It was so very cold...
There was pain, but it was a dull throb, throb, throb... no longer the crippling sensations she'd felt before.
Then there was a slight warmth on one side of her face.
"Rynn?"
She finally opened her eyes. Arokh looked down at her, his head framed by a clear, star-strewn nightscape.
"Arokh," she whispered, then groaned as her head pounded. "What happened to them?"
"I know as much - or as little - as you." He sighed.
Rynn forced herself to sit up. "Delon?"
"He's still here," the dragon cocked his head to where the boy lay on the ground. "Unpossessed, I might add."
"Navaros and Kaeros-"
"-tried to take you over. Ebontyne said something like that could happen if a Jewel of Eternity was destroyed, I believe. You were the nearest being they could reach." His jaws curved into a slight smile. "Looks like we won."
She forced down the sense of forboding. The term "out of sight, out of mind" held no meaning for her. Navaros and Kaeros had better be gone...
Rynn leaned forward and gave Arokh an impulsive kiss on the nose. "We won." She got to her feet and looked at the sky again. "When did the Spell go down?"
"When we were unconscious, I'd guess," he said dryly. "In any case, what will we do now? Restore Delon?"
"You got it." She picked up Runeblade and led the dragon over to the silent body on the rocks. "At least he's not insane."
"How are you going to do this?"
"My first idea..." she held the sword over Delon, one of her hands touching the Rift Crystal, "...is to let him find his own way home."
She opened a small riftgate right above him and stood back. "And now we wait." She sighed, feeling her muscles relax. She lifted her eyes to the lip of the crater...
...and a blade dragon flapped its ponderous way over the edge, screaming at the sight of her.
"Stand aside," Arokh told Rynn, and drew a breath.
Three more blade dragons cleared the edge.
"Arokh, don't," Rynn whispered quickly. "Look. They're not attacking." The two Bonded watched as the blade dragons landed on the high ledge, necks craned down and voices croaking threateningly.
"Maybe they fear hitting...Navaros," Arokh said.
The blade dragons didn't move for a minute, then one hissed and extended its wings.
"They're stupid, but we won't fool them forever," Arokh warned. "And I can't get them all from the ground."
All four blade dragons suddenly jumped in apparent fright. Two leaped back into the air and fled.
"Go away!" a small voice shouted. Rynn felt herself pushed aside as someone shoved past her. "Leave us alone!" Delon yelled.
The remaining blade dragons made their escape.
Rynn tried to balance herself on her good leg and said nothing, as though to speak would wake her from this wonderful dream.
Delon, his back still to the Bonded pair, waited until the enemy dragons could no longer be seen before he hesitantly held both of his hands up before himself for inspection. He looked at the palms and the backs, touched skin to skin, ran fingers through his hair.
Then he turned around.
"Rynn?"
She didni't move, sure she'd fall over if she tried. Delon saved her the trouble by running to her and hugging her around the middle. Rynn felt her arms go around him in response and she held him fiercely, startled to see her own tears darken his hair.
"Delon... I knew we'd get you back."
"I knew you would, too. Did you save the others?"
"Others?"
Delon pulled back a little to look up at her. "Atimar and Carth and Syl... everyone."
Rynn lowered her head. "You... were the only one I could save. Some others might have escaped, but..."
"Home?" he whispered, stricken.
"Burnt." She felt her the familiar sadness again as her brother stared at her, felt the familiar tightening in her chest. We'll have to find another one. Or make a new one." For some reason, she now found herself thinking of the Castle of Seasons. That made her remember Arokh. "Delon, I want you to meet my friend."
Delon looked at the great red dragon shyly.
"This is Arokh of the Order of the Flame."
The boy's face suddenly lie up. "Like from Atimar's stories?"
Rynn nodded, grinning. "Arokh, my brother Delon."
"You're all your sister talked about when we first met, Delon," Arokh said by way of greeting, and smiled toothily.
"You're big," Delon noted. "What's wrong with your wing?"
"Flew into an axe," Arokh shrugged, obviously trying to be casual about the whole situation, but the movement made him wince. "Once it's fixed we'll go for a fly, hm?"
"Yeah!" Delon looked at Rynn eagerly. "Can I?"
Rynn laughed, dizzy with happiness that Delon was exactly as she remembered him. "Of course." She looked up as three dragons flew above the crater, but relaxed when she saw they were mounted. "But first, let me introduce you to some other friends of mine."