AVEN NAERIS

THE STARS GLITTERED LIKE tiny beacons in the night where Aven laid in their bed, wrapped up with the wool blanket their ma knitted for them. Across from them was an empty bed, where Ryce should have been asleep. Above Aven’s bed was a bunk made for Lotha, their twin sister. Her deep snores lulled at them to sleep, but Aven’s mind kept wavering back to Ryce’s empty bed.

All the lights in the cabin were off, signalling that their parents were asleep. Aven rolled over, trying to stare at the wall and fall back to sleep.

Their eyes drifted closed after another hour came and went, only to be snapped back open as scratching skittering across the roof. Aven sat up, rubbing their left eye. Exhaustion tugged at them, but the sound of claws against a thatched roof was never good.

Slowly, Aven clambered out of bed and dragged their feet across the floor with soft thumps, hoping to keep Lotha asleep. As they reached the door, Aven peered out. No movement. That couldn’t be a bad sign. Whatever was out there hadn’t broken in yet.

Aven tip-toed through the house until they came to the front wooden door. He pulled it open, feeling the warm rush of the night air. The skittering paused. Aven glanced around. Outside the house was still. Fog rolled across the grass and dirt path. The trees that lined the pathway seemed like feral monsters stretching their limbs out.

Cowering at the door, Aven looked back and forth between the trees and the darkness of the house.

Off in the distance, Aven spotted a shadowy silhouette slipping between the trees, tall enough to their brother. They furrowed their eyebrows, worry gnawing at them. If Ryce was out there in the dead of night where dangers lurked, he wouldn’t make it home and Ma and Pa would be furious.

Aven took the first step outside the cottage, trembling as the fog curled around their ankles. They walked as silently as they could through the fog and the trees as they grew denser until Aven was fully submerged by the woods outside of the capital.

Darkness swallowed the night sky, leaving them alone and wondering where they were. They had walked through the woods plenty of times before, but this was different. A chill crawled up their spine, reminding them that they were lost. The path disappeared under their feet from the fog, luring them further into the woods. Over time, Aven found themself staring at a massive aspen tree with branches so high, they could not dare to climb it.

Whispers rose through the darkness. Aven perked their ears, straining to hear which direction they came from. The left? Too quiet. The right? Just enough noise. Aven started walking to the right, continuing to listen. The whispers grew louder and louder until Aven could make out what was being said.

“Yes, Master. I’ll do as you ask,” Aven heard their brother state.

A loud snort rumbled the ground beneath Aven’s feet. They froze, unsure what was happening.

“Don’t worry. My family won’t get in the way.”

Another rumble.

“Unfortunately, I may have to. Pa doesn’t trust magick. Said its an abomination.”

The rumble grew louder, more demanding.

“Slaughter them? But they’re my family!”

Aven shifted his feet, breathing in deeply. Ryce was really plotting something? Was their family in peril from whatever Ryce had joined sides with?

Peering around a tree, Aven saw it. A menacing figure cloaked in shadowy fog, eyes glowing like golden starlight. As a pulse left its body, the ground rumbled. Ryce bowed before the figure, a hand on one knee. The figure raised its hand toward the trees Aven hid behind. Aven froze.

The creature rumbled again. Its energy was daunting, pressing a deadly weight down upon Aven’s shoulders. They dug their nails into the tree bark, feeling it splinter against their nail beds.

Ryce followed the gaze of the creature. “Aven? Lotha?” he called. “Are you out there?”

Aven sucked in a sharp breath, unable to respond. Their brother had forsaken everything Father had taught them; magick was forbidden as it only brought about pain and suffering. For Ryce to turn his back on everything.

Aven watched as Ryce relaxed and turned back to the creature. The shadows twisted away from the creature and nestled at its warped feet was a round, oval object with vines layering across its surface.

“Master, is this—” Ryce began to say before dropping to his knees and slowly picking the object up. In his hands, the object was about a foot tall. The vines swirled as his fingers glossed over the edges of the object. “A real dragon egg.”

The rumble echoed and the shadows cloaked over the creature before it vanished into the darkness. Ryce stood alone in the forest, staring at the object in his hands, a grin forming on his lips.

Swallowing, Aven turned to look back the way they came. The dragon egg was a threat. The Xovaria Kingdom knew of such threats, and banished dragons from the land long ago. Aven knew of such consequences, opting to following Father’s commands and keep their family safe. Ryce destroyed that simply by holding the dragon egg.

Aven pushed away from the tree and sprinted through the forest, unafraid if Ryce heard them. They didn’t care. All that mattered was stopping Ryce.

“Aven! If I catch you—” was all Aven could hear as they slipped through the trees and leaped over logs. Their home was so close.

ΩΩΩ

SNAPPING THEIR EYES OPEN, Aven saw the hints of starlight through the canopy. A small fire crackling beside them. They looked around, stunned by the peaceful energy. The last thing Aven remembered was staring down the guards of the castle and then fainting from blood loss. A giant black dragon had been at their side, shielding them.

Sitting on a small rock was the female elf, the sharp angles of her face captured by the firelight. She held an arrow shaft in one hand, and a dagger in another, sharpening away at the wood.

Aven slowly pushed himself onto his elbows as he looked around for Prince Nefari and the dragon. Both were gone, having disappeared since Aven fainted.

“Welcome back,” Lissie said, her voice sounding melodic. She lowered her arrow and pointed at the campfire. “I’m making some rabbit, if you want to eat.”

Spiked on a stick over the fire were three rabbits.

“Where’s the dragon?” Aven asked.

Lissie went back to sharpening the shaft. “Vayphessa landed a while ago, dropping us off and wanted to speak to Nefari alone. It’s been about ten minutes since then.”

“And you’re not concerned?”

Lissie shrugged. “Vayphessa didn’t have to save us, but she did. And she mentioned the War of Scorching Hope. Before I judge, I need to find answers.”

The rustle of trees caught their attention. Lissie and Aven looked to see Nefari stepping through, his eyes staring blankly ahead. He quietly sat down and stared into the fire. The rustling trees continued and a woman followed him out, her long, dark hair falling in waves behind her. She wore a red gown of satin embroidered with jewels and golden lace. She smiled faintly, and sat down beside Nefari, gently brushing his blond hair out of his eyes.

Lissie shot off the rock and quickly snatched her bow and drew an arrow. “Who are you?”

“Hush, child. Lay the arrow down and I’ll explain everything.”

Lissie tightened her grip. “I’ll do no such thing.”

Aven pushed further up, grimacing at the pain in their leg. “Wait! She looks like late Queen Kendra!”

“Good eye, child,” the woman said. “I am she, as well as Vayphessa. I was out traveling when I met my mate, King Dario. Things were pleasant for a good, long while. Until the night I died.”

Prince Nefari never raised his eyes. “You were a dragon. Father said all dragons are evil.”

Queen Kendra’s smile faltered. “That man is not your father. King Dario died that night, pleasing with any of the gods to help him fend off Emperor Sajaka. What answered is no god, but a monster. I failed to notice until the shadows wrapped around everything and everything went black.”

“So for the last six years, I have been taken care of by a monster who isn’t my father? And what of Lelan? Has she been cursed? Father constantly made her drink a potion, and eventually, he made me drink it too. Said it would keep the family “curse” at bay.”

“There is no curse. By my blood, you are a dragonborn, same as Lelan. This potion…is is black in nature?”

Prince Nefari nodded.

Silence echoed between them, leaving only the sounds of nature filling the night air. Queen Kendra’s gaze darkened. She smoothed out the fabric of her dress. “We must quickly make haste toward the Land of Dark Ichor. I have potions that can cure whatever the monster did to you, Nefari.”

Lissie lowered the arrow, keeping her gaze steady. “We have to head to Camp Black Crow as a means of gathering the supplies needed to travel that far.”

“No time. I can take my son to the Land of Dark Ichor if you head there. Keep the monster occupied while we make our escape.”

“And who’s to say that you won’t betray us?”

“I’ll be killed at that camp,” Queen Kendra stated. “Black dragons are treated like abominations that should be killed upon sight.”

With a sigh, Lissie fully lowered her arrow and set the bow down.

Aven took her reaction as submission and pulled themself to their feet. A sharp wave of pain shot through their body and they stumbled, nearly toppling over. Lissie moved to steady them, gripping both their arms. They looked each other in the eyes with a nod.

Queen Kendra stood, stretching out her arms. She walked toward the open field, and with a whoosh of dark energy, swirls of black mist covered her, growing in size until it was three stories high and the black dragon had reformed before their very eyes. Prince Nefari still sat with his eyes on the flames.

Aven frowned. A lot had happened for Prince Nefari; his entire world just flipped upside down in a matter of hours.

“The Kingdom will probably be out here soon. I suggest moving by foot,” Queen Kendra said, her once smooth and silky voice now rumbling with a low growl.

“And how should we contact you?” Lissie asked.

“Look to the moonpools on the full moon. I can contact you only then. Now, son, please come. We cannot delay your healing.”

Prince Nefari stood up stiffly, like a mechanized statue, and walked to Queen Kendra’s side. She lowered herself down and allowed him to climb upon her back. She flexed her wings and gave them a slight nod before pushing off the ground. Her wings beat the air, sending waves of dust scattering about. As she flew off into the sky, her body soon melted into to the darkness, disappearing from view.

Lissie kicked at the rock behind her, snapping in her native tongue. The words sounded familiar, but Aven barely ever paid attention to Father’s teachings. Now, he wished he had.

“Um, should we grab the rabbits and eat as we go?” Aven asked.

Twisting to look at them, Lissie shot them a glare. “And how do you expect to walk with the injured leg?”

Aven shrugged. They grew up with injuries and broken bones all the time and had to walk on them to continue making a living. “How much further is it to Camp Black Crow?”

“A half-mile south.”

Sucking in a sharp breath, Aven looked around them. From the direction of the stars and the location of the three moons, Aven drew upon their knowledge of star navigation, and they turned to face the correct direction. Far off in the distance was a forest known a Farlet Woods, near the village of Blackpool, which could be faintly seen in the far-off distance by small torchlight.

“I can make it,” they said.

Lissie shook her head. “Aven, please. I can have Sanar take us straight to camp in little time. You need to rest, and I’m sure that there are—”

Aven raised their hand as a single to stop speaking. “Another dragon will only further fuel the hatred that the Xovaria Kingdom has. And the military will be looking for us. I’m sure they’ll have wanted posters of us. They didn’t even hesitate to kill the prince!”

Lissie tapped her fingers, humming slightly. She crouched down and picked up a satchel, digging around in it. Pulling out a small red bottle, she handed it to Aven. They took it, scanning over the bottle before looking at her with furrowed eyebrows.

“That contains a liquid transmodifying spell. A single sip lasts for five hours, which would give us plenty of time to buy a room at an inn. I can heal you, while gathering information.”

Gripping the bottle tighter, Aven looked toward Blackpool. They had never traveled outside of Airedale, but they knew it was a small village with less than a few hundred people. Most of the crops sold to the city came from the village.

“Alright. But we have to be quick. If they catch us, we’ll be executed on the spot, or perhaps tortured.”

Lissie laughed. “You act as if this is my first time evading capture. Take your sip while I gather everything up.”