Callum thought his dreams with Aaravos were over.

Aaravos was free. He could talk to Callum in person any time, and lessons were much easier with Aaravos physically able to flip through Callum's notes and talk to him about his Ancient Draconic. When Callum found himself standing in the blank void in his dreams, he turned around in a circle with confusion, trying to figure out the cause for his dreams in this blank space this time.

"Knock knock." Aaravos stepped out of the void as if he'd only been behind a curtain, pinpricks of starlight twinkling on his face. Callum suddenly wondered how Viren could sleep with Aaravos shining at night. Then again, Ezran also slept with a glow toad in his face sometimes, so maybe people just got used to holding a night light. Aaravos smiled, just enough of a quirk of his mouth to be warm. "I hope you don't mind me dropping by."

Callum stuck his hands in his pockets. "Uh, hey." His surprise turned to concern, wondering why Aaravos felt the need to speak in private all of a sudden. "You're trying to be subtle about something. Should I be worried?"

"Hm? No, nothing like that." Aaravos sighed. He looked down and to the side, almost as if he of all people were feeling shy. "Truthfully… I am having problems about being back in the world. Even disguised plainly, I don't feel I fit."

Social anxiety from Aaravos was a new one.

"Huh?" Callum scratched his head. "To be honest, you're Aaravos. I'm not sure you ever fully fit in right? Er, it's not bad, it's just that. You're you. Maybe it's just weird to not be yourself?"

"Ah, you misunderstand. Yes, I do like attention of any sort. Even in passing from strangers. It is cruel that I must deny them the privilege of seeing my true form." He smirked, but then his expression fell into something more thoughtful, voice a pensive murmur. "It's more that… everyone else doesn't fit."

Please don't let this become a weird confession about wanting to go on a rampage, prayed Callum.

Aaravos started pacing. It almost seemed like he needed to use Callum's mind as a vent space, and Callum was torn between being honored that this was a sign he was trusted and offended that his mind was Aaravos's equivalent of a lounge to come crash at. "When we went to that village a couple days ago, everyone was a stranger to me. However, they were too familiar. I kept looking at faces and seeing their ancestors. Wrong names came to my mind. Names of people long dead." Aaravos stilled, trying to seem composed but failing, a hand rubbing his temples. "I've lived a long time, but with a gap of three centuries away from the world, I'm disoriented. I don't know anyone except for you and Viren's family."

It clicked.

"Oh wow, I would be totally freaking out right now if I was you," admitted Callum. "It's really overwhelming, I bet."

Aaravos tilted his head, frowning. "Overwhelming?" He spoke slowly, almost as if he had to sound it out, as though the concept of being overwhelmed was foreign to him, which was weird since he'd seemed consistently overwhelmed lately.

"Yeah. Being outside and surrounded by people seems like it's been taking a toll on you."

"Yes. I suppose so." Aaravos shifted, seemingly uncomfortable.

It kind of made sense to Callum why Viren and Aaravos got along. Neither of them seemed to have a clue as to how they were feeling.

"Okay, I guess I have to introduce you to Big Feelings Time." Callum said it with a flourish of his hands. Aaravos stared blankly. "Come on, you haven't had anyone to open up to in centuries, and now you're pretending to yourself that you aren't grieving like, an entire life you left behind and centuries away from a world that now rejects you."

Aaravos put a hand on his chin. "When you put it like that, these feelings make sense." His shoulders slumped. His hair drifted forward, obscuring his eyes from Callum's angle, and he wondered if Aaravos was going to start crying again. "I lost my original home in the heavens, and now I've even been banished from the place I was banished to. I have no home." Stating it so plainly and softly made it heavier than Callum expected.

"I know it isn't the same, but it wasn't easy moving into the castle when my mom married King Harrow." Callum gestured to the void, as if he could make his own memory appear. He glanced at Aaravos. "A little help here?"

"Gladly." Aaravos glowed the way he usually did when casting magic. "Visualize it for us."

Light and color flooded his dream world.

Nostalgia almost made Callum's knees go weak. They stood in the Katolis castle courtyard on a sunny afternoon. He'd never realized how timeless the place seemed, ancient trees identical to how they were in present times, but the scene before them was nearly a decade ago.

Callum and Aaravos watched as a much smaller Callum half hid behind his mother, holding her hand but unable to resist peeking around her. Harrow stood on Sarai's other side with an arm around her waist, watching the other people present with an endeared smile.

Claudia stood in front of them in an almost comically formal manner for a child her age. She was a sharp contrast to what was happening in the background. Soren, age nine or so, was running around and laughing, blond hair tousled by the breeze, Viren pursuing him with an exasperated expression. A Viren without gray hairs who was willing to chase a child around while Harrow looked on was such a foreign concept to Callum now that he was older. Claudia politely waved to Sarai, grinning with a front tooth missing. "It's nice to meet you! I lost a tooth!"

"It's nice to meet you too," said Sarai warmly. "Wow, I can see that you're missing a tooth!"

"I literally lost it!" protested Claudia. She broke her seemingly polite front and stomped her foot with tiny rage. "Daddy said I couldn't keep my teeth after I asked him about using them for Dark Magic, so he took it!"

Sarai's eyebrows shot up and she could barely kept in her laughter. "I- I think that's an acceptable boundary. You wouldn't want to keep it from the Tooth Elf, right?"

"The Tooth Elf is a meanie," said Claudia. "He cheated me on my coin last time."

"Really? I'll talk to him about that," said Harrow, watching Viren run around with a bemused smile.

"Soren!" Viren's tone had a hint of the edge Callum was familiar with from the future. As he watched, he involuntarily flinched. Soren seemed oblivious, giggling when Viren finally scooped him up. "I apologize for our informality-"

"Oh please, I have my own little one. Callum is a bit shy, but I know he can be a handful too." Sarai gently ruffled Callum's hair as he hid again. "I'm glad to see your son must be feeling better. Harrow told me he was quite sick."

Viren set down and led Soren over by the hand, expression softening. Something crossed his face, something neither younger Callum or older Callum could place. "Yes, I'm very happy he's recovered. He's recovered a little too well." He chuckled and ruffled Soren's hair, the unexplainable expression gone.

In response, Soren stooped down, sticking his face in a cluster of sweet scented flowers and sniffing loudly. "Look! No sneezing anymore either!"

"Ahem." Viren subtly nudged Soren and nodded to Sarai and Callum.

Soren seemed to suddenly notice Callum and he pointed at him. "What's that?" Claudia tried to kick him. "Hey!"

"Stop it, both of you," pleaded Viren. He put a hand on each of their shoulders and nodded to Sarai and Callum. "Claudia, Soren, this is Sarai and Callum, who will be living here with Prince Harrow. You need to be nice. "

Sarai put a hand on Callum's back. "Do you want to say hello?"

Callum stepped into view, obviously intimidated. "Um, hi."

Claudia smiled toothily again. "Hi! We'll be great friends!"

"Okay." Despite the energetic welcome, Callum still shrank away.

Soren chimed in. "We can race each other all over the castle! No one over five feet tall has been faster than me yet."

Viren sighed deeply, clearly a participant in too many of the races around the castle.

Callum nodded, uneasy. "Yeah. Well, um, I like to draw."

"Blood?" asked Claudia, too hopefully.

"Okay, that's enough you two, go play." Viren shooed Claudia and Soren away, both of whom took off at a run. He turned to Harrow and Sarai, speaking in a lower tone adults used to confide in other adults. "Their mother, Lissa, left a rather short time ago. They didn't used to act out so much. I am truly sorry for their manners."

"They're kids," reassured Sarai again. She nudged Harrow. "I know Callum will be getting new tutors and all that, but princes are allowed to have fun around here, right?" She practically glowed with pride as she hugged Callum. "He's always been a free spirit." For the first time, Callum's little self truly smiled. Viren smiled back with a nod which was almost a bow, as if he was anticipating Callum being prince already.

"Of course," said Harrow. He clapped Viren on the shoulder. "The castle is never boring. Even Viren has a fun side." Harrow went so far as to poke Viren's cheek. "Maybe you'll loosen up a bit at the wedding."

Viren laughed, genuine warmth seeping into it. When had he lost all of that in Callum's eyes? "How could I not? I've waited a long time to be your best man. I finally have to stop teasing you about taking so long."

"Yeah yeah, I'm sure your speech will be a good one."

They lightly bantered like the old friends they were, Viren quick to reply, "Only because you've given me so much good fuel for it."

Harrow threw an arm around both Sarai and Viren, leading them and little Callum inside the castle.

Everything visually shimmered.

The scene shifted to show Callum, still only around eight years old, sitting alone in the library, drawing a sketch of a horse instead of reading about horseback riding from the equestrian book in front of him. Aaravos and Callum's older self stood over him, watching him draw. "You've been a passionate artist all your life," mused Aaravos.

"Yeah," admitted Callum. "I didn't feel like I fit in at the castle for years.. I never felt like a prince, or like I had a real best friend until I met Rayla. It's not that Claudia wasn't cool, or that Soren didn't have some good sides, or that Harrow didn't love me, because I know he did, but I just didn't fit into my idea of what a prince was." He turned to Aaravos. "So when I say you must be overwhelmed, I know because I was too. I moved away from my old home and had all these expectations. I only knew my mom and my aunt. It took a long time, but I made my place. I understand, I think."

Aaravos watched Callum's younger self draw, his round face adorably focused on his horse picture. "You had a blueprint to follow, a mold you thought you had to fit into. I've never had one, nor do I want one. However, I understand what you mean, and I thank you for showing me." Aaravos put an arm around Callum's shoulders. "You've lost much."

Touch from Aaravos was profoundly comforting, even if Callum had been the one trying to help Aaravos. Aaravos couldn't replace Harrow, Ibis, or Callum's birth father, and nor did he try to. Whatever they had fit them just the way it needed to. Could mundane scenes from his childhood really be special or helpful to someone like Aaravos? Callum got a rush of anxiety, wondering if he'd wasted their time, but Aaravos's palm resting on his shoulder stilled his fears. He sighed, leaning into the protective half embrace.

Callum wondered if Aaravos had ever had a family and what they were like. He supposed Aaravos had come from somewhere up above, and somebody had to have gotten to know him to cast him out.

"My goal has always been to make this world have a place for me." Aaravos's words sent a chill down Callum's spine. 'A place for me by force' , he seemed to imply. He noticed Callum's unease and rubbed his shoulder, reassuring. "I no longer plan to force my enemies to their knees. Yet, the desire is still there. The painful root cause is still there. The emotions I have no place for cannot be shoved anywhere else than where they reside."

"You're furious."

"To put it lightly."

He hadn't directly asked what Aaravos intended. "So what are you going to do?"

Aaravos didn't reply right away.

Instead, a new visitor entered the dream vision. Callum gasped. A small figure, perhaps around six years old in human years, walked up to Callum's table with an armful of tomes. He had star constellations all over his skin, twinkling like the night sky. The most prominent stars were a small row of diamond shapes across his cheekbones. Opal hair reached just past his shoulders, resting on a dark purple and silver tunic embroidered with more constellations. The child's eyes glowed bright and he had two purple stubs on his head which would someday grow into horns.

What could only be Aaravos's child self sat beside Callum's younger self, neither boy aware of each other. The Startouch child opened up a book on planets and physics that even an adult would find complex. But, before he started reading, he took out a toy from his pockets, a plush unicorn that he set by the book, petting its mane as he read.

Callum realized that he'd been making an "Awwwwwwwwwww" sound for several seconds and put a hand over his mouth.

"I was adorable, yes." Aaravos chuckled, the deep resonance from his chest at odds with the child in front of Callum, who was trying to imagine the process of going from so small to so big. "Look at them." Us. "Imagine a world where they could have been friends."

Callum watched their younger selves draw and read together in the library, in complete peace.

"I think they already are." He angled his head up to Aaravos, resting his cheek against Aaravos's chest. "Don't you?"

Aaravos nodded once, expression still soft. "Then let's make their home even better for them."

-BREAK-

"I don't know if going into the Uncharted Forest while we're on the run from every sovereign nation on the continent is brilliant or idiotic." Viren folded his arms, holding his gaze with Aaravos. Camp was nearly packed up, and Viren already had his pack on his back. Sir Sparklepuff chittered, standing beside Viren in the exact same pose, arms folded.

Callum didn't like the forest much either after the last time he was inside it. "We're with Aaravos, so we'll be fine, right?"

Terry waved. "Hi, you're also with me! I'm from inside there. I'll get us whatever we need no problem."

Aaravos inclined his head. "Yes, you're in good hands, but the forest is still dangerous. What we seek are some ingredients for a project of mine."

Claudia glanced between Terry and Aaravos as she finished packing her backpack. "I know what kind of ingredients we've fetched before. Maybe Callum shouldn't come along for this one."

Callum kept forgetting that Claudia had spent all that time with Aaravos too. As much as he appreciated Aaravos teaching him history and primal magic, he had to remember Aaravos had no qualms with teaching Claudia all the Dark Magic he knew either. "Hey! We aren't doing Dark Magic, right?" asked Callum.

Aaravos shook his head. "No, we aren't." He waved his hand and conjured a map of Xadia for them all to see, complete with the gash down the middle of the continent. "Xadia was once all you can see. The lands which the humans occupy right now used to be just as magical and rich as where we're standing. I plan to start restoring it."

Terry perked up. "Ooooh, so we need some seeds?"

"To start, yes."

Viren raised his eyebrows. "This is your grand plan? Doing some gardening?"

Aaravos stepped through his map, making it disintegrate. "Every change starts as a ripple. A single seed cannot be underestimated, Viren."

Callum thought back to his own excitement when he'd first arrived in Xadia. He tried to imagine if all of the human kingdoms had majestic trees and magical creatures at every turn. "So you mean that we can have magic dirt too?"

"Magical dirt, as well as everything that grows from it," confirmed Aaravos. "It will take many cycles for the earth to regain its life, which is why it must start as soon as possible. Famines and disasters happen to the eastern side of Xadia, but without nearly the frequency as the other side which has steadily grown more depleted. Humans have lost so much they don't even know what the land they stand on used to be like. So, if I want to make this place better, I'll plant seeds."

Viren was coming around to it. "There are only rare pockets of magic in the west. A cavern here, a small grove there. You can create widespread change?"

"Not all at once, if it's to last. But, with Terry, we can make a start. It won't be exactly as it once was, but it'll be better than it is right now." Aaravos held out his empt palm, looking at it. "Even my magic requires resources for something like this. The seeds I need are within the Uncharted Forest, and some are quite rare. What was abundant elsewhere isn't always here."

Terry grinned. "Maybe I know where to go."

Aaravos hummed curiously. "Perhaps. Do you know of dragon blood trees?"

Callum blanched. That didn't sound good.

"Oh yeah! They're pretty rare, but you can't miss em." Terry stood straight up and gestured to his body. "Okay, say if this is a tree trunk, then these are the branches!" He spread his arms wide and up a low angle, making the shape of an inside out umbrella. "The sap is red, so that's where they get the name!"

Callum took out his sketchbook and drew the approximate shape Terry was making. "Like this?"

Terry looked over Callum's shoulder. "Just like that, all the branches go upward and the top is like, um, a really condensed broccoli."

Aaravos nodded his approval at Callum's drawing. "They used to be abundant in the very southernmost part of Katolis, across from what is now Evenere. Now, I believe there are a few left in the Uncharted Forest. We'll need all sorts of seeds to restore the west, these being the most valuable."

Claudia hmmed to herself. "This feels like a dumb question, but what is stopping anybody from just charting the Uncharted Forest? Wouldn't it be easier to find things?"

Aaravos smirked knowingly. "Here Terry, why don't you demonstrate?" He tossed Terry a piece of chalk.

Terry caught the chalk and knelt down. He drew the outline of the Uncharted Forest on the smooth floor of the cave. Then, once he started adding detail inside of it, the chalk lines seemed to almost blossom, smooth lines blurring into dust that spread outward and consumed the map entirely with vague white. He gestured to the cloud of dust on the ground. "See? It's impossible to make a map of. Really drives the territory disputes in the Drakewood. You use natural landmarks, but then somebody gets the bright idea to move a certain boulder, and bam! Everyone's fighting each other."

Callum had seen this sort of magic before. "Is this how your name has been erased too?" he asked Aaravos.

"Yes, I believe the spell was inspired by the natural enchantment over the forest." Aaravos scowled. It was such a departure from his usual dignity that he practically radiated petulance. "Even I can't figure out how to undo it."

Viren sighed. "At least Xadia's land is relatively easy to live off of if you don't mind endless moonberries."

"Right?" agreed Claudia, but so happily that she missed Viren's apathy about the vegetation. "I'm an expert forager after years of camping out. I'm even better at it than you sometimes, Terry-berry!" She threw her arms around from behind, hugging him.

Callum had done his fair share of camping too. "Alright then. I guess we better get moving."

Aaravos snapped his fingers and he and Viren gained their Earthblood disguises again. However, Claudia and Callum looked like Skywing elves. Callum once again got a pang of grief over losing Ibis. Aaravos looked over both of them to make sure the illusion was complete. "In case anything happens and you two need to fly, it's easier to explain a Skywing elf flying than an Earthblood one."

Callum raised his eyebrows at Aaravos. "What about you?"

Aaravos hefted his staff which also shifted with moon magic, appearing as a walking stick rather than the silver and purple weapon Callum had learned to be wary of. "If I wind up needing to use any magic other than Earth, my cover will be blown already."

-BREAK-

Terry seemed to know exactly where he was going. They followed him and Sir Sparklepuff through the Uncharted Forest for a couple uneventful days, renewing their moon magic disguises every morning after breakfast. Aaravos seemed to know every plant in Xadia at an encyclopedic level, pointing out each plant to Callum and whoever else wanted to listen while they walked. At mealtimes, they discussed more Ancient Draconic and sky sigils, as if they were only on a field trip rather than on the run.

Viren was as closed off as usual. Callum wondered if it was because he was there, or if traveling with Viren was always so dismal. Their company seemed tolerated at best, Viren's gaze often locked on nothing in the distance, and most conversation with him was kept short and cool. Aaravos alone seemed able to cut through Viren's shell with ease, his affection accepted and often returned. Yet, Viren seemed guarded even in his sleep.

Claudia still insisted on cooking with Dark Magic, and Callum had resorted to eating nothing but berries, nuts, and salad to cope, even if his stomach growled as she chanted over a frying pan of eggs. "Did you have to use magic on that?" he complained.

She glared at him with black eyes. "It's for seasoning. Come on, you'll eat the egg, but there's something wrong with the ants I used for it? Doesn't even taste like ant- it's kinda zingy! Admit it, plain egg is pretty bland. All we got from the village was some salt."

Callum turned back to his berries with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Claudia. I just can't do it."

"Suit yourself."

Aaravos looked between the two, helping himself to his own eggs from the pan. "Well, I suppose next time we can serve Callum before you use magic. We all have our own dietary restrictions."

Viren spoke up. "Do that for me too, actually."

Claudia stared. "What? But you always loved them cooked like this!"

"I know, Claudia. They taste good, I just…" Viren hesitated. "It doesn't agree with me anymore. It's nothing against your skill." He still seemed bothered by something as he ate. Viren kept looking at Callum as if he wanted to say something, and then changing his mind and keeping it to himself.

Callum had a curious streak. He waited until Terry and Claudia were chatting about the different ways to cook eggs before he addressed Viren. "What is it?"

Viren grimaced. "I wanted to ask you a favor."

Ah. He was smart to hesitate. "My answer is probably no."

"I know." Viren stirred around the last of his egg on his plate, fidgeting with it rather than eating it. "I was hoping you'd be able to draw something for me, a favor I of course haven't earned."

"You're right, I don't want to," confirmed Callum. He felt a bit harsh in saying it, but he and Viren were far from friends. He still couldn't completely relax around him.

"Hear me out." Viren again hesitated, eyes downcast. "I was hoping you'd draw Soren for me, as he looks like now."

Oh.

Callum's heart skipped a beat as he processed it. Viren had already called him Soren once by mistake, and it seemed Soren was on his mind. The dream Callum and Aaravos shared the other night resurfaced in his memory, Soren's laughter as a child echoing in his ears. He was about to accept-

-but he also remembered the Soren he knew of the past couple of years, who'd had to flee his father's army and had been discarded like nothing. He wore his pain well, but Callum had seen enough glimpses to know it had hurt.

Words sprang to his tongue and they were out before he could rethink them.

"Even though you wish he'd never been born?"

Silence hung heavy over the group. Claudia covered her mouth with wide eyes, horror making her drop her fork. Terry and Aaravos watched Viren in shock, waiting for his reaction. Callum's entire body froze. He wished he could've taken it back the moment it left his mouth.

Viren's cool eyes met his, hard and stormy. His jaw was set with anger, and Callum recalled how Viren had threatened him and used Dark Magic on him before Harrow's death. He considered running, but Viren spoke before he could. His tone was even despite the underlying wrath, the false softness making Callum's hair stand on end. "So that's what you think of me. No wonder you can barely disguise your revulsion whenever you're near me. Don't worry, I'll make sure to steer clear of you, you brat."

Callums stomach dropped. He looked to Aaravos, in part to save him, but also knowing he was possibly about to make it worse. "So you lied?"

It was Aaravos's turn to be at the center of attention, and he finally found a situation in which he didn't want it. Viren stood up, dishes discarded, glowering down at Aaravos. "What did you say to him?!"

Aaravos blinked calmly. "Some context is needed-"

"WHAT did you do?!" Callum had never seen Viren so enraged. Viren grabbed at Aaravos's collar, holding the fabric in a death grip, teeth grit.

"I possessed Callum." Aaravos laid out the scene, keeping his voice calm despite the storm of a man clutching his clothing. "They had moved the mirror to Zubeia's lair. In order to spur them all on, hoping that if they were fearful and antagonized, they would rush to find me, I said the worst things I possibly could to everyone present-"

Viren dropped Aaravos's collar, mouth open. "You said that to his face? You told Soren that?"

Aaravos's expression hardened. "It's called bullying and intimidation, Viren. I believe you're familiar?"

"And he believed you?" Viren's fist clenched. "They all believed you? Of course they did. Of course they did." He covered his face with his hands, fingertips digging into his scalp.

"Callum." Claudia sniffled, Terry beside her with an arm around her. Callum couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her cry, and shame forced a wave of agonizing hotness over him. "Callum, why would you say that? Why would you think that was true?"

"Aaravos says he doesn't lie," pointed out Callum, flustered. "We all- the things he said about Ezran, about Rayla, about me- we all believed it, to some degree."

"And I didn't lie, it was conjecture." Aaravos sighed. "My opinion or conclusions can be wrong."

"I don't care whether or not you think you lied, it's that you said it at all! You never say something like that, to anyone!" bellowed Viren. He swung his arm through the air as he shouted. "How dare you." He hissed. "How dare you put on this act, knowing every day how you treated my son-"

"It's no different than how you treated him!" Aaravos retorted.

Viren stilled.

Aaravos was still too good at striking with words that hurt more than being stabbed. Callum wondered if it was going to come down to a physical fight. Even if he agreed with Aaravos's view that Viren had treated Soren horribly, his gut still seized. Instead of fighting, Viren completely deflated. He grabbed his backpack. Claudia raised her head with alarm. "Dad?"

"Viren, I'm sorry." Aaravos spoke softly.

"I bet you are." Aaravos stood up and Viren turned his back on him. "Leave me alone. Both of you. I can't talk about this with either of you." He made eye contact with Claudia. "Not yet. Please."

Aaravos was genuinely surprised. "You're a human who isn't using magic anymore, and you still look human-"

Viren's rough edge came back. "I told you to leave me alone."

"You'd risk your life because you're angry with me?" Aaravos clearly thought it was a bluff, incredulous. He could easily force Viren to stay- and break whatever tentative, good, fragile thing was between them.

"Stop it. Let me have some time." Viren insisted. Then, he clarified, forcing himself to slow down with a deep breath. "I'm not abandoning any of you. I just... need to calm down." He strode away, vanishing into the forest. Aaravos stared after him, as though he couldn't believe Viren actually left. Claudia tried to get up but Terry held out his arm.

"Hey, hey, he needs us to respect that he needs some alone time," said Terry gently. "Everyone needs breathing room, even if it's hard for us to accept."

Callum shook his head. He threw his pack on and conjured his wings. He looked between Aaravos, Claudia, and Terry. "I'm sorry too. He asked you two to respect his space, but not me." Claudia almost laughed through her sobs. "I can't let anything happen to him."

His own determination to try and make things right with Viren surprised himself.

"This isn't your fault." Aaravos's ears drooped. If he wasn't mistaken, even his stars seemed to not be twinkling as much. Callum wondered how long it had been since he'd had to reckon with his actions in such a direct way. "I was cruel, and this was going to come out eventually. I owe you another apology for that too, Callum. You're more than just any human mage. You, and Viren." He waved his hand and Callum looked like a Skywing elf again, offering a sliver of protection should any Xadians catch sight of him.

Callum smiled as much as his face would allow with his mood, which wasn't a lot, but it was something. "I know."

The back of Callum's neck tingled and he felt Aaravos's presence. He got the message: their connection was still strong, and the others wouldn't be far behind him and Viren. Truly, Callum doubted that Aaravos would allow anything to befall Viren no matter how far away he got to be anyway, but he still couldn't stay idle.

Wings outstretched, Callum leapt and took off in the same direction Viren had gone.