Rex Igneous turned away without a word, back into his lair.

It took a moment for the rest of them to process that their audience with the dragon was over.

Callum ran after Aaravos, cursing Aaravos's long stride. The doormen simply let them leave. It was a better outcome than they had probably hoped for. The greatest threat Xadia could imagine, and he was walking away without any bloodshed. Only tears.

Aaravos was still wiping his eyes, breathing harshly when Callum caught up. "Hey!" Callum reached his side, hand on Aaravos's arm. The gesture was familiar, an echo of long ago, but the circumstances were so different. Aaravos stopped partway down the mountain path and let the others catch up to them.

Viren joined Aaravos on his other side, concern furrowing his brows. "Are you alright?"

"We shouldn't stop here," stated Aaravos. His voice was steady, the last wall of reinforcement someone put up to stop from breaking completely. He led them back down the meandering mountain path. They didn't stop again until they reached the forest floor, and until, Callum suspected, Aaravos trusted his composure.

Aaravos sat down on a boulder, hands folded as he leaned forward, pensive. Everyone else gathered around, sitting on logs or in Tressal's case, standing around. Sir Sparklepuff perched next to Claudia, mimicking her posture. Aaravos looked around at all of them and sighed. "What's there to say?"

"What does this mean for us?" asked Viren.

Callum angled his head towards Aaravos. "We don't have to do a Big Feelings Time… a medium feelings time is fine."

Aaravos looked to the sky above them, tears dried on his face. He sighed again, weariness weighing down his words. "I had always assumed they felt the same way I had after their betrayal, that their newfound hatred had turned anything sweet fully bitter, that once the truth came out, the cut was clean. I see now that it's more complicated than that." He almost laughed. "It was easier when it was mutual, pure fury."

Was it so hard to believe he would be missed?

Then Callum remembered all of the betrayals and bloodshed and supposed Aaravos had a point. Domina Profundis had reflected exactly what Aaravos had expected.

"We really never know how other people feel about us," said Terry. "We can guess, but it's always messier than we think it'll be." He tried to smile. "Maybe there's some hope then. Everything might work out!"

All eyes were back on Aaravos again. He shrugged.

"Nothing has changed. Their fate is in their own hands, as it was before. What they do or don't force me to do is up to them."

Callum clenched his jaw. "You have a choice in all of this."

Aaravos traced one of the constellations on his skin, connecting dots no one else could see. "We'll see."

-BREAK-

The days leading up to the wedding passed like grains of sand racing towards the bottom of an hourglass. Now that he had his Wavemaker, Tressal left them to go visit other connections he had in Xadia. The rest of them stayed close and got what last minute lessons they could out of Aaravos before their lives took a turn for possible upheaval.

Despite his emotional departure from Umber Tor, Aaravos was back to being confident that all would be well. So well, in fact, that he called for a break in magic lessons.

"With the wedding tomorrow, we have one final, important preparation to make." Aaravos surveyed everyone who'd been practicing magic. Callum could maintain small illusions past sunset, now that the moon was so close to full, but he was still struggling with larger ones. Terry had mostly been growing flowers for Claudia and Sir Sparklepuff. Aaravos nodded to Callum. "How's your formal dancing?"

"Hey," Callum protested.

Viren scowled from where he was standing in the worst consistency of slush imaginable; his ice spells left a lot to be desired. He stepped out of it with a few crunchy yet soaked stomps. "Dancing? Really?"

"You can stay in your treacherous road condition if you like," said Aaravos. Viren petulantly shook his boots off. Aaravos held out a hand to Callum. "You'll need this for tomorrow- stumble around too much and you'll be conspicuous."

"How do you know I can't dance?" pressed Callum.

"Without my help?"

At least Aaravos was in a playful mood.

Callum took Aaravos's hand, expression determined as the others stayed to the edges of the clearing to watch. "I'll show you!"

Aaravos had positioned their hands so Callum had to lead. Callum stepped forward, and at that exact moment, Aaravos spoke in his mind: You want your dance with Rayla to be perfect, don't you?

Callum stumbled. "Augh!" Aaravos laughed as Callum got his footing back. "I got it- no more cheating!"

Rayla. Tomorrow, he'd see her again- but she wouldn't see him, not unless their plan fell apart. He'd have to get through to her somehow, even if it blew their cover. If Aaravos knew what Callum wanted to do, why help him? Maybe being a better dancer would prevent her from realizing who he was.

"Rayla thinks I'm a good dancer," he informed Aaravos.

Aaravos winked. "With my tutelage, she'll be right."

Callum snorted, holding his hand out for Aaravos to do a spin, which Aaravos completed with a flourish. "Have I proven myself?"

Aaravos bowed. "Yes, I'm confident you won't fall over tomorrow."

Viren was suddenly next to them. "May I cut in? You look like you could use a taller partner." Despite the tease, his tone was soft.

"Hey," protested Callum again, but he stepped back with a grin as Aaravos held Viren. Let Viren deal with him.

"You need dancing lessons too?" asked Aaravos, smirk contrasting his innocent tone.

Viren rolled his eyes. "You know I can dance."

"I want to hear you say it."

"Alright- I want to dance with you, for fun." Viren stated it and moved closer to Aaravos, holding him for more of a slow dance than the formal dance Callum had practiced. "Happy?"

Aaravos's ears twitched with elation. "Very."

"Awwwwww." Claudia turned to Terry. "Do you think we need practice?"

"I'll never say no to grooving." Terry took Claudia's hand in his. "What about you, Callum?"

"I'm fine." Callum sat down with his sketchbook, getting ready to draw one last time. Claudia and Terry joined Aaravos and Viren in the clearing with Sir Sparklepuff spinning around near them. Callum focused his attention on the page, drawing Rayla from memory one last time before he'd see her again.

A little while later, Callum had assumed that he'd be mostly left alone for the night, but Viren sat next to him, clearly bracing to make a request. "What is it?"

"I need you to teach me something for tomorrow."

Callum blinked. "Me?"

"Yes." Viren settled down across from him. "It's important."

The request was relatively simple, and one Callum was actually glad to assist with. Who knew?

-BREAK-

The atmosphere in the Sunfire camp was an odd one.

Most people were in a cheerful mood as Sunfire elves and humans alike put up the finalized decorations around the main throughway into camp leading to their main pavilion. It was set to be a warm, dry night, and more importantly, a sunny day for the wedding.

Janai needed all the good luck she could get.

"How are the perimeters?" asked Amaya. She approached Janai at the entrance to the camp, watching as a couple of people set up huge floral arrangements to flank the entryway.

"I can't tell if you're asking about the decorating or the patrol," signed Janai back as she spoke. She smiled. "But both are going well, without a hitch."

The mood permeating the air was less about what people said and more how they looked. No one's armor or weaponry was ceremonial. Their wedding would join together humans and elves for the first time in lifetimes, but the potential threat of the party being crashed by Aaravos had everyone on edge. The heightened security wouldn't be a good look for their foreign human visitors to encounter either, but it couldn't be helped.

Amaya kissed Janai's cheek. "Good. Anything else we need tonight?" she signed.

Janai had to stop staring at Amaya to come up with an answer suitable to say in public.

"Maybe one more patrol, but everything else is almost done." She sighed, glancing around before continuing in a lower voice, "I'm worried about Karim. It seems best to keep him held in the dungeon, but it still feels… awkward."

Amaya shrugged. "He made it awkward by challenging you to that duel."

"True."

Karim was set to be banished, but it hadn't made sense to banish him and then immediately invite the world inside their borders. Janai supposed someone could send a square of cake down to him but she otherwise didn't want to have to think about her would-be best man at the wedding. Aaravos was bad enough.

Speaking of…

"Is the spell ready?" asked Janai.

"Come ask the mages yourself." Amaya beckoned for Janai to follow her to their enclosed garden where the Sun Seed was housed.

A few sun mages had drawn a large rune which circled around the entire enclosure, some pieces of it built across the pond with newly laid planks of wood. The great tree with the Sun Seed glowing inside of it made the center of the spell. It would have been nice to have had Karim's help, but Janai trusted that her mages and her own knowledge were enough.

The Sun Seed would remain intact after their spell was cast- assuming it worked.

Jana surveyed the courtyard and nodded to herself. "It looks right. Hopefully, we don't even need it."

"General Amaya! Queen Janai!" Gren signed as he ran and called out to them. He had a couple elves with him- Lain and Tiadrin. "The Dragonguard have news."

"Queen Zubeia will be arriving in the morning," reported Tiadrin as Gren translated. "Zym will be with her, and we've spoken to King Ezran who's agreed to let us be nearby him to guard the dragon prince. This may well be a diversion to take the dragonling once again."

Amaya took a moment to look around. "Where is Ezran?"

Lain waved his hand in the direction of the camp. "He's off with his Crownguard and Rayla. We passed them by on the way here; they were arguing about the correct way to set a table. I didn't even know elves and humans disagreed on that."

Janai laughed, tension draining out of her shoulders. "I'll have someone set them straight on that, but it's good to know they're alright. Is Rayla holding up?"

Tiadrin exchanged a glance with Lain. "We told her to please try and enjoy herself tomorrow, but we think she's too wound up already. She'll spot anything amiss for sure."

Rayla was, in fact, wound up.

She couldn't stop pacing as Ezran and Stella helped lay out place settings. Once in a while, she'd see the flash of a portal and hear Ezran laugh at something only he and Stella knew, but she couldn't focus on anything but the potential of Aaravos appearing soon.

Aaravos, and hopefully Callum.

Could she convince him to stay this time? Would they both be able to stop any unpleasant surprises from occurring? She still wasn't quite alright with the idea of Viren being a variable as well, unable to shake the worry that they could all be in for a second act of the war they'd just had.

She shook her head with a groan, turning back around and towards Ezran again. No, humans and elves were getting along- they didn't have the same problems to fight over anymore. Not on that kind of scale.

"It'll be okay, Rayla." Ezran gave her his warmest smile. "I can feel it!"

"You sure?" She gave up and sat down in one of the chairs set up for the wedding reception. "What if I don't even find him? What if Aaravos overpowers us? We don't even really know what he wants. I can't trust what he said to you at that Pentarchy summit."

Ezran folded a napkin just for Stella to take it and wear it like a cape. "Well, it's all we have to go off of. I'll try to look for Callum too, okay? All we can do is be there for each other."

Rayla relaxed. "Thanks, Ez." She looked up at the dusk sky, the moon already out. "It's a shame this isn't a Moonshadow wedding. The moon will be full tomorrow night, but that won't do me much good in the middle of the day."

"You have night weddings? That's so cute."

It had been a long time since Rayla had been to one. "Yeah. We can be a bit of a nocturnal bunch, you know."

A few paces from them, Soren loitered around the musician's area marked by chairs and makeshift music stands, nearby but out of the way of the ceremony and future food lines. There was just enough time for one last minute rehearsal before everyone would retire for the night. The earliest musicians arrived, giving Soren questioning looks. Finally, he spotted Corvus carrying a large instrument case.

"Hey, there you are!" Soren grinned. "You get a dance or two off tomorrow, right?"

"You're worried about my shift in the orchestra pit?" Corvus glanced around. "Orchestra field, rather?"

Both of them were armed like everyone else was. Still, Soren tried to keep the mood light. It was the eve of a wedding, come on!

"Oh, you know." Soren winked. "Looks like I may have to come around and enforce your breaks. Crownguard labor code and all."

Corvus evidently got the message by how he fumbled the latch on the cello case.

"Just keep your guard up for the next twenty four hours, alright?"

"Vigilance is my middle name. But- you know- it'll be easier to stay alert if we both stay alert together."

Corvus carefully tuned the cello, huffing with amusement. "Alright, if I promise at least one dance, will you be serious?"

"Absolutely." Soren focused, serious mode switching on as he glanced at Ezran. "He's safe with us." Weirdly, Ezran had had a couple of Aaravos encounters thus far and had been alright, but Soren couldn't be too careful.

"I know he is." Corvus nudged Soren with his elbow. "Hey, whatever happens, we'll face it together."

"Oh yeah. I wonder how it'll go this time." Soren put his hands on his hips and proclaimed, "My Family Ruins Our Date Together: Round Two!"

Maybe Opeli had had a point when she'd insisted on staying in Katolis and missing the headache of a wedding.

Corvus played a few notes, quietly testing his tuning job. "They may not even show up. Even if they do, time with you can't be ruined." He looked up, clearly expecting a kiss. Soren gave in instantly, swooping in for a sweet peck on the lips.

A glass was knocked over behind them.

"Again?!" exclaimed Ezran.

Soren and Corvus, both of whom had forgotten about how nearby everyone else was, started apart with a sour note from the cello. Soren couldn't begin to imagine what Ezran had meant by 'again', but- "Oh, uh, we just-"

"There's no coming back from this one," said Corvus. He turned to Ezran, who was running to them. "Your Majesty, we didn't mean to keep it from you-"

"It's great!" Ezran meant it genuinely, picking up and holding Bait close. He glanced between the two of them and stared into the distance. "But why do I never realize people around me are dating? This happened before! One day, Callum and Rayla just kissed! Out of nowhere!"

Rayla went from grinning to suddenly blushing. "Oh yeah, guess we did that."

"We did try to keep it quiet," admitted Corvus. "Being professional and all with everything else going on."

Soren winked. "Yep, we've been suuuuuuuuuuper subtle."

"Subtle, you?" repeated Rayla. Soren stuck his tongue out.

Ezran thought about it and giggled. "Oh- oh the sleepover! I get it." He caved and burst into laughter, which spread through their entire group.

Whatever happened, life would keep on going, with love old and new.

-BREAK-

Aaravos woke them all up just before dawn. Callum groaned and rubbed his eyes, his sentiment echoed among the rest of their camp. Aaravos paid them no mind, practically leaping out of his and Viren's sleeping bag to stretch in the middle of camp. "Rise and shine, everyone!"

He snapped his fingers, turning on their magical disguises instantly. Aaravos, Earthblood elf again, seemed quite pleased with the excuse to have formalwear on. He smirked.

"Let's not keep them waiting."