“Hopefully you won’t have to use it much, if at all,” Adrissu murmured. Pollux smirked up at him, and for an instant, it was like he was Ruan again.
“Can’t count on that,” he said, shaking his head. Adrissu blinked, and the resemblance was gone. “If worst comes to worst, better it dies than one of us. We can always find another.”
“It won’t come to that,” Adrissu replied, perhaps too forcefully, as Pollux flinched at the rumble of his deep, draconic voice that was so much like a roar. Adrissu huffed, and added in a softer tone, “I will do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t come to that. We could always find another, yes, but it will take time. And I know you don’t want to wait any longer than you need to.”
Pollux’s uncertain expression melted into a hesitant smile. “I know. I trust you.”
“Then let’s go again, I suppose,” Adrissu sighed, and with a similarly smug smirk, Pollux moved into a ready pose once more.
It took a few more weeks of sparring on and off, but soon Pollux thought he was ready to take on Tyrsun, and Adrissu agreed. They were as ready as they would ever be, at least; so he arranged to take a leave of absence from the Academy to prepare and complete the ritual with time to spare. Luckily, Shima was now perfectly capable of acting in his place for a month or two, having trained under him for several years between her own classes. The school was in good hands, which meant there was one less thing for him to worry about.
Next would be the problem of Tyrsun’s lair. The only solution was for Pollux to investigate it as stealthily as possible, but that still left the problem of where Adrissu should wait for him. Wintergrove was the obvious choice; but Tyrsun had found him there once before, which made him nervous, even though he had visited other times without incident. He floated the idea of waiting somewhere in the deep forest, far from where the lair was, but remote enough to remain undisturbed, or even in the smelly fishing village of Camfort Cliff since it was technically closer—but Pollux hated both ideas and insisted Adrissu should wait in Wintergrove. So, begrudgingly, he agreed.
They gathered up everything they would need: the weapons, the ritual components, and all the normal things needed for travel. It felt strange to be packing up things like clothes and toiletries, knowing that they would return as two dragons. The thought made Adrissu’s heart squeeze in a strange mix of anticipation and terror, which he tried not to think too hard about.
To avoid even the smallest chance of being seen, they left in the middle of the night and went in a more roundabout way: Adrissu flew north over the sea a mile or so from the coast, veering westward at a stretch of uninhabited cliffs and following a meandering path to avoid passing over any cities or towns along the way. On his back, Pollux tried to sleep, but Adrissu felt him shifting and moving far too often for him to be resting at all.
The sun was rising behind them by the time Adrissu landed. They were far enough from any civilization so as not to have been spotted, and it would be a long walk before they reached Wintergrove—where Pollux would continue onward toward Tyrsun’s lair, and Adrissu would stay behind.
That would be the worst part, he thought as they walked. He couldn’t stop himself from ruminating on it, dreading it already and hating that he would be unable to protect Pollux even though the man was walking right beside him, his long, dark hair pulled back in a neat braid. The elf seemed to sense Adrissu’s gaze lingering on him and glanced over at him with a questioning look.
“I told you not to get soft on me,” he said, a teasing tone underneath his stern expression, and Adrissu chuckled. Cold as ever, but now he could recognize the affection underneath it.
“Forgive me for being nervous,” Adrissu sighed, taking one of Pollux’s hands into his own. “I hate that I can’t go with you. It will be dangerous, and I just want to protect you.”
“Do you trust me?” Pollux asked pointedly, and Adrissu nodded in affirmation. “Then it will be fine. I’ll be careful. I can handle myself. And, well, if things do go south, I could probably teleport myself a decent distance away and get back to Wintergrove.”
“Hmm.” They had talked about it as an emergency backup plan, and Adrissu had practiced teleportation with Pollux to make sure he could even do it; but it was even more draining for the elf than it was for him, so he couldn’t get more than perhaps half a mile from his starting point. It would get him out of the dragon’s lair if he needed to, but would leave him too exhausted to do much else. It was not ideal, but Pollux seemed unbothered.
“Adrissu,” Pollux said, pulling back on his hand. Adrissu met his gaze, and they stared each other down for a moment, before he continued in a softer tone, “I’m nervous too. But we’ll be alright.”
How had their roles reversed so utterly? Adrissu managed a tight smile back over at him.
“I know,” he said, and kissed his hand. “We will.”
The pair arrived in Wintergrove in the early afternoon, both of them tired from the long journey. Initially, they had planned that Pollux would leave Adrissu at an inn and would continue onward toward the lair, but as they approached—on the side of town opposite where Pollux had once lived, as he hated the idea of possibly running into people he knew—Pollux’s shoulders sagged, and he said to Adrissu,
“Maybe I’ll rest with you for a little while before I keep going.”
Adrissu hesitated—it seemed a minor enough change, but still he didn’t like having to adjust their plans on the fly—then nodded. “Of course. You should be at full strength when you get there, or as near to it as you can be.”
Pollux smiled wearily over at him, sensing his uncertainty. “I think so too. I won’t stay long, just enough to be refreshed. It shouldn’t delay our plans.”
They paid for a room at the inn, went up to it, and laid in bed. Pollux’s breathing next to him was deep and even, as if maybe he really had fallen asleep. Adrissu lay awake, acutely aware of Pollux next to him, his own heart thudding rapidly and nerves buzzing under his skin. He remained motionless for the first half an hour, then a full hour, and still Pollux did not stir.
He reallyhadfallen asleep, quickly and easily. It was rare for Pollux to fall asleep so effortlessly; it would only delay their plans further, but Adrissu was even more loath to wake him, knowing how rare this was for him. Why now? Why here?
After nearly two hours, Pollux finally stirred. He rolled over away from Adrissu, a soft sigh escaping him. Adrissu hesitated, wondering if he was awake, then gingerly reached over to touch his shoulder.
“Pollux,” he said softly, feeling the elf’s body jolt in response. A beat passed, then Pollux slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes, and guilt flooded Adrissu’s chest—knowing he had woken him from the first decent sleep the poor elf had probably had in weeks.
“Sorry,” Pollux breathed. “I didn’t realize how long it’s been. How long has it been?”
“Maybe an hour and a half,” Adrissu lied. “I’m sorry I woke you.”
Pollux shook his head with his brows furrowed, as if even he was perturbed at how well he’d slept. “No, that’s alright. I didn’t mean to stay so long. I should go.”
Adrissu helped gather up his things as Pollux stretched and changed clothes. The sword and shield he would bring with him just in case the scouting mission went poorly; the chains would wait until they were ready to truly take on the red dragon.
