Page 73 of Thorulf

“See what?” she began only to understand when she looked through his eyes. Saw what he saw. “Oh, wow...”

Her eyes were shining bright emerald green just like his had shone at the Keep. “My Celtic magic transported us.” She looked from the village back to him. “Just like that.”

“Just like that,” he echoed. “Just like it shifted you through time effortlessly.”

“I didn’t know I could do that,” she marveled. “Thatwecould do that.”

Because they could. She was sure of it.

“I didn’t either.” His gaze returned to the village. “But I’m sure it will be a boon in this war. One just as, if not more valued, than being able to travel through Níðhöggr’s Ash again.”

“I would imagine,” she murmured, narrowing her eyes at the village nestled in the mountains. Though about three-quarters the size of the Sigdir Fortress, it was a thriving community with well-trained warriors. A strong ally to the Sigdirs and the Realm both. “Why don’t I have any memories of this place, Thorulf? Why didn’t you bring me here?”

“I’m not sure,” he began when his little dragon manifested nearby, and he began remembering.

The truth was, he had very much wanted to take her here.

“I wanted to bring you here from the beginning,” he continued, only to trail off again as the damning memory filled in the blanks. Showed them events that took place after they met for the first time once they were born.

Back before Evil ever came on scene as a purple dragon.

“What an impressive place,” came a familiar Evil voice. It wasn’t a purple dragon that approached little Thorulf as he contemplated his village but, interestingly, a green one. “Is this where you live?”

His eyes perked up, yet he seemed confused. “Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me.” The little green dragon that looked alarmingly like Jade scurried right up to him, confrontational and curious before she pouted. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because,” he stuttered, clearly flustered by seeing her again. “I just didn’t know when you would come back or how you would find me when you did.”

“It seems I was just as naïve as you,” Thorulf muttered darkly.

“Or just as taken with me as I was with you.” She took his hand, wanting to comfort him even as she knew the gavel was about to fall. “Evil looks as much like me at that age as it did you when we were older.” She squeezed his hand. “And that’s what our enemy was shooting for first. What came before we understood we loved each other. How much welikedeach other.”

“How could I not find you?” Evil masking as Jade asked, pulling their attention back to the memory. “We are friends, right? We share a connection?”

“We do,” little Thorulf acknowledged, edging closer, hope in his eyes. “It’s really you then?”

“It’s really me,” the little green dragon assured. “And I will prove it.”

Before he knew what hit him, Evil rubbed her neck affectionately against Thorulf’s neck.

“I knew something was wrong the moment she touched me,” Thorulf growled. “Somehow, she didn’tfeellike you.”

Startled by the contact, little Thorulf’s head whipped back before he took a few steps backward and visibly shivered. “You’re not my friend.” He shook his head. “Who are you?”

“I didn’t fear her, though,” Thorulf said softly. “Not for the reasons it might seem.”

Jade understood right away, and it warmed her heart as much as it saddened her. He was so young. So innocent. Yet, at the same time, already so connected to Jade. Already so taken with her.

“You thought you’d betrayed me when she rubbed her neck against yours.” She saw it clear as day in his thoughts. “You’d seen your parents, aunts, and uncles do it often enough and knew how intimate a gesture it was for dragons.”

“Very intimate,” he agreed, as saddened as her. “How could I ever bring you here knowing what I’d done? That I had betrayed you?”

“So it was only ever the Fortress rather than the kingdom you’d someday rule,” she murmured, unsure if that was a good or bad thing. Bad because she would have liked to come here. Good because it seemed to have kept Evil away.

“I am your friend,” little Evil tried to assure Thorulf, drawing them back to the memory. She stepped closer as Thorulf’s little dragon took another step back. “Don’t you remember me?” When he kept shaking his head, she frowned and thought about that before she twitched her tail in understanding. “I think I know why.”

Thorulf cocked his head and managed a weak, “Why?”