A Crown of Gold

The Liptomal Fort

Before leaving, Mistress Carlton presented me a neatly wrapped bundle. Inside, were my riding clothes, freshly sewn together where the arrow had torn them. The wrapping was held together with the dragon head pin that adorned the outfit. I thanked her, before moving on to Nik.

"What will your father think?" I teased.

"That the fling is over." He answered, yet his tone fell flat of a joke. I glared at him, a smile still embedded into my mouth, "Come on Nik, we both know I'm not just a fling."

Before he could answer, I leaned forward, whispering, "You're my best friend."

He laughed, pulling me into a hug. "I want you to be happy, Asha."

I pulled away, my eyes searching over his face. "Nik?"

He didn't answer, instead, he looked down at me with soft and solemn eyes. "Nik what are you not telling me? Did you see something?"

He half smiled before pulling his lips into his mouth, "You told me not to tell you."

I parted my lips, desperately grasping for something to say. He was right, I didn't want to know. But a huge part of me screamed that I did. Would I regret knowing what he'd seen? Would I wish with my entire being to un-hear the foretold future? I couldn't risk that, but could I risk not knowing? What if knowing could stop something bad from happening?

"Nik, I-" I tried, but he stopped me.

"I want you to know," he began, his voice very gentle, "that you will be happy. That's all you need to know."

That statement both calmed and terrified me. "Nik..." I tried again, but he just shook his head, running a hand down my arm until it met my hand. He held my fingers in his own just for a moment before releasing them.

"I'll see you again, Asha Skyfire."

I couldn't grapple for the right words. Instead, I mustered a nod. He wasn't just promising me he'd see me again, he knew it would happen. I wanted to know how his visions work, and a major part of me needed to know what he'd seen. But he'd already decided for me.

I left on that note—my mind reeling.

We flew mostly in silence—Sephraim occasionally asked me about my stay, and she and Darius would share a few words in draconic. Luckily, when I felt as though I couldn't catastrophize any longer, my mind was abruptly ripped from my thoughts.

Is that..? I began, awestruck already.

The sea.

The boundless space nearly knocked the wind out of me. Even after all my fantasies, never could I have imagined something to this scale. A fresh scent filled the breeze, and a calming yet exhilarating feeling washed over me. This felt right.

Finally, when we soared across the border between land and sea, I gasped. A squeal left my throat and a fit of laughter burst from me in my moment of elation. I leaned over, staring down at the churning water that blurred underneath us.

This is incredible! I voiced, a face-splitting grin cutting across my face.

I thought you'd like it, Sephraim said happily.

I whipped my head to where Darius was flying beside us, but he wasn't there when I looked. I sat up a little, looking around for him until I spotted his black shape just above the waves. He dipped his claw into the water before pulling himself upward, flipping up and down in the sky.

I'd almost forgotten it was Darius's first time at the ocean as well as my own.

He returned to our side, a wide grin on his face. Looks as though we're all pleased, Sephraim noted.