned him, Blanche and Ark. All three had been exposed to Calamity’s influence, so the possibility that he had used some spell on them was pretty high. After several minutes where the hummingbird observed them conscientiously, he was not entirely satisfied with the result.

“It’s not a tracker, but something more subtle. It prevents you from perceiving large energy sources easily,” Ead said, as severe as the matter.

“Maybe that’s why we didn’t detect the Eroder wherever it was doing its thing,” Blanche said.

“What’s the point, though? Does he mean we won’t see him when he comes after us?” Finnian said.

Something that didn’t make sense, or not entirely. Far from trusting Ariel, especially after what she did in Alder, such magic did not fit someone like the Lord of Calamity. However, that spell was so subtle that he wasn’t even able to perceive it in his current state, although they did not doubt that they would manage to break it with a good meal and sleep. After all, the hours they were away showed how their powers had been strengthened.

“That Ariel was interested in you is nothing new, Finnian. Others have been there before,” Ead conceded.

“But a Calamity asking you to work with him?” Aer said.

“For him,” Finnian corrected. “He’s only interested in what I can do.”

“You turned him down too quickly. You could always stall him a little longer,” Blanche said.

“I don’t think he’s someone to be trifled with, I told you. Didn’t you see him?” Finnian said, biting his lip. “He’s got it all figured out. When someone’s that determined, there’s little to change his mind.”

“It’s Calamity,” Nero said. “He seeks to control everything with his power. Whatever his goal is, it can’t be any good.”

“What if he’s changed? What if he’s different? What if things are different now?”

“Maybe, but... Would you risk it?” Nero said, staring at the girl, “Would you push your luck even if yours ended badly?”

This was not limited to whether or not someone like the Lord of Calamity had changed. They were learning from them that not everything was black and white, no matter how much some pretended it was. The kidnapping, the attempt to bring him to their side, was just another way to complicate everything even more, or maybe delay the inevitable. They still had to go to the Silver Orchid, but he would have to accomplish his mission. Defeating Ariel would not be simple, and now he didn’t think it was as simple as he once thought either.

Their mid-morning debate was increasing in volume as the temperature rose. Blanche would not let go of her naivety that things could be different and that not everything was as black and white as most thought.

“Because the world is not composed of shades of grey,” Aer replied.

“But all colours,” Finnian said, shrugging his shoulders. “Things are not as simple as what Ariel expressed. What he said was nice, but not his intentions.”

“Doing something bad for good reasons is still bad,” Rune said.

Her friend did not entirely share an opinion, although they were not there to discuss it but to prevent more elthean from suffering. Then, as they continued to talk and eat, a teenage girl older than them appeared near the water. Dark-skinned and dark-haired, neither seemed to notice her, even when she waved.

“We’re in a desert,” Blanche said, furrowing her eyebrows, “it must be a mirage.”

It didn’t seem so, not inside a sanctuary, the place where they should be protected and oblivious to the cruelty of the desert. No one else seemed to see it, not even his partners, who connected with him through their eyes. That didn’t make it any less accurate, though, did it? That was a warning, one he could not ignore, or so his instinct told him. Without another word, Finnian did the only thing his common sense told him to do: he jumped into the water.

Although he did not consider himself a good swimmer, there was not so much depth that he feared for his life. That girl had disappeared. However, he was so close to the crystal he felt its magic as if it were a beating heart. And as soon as he touched the surface, a quick glow covered the surroundings.

“The more powerful you are, the more strong they will be. The world is about to change, but you will have to choose well.”

That voice! The same one that led him to Elthea. That message was a warning, something unique that none of the others had received. But the most important thing was not only that, but the water purified those present, diluting any harmful magic that was affecting them.

“How did you know?” Blanche said, still not believing what had just happened.

“I told you, I saw something,” said Finnian, shrugging his shoulders. “Maybe it was the desert, reminding me that there’s always a way to fight.”

For there were battles where you needed to use your fists, but they were in one where you would need more than that if you wanted to survive.