Eragon woke with a start at a roar from Firnen. "Rude," Arya said, clearly unfazed by his antics. "He does it all the time when I'm running late for meetings," she explained.
"Don't pretend it has not helped you," Firnen said to everyone in their four-way link. "You would have drawn even more ire from the little elf lords if not for my valiant efforts. Saphira and I tire of waiting. You two-legs have slept long enough. Let us fly together."
Arya rolled her eyes and Eragon smirked. "Very well. Come here you great big lizard!" Eragon thought to Saphira. He lifted both her massive saddle and Firnen's onto their backs with only a thought. Then he fastened the straps under Saphira's belly by hand as Arya did the same for Firnen.
"You have grown quite adept at wordless magic," Arya thought mostly to Eragon. "Does it not tire you? You seemed unaffected by it."
Humor filled Eragon's thoughts, and an image of a golden lily flashed before her eyes before it was gone. In Eragon's hand was a very real duplicate.
"How?" she thought with wonder. "You did not reach for the might of the eldunari"
"I simply thought of it and directed the magic to make it so," he said. "You will know all in time, but this is one of the main reasons I returned. My power grows still, and there must be checks put in place. I do not wish to turn into Galbatorix. And, well, it would be easier if I just showed you my memories."
Arya nodded her assent and he shared with her the many conversations he had had with Saphira and the eldunari about possible checks on his and now their power including her knowledge of his true name, the reformation of the Rider Council, and a myriad of other extensively thought out strategies that may or may not actually work in practice.
After recovering from the waves of thought and emotion, Arya spoke. "Eragon. I can see from your thoughts the one way you think to truly curb your power. But to cast wordless magic to bind you in oaths is dangerous, and I do not think it would be wise to do so. There may come a day when one ill-thought out word prevents you from acting. Rhunon is an excellent example of this. What if she had not found a workaround for her oath? You'd have fought Murtagh and Galbatorix with a twig and we would all be dead. There are measures we can take to limit your power, but it is not yet necessary to take any oaths that cannot be undone with the word."
"Let us think on it no more for now," Saphira said. "I have heard these arguments enough already. The sun will set soon."
Arya hopped into her saddle, adjusting her legs and strapping herself in. Firnen wasn't as prone to dramatic acrobatics as Saphira, but he still surprised her every now and then. Eragon made himself float up towards Saphira.
"Now you're just showing off," Arya thought. "Are you not going to strap yourself in?"
He could tell she was brimming with many more questions, but he silenced them quickly.
"Wait till Arngor and I will answer all of your questions in due time," he thought to her.
With a few powerful thrusts of their wings, Firnen and Saphira took off from the balcony.
"Just think," said Firnen. "In Arngor we will fly with our two little ones in tow."
Saphira snorted.
"We have yet to discuss whether our eggs will be bonded or wild," she said. "They may not hatch together."
"What is your wish for them?" Firnen said, clearly avoiding his mate's ire.
"I think I will simply know when I lay them, but I am not yet sure," Saphira said. "We will have to wait and see."
"They will be magnificent," Arya thought as they winged their way through the Beors. "Wild or bonded makes no difference. They are the children of the first dragons of the new order."
"Aye they will be," Saphira said proudly.
"Where would you like to build your nest?" Eragon thought.
He knew the eggs needed a safe and secluded spot, or she wouldn't lay them.
An image of Eragon's childhood home flashed in their minds. Saphira's thoughts centered around the makeshift nest he made her all those years ago.
"I want to go back to the Spine," Saphira said. "I will lay my eggs near Carvahall."
"That's perfect!" Eragon thought. "I wanted to visit anyways."
"We should go to Ellesmera first." Arya thought. "I still need to oversee the succession."
"Of course," Eragon and Saphira thought at the same time. "I have missed Du Weldenvarden," Saphira added.
The four spent the next hour in silence, enjoying their mind link as much as the freedom of flying. Firnen and Saphira eventually set them down near a rock outcropping.
An image of basking in the sun flitted through their link from Firnen. Eragon removed their saddles with magic, and the pair spread out across the rock. Saphira hummed with happiness. Eragon created a pool of water for them to quench their thirst, and Arya watched him as he used magic to fashion sand into a ball of molten flame. Eventually, the ball took shape and formed a glass bench for them to sit on.
After cooling the glass, he took a strip of cloth from his saddlebag and expanded it with his will. Then he commanded the fabric to levitate roughly four feet above the bench, providing Arya and himself with a bit of shade. These were merely parlour tricks to Eragon, but Arya was enamored with them, so he decided to show off a bit more.
Gathering extra energy from the fading sun, Eragon willed an entire oasis into existence. He imagined the small pool of water widening, large leafy plants springing forth from the ground to provide extra shade, and golden lilies to line the water's edge. In an instant, his thoughts became reality. This time he felt the toll of the energy he had used, but it was still not nearly enough to exhaust his stores. They sat together on the shaded glass bench and Arya took his hand in hers.
"You have grown strong Eragon," Arya said looking at him with those same questions behind her eyes. "I understand these secrets must be kept safe, so I won't ask you again how it is possible til' we reach Arngor. But what you've done here today was outside the realm of my imagination of what is possible with the energy of one person. I would warn you not to show others what you can do unless it is necessary. I know you and your heart, and so I do not fear this power in your hands. But if another were to learn of this and abuse it, it would spell disaster for the whole of Alagaesia."
"My magic still has limits," Eragon said. "But you're correct. They will fear me if knowledge of my strength is widespread. Even I fear myself and the potential of my corruption, just as they would if they knew the extent of my abilities."
They allowed the serene silence to fill the air between them as they watched the fading sunset. The overlapping thoughts of the four revolved primarily around their new happiness and Arngor and the hatchlings, but Eragon and Arya's thoughts were still tinged with worry about the future. Change was happening quickly, and they would both need time to adjust. As the sun took its last dip below the horizon, Eragon rose from the glass bench.
"Ready to head back?" Eragon asked the group.
Arya inclined her head, and Saphira gave a satisfied hum, unentwining herself from Firnen. She lifted herself off the rock, making the sand beneath quake a bit as Eragon magicked their saddles back into place and secured them. Firnen followed, then lowered himself for Arya to climb up to his saddle. Eragon floated into place, and once Arya was secured, the dragon pair bolted into the sky once more. Streaks of green and blue were eventually all that could be seen of them from the ground as they climbed higher and higher.