Page 48 of Thorulf

“I did, though,” Thorulf murmured. “There are several purple dragons about, but I saw something different in her.”

“You didn’t like her aura,” Jade said softly, remembering. She glanced at him. “You said it had an unnatural darkness about it. Evil magic if you didn’t know better.”

“Evil magic?” Dagr and Maya said at the same time.

“Evil magic would be Carman, not Mórrígan.” Dagr narrowed his eyes at the purple dragon, then frowned at Thorulf. “Are you sure this dragon is who she claims to be?”

“A very good question, all things considered,” Vicar said, joining them with several hares tossed over his shoulder. He perked a brow at Dagr and Maya. “Was it not Carman’s rather than Mórrígan’s gateway found at the mouth of this very lair?”

“I have been told I have especially pretty purple scales,” the enemy said, drawing them back to the memory. She admired herself then offered Jade another winning smile. “Almost as pretty as yours.”

“Shewastargeting me first,” Jade murmured, echoing Vicar’s theory.

“The question is why,” Maya said moments before it seemed they might have gotten their answer.

“I imagine your green scales look stunning in the sunlight,” Mórrígan praised, eyeing Jade with wonder. “I would just love to see them in the sun.” Her eyes lit up. “Do you like to fly a lot? Go on adventures? Because we could—”

“No,” Thorulf cut her off, frowning. “She does not.”

“Yes, I do!” Little Jade jumped from foot to foot in restless excitement. “You know I do, mate!”

“Oh, then we really must go for a fly,” the purple dragon gushed, trying to get past Thorulf to Jade. “Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“No!” Thorulf said as Jade said, “Yes!”

When Thorulf tried to block her again, Jade dodged his grasp, plunked down next to Mórrígan, and notched her chin at him. “I want to go, and that’s that.” She gave him a hopeful, pleading looked. “Please come with us. We’ll have so much fun!”

Just as stubborn, he plunked down, notched his chin as well, and shook his head. “No. We stay here.”

“Yeah, I didn’t much like that,” Jade murmured. “Being ordered around isn’t my strong point.”

“No.” Thorulf sighed. “But it was worth a try.”

Little Jade tried to convince Thorulf a few more times but had no luck. He was as determined to stay as she was to go. Or so it seemed until she did as she pleased and flew off with the purple dragon.

“You followed.” Jade looked at him with surprise when his little dragon watched with defiance as her dragon grew smaller and smaller on the horizon. “I didn’t know you followed.”

“No.” His dragon eventually hung his head in defeat before he sighed, gave in, and flapped wildly after her. “Because I never caught up...”

“And that makes no sense,” Maya surmised as the memory faded. She took in their confused expressions. “Why do you think that is?”

“I don’t know.” Thorulf frowned, still feeling the overwhelming worry and fear he’d felt when Jade vanished. “I had her in my line of sight, then she was just...gone.” He glanced at Jade, surprised by his sudden revelation. “You were never gone like that. Even when you traveled to the future, your mind was connected to mine.”

“I know,” she replied, just as surprised. Her eyes widened a little on him. “I remember...” She blinked, clearly as caught off guard by the extent of what had been done to them. By how much she’d forgotten and only now remembered. Not about the purple dragon but bits and pieces of their lives in general. “I thought of you often. Wished I were here but had to be there for my sisters to help filter their negativity.” She shook her head at Maya and sank onto a rock, baffled. “And somehow, I kept Thorulf from you. All of this. Until eventually, the Forge happened, and...I didn’t.”

“Because you had forgotten,” came an unexpected voice. “Just like I forgot until now.”