“You’re a knight?”

“You were knighted?!”

“Are you like the Prince, Tamen?!” 

I hear the sentences and the yells of excitement but can’t make sense of them, can’t form responses as I feel hot and cold all at the same time. My gaze is on Jonah who, startled by the commotion and with wide eyes, stares back at me. At some point he placed Nieve back in her shield. His presence is shielded by those surrounding me.

“Tamen?” My focus is now on my grandmother, “You were knighted?”

 “Yes,” no wait, I can’t lie, “Just before leaving. I challenged Willis-” her eyes widen, and my chest grows tighter, “And I won. He knighted me afterward.” 

“Well, I’ll be damned!” My back explodes with a sting. With a yelp, I look at Merideth who is beaming with a sharp grin. “This is great! We have to spread the news.”

“No, wait!”

“What do you mean wait!? Tamen! You were knighted by Ser Willis of all people! Not a knight of the king, not a knight of Gaiven Capital, but a knight of the realms!  This is a great honor for Skyland! We have to celebrate!” 

“Merideth, wait!” 

She runs out the door, some kids following behind. The questions they shout out one over the other are enough to send my head spinning. 

“Hush little ones, hush. Now we are all very excited about how Tamen became a Marō but all tales come with time.”

The children whine, and I sigh with a hand at my temple. 

“Now go home to your parents, I bet they have chores for all of you.” 

They trickle out of the house, and instead of dissipating, the overwhelming feeling grows stronger at the sight of my grandmother. We’re alone in the house. 

I can’t lie…

“Mamá I-” 

“Fela!” A man walks into the house, “It’s my wife! I believe her water broke!” 

She grabs a hold of my hand and squeezes with a smile, “I am proud of you Tamen. More than you can imagine.”  

She leaves the house. My stomach twists, and my chest stings. Breathe…

“I am truly sorry. I didn’t know it was a secret.” 

Exhausted, I look up at the guest who made all of this so much worse. “That’s what you’re apologizing for? Why were you in my room? You looked through my things?!”

“Don’t glare at me, it’s not like I was trying to snoop. How would you feel if you hadn’t bathed for days? For Cyphon’s sake, my hair is brown.”

“You were looking for the tub?”

He goes quiet, before mumbling under his breath. 

“Come again?”

“And a map. I want to find where I am in relation to what I know.” He hands Nieve to me.

“You could’ve asked me.” 

“I could have, except I didn’t know you were a knight of Cumulonimbus.” 

“A knight of what now?” 

“A Thunderhead.”

“Jonah, I can’t comprehend anything you are saying.”

“Do I need to break it down for you? You are a knight of the Western Sky. As a Cumulonimbus knight, it is your duty to take me back home.” 

I stare blankly.

A snort erupts from my mouth causing me to bend over with laughter, “Oh that’s a good one. I had no idea my grandmother was telling you tales as well.” 

“Tales? What tales?!”

“The Western Sky! That’s where the Prince came from.” I wipe the corner of my eye and look back at him. I am met with a glare.

“Yes, I’m the prince.”

I chuckle, “Okay, Jonah. I get it. It was funny.”

His glare becomes fiercer. With his shoulders straight he stares me down as he steps closer, “I am Jonah Cyriel of the Western Sky, First of his name. Son of Jorah and Fay, King and Queen of the Six Planes of the West. I demand your focus and utter respect.”

I bow my head before looking back up, “My apologies, your highness.” 

He smiles. 

I flick his forehead, nice enough to avoid the scrape he still wears. 

“Ow! How dare y-” 

“You’re not the Prince of the sky Jonah of the West. You can’t be, because there is no kingdom in the sky. And even if it were all true, that would’ve meant you fell all the way down here to lil’ ol’ Skyland. And no one would’ve ever survived that fall. It’s not humanly possible.” 

His glare is gone. He stares at me with wide eyes now. “Fell?” He shakes his head. “No, no, no.” He pushes past me.

“Jonah, wait! You shouldn’t run!” I groan and follow behind him to see him looking around. His chest heaves as his hands go to his head. His gaze frantically chases his surroundings as he spins. He looks up at the cloudy sky, and then at me.

 I trot to him. 

“In the name of Ardian,” his words trail off, “Tamen, I fell.”

I stare at him waiting for another punchline, but it never comes. 

Who in the world did I save?