War for the Skies (completed) (Book 1 of the Heroes of the Realms series)

Chapter 38

When I awoke, my back felt normal, as if my spine had magically healed. I didn't hear any chaos outside of the room I was in, which was a small cabin carved into a large tree stump. I saw the clearing outside through a window, and our group in a circle, arguing about something.

I tried standing up, but I was exhausted.

"Don't move, just rest a little," a girl's voice said.

I looked to my left, to see a girl in a leather aviator's jacket, white shirt, and jeans. She had olive skin, but lighter, like mine. Her hair was a strange shade, between blonde and brown, and I couldn't tell exactly which. Her eyes were also strange as well, a slight mix between amber and hazel.

"Who- where-?" I stuttered.

"Don't waste energy," she grabbed a glass full of the Sap, from a small stool and handed it to me. I really didn't want to drink it, but I did anyway.

My stomach grumbled due to the absence of food, and the Aspenbarrow juice-thing I just drank.

I felt slightly better, and was able to manage the question: "Who are you?"

"I'm Mia," she replied and took the empty glass from my hand. She placed it back on the stool. "I assist travelers in Dragone Island."

"Are you one of us?" I asked, but judging from her look, she didn't seem to understand. "Are you a Hero?"

"I mean," she turned towards the door and moved a few steps towards it, then leaned on the doorway, "I save lives. Just like I did yours."

I cleared my throat. "I think you know what I meant."

She smiled, and slightly giggled, then said, "Yes I do, I'm the child of Cetus, the Legend of Dragone Island."

I was going to ask how that could be, but I guess she read my expression.

"He appears in three forms: his fully sea-dragon form, dragon-human form, or just plain human. He usually prefers being a dragon-human, since that's a mix of both of his other forms."

"Can you turn into monsters?" I asked.

"No," she replied calmly, then walked down the hall.

I laid down on the bed and looked back outside. The girl appeared again, this time walking towards the group.

I tried sitting up and joining them, but I fell backward. My whole body felt exhausted.

I tried again, and this time, I succeeded.

I got off the bed and walked towards the door.

I put my hand on the doorway and leaned on it, still exhausted. I pushed myself off and walked towards the light through the long wooden hallway. When I exited, even though I had seen outside through the window, the light blinded me, almost sending me tumbling backward.

It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust, and when they did, I saw Theo gesturing for me to come over.

I tried running towards them, but my body only replied with pain, so I resorted to a slow jog, which still exhausted me.

When I arrived at the group, Cetus was talking.

"Take her with you," he said and gestured towards Mia.

"Whoa, we just met her, and we just lost another one. Plus, there are so many more Heroes in the Hall of Pandora right now that, if we take another, the Cursed can sense us no problem!" Skylar said and threw her hands up in exasperation.