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"How does one find a dragon?" Ryll asked Byron as they walked their horses back toward the druid camp.
"Why on earth would you be looking for a dragon?" Byron asked, gawping at her in surprise.
"To locate another dragon."
"You're going to find the white dragon in hopes she'll lead you to Morgana," Byron accused.
"Yes. And I thought I'd ask him a few questions about my destiny too if he'll answer them."
"Ryll, you're going to get yourself killed with this plan of yours. I admire you, I do. Your heart is bigger than your head sometimes though." Ryll glared at him. "I mean that in the kindest of ways. Anyway, what are you going to accomplish by finding Morgana? Arthur's hardly going to draw up a formal apology to her and waive all her crimes."
"I can't very well help Morgana from Camelot. I need to find her. It's been three months since her imprisonment. She could still be weak."
"She'll strike out at you then," Byron warned her. "Like a injured snake. She doesn't want your help. You've offered it before, remember?"
"I almost gave up on her, Byron. She knew I was just going to take her back to Camelot."
"And you're not now?" he asked. "Has anything really changed? You're still a knight and Arthur still trusts you."
"I have a responsibility to protect people and that includes Morgana. I protect my friends first and foremost. I didn't become a knight so I could ignore those in need. If being a knight means I have to be selective about who I help then I don't want that title anymore."
"You're serious, aren't you? Just three months ago you were so happy to be reinstated. Arthur's not going to keep giving you second chances if you throw them back in his face. Especially if you're going behind his back to help Morgana."
"You haven't answered my question," Ryll said pointedly, giving Byron a hard look.
"How to find a dragon? Why don't you ask your boyfriend? He seems to be well acquainted with them."
"I can't tell Merlin what I'm doing. He won't understand. He's Arthur's man through and through."
"You might once have claimed that too." Byron looked at her like he didn't recognize her, and Ryll paused, pulling Owl to a stop. "Not that long ago you were singing a completely different tune."
"And then I realized if I keep going the way I am that Arthur and Morgana will both die for sure."
"You think this new path will save them?"
"Maybe."
"That's a big if."
"It's worth the chance," Ryll told him, pulling Owl into a walk again.
"There might be a spell for summoning a dragon," Byron told her. "There are some books in the camp. We can look at them."
"Thank you. I know you're not convinced, but I really need to do this. I have to try. I think the destiny I've been seeing is only set if I don't try to change it."
"But you have been – trying to change it that is. You have dedicated your life to figuring this out ever since that Sidhe told you about your destiny. Don't you see how you've lived in fear?" Byron asked her. "It's loomed over you like a shadow all this time. Maybe it's time to let go."
"I don't think I can do that. I'm setting myself on another path."
"And hoping for a different result." Byron sighed. "I know there's no use changing your mind."
"You know me too well for that."
"Yes, I do." They reached the camp, leaving their horses to graze and finding the tent where old manuscripts and books were kept. Byron pulled out several heavy tomes and handed one to Ryll. They sat in silence for over an hour, scouring the pages for any spell to summon a dragon. "Have you ever considered that he might incinerate you on sight?" Byron asked.
"He's friends with Merlin," Ryll told him. "I think."
"Well that's a comfort. Have you ever really seen a dragon up close? A full grown one?"
"Yes, I did. When he was torching my city," Ryll said, glaring up at him from over her book.
Byron went back to reading. "Here," he said after another hour had passed. "A spell for summoning a dragon. Even the book warns against it."
"Well lucky for us I have connections," Ryll said, pulling the book toward her. It seemed simple enough, and she memorized the spell. "Now I just need to find a wide-open space to summon him."
"It says you need to know the dragon's true name," Byron said with a scowl. "I suppose you know that too?"
"Yes, it's Kilgharrah."
"Okay, then I'm coming with you." Byron got up.
"I don't think that's such a good idea." Ryll stood too. "He doesn't know you."
"Well if he torches you first, maybe I can convince him afterwards," Byron said with a small smile.
"You'll follow me anyway if I say no, won't you?" She knew she would do the same.
"Yes, I will."
Ryll sighed. "All right then. Let's find an open field preferably close to a water source."
…
They left the horses half a mile away. Ryll didn't know what dragons ate, but if she had to take a guess, she'd say a dragon wouldn't turn down fresh horse. She and Byron made their way forward into the center of the open field. A creek trickled by a few yards away.
"Are you sure about this?" Byron asked her for the twentieth time. She silenced him with a glare.
"O, dragon," she started the words. They were in the language of the old religion and summoned the dragon to her with a tug of magic. There was no guarantee the dragon would even listen, but the magic would inform it that someone was calling. After she had ended the spell with the dragon's name, they waited. A quarter of an hour passed, and Byron was beginning to get antsy. Then something changed. The air was suddenly silent save a far-off swoosh like distant thunder. Ryll felt her nerves vibrating as the sound grew closer. Finally she couldn't deny that it was the sound of mighty wings. She recognized the sound from when the dragon had been set on torching Camelot.
"I think he got your message," Byron said. He put a hand on Ryll's back as if to toss her out of the way if the dragon attempted to hurt her.
A shape rose up in the distance, a dark mass that blotted out the stars. The sound of wings was louder now, and soon Ryll could make out the outline of the mighty dragon. She and Byron backed away toward the edge of the field as they saw the sheer size of the beast. Kilgharrah landed across from them, his eyes fire as he looked down on them. Ryll had never felt so small or so unprotected. Byron gripped her waist, and she could hear his ragged breathing. He was just as scared as she was. "You summoned me?" the dragon said in a deep rumbling voice that shook the ground and made Ryll's bones vibrate.
"Yes, that was me," she said. Her voice came out quietly. She cleared her throat. "I'm friends with Merlin."
"Yes, I know who you are," Kilgharrah said. He lowered his head to give her a closer look. Ryll forced herself not to step back. "You have a great destiny much like Emrys."
"That's what I came here to ask you about," Ryll said.
"Yes, Merlin has come to me many times for advice and I told him to kill the witch."
"Morgana?"
"That is so."
"I was hoping there was another way to bring peace to Camelot," Ryll said, trying to summon up her courage. "I was hoping that Morgana and Arthur would both live, that neither would have to die to end this."
The dragon watched her for a moment. "In the end there will be a sacrifice," he said.
"There has to be a way to save them both," Ryll pleaded.
"Perhaps there is," Kilgharrah said. "The future is always changing and already you have set it on another course."
"Merlin thinks Morgana's destruction is the only way to save Arthur, doesn't he?" Ryll asked.
"His path leads to her demise, it is true," the dragon said.
"Then we have different paths? But how can they lead to the same future?"
"They will lead to the same future one way or another, but it will be impossible to say what will happen and who will be saved when you are diverging already. Do not trust your dreams or your visions, trust your actions."
"A Sidhe once told me it was my destiny to die for Arthur," Ryll told the dragon. "Is that true?"
"It is true that you have the ability to save him," the dragon told her. "But there is more to your gift than that. It will all be revealed to you when the time is right."
"You can't tell me now?" Ryll asked, disappointed.
The dragon chuckled. "Your actions must come from your heart not from what you know of the future," he told her. "I cannot tell you what choices to make."
"I feel like I'm going in circles over and over," Ryll said in frustration.
"You seek the witch Morgana, do you not?" the dragon asked.
"I do. She's with the white dragon Aithusa," Ryll told him. "I thought you might be able to tell me where she is."
"I will tell you, but I will also warn you once more that if you go down this path, sacrifice awaits at the end."
"Whose sacrifice?" Ryll asked.
"That I do not know. The future is too uncertain."
"I just hope Merlin will forgive me for what I'm about to do," Ryll said softly.
"The young druid may not understand," Kilgharrah admitted. "But his path lies away from yours. You must do what your heart tells you. You were not meant to be together in this life."
Ryll looked up at him in surprise. "What does that mean?" she asked.
"You and the young druid have travelled a long and dangerous path together, but your futures here in Camelot do not lie together."
Ryll felt as if the dragon had just stuck a claw through her heart. "Will he be the one to sacrifice himself?" she asked, her voice cracking as she spoke.
"Emyrs will live on," Kilgharrah told her. "That much is certain. You will find the white dragon toward the west. She is with the witch who is very ill. She might not make it. Look for the abandoned temple, and you will find her there."
"Thank you," Ryll said.
"Good luck," Kilgharrah told her. "You are very similar to the witch but there is not hatred nor anger in your heart. You will succeed where she failed. You are the only one who can help her."
He struck out with his great wings, beating the air and taking off slowly from the ground. Byron and Ryll stood watching as he flew away toward the north. "Did you get the answers you needed?" Byron asked her.
"I'm not sure anyone can answer the questions I need answered, but I know where Morgana is and I know I'm the only one who can help her. That will have to be enough for now." She turned and headed toward where they had left the horses.
"Wait, Ryll." Byron caught up to her, catching her hand and stopping her. "That can't be true what he said about you and Merlin. You were meant to be together. Even I can see that," he said ruefully.
"Not if I die," Ryll said, forcing a smile. "If I die then Merlin and I can't share a future together."
"Then we'll make sure that never happens," Byron said, practically growling. "We'll make sure you live forever."
Ryll smiled at him and then pulled him into a hug. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you for coming. But now I need to go on alone."
"I know." She pulled away, and Byron wiped a tear from her eye. "None of that," he said.
"Will you tell Merlin and Arthur that I'll be away for awhile?" Ryll asked. "They'll try to stop me if I go home now."
Byron nodded. "I'll tell them. I can give you whatever supplies you need at the camp. Will you set out tonight?"
"Yes. I don't know how long of a ride it is, and I don't know how long she's been ill."
"You've become a skilled healer. If anyone can save her, it's you."
"If I can get close enough to heal her," Ryll said. "Aithusa didn't seem to like me much before."
"You just have to be firm with her. Don't show fear. She's basically like a big dog," Byron told her.
"Hmm, a big dog that breathes fire and has five inch claws and talons."
"Exactly. What could go wrong?"
…
Ryll reached the temple by dawn. It wasn't far, much closer to Camelot than she'd expected. She supposed Morgana had nowhere else to call home even if she wasn't welcome within Camelot. It was a great building with crumbling bits, but the main part was still intact, and it was large enough to house a growing dragon. She kept this in mind as she reached for the door handle. She'd tied Owl up loosely near by just in case the horse needed to make a quick escape. The door creaked as she opened it, and Ryll sent out a silencing spell. It didn't really matter. She supposed dragons had keen sense of smell. Aithusa probably already knew Ryll was there. The main part of the temple was empty. There were still bits and pieces of the former building – ornamental statues and tapestries. Old books probably filled with spells and rituals. A set of stairs led up, and Ryll moved toward them. She had no weapons with her, just a medical bag, fresh water, and the magic flowing through her veins.
The upstairs was dim, and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. Then a voice came from the far recesses of the room. "Have you come to kill me?"
Ryll took another step forward. As her eyes adjusted, she saw a bed against the wall with a crumpled form atop it swathed in black. Tangled black hair lay in clumps around a pale face. Leaves and bits of grass were caught in the mats. Morgana's eyes, however, had not lost any of their luster. Now they glared at Ryll with defiance.
"I'm defenseless," she told Ryll. "It will be easy."
"I haven't come to kill you," Ryll told her. "I've come to help you. And to forgive you."