"Wake up." I groaned and covered my head with my arm, trying to ignore Brom. "Angela…" He said, clearly irritated. "Get up. We are leaving, now. Believe it or not, I am not going to leave you ill and out in the forest, and I have somewhere I need to go. Vrael has summoned me to Doru Araeba to meet with the other riders. I told him about you and he wishes to meet you in person. I was told that you had spoken to him through a scrying mirror."

"Go away." I mumbled, pulling the woolen blanket more tightly around my shoulders. He seemed to listen and I heard his footsteps go farther, but then they returned. "Aaargh!" I yelled, startled. He had dumped a bucket of melted snow water on me.

I sat bolt upright, reaching for magic to get my revenge. "Why, you-" The insolent rider was laughing at me.

"Well, you are up now." He observed in a level tone as if commenting on the weather. I glared.

Then I heard the jumping growl of a dragon's laughter and saw that the head of Saphira had invaded our little cave where Brom had brought me to recover. Child, we really must be going if we plan to reach Doru Araeba in a timely manner.

With a sigh, I whispered a spell to speed the evaporation of the water and to warm me up. Then, stretching, I looked over at Brom. "I don't understand what Vrael wishes with me. He knows I cannot fight a rider. My oaths prevent that."

Brom shrugged. "He claimed that King Evander had said you were quite accomplished at magic and have knowledge in healing." His expression turned grim. "The revolt is lasting much longer than expected. Galbatorix only continues to grow in power, and we lose more and more riders and dragons."

I rolled up the bedroll I had been sleeping on and tied it closed before looking over at the breakfast sitting by the fire. There was some sort of meat that Brom had fried on a flat stone and a very meager pile of edible plants. Ignoring the roll of his eyes as I picked up several brown-green leaves and chewed them, swallowing with a slight grimace.

"I will not be the cause of death for any animal when there is any other option possible. What would you think if a creature, suppose a dragon, decided you would make a good meal?"

"People are not food. Rabbit is."

Saphira blew smoke in her amusement. I have never attempted to eat a human or an elf, but I doubt they would taste much different than deer. Perhaps I will try sometime.

Unsure whether the dragon was serious or not, Brom and I exchanged glances and dropped the topic. Saphira rumbled her impatience and I gathered my small bag of things. It was time. Brom went to finish saddling Saphira and I began to walk over. However, my eyes caught on the light blue flower sticking through the thin layer of snow that had fallen the night before. I knelt next to it.

Identifying the plant as winter's breath, which was useful in many brews, I began to dig it up from the ground, taking all from the petals to the roots.

"Angela!" Brom called from the top of a hill twenty paces away. "Are you coming or not?"

Grumbling, I walked over. "You are the one who is insisting that I come along anyway."

"Oh, of course you would prefer to starve in the woods as you were before we crossed paths?" He said sarcastically.

"I was doing fine." I defended.

"You weighed nothing. And then, weakened as you were, you challenged one of the Forsworn singlehandedly."

"If I hadn't fought him, I would have only been killed later. I did best one of their number. And he had orders to take me to Galbatorix."

Brom pinched the bridge of his nose as if warding off a headache and sighed. "Come. Vrael and the others will be meeting in three days, and you and I are both to be there. After that, you can do as you please. I do not care."

Saphira raised her head. We really should take off. Come, Angela.

I glanced at the dragon and walked over. She crouched down to make it easier for me to mount, but I rolled my eyes at her, leaping to her foreleg before settling easily behind Brom on her saddle. Brom gave me a look and withdrew the hand he had extended to help me.

I decided to answer him for once. "I've grown up around dragons. If I could not mount one by now, I'd be hopeless. And my father's dragon was twice Saphira's size."

He took a steadying breath and faced forward. I grinned. Since I had woken and met Brom, I had taken it upon myself to annoy him. It was boring trying to recover, and his reactions amused me greatly and it was also surprisingly easy. He had beseechingly asked Saphira for help, but it had been a futile effort as she found our bickering even more entertaining than I did. Occasionally she would even join.

–My opinion on traveling by dragonback changed greatly after I had traveled the amount of land it takes a day of leisurely flying over in the course of a week and a half hard traveling, but my opinion is now this. Traveling, in any form, is torture. –

Within hours, I was bored out of my mind, but I knew it would take several days to cover the distance we had already flown a mere few hours later. But for once, it was not the never-ending monotony of traveling that wore on me, but a near constant ache in my chest, from the still healing wound. More than once, I had ended up in a coughing fit. After the third, Brom instructed Saphira to land.

"Are you alright?"

I was coughing from the rough landing and the pain had forced my eyes closed. Still, in the back on my mind, a scathingly sarcastic comment almost reached my lips. Instead, I shook my head. It was a testament to Brom's temperament that he was considerate to me after how much I had gone out of my way to bother him.

He helped me to the ground and cast a spell to warm the air around me, draping his cloak around my shoulders. He began to gather wood and make a fire as I watched without speaking. "Sit, Angela. You need to rest."

I didn't protest at all that night, even when he gave me broth for dinner. Perhaps it was that that worried him so much as I saw the glances he threw at me. The sun had not even entirely set before I drifted off into a fitful sleep, curled up against Saphira's side.

When I woke, Brom was already loading everything onto Saphira. I watched for a minute before standing and grabbing a pack to tie to her saddle. Brom took it from me with a frown. "Your fever is returning. You shouldn't exert yourself." I didn't respond then, and I even allowed him to help me onto Saphira. To my surprise, he put me in front.

"I'm going to put you to sleep." He said quietly. I turned to look at him, a protest on the tip of my tongue when he sighed. "Angela, believe me. I am no healer, and you are in no position to help yourself. We do not have the time to wait for you to fully heal, and there is no reason for you to be awake anyway. Pleas just take down whatever wards you have up so I can cast the spell."

I disabled the wards and nodded to Brom. "Slytha." He whispered, and I slumped against him in the saddle.

–I believe that may be the best way to travel. After all, it seems to go the quickest. –

"Come on, wake up." Brom's voice cut through my dreams. I blinked, a pang of sadness hitting me. It was been a good dream. A memory of childhood bliss, dodging trees in Du Weldenvarden, calling back to Vanilor as he teasingly dove to catch us gently in his talons. It had once been our favorite game, trying to escape him. "Are you alright?"

I stretched, the ache in my chest still there, but duller than before. "Dreams." I stated simply. "Sometimes I still wish for the past." He seemed to contemplate this for a moment and then nodded, dismounting and giving me a hand. "Where are we?"

"Doru Araeba."

I spun angrily. "You kept me unconscious for days?"

He chuckled. "Yes. You needed it. You look better now, and do not try to tell me you were alright before." I looked away. "All the surviving riders are here, and all the dragons, wild and bonded. I am the last to arrive."

"How many?" I asked quietly.

Brom's expression darkened. "There are twenty-one wild dragons that have survived." He met my eyes. "Before this all started there were over one hundred. Of the bonded pairs, I am one of seventeen to have survived. Among us, there is also Galeís, a riderless dragon, and Thuviel. He lost his dragon last month in a battle protecting a hatchling dragon before aid arrived and drove off the Forsworn. We are all who are left."

I looked at the ground, sadness overwhelming me at the losses the riders had been suffering. Half their remaining number had flown from one elven city not six months previous. Brom took my arm and led me over to a crater shaped depression in the ground. All of the riders and dragon sat on the slopes and spoke to each other.

Loifel, an elven rider with a steely gray dragon looked over at me and gave a grim smile. "Hello, Meira. Vrael said that you would be joining us here." I nodded slowly. "He said that you have twice faced the Forsworn and survived. That, and the fact that Galbatorix wants to find you badly, pushed him to call you here for your protection as well as preserving our resources."

I coughed several times before I could respond. "Why does he want me?" The question had been nagging at me since Morzan had told me that.

He shrugged. "We are unsure, but believe it is from the fact that you are a human, but you are powerful. He seeks after power like a bee to honey. He may want you for his order, or he may believe that you possess some secret he may be able to gain from. Alas, we cannot know." He took my arm as I coughed again, and Brom came over to take my arm. Loifel looked concerned. "May I try and heal you?"

"I am healing." I stated flatly. "There is no magic that can help me further. By all rights, I should be dead. My heart and left lung were run through with a sword." His eyes widened. "Saphira healed me, but it is taking longer that I had hoped."

Silence fell as Vrael, sitting astride Umaroth, entered the center of the depression, looking at the people waiting. There was a long pause before he spoke. I was pleased to hear he chose to speak in the Ancient Language, proving that every word he said was truth. "We are what are left." His expression was grave and his voice held volumes of sorrow. "Galbatorix has been gaining power with every success, and he has no reservations over killing any who stand in his way." He turned to the wild dragons. "I know you had no wishes to abandon your homes, but if we are to have any chance of success, we must stand together. We know now the secret of Galbatorix's power." He paused and looked around, hesitating when he saw me, but then continued his speech. "He has captured countless eldunarí from those who have stood against him, and he has enslaved them to his will." At this, angry murmuring broke out, and some cried out in shock and fury. Several of the dragons trumpeted. Vrael scanned the group once more. "We have fallen when we fought, and there was no chance of our survival without joining here to defend as we lay out a plan. I know not how long we have before Galbatorix strikes here, but I doubt not that he will."

Brom stood suddenly and eyes turned to him. "A week ago I was tracking Morzan across the woods when I suddenly found him. He was in a duel with Angela. But he was not three days from here by dragon back. We have to assume that an attack could come at any time." He sat back down and attention left him.

Vrael nodded his head to Brom. "This is true. We must be vigilant." From there, the discussion swayed to things that were irrelevant to me. Several hours later, the meeting was dismissed. Vrael walked over and looked at me. I was, as always in the few times when I had faced him, a sense of great power and awe washed over me. "A year ago you were climbing trees and breaking rules."

My throat constricted and I met his eyes to respond. "A year ago I was innocent of the ways of the world. I was naïve."

He nodded. "My reasons for drawing you here were not all good." He stated simply, not hiding the truth. "You were most likely safer in the wilderness than you are here. But I cannot let you free while Galbatorix seeks you. I do not believe that you would, but the risk that you would aid him is too great in our present situation. King Evander informed me that you were the one who was able to heal Glaedr and Oromis when Gwendolyn, the most accomplished at magic among the elves, could not. You may not possess the power of an elf or of a rider, but you have a power of your own, and I would not like for you to be my enemy."

I was unsure how to respond to his comment. It was an honor to be complemented by the leader of the riders, but at the same time, there seemed to be a subtle threat hidden in his words, a warning. Not entirely understanding what the warning was for, but perhaps partially cognizant as I thought back on what had happened to me. I had killed and learned to fight. Lying in the human tongue came second nature to me. I was consuming creatures that had lived and breather, and now I had killed in cold blood to provide a meal. I was losing the beliefs I had once held so close, and I realized what he may have meant. Had I thought about it? I needed to consider my actions to keep from falling further. I met Vrael's eyes and nodded.

"I understand."

He gave me a small smile and left. Brom looked at me. "What was that about?" I bit my tongue and didn't respond. He sighed. "Whatever, you don't have to say anything. Come on. We could both use something to eat."

I agreed and we went to get food. I was pleased to discover that there was food provided for those with my preferences as well as for those like Brom. After a brief meal, we turned to go for a walk.

And that was when I saw it.

The shadowy figure of an obsidian dragon hung in the air. The shapes of others followed closely behind. Even as I turned to Brom, Saphira let out a loud trumpet and all eyes turned to the sky. As the dragons gathered to discuss quickly in the bare minutes we had before the Forsworn would arrive, a pit of disquiet formed in my stomach, and I knew, without any doubt, that this would be the final stand.

Cliffhanger! And yeah, I know, there are no excuses for leaving this so long, and I will not attempt to make any. But here is the chapter. I hope it was up to the normal standards. And I know that it was kind of depressing, and the next chapter or two will be even more so, but I cannot imagine that Angela would be feeling very happy over this time period. Thank you everyone who is sticking this story through with me, and I will not abandon this. Please leave a review and tell me how I did. Thanks!