"Here sit the last of the dragon riders." Oromis said as they (Brom, Eragon, Murtagh, Arya, Onóra, and himself) sat around a camp fire a couple weeks after Onóra and Arya's arrival at the Varden.
"What do you mean?" Eragon asked.
"You four have the last dragons. There were only four eggs left. Galbatorix only had two in his possession, though he tried to get the third. We see how well that worked out." They laughed.
"He never knew about the white egg?" Arya asked.
"No, I found the egg and sent it to Du Waldenvarden. It was cloaked in magic and hidden until the right person, Oromis, came along and knew how to reveal it." Brom answered. "The truth is, no one but myself and Oromis knew of its existence."
"Eirwen, you are a direct descendent of the dragon, Umaroth. The only surviving descendent, in fact." Glaedr looked at the white dragon.
"Wow! Really?" Eirwen replied. Onóra looked at her.
"Wow, what, Eirwen?" Onóra watched her dragon closely.
"I'm a descendent of Umaroth." Eirwen replied. Onóra's eyes grew wide.
"What?" Arya and Eragon asked when the noticed Onóra's facial expression.
"Eirwen is a descendent of Umaroth?" Onóra looked at Ormois and Brom.
"The only surviving, direct descendent. Umaroth was her grandsire." Oromis nodded his head.
"Finding the egg where I did makes sense now." Brom hadn't known this fact. He looked at Oromis. "I found it near the Rock of Kuthian."
"The Rock of Kuthian?" Murtagh asked. Oromis explained that Umaroth's eldunari, his dragon heart of hearts, is hidden in the Rock of Kuthian. He then explained that story about Umaroth and his rider. Oromis and Brom shared stories and legends for a couple more hours before everyone decided to call it a night.
"Murtagh, you and Thorn are ready for your scouting mission?" Brom asked.
"Yes, Sir." Murtagh replied. The tension between the two wasn't as bad anymore now that Murtagh wasn't acting like an idiot. "Onóra, can I speak with you a moment?"
"Of course." She stood between Eirwen and Thorn.
"I'm sorry about the way I acted when you first arrived. I was an idiot. I was a jerk to you and to Nasuada. I've made my peace with her and now I need to make it with you." He reached for her right hand, but she pulled away.
"I'm sorry, too. Things haven't been easy for either one of us. Have a safe mission, alright?" She started to walk away but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards him.
"Onóra, I can't shake this connection I feel." He held her face in his hands. "I can't explain it and I'm sick of trying to deny it." He leaned in to kiss her but she pulled back slightly.
"I'm sorry. I can explain the connection but you choose not to believe it. When you decide to listen to the truth, I'll be here. For now, however, you're right, it's best if we remain friends." She kissed him on the cheek and then walked away with a broken, heavy heart.
"Murtagh's been captured!" A scout came galloping up to Eragon.
"What!?" Nasuada asked. "How?"
"The scouting mission those brothers planned was a trap." The man huffed, trying to catch his breath. "Apparently, some of Galbatorix's men ambushed them. They threatened to kill Thorn unless Murtagh agreed to go with them."
"How do you know all this?" Eragon was suspicious.
"There were Urgals following the group; Roran sent them. I met them on the way back." The scout replied.
"I knew those brothers couldn't be trusted." Onóra said angrily. Everyone looked at her. "This is a loss we can't afford, but a loss we must deal with. We still have four dragon riders. We still have people depending on us. We still have Galbatorix's tyranny to crush!"
"I didn't trust them, that's why I sent some Urgals to follow them." Roran stepped up.
"Onóra's right; this is a grave loss but we cannot let it defeat us. Unfortunately, we now face the fact that we must fight against our brother; a man who knows our strategies." Eragon sighed. A crowd had gathered by this time and everyone knew what had to be done.
"Send word to the Varden: if they don't surrender now, they will all be crushed." Galbatorix commanded. His messenger nodded and then made a hasty exit.
"Oromis and Glaedr will be difficult to defeat, my Lord." Murtagh said. "As will Eragon and Saphira."
"Yes, but I have my ways of seeing to it that my will is completed. It was a tragedy that the eggs fell into the hands of the Varden but now I have you and your dragon. With my help, three dragon riders won't be too much trouble."
"Four, my Lord." One of the brothers stepped forward. "They have four dragon riders, my Lord."
"How is that possible!?" Galbatorix shouted. He looked at Murtagh.
"Apparently, Brom discovered the egg and, before the Fall, he cloaked it with magic to hide it. It found its rider two years ago." Murtagh answered.
"A young rider will not matter. The Varden will be crushed." Galbatorix waved his hand and the throne room cleared out.
"You were going to keep the white dragon a secret from him, weren't you?" The eldest brother confronted Murtagh. "Just remember who you serve now."
"Not by choice." Murtagh muttered under his breath. If the brothers hear it, they didn't acknowledge it. "Are you alright, Thorn?"
"I'm fine. Murtagh, you know that our friends will die; they might die." Murtagh knew who "they" were; Thorn was referring to Onóra and Eirwen.
"Yes, if they die it won't be at my hands. I can't have her blood on my hands." He replied as he headed to the training field to meet Thorn.
"It's been a few days since Galbatorix's message." Nasuada said. The dragon riders, Brom, and Roran were standing around a map. "Sadly, the time has come to face Murtagh."
"Traitor." Roran hissed.
"Don't go there, Roran." Onóra hissed back. "A rider will do anything to protect their dragon. He had no choice."
"He didn't mean it, sister." Eragon said.
"Oh, he meant it, Eragon. I will not stand and listen to this. If you want to voice your belief that Murtagh betrayed us, do not do it in my presence!" She was furious. She couldn't help it; she had to defend Murtagh no matter what.
"When you first arrived the two of you couldn't stand to be in the same room together and now you're defending him?" Roran replied.
"Both of you, stop it!" Eragon slammed his fist on the table, causing everyone to jump. "We do not have time for the two of you to start fighting." He took a deep breath. "Roran, Onóra is right; we riders will do anything to protect our dragons. We would do anything to protect them because our lives become meaningless without them."
"And if we don't protect them, we have to live with that regret for the rest of our lives. Murtagh did what he has to do to protect Thorn. He didn't have a choice." Brom added, the tone in his voice made sure no one questioned it.
"Roran, it's time you know the truth." Eragon pulled his cousin aside after the meeting finished. "Onóra, I would like you here for this."
"Of course." She stood next to him.
"What's going on?" Roran looked between Onóra and Eragon.
"It's now or never, brother. Maybe if he knows the truth he might see things a little differently." Onóra encouraged her brother.
"Roran, Onóra is my sister." They waited for his reaction. "She's my half-sister. Our father is Brom."
"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Roran had his suspicions, so this wasn't a complete surprise.
"It's not common knowledge. We can't risk Galbatorix finding out. There's one more thing he must never know." Eragon started.
"No." Onóra stopped him.
"What if someone tries to kill him? What then? Especially if you try to protect him?" Eragon was right.
"Fine, even if it means breaking my heart even more." She gave in. She rolled up her right sleeve and Eragon explained what the mark meant.
"It's rare. According to Oromis and Brom, this mark has only appeared once before but a long time ago. Murtagh has the same mark but his isn't complete yet. The tips of Thorn's wings have turned white just as Eirwen's have turned red. The mated bond between those two dragons is stronger than Fírnen and Saphira; the only bond stronger is that with their respective rider." Eragon explained. Onóra only nodded.
"That's why you defend him?" Roran looked at Onóra.
"Yes, that's why I defend him. I can't not defend him." She replied.
"If he is your soulmate, then why isn't his mark complete?"
"We think it's because he refuses to believe it." Eragon answered for her.
"If he dies?" Roran asked.
"I die." She looked at Eragon. "If Murtagh dies, then Thorn dies. Eirwen and I won't have reason left to live." Eragon understood this.
"So, regardless of the fact that he fights for Galbatorix, we shouldn't kill him?" Roran took a deep breath.
"Even if she wasn't so connected to him, you don't want to have to live with the sound of a dying dragon." Brom was eavesdropping and now entered the conversation. "Onóra, I promised your mother that you'd survive all of this. Don't make me break my word."
"You know the risks, Brom, you shouldn't have promised her that." She joked a little but the statement was still true. "Let's all get some rest… tomorrow we fight; tomorrow we live or die." They stood silently for a moment as the gravity of the situation hit them.
"They're coming, Murtagh." A scout rode up to where Murtagh and Thorn were: on a cliff above the field.
"Get ready!" His voice carried to the men below and they started their march forward. Murtagh watched the field and could see the Varden moving in. He looked for the dragons and spotted them flying about the trees. "I'm sorry, Onóra." His heart was burdened.
"On your command, Sire." The scout said. Murtagh waited for the right moment and then gave the signal.
"Heads up!" The men shouted as the four dragon riders hovered over the opening. Arrows started flying up but the four were able to dodge them easily. Murtagh noticed that Arya and Eragon stayed together on one edge of the field, while Oromis and Onóra were on the other.
"Oromis!" Murtgah was busy fighting some Urgals when he heard the cry. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Glaedr and Oromis hit the ground; the sky was filled with Glaedr's dying cry.
"One down!" Murtagh heard some of his men say; hope of victory in their voices.
"No!" Her voice shot through him like a knife. His eyes fixed on the struggle to protect Brom and the fallen dragon and rider. "Ahhhh!" Her scream nearly paralyzed him. He turned from his fight just in time to see Eirwen crash motionless on the ground.
"Onóra!" Eragon's connection to his sister was gone; there wasn't even the weakest of signals.
"Our fight is here, Eragon." Arya replied. She had seen the flash of white hit the ground near Oromis and Glaedr. "There's not much you can do for her except keep fighting."
"Pull back!" Nasuada hated to admit defeat but the Varden were losing too many warriors. Losing Onóra had been the breaking point; she knew they wouldn't stand a chance if they lost Eragon or Arya too.
"We need to give them cover." Arya said. She and Eragon moved into position. They managed to give the Varden the chance to flee without the threat of being followed. They soon moved back as well and shouts of victory filled the air.
"Where's Brom? Where's Roran and his men?" Eragon asked when they were safe.
"They were with the fallen dragon riders." One of Roran's men replied. "Roran ordered me to fall back because of my injuries." His arm was severely injured and blood was still soaking his armor. Eragon nodded and the man fell back into line with the other wounded.
"We can't risk returning to the field yet, Eragon." Arya laid a hand on his arm to stop him.
"How is she, Brom?" Roran asked. Brom was kneeling beside Onóra's body.
"She's barely alive; if she doesn't get help immediately…" He choked. She had fallen protecting him. Roran and his men had come to his aide after he was wounded trying to protect the fallen dragon riders. His men stood in a protective circle even now as they watched Galbatorix's men disappear into the woods opposite them. "Without Eragon…"
"Look!" One of the men pointed to the sky. Everyone looked up and noticed Murtagh and Thorn approaching the field. He landed a few yards away from them and approached slowly.
"Let them through." Brom commanded when the protective circle grew tighter. The men looked at him and then at Roran who only nodded in agreement.
"Brom… is she…?" Murtagh asked when he reached them. He looked down at Onóra's bloody body. He fell to his knees beside her as Thorn nudged Eirwen.
"She needs healing now if there's any chance that she'll live." Brom replied; grief very evident in his voice. Murtagh gently lifted her into his arms and carried her to a nearby stream. He washed the blood from her right forearm and at first his heart sank. Her soulmate mark was complete, and, because he wasn't thinking straight, he thought that he had been right all along. As he continued wiping the blood away, he noticed that the red dragon on her arm was the exact same on his.
"If he doesn't want to know the truth…" Onóra's voice echoed in his head. Truth? The truth was that Onóra was his soulmate; his destiny. More than that: he was hers. "…she has every right to deny the man. She may choose another…" This time Oromis' words hit him and the hope he had a minute ago faded.
"Waisse heil!" Murtagh tried. It didn't bother him that he wasn't strong enough for this magic yet, he had to try. "Waisse heil!" He repeated. He could feel his strength giving out but that wouldn't stop him.
"Murtagh, stop." Her voice was barely more than a whisper. He looked in her eyes and knew that he'd given her enough tim but she was still very weak. She rested a hand on his cheek. "You need to go…" she winced, "before Galbatorix finds you…" her hand dropped.
"Get her to Eragon!" Murtagh ordered. He kissed her forehead and held her for a few seconds more.
"She's right, Murtagh. If Galbatorix finds you, then he can find her. She won't survive his tortures in her current condition…" Thorn agreed with Onóra, even though he didn't want to return to Uru'baen.
"Murtagh, if he finds you then he finds us all." Brom's words echoed Thorn's.
"Get her to Eragon." He looked at Brom. Their grief mirroring each other's.
"You know that I will take care of her." Brom answered. Murtagh finally handed her over to her father and he and Thorn took off.