It would’ve taken Kline and me a few hours to get to the Bramble, but it took us two days. It wasn’t because of Ferna. Aiden had assembled an army of over eight hundred beasts of all sizes, evolutions, and colors to journey with us, so we were roaming as a massive entourage.

  I could already hear Thorvel saying, He’s too dangerous. We should kill him now! That’s what he had said about me—and stood by his words—so I expected the same.

  Thankfully, it wasn’t Thorvel who met us outside the Bramble. It was another dragon named Eliko, who had brushed red scales within the blue and white Vraxle sheen. He watched as almost a thousand beasts, some of incredible power, entered the clearing behind me and Kline and all the lurvine—Sina, Ryn, and Dain in soul construct form.

  I could’ve made Sina, Ryn, and Dain the same in appearance, but that was beside the point. I had them in their soul forms, including the white elk and other third evolution entities I had been training with.

  I was a soulmancer, and when the dragon saw that, he looked at me with deference.

  I stopped.

  “Welcome,” Eliko said. “Can you explain why you have brought so many beasts with you? To a casual observer, this could look like preparations for war.”

  “To show the trust and value Aiden Roe brings to this forest,” I said. “In addition to his talents, mastery, and potential. We are forest people; as you can see, so is he.”

  Eliko nodded. “It’s noted. Unfortunately, we cannot have them join the proceedings.”

  “I understand,” Aiden said. All the beasts sat in unison, preparing to wait.

  “What type of deal are they under?” Eliko asked with a tint of suspicion in his voice.

  Aiden smiled. “These beasts aren’t under a servitude contract, if that’s what you’re worried about. They’re also not contracted to be here or to behave in a certain way. These beasts are here because they’re Wraiths—they’re part of Mira’s people and army. And as such, they’re behaving as soldiers behave.”

  Eliko smiled thinly. “So you did bring an army.”

  Aiden matched his expression. “A wonderful one.”

  “Well, they are welcomed as well. Let’s proceed.”

  I pulled Sina and the lurvine into my chest as Eliko lay down. They, Ferna, Aiden, and I mounted him. Then, we held on as the vraxle flew into the air, and flew us over an area that all contestants for the Trial of Survival avoided when trying to make it through the Bramble—the Dragon’s Nest.

  The five-mile area was like seeing craters on the moon. There were massive bird nests in the cratered ground, with enough craters for three hundred, but currently with fewer than fifty filled. There was also a mile-wide volcano in the center, with all the Vraxles perched on it. Eliko explained that the volcano was a place for ceremonies, group eating, raising eggs, and meetings, as the Vraxles could perch around it in a circle. Eliko took us to the center—where the food went during feasts.

  We dismounted in the center, circled by Vraxles—some scared, others furious. I had poisoned them the night Thorvel confronted Tyler, and judging by the way they had freshly ripped out trees in a large area, they didn’t trust that I wouldn’t attack them again. Unfortunately for them, they hunted in the Bramble, so there was no place where they were safe. I could tell they knew that as they eyed me.

  Thorvel wasn’t present—a wise political move. The one leading instead was a female with a slimmer body and purple eyes. She had groomed scales, which were indeed evident. They had a different shine to them, and they were reflective in one direction.

  “Greetings, Mira, Fourth Guardian of the Fourth Ring, Apprentice of Brindle, Chosen of Yakana, and leader of Wraithwood,” she said. “We welcome you to our home.”

  The dragons roared in unison, undoubtedly alerting the guards standing watch on Galfer’s Gate that something big was happening.

  “My name is Jeela, Sister of Halten and Thorvel, and current leader of the Council of Vraxles,” she said. “Can you introduce yourselves?”

  “My name is Ferna Rin, diplomat of Wraithwood Village. I maintain relationships between Mira, Nethralis, of Serenflora; Emael, the River Guardian; Tinus, of Hellfine; and human contacts in Theovale on the other side of the wall.”

  The area turned cold at the mention of the last place of connections. Ferna didn’t waver.

  “To prepare for the upcoming war, we are leveraging our connections with Brindle, an alchemy god, intergalactic partnerships, leaders in Dronomi’s Domain system, and guardians in Areswood, including not only those we have made contact with, but soon, Escala, and Aelium. Mira’s presence was high risk, high reward, but Yakana, Brindle, Emael, and Serenflora collectively determined that the reward was worth pursuing. Now it’s paying off in ways that far exceeds their expectations, and I believe it will exceed yours, once we begin these dialogues.” She bowed regally. Once she finished, she looked at Aiden.

  “My name is Aiden Roe,” he said. “I’m a kyma, an individual who speaks to beasts. I often create contracts with them to provide them value in exchange for services, but I mostly make social contracts with beasts as if they were fellow humans. Right now, I have eight hundred beasts outside the Bramble who are vowed Wraiths—guardians of Areswood Forest—

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “And I want Halten to be one of them.”

  A confused outcry met his statement. Some were saying, “He wants to tame Halten?” and “Absurd.”

  “If I understand you correctly,” Jeela said, “you aren’t here to advocate for his return—you seek to bring Halten, a vraxle, and make him part of your people?”

  “That’s correct,” Ferna said. “The Vraxle do not welcome back kin who pass the wall, but we are separate from that tradition.”

  “We will not let you tame a vraxle,” a male dragon declared, and numerous dragons let out guttural whoops in an instant show of agreement.

  “Do you think that Halten would let me tame him?” Aiden asked sharply, calming down the confused response. He scanned their faces. “Who here thinks that Halten, the strongest, most regal amongst you, one who sacrificed his life trying to avenge his brother’s daughter, would let a human tame him?”

  Aiden circled them with shocking confidence. “Who here would let me tame them?”

  More silence met Aiden’s chastisement.

  “No one tames the beasts of Areswood Forest,” Aiden said. “That’s the reason that beast tamers have tried and failed to bring back animals in Areswood for hundreds of millennia. You can’t tame them—you create alliances with them. Or, as I just announced, you welcome them into your army as equals, free individuals. That’s what we want for Halten. We want to free him and make him a free guardian of Areswood Forest.”

  Jeela and the others thought it through, speaking telepathically between them.

  “How do you plan to free him?” Jeela asked.

  “Brexton Claustra has offered Halten an opportunity to leave if he makes fifty trips back and forth between Areswood and Theovale.”

  “And you want him to fulfill the deals of Brexton Claustra? Is that not the same man who is sparking a new Conquering?”

  “He is,” Aiden said. “But that is irrelevant. The second that Halten becomes a Wraith, he will be protected by an information suppression request and be prevented from speaking to Brexton due to our soul pacts.”

  A vraxle scoffed. “Halten is a guardian. Your pacts would shame him.”

  “Wraithwood utilizes a zero trust model for guardianship,” I said. “Whether it’s birth or arrival, all Wraiths will make a soul pact to protect this forest so long as they live here. I have one. Aiden has one. Halten would have one. Mock it if you wish, but it makes this conversation irrelevant. If Halten gets back, he cannot aid our enemies for the same reason that I cannot aid our enemies—because it would kill us.”

  Jeela studied me cautiously and then moved from Ferna to Aiden. “You say that, but this boy is from Brexton’s family, and you struggle each year to suppress what he can say. Is that not the case?”

  The area turned deathly still, and Aiden locked up.

  Nethralis must’ve told her, I thought. I didn’t know what to say—Ferna did.

  “Our zero-trust pact system makes questions like these irrelevant,” Ferna said. “Aiden cannot betray us, and the amount that Brexton can get out of Aiden is negligible. Our only concern is knowing that Brexton will try to renege on his contracts at the last moment. That said, whether Brexton tries to exploit Aiden, or cancel Halten’s contract—we are prepared to handle it.”

  Ferna spoke with a chilling conviction that surprised Aiden. He looked at me, and I nodded.

  “This conversation isn’t about trust—because trust is guaranteed,” Ferna said. “We are here to establish a strong relationship between our peoples—and discuss allowing Aiden in again as a Wraith. Only that, nothing more.”

  The vraxles looked at each other, communicating before looking at Jeela. She spoke.

  “The Vraxles seek to establish a strong relationship with Mira Hill, and as such, we are open to allowing Halten in—at least to return to us. That said, we have concerns and desires of our own, namely the fact that Mira had the ability to attack us in our own home.” She locked her eyes on me as the dragons stared at me with strong intensity in their eyes.

  “The Bramble is my inheritance and responsibility,” I said. “So I cannot forsake it to assuage your valid concerns. That said, Ferna is here to negotiate a solution.”

  Jeela narrowed her eyes on Ferna suspiciously. “What can you do about something so fundamental?”

  “We could, for example, expand the Bramble and train the new section not to affect you,” Ferna said with a shrewd smile. “We’ll have a soul pact that determines that it would be Mira’s intention. As for food, were you to work with Aiden, I’m sure that he could expand your hunting ground, and obtain magic to boost your fertility rates.”

  Jeela and the rest of the vraxle shot intense glares at Aiden, who smiled nervously.

  “I think you’ll learn that having god-taught ‘beast tamer’ on your side has unbelievable benefits behind your wildest dreams.”

  Ferna was damn good at her job. In the hour I was there, she sucked the vraxle down a rollercoaster of opportunities, speaking about leveraging my intergalactic connections to even import vraxles from other communities. Aiden spoke about resources they could buy, and soon they forgot that we were even talking about Halten. I was certain that, by the end of the year, the vraxles would be our staunchest allies.

  I left an hour later and stopped in Wraithwood to say goodbye before going to Hellfine for the next three months. I said goodbye to Jaylin and Felio, and then looked for Kai. He was in the threading chamber, passed out on the ground in front of a hundred broken seeds. Yet there were a few in a pile that I could tell would be special.

  Kai was trying—it meant a lot.

  I left him the cutest note I could, which simply read, “I miss you already,” and then took off.

  My heart pounded when I saw Reta waiting by the teleportation circle. She was sleeping on a branch, but she woke up the second we teleported into her range. She rubbed her eyes and looked at my core.

  “Alright, you ready?” she asked.

  “Not yet,” I said. I summoned Sina, Ryn, and Dain and enhanced them before having them burst into flames.

  Reta woke up in an instant, and she looked between the three with a cocked head. Once she finished, she said, “Good work. Now put them away and keep them there. If I see those three in the next three months, I’ll stop your training and never speak to you again. Now let’s go.”