The Reunion of Loved Ones

29. Audacus' past

Never had Ivana felt so conflicted before. Her dreams were suddenly plagued with visions of their mother. She dreamt that their mother said farewell to her name and was suddenly abruptly taken from her, sucked away into the darkness. A second nightmare showed her their mother and stepfather hiding behind handmade barricades, waiting for the thousands of torches in the distance to seal their fate. Another nightmare showed her how Fortior emerged from the water again and flew over their village like a large, threatening shadow, setting everything ablaze on Arko's command.

Ivana had dismissed her fear dreams as homesickness, but when Lana reluctantly admitted she had spoken telepathically with their mother, Ivana's courage sank. Arko was on his way to Sutarebil. He would leave nothing of their birthplace out of revenge. They had abandoned their home, and now the question was whether they would ever return. Arko would destroy everything, but Ivana was even more concerned about what would happen to the villagers now that they openly opposed him. Would Arko take prisoners or mercilessly kill everyone?

It seemed that only Lana had spoken to their mother. Dana had felt a presence and shielded her thoughts so well that their mother couldn't gain access. Now Ivana's eldest sister felt guilty and miserable. For what if this was their last conversation with their mother? Ivana hardly dared to think about it for fear of making it come true. What if she would never speak to their mother again? Why did she have to fall asleep just then?

Ivana would have preferred to turn around to help their villagers, but Lana told them their mother had said they would never make it in time. Only that reason made Ivana fly further north instead of back to the southeast. If she would be too late anyway, she could do nothing for Sutarebil and would leave Lana in the lurch. Lana, whom they could still help. She just hoped the stubborn farmers of Sutarebil would hold out long enough against the bastard prince's wrath. And what was advantageous was that Arko was not waiting for them in the tower, which made Ivana see their chances of success increase somewhat.

They flew all day and even spent a large part of the night travelling. It was as if the news from their mother had given them that last bit of energy to keep going and maintain their speed. After all, multiple lives now depended on their success. By sunset, they finally left the cold Aquamontes behind them for good. They flew on until midnight. By that time, they were not far from the village of Noctius, where Dana would quickly buy new food supplies incognito after dinner.

They landed in the shelter of the trees of the forest around Noctius and decided to spend the night there. It was no longer safe to seek shelter in a village so close to their final destination, as they didn't want anyone to find out that the famous Liwel triplets had appeared so far north. That would raise suspicion. However, no one knew where they were, only that they were no longer in Sutarebil and had travelled to Silvaporta with a sick elf in tow. If Chelsaya had betrayed them, that was the only thing the widow Arko could have passed on. For now, it was better if Arko did not hear prematurely what their new destination was. They did not want him to turn back directly to thwart them in his tower. Although Ivana would now rather have him return in the hope that he would then abandon his revenge on Sutarebil.

'Arko is so close to his revenge,' Audacus retorted gruffly. 'He would probably fly back himself and still allow his armies to make Sutarebil smaller.'

Ivana frowned. It was unlike Audacus to take away her hope. Her dragon had become quieter anyway after hearing the news of the impending siege of her birthplace. Ivana knew her most loyal friend well enough to know that his gruffness was caused by more than just his concern for Ivana's fellow villagers. She remembered that her dragon had once mentioned that he had hatched from his egg nearby, but he still refused to share more about his past. Although this had secretly hurt Ivana, as she had no secrets from him, she had resigned herself to it. Audacus shared practically everything with her, and he had probably experienced something so traumatic that he did not want to reopen those poorly healed wounds. Yet she secretly hoped that he would one day trust her enough to openly talk about the horrors of his youth. Especially when Dana proudly told them a few weeks ago that Prudentus had shown her where he came from and what had happened to him as a young dragon. If he could share his painful past with his Chosen One, then surely Audacus could too?