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The door to the room opened, and Anelise stepped into her antechamber. “River?” Her tone was worried, not angry. She then glanced at Naia, and seemed horrified. “You? Why are you here?”
“We want to help,” Naia said, visibly surprised at Anelise’s reaction.
“How?”
Naia glanced at River, who nodded at her. She turned to Anelise. “I think I can unseal your city. I know you just woke up from a twenty-year sleep, and I’m worried you don’t have enough water or food.”
Anelise frowned, seeming more puzzled than anything. “Why would you worry?”
Naia shrugged. “I don’t want to see people dying.”
“People.” Anelise was thoughtful. “We are digging wells. There’s some water to be found deep down. Of course, we wouldn’t mind being free.”
River thought that it was his turn to do some explaining. “The war ended a long time ago—when we disappeared. But there are things happening in Aluria right now… The Ancients need to avoid contact with humans. Naia here is suggesting an area in her kingdom where you won’t be bothered, just somewhere where a few Ancients could go for resources like fish, wood, water. If it’s necessary.”
Anelise didn’t hide the disappointment on her face. “We’d still be limited.”
It was true. “For the time being, yes.”
His sister nodded. “It would be helpful, but what we really need are new grains, new plants. We have some reserves, but they won’t last long.”
“I’ll try to find some,” River said quickly. He didn’t want Naia to offer the reserves her kingdom barely had, and didn’t want her to negotiate with them either, or offer something that could be perceived as charity, which Ancients hated.
Anelise then took a long look at him. “River, how are you? What happened to you?” Her caring tone was surprising.
“I was suspended in time as well, but I woke up a year ago.”
“I see.” His sister then looked at Naia. “I’m so sorry for what our father did. I wanted to release you, I was going to, I had some friends who were going to help me, but River was faster.”
“Oh. Thanks so much,” Naia said, then added, “And I truly want to help you.”
Anelise nodded. “I understand. I’m just not sure… I’m not sure it will go down well with my father.” She turned to River. “He blames you for everything.”
River had a bitter laugh. “I blame myself for Ciara. You can blame me too. You should hate me.”
There was pain in Anelise’s eyes. “River, after I lost my sister, do you think I wanted to lose a brother too?”
“It’s not like…” He wasn’t even sure what to say or how to say it. “We weren’t that close.”
“Because you wouldn’t use your magic! You wouldn’t help us.”
River took Naia’s hand and squeezed it, hoping she understood the warning. None of his siblings had any idea about his mindmelding, about the real magic he had always refused to wield.
Anelise continued, “You could make a difference and instead you were squandering your power being lazy, partying and drinking, even when the war got serious. I wanted you to change, I wanted you to do something. Looking back, knowing what happened to Ciara, maybe I was wrong.”
Just hearing his sister’s name hurt him from head to toes. “I don’t know.”
“How were you able to get back?” Anelise asked.
“My exile has been broken.”
Anelise frowned, visibly confused.
He added, “Our father said I had to bring a dragon heart.” He pointed to Naia. “Here’s a dragon heart. He never said the heart couldn’t still be beating or that it would need to remain in the city.”
His sister turned to Naia. “You really are a dragon lord.” Lord. Anelise likely had no idea that they could actually become dragons.
“I believe so,” Naia answered. “I didn’t know that before.”
