They had breakfast outside, around a small table that quickly grew crowded, but it was still lovely, a pear tree’s branches stretching over their heads and the dappled sunlight warm on Theo’s forearms. Glyssa brought out the bread Theo had prepared the night before, and everyone dug in—everyone except Bruni, who looked pale and slightly sweaty, grimacing every now and then when he thought no one was looking.

  Glyssa set a cup of steaming liquid in front of him. At first, Theo thought it was tea, but when he glanced at the contents, it looked more like runny syrup. “Drink this. Won’t cure you, but it’ll give you some strength. And you’ll need strength for what’s ahead.”

  “What’s in it?” Bruni asked, breathing in the aromas of the tea. “Arnica and nettle?”

  “And some dragonroot,” Glyssa said.

  “Interesting mixture,” Bruni muttered.

  Glyssa gave him a level look. “Good for your fever and your pain. With the added benefit of some fresh energy for you.”

  “All that’s in tea?” Theo asked. Medicinal herbs were certainly not his forte—he only used herbs for their taste.

  “Herbs are powerful,” Bruni said, taking a sip of the concoction.

  “You seem to know them well,” Freya said.

  Bruni raised his gaze to look at her. “It’s my job.”

  “Your job?” Theo asked. “Herbs? I thought dwarves…” He trailed off, because around Bruni, he should never start any sentence with ‘I thought’—it was a sure way to get himself called stupid again.

  Bruni rolled his eyes. “Not all dwarves work with rocks, weapons, and carving out our cities, no. I’m a master herbologist.” He stared down at the contents of the cup.

  It made sense—Bruni had been very specific back in the forest about what herbs he wanted.

  “When we met you,” Freya said. “You said you’d been out on a mission to find a cure. Was that to find the right herbs?”

  Bruni looked up at her, surprise flitting across his face. Then he shook his head. “It was to find the source of the illness, and a cure. But it wasn’t herbs we were looking for, and it wasn’t my idea. My friend, he asked me to come search for the bells with him. Didn’t succeed, though. Just made things worse. And then Hagarin got hurt, and Dorin got sick…”

  “Are they herbologists too?” Freya asked.

  Bruni chuckled. “No. Hagarin is the brawns. Turned out to be a surprisingly strong fighter. Dorin is the brains, he’s a historian, so he got the ideas about the bells from his books. And I didn’t want him to go alone with Hagarin. Good thing, too,” he mumbled, shaking his head. “Dorin told me to stop digging in the dirt all the time, that I’d get sick. Joke’s on him.”

  It didn’t sound like a joke at all.

  “Not sure he’s alive,” Bruni said, so quietly Theo barely heard it. “I couldn’t exactly care for him well on a wagon back to Silvershard.”

  Theo stared at him. So far, he’d only thought of the effects of the amulet as the dwarves getting sick, but—were they dying? Was Bruni not only ill, but headed towards death? The thought made a knot of anxiety form in his belly, twisting and leaving an ache there. He didn’t like Bruni (or maybe he was starting to, because the dwarf had grown on him, sort of like fungus), but…

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “That’s enough of that,” Bruni said, taking another big gulp of the concoction. “Let’s go face the witch and fix things.”

  They were all silent for a few seconds, and Theo thought they might be processing Bruni’s words just like he was. When the silence stretched, he cleared his throat. “So, what’s our plan? Just head north-west to the Empty Plains?”

  Emberion nodded. “It will take us a few hours to get there.”

  “But you know where it is?” Freya asked.

  “The general vicinity of it,” Emberion said. “Not an area I usually frequent, but from the skies, we should be able to find it easily. It is, after all, a desert unlike everything else.”

  “Great, more flying,” Bruni muttered. “Might as well let death claim me.”

  “I will fly as gently as I can, dwarf,” Emberion said.

  Bruni glared at him. “Dwarves aren’t supposed to be up in the sky.”

  Emberion chuckled. “I suppose not. Would you like me to get a belt so you can secure yourself better?”

  Bruni’s glare reached scorching proportions. “I’ll be fine.”

  Emberion grinned. “Fantastic.”

  ***

  The air was crisp, the sky a clear blue expanse that promised a day of smooth travel. After final checks on their equipment, they secured everything to Emberion’s sides. Theo found it strange to touch Emberion in this form—he was acutely aware of the massive beast being one and the same as the handsome man that his thoughts kept returning to.

  He tied his sword to Emberion’s side, because while sitting on the dragon’s back, he wouldn’t need the weapon. It was uncomfortable to carry around.

  Besides, he was useless with it, even if it happened to be inscribed with powerful runes.

  They said their goodbyes to Glyssa. When Theo came to her, to say thank you for her hospitality and the fantastic food, she smiled at him and handed him two small pouches.

  “For the dwarf,” she said. “I doubt he’ll accept it now, but at some point, he’ll need it.”

  Theo nodded, taking the pouches and slipping them into his pocket. “I’ll make sure he gets it then.”

  Glyssa nodded. “You’re a good human, Theo. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” She patted his cheek gently, reminding him of a grandmother, before turning to Emberion. “Do be careful. Against a witch, even you are vulnerable.”

  “I will be fine.”

  She narrowed his eyes at him, reminding Theo of his own mother on the few occasions when Theo had spoken in a placating way to her. He remembered the way her eyes narrowed, because she knew he was just saying what she wanted to hear.

  A sharp pang of regret passed through him; she would never look at him that way again.

  Would it ever hurt less?

  “I hope I’m making you proud,” he mumbled, words going unheard by anyone around him as the others got ready.

  Theo climbed onto Emberion’s back, and sat there, feeling Emberion’s strong, bulky muscles beneath him—the same being he had been talking to by the blueberry bushes the night before. It was difficult to imagine.

  Theo was up front again, but before climbing onto Emberion, Freya decided that Bruni, who looked constantly worse for wear, should sit between them.

  “What, you gonna catch me if I fall?” Bruni scoffed at her.

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t need you to save me.”

  Freya met his glare squarely.

  “So I’m gonna sit there and hug that one?” Bruni asked, nodding to Theo.

  Instead of getting irritated, Theo decided to try a different take, channeling the way his mom could keep his dad off kilter.

  “Yes, and ‘that one’ loves to cuddle,” he said, grinning and holding out his hands as if expecting a hug. “Come here.”

  Bruni stared at him, but the change in Theo’s response was, apparently, enough to render him speechless. Finally, after several seconds of silence, he muttered, “I’ll sit wherever I damn well please and there will be no ‘cuddling’.”

  Freya gave Theo a look like she was trying to hold back laughter.

  Theo held out his hand to help Bruni up, and to his surprise, Bruni took it. His hand was rough and calloused. Their gazes met for a moment, and Theo thought he saw pain in there, pain Bruni tried so hard to keep hidden from them.

  Bruni looked away.

  He bit back the question whether Bruni should come along—perhaps they could ask Glyssa to fly him back to Silvershard instead—because Bruni had said he would come, and whatever Theo ground had won with his cuddle-comment, he would lose it immediately if he questioned Bruni.

  Bruni’s arms came around Theo’s waist despite his words, though he didn’t lean into him the way Freya had done. Every muscle in his arms felt rigid.

  With a sigh, Freya took her seat behind Bruni.

  Nibblet, who had her usual place in one of Theo’s pockets, stuck her head out and looked excited to be flying again. Theo petted her head, and she leaned into the touch.

  “Let’s head into danger, shall we?” Theo mumbled to her. “Eyes wide open.”