After a quiet but tense dinner, Lanni leaned back with a sigh. The others relaxed, their earlier banter subdued as she shared the news. “Shri told me there was a problem with the magic eater. That there wasn’t enough blood.” Zan raised an eyebrow as he finished placing his charms back in the piercings in his ears so he could hear. “Is it some kind of animal?” “I think it might be a charm,” Lanni guessed, her brow furrowed. Chapado frowned deeply. “A blood charm? Some of the worlds the Ertonians visited had lore about blood magic. All of them agreed it was dangerous and forbade it. But some Ertonians wanted to learn about it, just out of curiosity. It was unpredictable and unreliable. No one ever actually used it, but a few experimented with making blood charms. If you mixed blood with a charm while spelling, it would take on properties unique to the species whose blood you used. Dragon blood could allow telepathy. Elven blood might enhance hunting skills. Troll blood added strength. But the spells were unpredictable and unstable. You needed a full person’s blood.” “They killed people to make these?” Sifa demanded, her voice sharp with horror. “No,” Chapado reassured her. “They took small amounts from several volunteers. On rare occasions, when only one person was used, that person was already dead.” She paused, looking at them all gravely. “This isn’t magic you trifle with.” Jahree, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, finally spoke. His voice was heavy with guilt. “That was my blood. If I hadn’t tried to kill myself, they wouldn’t have had it.” Lanni reached over, placing a comforting hand on his arm. “They would’ve found another way, Jahree. Wenda told Marn to get between us to disrupt the squad’s cohesion. I think they wanted to keep us from bonding. They would have gone after you and abducted you if they needed to. If I had to guess, other refugees with magic resistance have had severe ‘accidents’ too.” Loka nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll talk with your three and compare any accidents with the college’s list of refugees when we get the chance.” “I have the scrying charm you made, Lanni. It can be used to contact Menthanla,” Jahan offered. “Thank you, but it only scries Nalli,” Lanni said, shaking her head. “It was the best way to make it secure and help it last. Menthanla is too far from New Trito for this to work.” “The barracks charm was drained,” Trema reported. “The other bad news is this magic eater wasn’t activated in Chervil. It seems to be in Shimis,” Lanni added. “Shimis?” Trema said, worry slipping into his voice. “That’s the heart of Yarba. If it reaches here, it could cover the entire kingdom. We’d have to walk the whole way.” “Chapado said these charms don’t last forever. Maybe it’ll fail sooner rather than later. Until then, we could head for the coast,” Marn suggested. “Some merchants still transport goods by sea. Maybe we could catch a ride. My dad’s old partner has a few ships, and we’re on good terms. If there’s one in port, I might be able to arrange something.” “And if there isn’t, we’ll commandeer one,” Lanni agreed with a fierce determination. “Yes, what’s this about you commandeering my mom’s house and us being your men? And that scar?” Marn demanded. Lanni sighed, glancing at Tercala, who shrugged. “A recommendation’s been made for your squad to be made honor guards. It’s rare for someone to be recommended so early, and it’s almost unheard of for an entire squad. Because of that and your various pasts, you were stationed at Rantar’s for observation.” “By who?” Shan asked, looking at Samar and Keltis suspiciously. Lanni hesitated a moment before answering. “By the under-general of the honor guard. Me.” The group fell silent as the revelation sank in. Shan shot a questioning look at Jahree. “Did you know about this? You’re her mate.” Jahree looked away, embarrassed. “I’d seen her scar and guessed she was still an honor guard. I hadn’t had the chance to ask her about it.” “Tercala came up when he learned about my relationship with Jahree to make sure my judgment isn’t clouded. Though I’m not sure his judgment isn’t off. He already wants you to help him in Thager.” “It’s a good thing Jahree got his problems settled there,” Marn said. “It was planned. That’s why we went.” Jahree guessed. “I’m sorry. Tercala had already said he wanted the squad there whether or not you made honor guard. He didn’t know you were part of it. We thought at first you’d be fine with Trean in prison,” Lanni explained, a bit more somber now. “But then he was released, so we planned the trip. I was the one to let him know you were there. I’d figured I’d goad him into attacking me and have Uncle Ter arrest him for attacking a princess. I hadn’t counted on Ket being there, and I worried he’d lose control if I was attacked.” “Fortunately, Midta told him to contact me if there was a fight,” Tercala added with a knowing smile. “We’d hoped Jahan could be named as Commander, too,” Lanni continued. “He might still agree to stay if we can move Nalli and Gallin there. And, Tell, you could potentially be appointed as a magistrate. Shan, the only issue is you. You need to be near the coast.” Shan will be able to transport once he’s trained,” Loka said, “As long as he’s given a day each week, he can go then. Or perhaps, if I’m there, I can fill a tub like I did here.” “Is that what you’re soaking in?” Jahan asked. “Sea water?” “I’m being rude, but what are you?” Zan asked. I’ve seen your feet, and after the other day, you aren’t human.” “I’m a Mer-roc. Half merman, half roc.” What’s a roc? You don’t mean a stone,” Sifa clarified. It’s a giant magical bird similar to a hawk. I get my heightened senses from that and my lack of hair and“rash” from the merfolk. The rash is just my skin drying out. I need to spend time in water weekly, preferably seawater, but fresh water will do in a pinch. I can also breathe underwater. Yesterday, I had taken mer form and was changing when the magic eater struck, and I got stuck.” “Can you also take roc form?” Jahan asked. Lanni could see the thoughts were flowing in his head. “Rocs are big enough to carry men. We also have two dragons. Can we fly south” Trema asked hopefully, eyes bright with anticipation. Shad hesitated. I’ve never flown. I’ve always hidden what I was, so I only recently learned to change forms.” “And I’m lucky if I can carry two people. I’m too small to take on more,” Lanni added, shrugging apologetically. Ter scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe you could manage three if you carried Shri in your arms. I could handle four on my back and one more in my arms. That’s eight with the three of us flying.” “Rocs aren’t big enough to carry eight people,” Lanni argued, a bit incredulously.“It’d be dangerous anyway. Flying would leave us far too exposed.” “I know, I know. I was just thinking out loud,” Ter replied with a sheepish grin. “You’d think after a thousand years, I’d have my sums figured out.” She turned to the group. “Flying isn’t a safe option. Maybe we could get away with some night flights, but we’d still be vulnerable. It’s too risky.” Tellic, who’d been deep in thought, spoke up.“I was reading some of the histories of the battles with Lyra. The dragons used to pull wagons full of soldiers back then. Do you think it’d be possible to rig something up? Maybe you could carry us in the wagon.” Tercala frowned.“That would still mean transporting sixteen people plus the weight of the wagon. It’s doubtful.” “Lamin and I could take the horses and head off on our own,” offered Sifa. “We’re Yarbs, not soldiers, so they won’t be looking for us for a while.” “That still leaves thirteen,” Lanni pointed out.“And let’s not forget Shan doesn’t even know how to fly yet.” “How hard can it be?” Shan said, looking uncertain but resolute.“Lanni, how long did it take you to learn to fly?” “Seconds. But you don’t want my method,” she replied, raising an eyebrow. “Why not? What happened” he asked cautiously. “I fell into a ravine near Dragon Castle. Learning to fly well, though... that was a different story. Took me weeks.” Tercala chuckled.“Took me just as long, but that was because my dad was...particular.” Kritalla snorted.“Particular? That’s putting it mildly.” Lanni looked around.“We’ll continue toward the coast for now. At night, Shan, we’ll help you start learning to fly. If we can lift the wagon, we’ll reconsider the flight plan. But for now, we’re all traveling together. No one gets left behind.” Everyone murmured their agreement, but Loka had one more point to make. “Just so you know, I didn’t bring any birth control potions with me. We don’t need any new pregnancies complicating things.” “We still have that block,” Kritalla said with a sly grin. “Please,” Morina said firmly, looking around at the gathered group. “We are not having sex with everyone else right here.” “Guess we’re safe then,” Jahree said with a shrug. Ann raised an eyebrow, glancing between them. “Do you know of some privacy?” “Sifa and Lamin will be fine if there’s privacy,” Marn said with a smirk. “And, of course, there’s Zan and Trema.” “Wait, what?” Zan said, frowning. Trema grinned and nudged him.“They found us out, Zan.” He gave Zan a playful kiss on the cheek. Zan pushed him away. “Knock it off, Tre. We’re not lovers. He’s my brother.” “Half-brother,” Trema clarified, laughing.“Besides, they all know now. I told them when you got assigned to my squad.” “So why keep it a secret,” Marn asked. “He didn’t want anyone to think I’d give him special treatment,” Trema explained. Zan shook his head.“Instead, they thought we were lovers.” “But Dad thought we were together,” Trema added with a smirk. Zan laughed, reminiscing.“Tre’s mom was my dad’s mistress. My mom didn’t know, and he thought I didn’t either. We met a few years earlier and became friends before we realized we were related.” “It wasn’t until I saw him with Dad that I pieced it together,” Trema continued. “Once we figured it out, we started tormenting him. I’d go over to Zan’s place, acting like nothing was wrong.” Zan chuckled.“Dad started getting nervous, thinking his secret would get out. He even thought we were involved.” “And we encouraged that notion, of course,” Trema said, winking. “Eventually, we made him pay my mom to help support me to keep us from telling Zan’s mom.” “So your moms never found out,” Shan asked, clearly fascinated. “They did, eventually,” Zan admitted. They’re good friends. My mom’s always been sickly. She seems to get everything. That’s how I was born deaf. Anyway, she made Dad hire Tre’s mom as her nurse. Most times, she doesn’t need one. She just does better if she’s not alone.” Sifa nodded, impressed. “So it all worked out?” “For everyone but Dad,” Trema said with a laugh. “Neither of them will sleep with him now, and he’s miserable. The rest of us are just fine.” “Looks like it’s just you and me who need to be careful,” Areen told Marn, nudging him playfully. “And Keltis and Samar,” Lanni teased. Samar turned beet red, and Keltis muttered, “Dragons would sooner give up their wings.” “Don’t forget Shan and Loka,” Marn added, smirking. Shan looked indignant. “We’re not sleeping together.” “Oh, please. You two have been huddled up together this entire time,” Marn teased. Shan rolled his eyes. “Not that I’d mind if it happened. “But I’m not an unreadable.” Loka gave him a reassuring smile. “We’ll make do. But as Morina said, tonight’s not the night. Goodnight, everyone.” The group finally settled in, curling up near the stove’s warmth. As the last whispers faded into silence, they drifted off to sleep, ready to continue their journey with the dawn. #fantasy #magic #dragons #hiddenlands