“I really don’t want to do that again.”

  As Elijah shrank back to his normal size and resumed his humanoid shape, he gave her a crestfallen expression. “What? Why?” he demanded.

  “I just don’t like it.”

  “But why?” he persisted.

  “I felt like I was going to tumble off your back the whole time!” she half-shouted, obviously exasperated. “I’m just not cut out to be a dragon rider.”

  “That’s not what you said last –”

  “Not another word.”

  “What?”

  “You know what,” she said, playfully slapping his chest. “I’m not doing it again.”

  “What you did last night? Or the…”

  He trailed off at her glare.

  “Okay. Gotcha. Lesson learned. Sadie does not enjoy double entendres.”

  “You’re insufferable. You know that, don’t you?” she muttered, rolling her eyes. But she did so with a smile that didn’t even look forced. As far as Elijah was concerned, that was progress.

  Over the past few days, during which they’d done little other than relax, the tension of their relationship had loosened. They still weren’t back to normal, but Elijah wasn’t certain that would ever happen. The fact was that, so long as she was under the influence of Sense of Sin, it would be an issue.

  To counter it, she’d worked tirelessly toward better compartmentalizing her thoughts. The framework of her second-tier mind cultivation did a lot of heavy lifting, but it still required her constant attention to keep Sense of Sin quarantined.

  They had also had quite a few discussions about their relationship, and they had agreed that, should she be given the chance, she would evolve it away from its current form. Of course, that would not always be possible, so Elijah didn’t pin his hopes on the idea.

  The reality was that any evolution was just as likely to grow stronger as to offer another route. And besides, he didn’t like relying on outside sources to solve his problems. Instead, he preferred attacking it directly. Thankfully, on that, he and Sadie agreed, and she’d begun working on taking the next step in her mind cultivation.

  Of course, the bulk of her attention remained on figuring out how to advance her core, which lagged behind every other facet of her cultivation. Not surprising, considering that, as an elder core, it required a lot more focus and work to evolve into the next stage. The only reason Elijah had managed it with his dragon core was because of his admitted talent in cultivation combined with an extraordinarily powerful attunement.

  Sadie didn’t have those advantages. Her talent in cultivation was middling at best, and while her attunement was strong, it wasn’t off the charts like Elijah’s. Still, she continued to diligently work toward push herself forward through sheer will alone. That she’d so recently returned from the Primal Realm didn’t seem to matter much. If anything, it only steeled her resolve, which was further supported by the knowledge that she would soon enter another.

  But not today.

  Today was about rest. It was about relaxation. And it was about enjoying something beautiful before they once again threw themselves into horrific danger.

  Elijah had landed in a mountain glade, isolated from all of civilization. In the center was a placid lake – little more than a large pond, really – which was fed by a tinkling waterfall that filled the area with the soothing sounds of running water. The cold, crisp air would have been uncomfortable for normal people, but for them, it was more like an autumn afternoon.

  Tall conifers ringed the glade, making it feel even more isolated than it was and filling the air with distinct scent of pine trees. Only the local wildlife could see them, which was precisely what they wanted.

  For all that Elijah enjoyed the grove – and he did – he had to admit that being there came with a lot of strings. Not only was he obligated to help the children, but he was also forced to oblige Nara’s constant deference. When he was gone, she did everything she was supposed to do, but while he was around, she seemed to think every decision required his permission.

  Or failing that, at least his input.

  And that wasn’t even considering the constant string of visitors. For whatever reason, those people who’d bonded with the grove felt as if they belonged. They slotted into the ecosystem like they’d always been there. However, the opposite was true of the people who hadn’t become members. Most were parents of the children, but there were a few other hangers-on that stuck out like a sore thumb.

  Elijah found it difficult to ignore them, almost as if he was waiting for the invaders to prove themselves hostile. They hadn’t yet, and he had no reason to suspect they would. But the feeling remained – even with Sadie and Carmen, though to a lesser extent than with strangers.

  “What are you thinking?” Sadie asked, weaving her arm beneath his and leaning close.

  “Just that possessiveness might be a draconic trait,” he admitted. “You know all the stories about dragons and their hoards? I think my treasure trove is my grove, and my instincts drive me to protect it.”

  “You’re just figuring that out?”

  “Uh…yeah?”

  She laughed, shaking her head.

  “If you keep laughing at me, I might start to get offended,” he admonished, though he could laugh at himself just as well as anyone. “Or I might start pointing out your blind spots, too.”

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  “I don’t have any blind spots,” she said haughtily.

  Elijah coughed, saying, “Nico” along the way. Sadie had the graciousness to ignore that utterance. Her relationship with her family was strained at best, but by all rights, it should have been much worse. Most people would have cut contact altogether, but she still messaged them regularly.

  Of course, her grandfather’s replies usually criticized her for abandoning her people, but at least they were on speaking terms. By contrast, she hadn’t heard from Nico in almost two years, so she had no idea what he was up to. She still sent him messages through the Branch, though. All in the hopes that she could reach her little brother and help him to see a better way forward.

  Elijah said, “Anyway – moving right along…”

  After that, he escorted her to the bank of the pond, where he’d cleared a spot. With a flourish, he produced a large, fuzzy blanket Hope had sewn for him. He laid it out, then took a basket from his Arcane Loop.

  “Did you bring me out here for a picnic?” Sadie asked.

  “Guilty,” he answered with a grin. “And I have some surprises.”

  He gestured for her to sit, and she took him up on the offer, settling onto the blanket. Elijah sat across from her and opened the prototypical picnic basket. He’d had it specially made by a Tradesman in Ironshore, and though it had no spatial enchantments, it was capable of keeping food in stasis. From that basket, he retrieved a steaming loaf of sourdough bread.

  “No animals were harmed in the making of this bread,” he said, remembering her dietary restrictions. He pulled another bundle from the basket, continuing, “And the finest cheeses Ironshore has to offer.” Of course, most vegetarians wouldn’t eat cheese, but Sadie’s particular brand only prohibited from eating meat, not meat products. Even that could be relaxed in emergencies like what she’d experienced in the Primal Realm.

  Finally, he pulled a small cask from his storage space. “And mead.”

  Indeed, his latest batch of mead had finally matured, and it tasted better than he had any right to expect. A little crisper than what he’d been led to believe, but still very rich and enjoyable to drink.

  Sadie took one of his offered mugs, which he filled with the buttery yellow drink. She took a sip and said, “Wow. This is actually pretty good.”

  “Ouch. No need for the tone of surprise.”

  “The last drink you had me taste was that abominable coffee you said was life-changingly good.”

  “I can’t help it you have bad taste.”

  “You mispronounced civilized,” she countered.

  Elijah laughed, glad that she’d grown comfortable enough to joke with him. He knew good and well how easy it was to forget things like that when dealing with trauma. Miraculously, her physical recovery had progressed quite well, and in only a few days since her return, Sadie had regained most of the weight she’d lost during her foray into the Primal Realm. Not all, and her cheeks still looked a bit hollow, but Elijah was happy to see that she was well on her way back to being her old self.

  For the most part.

  He could well recognize that some of her attitude was forced. The discomfort from Sense of Sin lingered, as it probably would until something changed. Either her cultivation or the spell itself, it didn’t matter. The spell would continue to affect her.

  But the fact that she cared enough to mask it was all Elijah could ask from her.

  Elijah had brought more than just bread, mead, and cheese. Indeed, he had an entire meal fit for a king in his storage space, but he wanted to get Sadie’s opinion on the bread – which was made using the yeast he’d grown on his island – first.

  She nibbled a slice, and her eyes widened only a second later. “This bread…”

  “It’s amazing, right? Dorei and her husband really outdid themselves.”

  Indeed, it was the perfect representation of bread, as far as Elijah was concerned. Crispy on the outside, chewy in the center. Not too heavy, but still dense enough to feel substantial. But more than just taste, it was rejuvenative in a way that no consumable outside of Biggle’s potions could be.

  Such was the benefit of giving grove-grown components to an actual professional. The mead wasn’t too far behind, but it leaned hard on the ingredients. Meanwhile, the bread married ingredients and skill, reaching a level of energy and vitality that Elijah could never reproduce on his own.

  As was always the case, class mattered. Elijah could bypass some of those restrictions by using overpowered raw ingredients, but he could only take things so far.

  The cheese was just as tasty, but it lacked the power of the bread or mead. Not surprising, considering that it had been imported. The following meal, which was made to Sadie’s dietary specifications by Thibault Garnier from Le Matin d’Or, was an amazing experience. Not for the first time, Elijah was thankful for the ability to step across the world in only a few moments. Otherwise, he’d never have been able to commission such a meal.

  For his part, Elijah would have preferred a much humbler meal – like from Sue Anne’s griddle – but Sadie had grown up with wealth, so her palate was a little more refined than his.

  Fortunately, she enjoyed the meal as much as he’d hoped, and for a little while, they managed to forget the responsibilities looming over them. Elijah followed it up with a dessert consisting of the pastries he’d commissioned from the bakery in Ironshore. They were even more energetic than the rest of the meal combined, probably because the grove fruits were a primary ingredient. Dorei’s husband – whose name Elijah had never learned – had the bright idea of substituting honey from the apiary for sugar, which only served to enhance the vitality and ethera contained within the fluffy, Danish-like pastry.

  “If I keep eating like this, I might gain a little too much weight,” Sadie remarked, licking the remnants of fruit filling from her fingers.

  “Me too,” Elijah said, entirely certain that it would take quite a lot for either of them to reach that point. “But totally worth it.”

  Sadie didn’t disagree, even saying that they could grow fat and happy together. It was a nice fantasy, but they both knew that it wasn’t really possible. Not with what was coming.

  Finally, Sadie broke their unspoken rule to talk about it. “What do you think we can expect in the Labyrinth of Dead Gods?”

  Elijah shrugged. “Difficulty. That’s all I can say for sure. It’s dedicated to Djinn, which means it probably won’t be about raw power. Honestly, I might end up being dead weight. I’m sure Benedict and Hu Shui understand magic better than me.”

  “Does he have to go?”

  He didn’t need to ask to know who she was talking about. Sadie did not care for Benedict, a feeling that seemed as instinctual as Elijah’s own hatred for vespirans. However, she also disapproved of what she’d learned about his settlement. And Elijah couldn’t blame her for that.

  Still, he said, “Benedict’s coming with us.”

  “I don’t trust him.”

  “Then you can protect us against whatever it is you think he might do,” Elijah supplied. “It’s his region. And besides, I think he’s more misunderstood than evil.”

  Of course, Elijah didn’t know the full breadth of Benedict’s actions since the world had changed. For all he knew, the demon-cored man was out there slaughtering whole towns, and for no other reason than his obvious mental instability.

  But he chose to think the best of people.

  Sadie did not, and for more reasons than the influence of her core. She was a judgmental person by default, and she rarely saw a reason to look past those inclinations.

  In any case, they’d already agreed that Benedict would accompany them. Revisiting it wouldn’t change anything.

  Thankfully, they quickly moved on to more pleasant subjects. Sadie particularly lit up when it came to the grove children, and she became almost jubilant when the topic of the Hartwood Foundation came up. She made it clear that once the world escaped the threat of excisement, she intended to devote herself to helping people, and the Hartwood Foundation offered a perfect opportunity to do just that.

  Eventually, conversation faded, and they took a short swim in the frigid pond before lying on a nearby boulder and letting the sun dry them.

  By the time the sun set, their spirits had been buoyed, and they had fully reacquainted themselves with one another.

  Elijah could only hope that it would be enough to keep their heads above water, because soon enough, they would dive into another Primal Realm where they would be sorely tested.

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