I slept long and hard, exhausted from the transformations and the flights. When I finally got up, I was starved. My black hair was tangled and stuck up awkwardly, partly stuck to my face with half-dried saliva and sweat. I had barely undressed last night, only stripping down to the plainer garments, and the sleeves rode up uncomfortably.

I reluctantly rolled out of bed, finding myself alone in the cavernous bedroom. I stretched my arms above my head, leaning back to pop my spine and shoulders. I rolled my stiff neck and extended my wings. Yawning, I found some fresh clothes and made my way to the pools to bathe.

The pools were unfortunately busy. I stopped at the doorway, hands fisting the cloth in my arms. My chest felt tight. I wanted to crawl back into my bed.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and stalked over to the back of the cavern, finding one of the smaller pools, head down and wings pressed to my back. Some of the others glanced at me as I passed, and the laughter died down.

Facing away from the wider cavern, I undressed and got in the lukewarm pool. I huffed, a small burst of flame blooming around my jaw and briefly warming me enough to get used to the water. Behind me, the chatter slowly resumed, although it didn’t return to its previous excitement.

I washed myself quickly, struggling to run my soapy fingers though my tangled black waves. I gently massaged the numerous small scars along my limbs and chest, pale and light. I had always healed quickly, and didn’t scar much, but time in the Rebellion had done its number on me.

“Hi, Elkan,” Belle crouched beside my pool, heat radiating off her to the point where the water could be seen evaporating off her light brown skin.

“...Hello,” I quietly replied.

“Where’d you go yesterday?”

“On a mission, with Stefan and Cornelius.”

“Doing what?”

I stared at her. “I… transported Stefan and Cornelius for a mission, it took us all day. If you want to know about the mission, ask Stefan.” I turned away, muttering, “Not that he’ll tell you. They didn’t even tell me the full plan.”

“Well, of course!” Belle smiled. It fell short of her amber-red eyes. “You’re a monster, after all, why would they tell you everything? Or anything, for that matter?”

My throat tightened. I didn’t look at her. I refused to give her the satisfaction.

“Little last dragon, just used for transport,” Belle mockingly cooed. “I wonder which one of us is gonna end up in the infirmary next. Marek’s still there, you know.”

I knew.

“Maybe we should put the poor flying lizards to rest, and save the last stolen princess.” She was referring, of course, to Ethyn. “Maybe get that hoard of gold, as well; could help us in our fight against the Ussuni Empire.”

I felt heat bubble up in my chest and throat, but took a breath and suffocated it. I refused to look at her. I focused on my fingers through my hair. I had no hoard for them to steal, and my princess had chosen to stay with me. Not that me telling her that would ever convince her.

Belle huffed in disappointment when I showed little reaction. She reluctantly stood up, pushing her short blonde hair out of her face. “Everything dies, Elkan. I wonder how long a dragon’s lifespan is.” She retreated back to her pool. I could feel her ‒ and everyone else’s ‒ eyes on me, waiting for a reaction. My muscles strained with my will to give them none.

Finally, the chatter slowly resumed. I finished cleaning up, then got up out of the pool, willing my legs to not shake as I dried off and dressed. I got out of the cavern as quickly as I could without drawing even more attention than I already had.

Sniffling and rubbing my face, I found my way to the laundry caverns, where I soaked my clothes from yesterday in cold water and soap and scrubbed the life out of them. It was a good way to let out some frustration.

Squeezing as much water out of my clothes as I could, I carried them to the drying room, which was lined with racks and cords, dotted with small braziers filled with smoldering coals. I stoked a few of them before leaving. I wanted to find Ethyn, but I wanted to find food first.

The common rooms were practically empty, aside from Diego and a few newly-freed slaves ‒ gladiators, they looked like ‒ who were still getting used to life not only free, but in the caves, and in the Rebellion. They stared at me in shock, and I shied under their wide eyes and hushed questions. Diego smiled when he saw me, one hand petting the head of one of his many hounds, large furred forms sitting and laying at his feet. I wearily smiled back.

Despite the season, there was plenty of food. Due to our territory in the Wild Lands, we were able to raise animals on the surface, and Ethyn had worked out a trade route with the night child village on the edge of Dragon’s Breath Lake. There were a few other groups out here in the Wild Lands, but they kept to themselves, going as far as knocking out strangers and leaving them elsewhere. Sometimes, however, we found gifts of thread, fabric, seeds, or even honey, and they seemed to expect nothing but being left alone in return.

I ate some raw fish, much to the horror of the newcomers, then quickly left the common rooms. I breathed deeply, searching for Ethyn’s scent. I followed it out towards the main area. It slinked up the staircase that led up to the surface. The scent of winter drifted down from the cavern opening. I stared up at it for a long moment. I began the climb.

The cold grew more intense as I climbed the wooden stairs and ramps up towards the surface. It was gently snowing, the sky a fluffy light grey, sun trying hard to peek through. My breath fogged in front of me.

Ethyn was speaking ‒ with his hands, via a movement language ‒ to a small group of night children, who had filled their cart with stone, lumber, and fabric.

One of the smaller night children looked past him. Their eyes widened and scurried to hide behind one of the larger ones. Ethyn glanced back, smiling at me, then quickly soothed the startled and skittish visitors. I hung back, hugging myself and trying not to stare. The night children looked like most in the Ussuni Empire, but their features were undeniably sharper, and their hair was usually pitch black, while their skin was nearly a silvery white. Their limbs were awkward in their length and thinness, and they towered even at young ages. Their eyes tended to glow shades of purple and silver, sometimes blue, and some could teleport.

Finally, the night children departed.

“Good morning,” Ethyn warmly smiled, hugging me.

“Hi,” I smiled, nuzzling him and kissing his forehead.

“Sleep well? You certainly slept long.”

I chuckled, “Yes, I’m well. Belle harassed me in the pools, but I’m okay. Tried not to react to her.”

He hummed, “Told Stefan yet?”

“No,” I shook my head. “Wanted to find you first.”

“Mission successful,” Ethyn chuckled. He looked me up and down, cheerful expression turning sour. “You came up here with no shoes or cloak? C’mon, let’s get you back inside and warm.”

“You say that like I can’t spit fire,” I chuckled, but let him lead me back down into the abandoned mine.

“Just because you can spit fire doesn’t mean you’re not affected by snow,” he gave me a pointed look. “Hm, Stefan’s probably with Marek or Wren.”

“Or Augustus,” I added. “He said last night that he was going to make sure Augustus didn’t freak out about whatever information they found when we kidnapped the prince yesterday.”

“How did that go?” Ethyn asked.

“Well enough,” I shrugged. “All I know is that they found some information about Augustus, and that he might’ve not been just a slave to the emperor.”

“Not sure what else he could be,” Ethyn muttered.

Sure enough, we found Stefan in the infirmary, sitting with Marek, who was savoring a bowl of soup. He had regained color in his brown cheeks, and his vivid red hair had been washed and brushed. Bandages still wound around his torso, and he was technically still bed-ridden. He somehow smiled when he saw me, although I barely managed a smile back.

Ethyn nudged me, urging me to speak.

“Just… needed to say that Belle bothered me in the baths earlier,” I said. I had very rarely admitted the mistreatment to Stefan, but maybe it was time to change that.

However, he didn’t look surprised, “Okay. Would you be okay telling me what she said or did?”

I shrugged, “Just… wondered aloud how long a dragon’s life span was, wondered who was gonna end up here next, and mentioned trying to save the princess.” Beside me, Ethyn clung to my arm a bit tighter.

Marek muttered, pouting, “Bitch.” He didn’t curse often, but when he did, it was often directed at Belle or Serenity.

Stefan sighed, getting out his notebook and writing down the situation. “It was just Belle?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” He sighed again, “I really wish we could just get rid of her, but she brings in a lot of funds and is a decent spy. I just wish she was a decent person, too.”

“Me too,” I whispered. “How’s Augustus?”

“Still pretty closed-off,” Stefan replied. “The information we found really took a toll on him. We might have to grab Prince A’gustine again.”

I nodded, almost eager to get out of the base again, which surprised me.

Ethyn and I left Stefan and Marek alone, and went back to our room. He went back to working on messages, and I took some of his atlases to study.

“You’re really getting into that, aren’t you?” Ethyn asked, chuckling.

I shrugged, “I don’t know. Just…. It suddenly seems so fascinating. And Stefan and Waylon are right; I need to think about something else other than the mistreatment. And what better thing to think about then something I finally realize I actually like? Other than you. Besides, I like being alone with you.”

We sat in near-silence, working on our own things; him on messages and me on maps. Once I got used to the keys, it was surprisingly easy to read the atlas. Some words I didn’t quite understand, but I understood enough to read the maps. Some atlases showed trade routes, often for different goods ‒ slaves included.

A soft knock came at the door, and Ethyn opened it. “Oh, hi, Augustus.”

“...Hi,” Augustus whispered. “Can I… lay in the nest?”

“Of course,” I said. “I can move to the bed.”

Augustus stepped into the room, holding his scarf around his face. “...It’s okay. I…. Cornelius says I should get used to being around people. Like… proximity.”

I frowned, “Proximity?”

“Uh, closeness. Not touching, but… close. And…,” his voice softened, and he looked down, “I trust you.”

Something in me felt pride at that. I just nodded, smiling and moving aside to give him half of the nest. He laid down, curled up on his side, cloak around his body and scarf around his head and face. His feet were still bandaged and bruised, although now he wore simple leather shoes, and the bruises looked far less painful. We returned to our reading and writing. Augustus’s back was nearly touching my side, his legs tucked under my knees and his arms around one of the larger pillows.

I was sketching out a map of Dragon’s Breath Lake, based purely on memory, when he turned around and sat up.

“...What’re you drawing?” He whispered.

“The lake, to the east,” I answered.

He hummed, staring over my shoulder. He pointed, “What’s that?”

“That’s the village, it belongs to the night children that we save from slavery,” I told him. “It’s really the only village by the lake, or in the Wild Lands at all. I mean, we’re pretty sure there’s other communities, but they’re so reclusive that we have pretty much no knowledge about them. We just know where their general territories are, and we don’t intrude.”

“...Hm.” He was quiet for a moment. “Are you a car… cart….”

“Cartographer,” I said, nodding. “I… think I want to be. For a long time, I didn’t really… do anything, but…. I’m starting to realize that there’s more to me than just being a dragon. I have a pretty good memory when it comes to landscapes.” I fumbled with the papers, bringing out the rough Wild Lands map. “I made this after a single fly-over. I hope to make things more detailed, so we actually have maps like the ones in these books,” I motioned to the atlases. “Maybe… make my own atlas, someday.”

He hummed again. He laid back down.