Page 64 of A Kingdom Restored

“What about Emil and Andre?” Sage cried, as they broke the surface and shed their tails for legs—for only the second time for Sage. “What if they execute them in your place?”

Fear choked Merletta, making it hard to speak.

“Heath!” she cried haltingly. “Heath, please, I have to know what happens to them! Can you see Emil and Andre? Can you—” But what? What could Heath do, from all the way in Valoria? Nothing. Nothing at all. “Just please watch them,” she begged. She had no idea if Heath’s magic was strong enough for that, but she had to at least try.

“Where are you taking us?” she called to the dragon carrying them. “Back to Valoria?”

“Yes,” he replied calmly, speeding over the water. “To Heath.”

To Heath. The words filled Merletta with a jittery energy, a measure of excitement thrown into her panic and fear. The weeks since she’d seen him had felt impossibly long.

It was hard for Merletta to judge time, everything passing in a blur of rushing wind around her, rippling water below her, and a growing ache in her torso, where the dragon held her in an unyielding grip. It was unnerving, the way her legs dangled freely between her and the ocean far below. She could only imagine it was more terrifying for Sage, unused to being out of the water in the first place.

After what felt like an eternity, land came into sight ahead of them. She’d expected the dragon to make for Bexley Manor, so was surprised when he wheeled further west. When they finally alighted not far inland, in a dell which she hadn’t been able to see until they were almost upon it, Merletta’s breath caught at the sight of both Heath and Rekavidur waiting for them.

Heath’s face was upturned toward them, his eyes locked on Merletta as they descended. The sight of him, after so many tension-filled weeks, almost overwhelmed her. The moment the dragon released her, she found herself in Heath’s arms, and something deep within her relaxed. It might be a stretch to say she was safe, given her proximity to the dragon colony, but the release of tension was undeniable.

“Merletta,” Heath murmured. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

“I thought my luck had run out as well,” Merletta acknowledged, the words muffled from where her face was pressed into his tunic. She pulled back, beaming up at him, and hoping the smile hid the moisture building inconveniently at the corners of her eyes. “I should have known you’d come to my rescue.”

His answering smile was so intimate, Merletta became acutely conscious of Sage shifting beside her.

“I wish I’d been able to,” Heath told her, stepping back a little as though also reminded of their company. “But it’s Elddreki we have to thank for that.”

Merletta turned to the dragon, bowing as deeply as she could manage with one of Heath’s arms still around her waist. “Thank you, Elddreki,” she said solemnly. “I am more grateful than I can say.”

“You had best thank Rekavidur, for whose sake I acted,” Elddreki said, although there was the hint of a smile about his thin reptilian lips.

“Thank you, Reka,” Merletta said obediently, turning her fervent gaze on him. Again she felt Sage shift, and hurried to repair her omission. “This is my friend, Sage. She was being seized by the guards for sticking up for me, and Elddreki kindly brought her as well.”

“You’re very welcome, Sage,” Heath told her, with his easy smile. “Merletta has spoken of you often. I’m glad you’re here, and I’m sorry not to be able to give you a better welcome. I would have preferred to receive you at my family’s home, but I was concerned the dragons might keep an eye on the place.”

“Do they know we’re here?” Merletta asked sharply.

“I hope not,” Rekavidur responded. “Given the lengths Heath went to in order to distract them from my sire’s journey to retrieve you.”

Merletta frowned at Heath. “What lengths?”

“Never mind that,” he said, apparently unconcerned. Merletta shivered a little, and he ran a hand up and down her arm to warm her. “Reka and I did stop at Bexley Manor, to get some of the clothes you left last time, Merletta. Hopefully one of the gowns can fit Sage.”

“Gowns?” Sage repeated curiously.

“They’ll fit,” Merletta said, detaching herself from Heath to enable him to retrieve the garments. “Wait until you try them on, Sage. It’s hilarious how much covering humans wear. You can hardly move in them, at least until you get used to it.”

“I would have said that sounds awful, but I’ll admit I’ve never felt this cold before,” said Sage, shivering as she received a dress and watched Merletta don one by way of example.

“It’s your human form,” Merletta told her wisely. “It’s not built for the cold of the depths like our mermaid forms are. It’s fine on Vazula, where it’s always warm, but here it can be brutal. We’ll have to accustom ourselves if we’re going to be hiding in the open.”

“Of course you won’t have to stay in the open,” said Heath quickly. “I have to return to the capital—I’ve already been away longer than I should have—and you can come with me. The dragons don’t tend to come there, and if Rekavidur keeps his distance, I don’t think they’ll try to watch me.”

“I seem to remember them coming to the city last time I was here,” Merletta said skeptically.

Heath shook his head. “We won’t stick around long enough for the Winter Solstice Festival. I learned my lesson last year.” Sage and Merletta had both struggled into gowns and boots by now, and Heath looked them over. “If you’re ready, Reka and Elddreki will carry us to within walking distance of the city. It will be best for us to arrive inconspicuously, I think.”

Sage bit her lip, but said nothing. With no better ideas to offer, Merletta gave Heath a curt nod, and soon they were back in the air. It wasn’t long before the city of Bryford came into view. As Heath had instructed, the dragons set them down again in a grove of trees within sight of the walls.

“We will leave you now,” said Elddreki.

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