Glad to have you finally awake. I was beginning to worry.
Alex turned to Myrddin, flashed him a smile and a thumbs-up. He opened the door and let in the other riders. All of Team Boundless waited at the door, as well as Roy and Toppinir. Before Alex could say a word, Jollies rushed into the room and wrapped her arms around Alex’s neck, sobbing loudly.
Alex had to peel Jollies off like a band-aid. “I was so worried about you!” the pixie cried.
Alex sat Jollies in the palm of her hand and said, “If I had been conscious, I would have been worried about you too,” before looking around the room and saying, “I’m glad you all made it.”
Out of the riders, Jim and Brath were the only ones who looked banged up. The side of Brath’s neck had been burned badly, but it seemed to have mostly healed, no doubt through magic. Jim had a scar running across the side of his face, and he was in a cast.
Alex had grown used to being stared at, but the intensity everyone looked at her with was unnerving. “Uh, so, how much trouble am I in?” she asked.
Toppinir rested his hand on Alex’s bed. “None,” he said. “The level of bravery you showed was beyond anything the dragonriders have seen. The meteor was destroyed because of you. Middang3ard owes you and Jim a deep debt.”
Roy fidgeted awkwardly at the back of the group before he pushed his way forward. “What was inside the meteor?” he blurted. “What did you see? We tried to get Jim to tell us, but he said he wasn’t sure what he was looking at. What about you?”
Alex held the nub of her right arm as the riders tried not to stare. “It was the Dark One,” she whispered. “Or at least part of him. There was a child too. I think it might have been him, or an older version of him. It was all kinda confusing, but I know for a fact that thing was the Dark One.”
“You talked to him, didn’t you? What did he say?”
“He talked a lot about wanting to take over Middang3ard, about reforming it in his image. The guy sounds like he has really deep ego issues, but I think that probably goes without saying.”
Alex took a deep breath as she tried to put the last few hours into words. “Honestly, it was terrifying,” she admitted. “I don’t really know what that guy is, but he’s insane. And scary as hell.”
Myrddin interrupted the solemn silence in the room. “That we already knew. No need to think about it for too long. For now, we will celebrate. A decisive blow has been struck to the Dark One.”
There was a murmur of agreement before Myrddin started to shoo the visitors from the room. Before Myrddin could force Gill out, he got close to Alex and whispered in her ear, “Glad you made it.” Myrddin got the drow by the collar and tossed him out.
Jim was the only one who managed to avoid Myrddin’s paternal hurricane. He sat down on Alex’s bed. “Didn’t think I was going to get a minute with you before the whole ceremony.”
“Jaws, don’t be weird. You know you can have as much of my time as you want.”
An awkward silence filled the air as Alex wondered what she was supposed to say. Should she just wait for Jim to do something? There should have been a manual. “Hey,” she eventually said. “Come over here.”
Jim skootched over to Alex. Alex grabbed him by the shirt, pulled him down to her face, and kissed him. It was a gamble, but it paid off. Jim slipped his hand around Alex’s neck, returning the kiss.
When they pulled apart, Jim’s face was flushed, and he tried to catch his breath.
Alex’s heart was racing in her chest, and she giggled nervously. “We should do that a lot more.”
Alex sat in front of her room’s window, watching the new cadets flying their dragons for the first time. She looked down at her new arm. It was still in its skeletal phase, so the gears and wiring of the cybernetic arm were visible. Even so, the arm was an elegant piece of machinery.
She flexed her fingers, then closed them to make a fist. She was glad Myrddin hadn’t wasted any time getting her the new arm. The best part was, the arm felt as natural as though it had always been a part of her body.
There was a knock on the door. “Come in,” Alex said.
Myrddin and Jim stepped into the room. The wizard wore a fashionable pale-blue suit. Jim was wearing his dragonrider uniform, the same one Alex wore. “Getting to be about that time?” she asked.
The wizard nodded, opening the door wider. Alex rose from her bed, cast one more glance at the cadets in the field, and exited the room.
The mess hall of the Nest had been transformed into a banquet hall of such elegance, foreign dignitaries could have been hosted within it. She saw table after table covered in delicious concoctions, reflecting the various races enrolled in the dragonrider program.
The mech riders were amongst the invited guests. Most of their tables boasted human delicacies. They were, in fact, a mostly human riding corps.
Team Boundless sat in a place of honor near the stage. There was a general murmur throughout the hall. Everyone was waiting for Alex to give a speech.
Alex stood behind a curtain on the stage, trying to calm herself. She had never spoken in public before, and she had nothing prepared. Myrddin had only told her she was expected to give a speech a few minutes ago.
Not knowing what else to do, Alex reached out to her dragon. Chine, what am I supposed to say?
Chine did not answer immediately, but Alex could tell he was mulling things over. Mortal creatures are very sentimental. You should speak from the heart. Do not overthink it. Just be
