I thanked the brown dragon again, and then we put the eggs back in their chests before Blar made us a portal back home.
The little dragon had gotten quite good at making portals to places he knew, and we stepped through the swishing air into my courtyard in Asgard. The sun was already set for the night, and though it was dark, the scent of home immediately put me at ease.
“Are we going to give these eggs to Preyna to look after?” Asta asked, and she looked down at the chests and frowned.
“Yes.” I nodded. “We’ll do that first thing in the morning, but it’s late now, and I think we all could use some rest.”
“Right,” Eira agreed. “Let me help you get them inside.”
“Thanks,” I told her, and the redhead and I carried the chests full of eggs into the cottage.
While we were inside, I poured four pint glasses of mead, and I filled up another pitcher to bring out with us. I figured we’d all need at least two drinks after the day we had.
By the time Eira and I made it back outside, Kas and Asta had a fire going, though I wasn’t sure if that was their doing, or one of the dragons. Either way, the warmth felt good on my feet as I stretched my legs out near the flames and thought about everything that happened that day.
We’d managed to save all those eggs from the Elf King, but we’d also uncovered his plan to create weapons he was most likely going to use against the rest of the nine realms.
Since we’d uncovered the Elf King’s plan in his study, I was hoping this whole mess would be coming to an end soon, but it looked like it was going to take longer to end the dragon trade than I would have liked.
Still, even with the notes we’d found, I looked around at my women and my dragons, and I couldn’t help but feel a certain sense of pride. I’d hatched Blar, Inger, and Uffe, and now we had Svass as well. Each of them was beautiful and unique, and I was incredibly fortunate to have them on my team.
Kas had been with me since the beginning, and the strawberry-blonde sorceress was incredibly talented and brilliant. Asta had joined us soon after, and her bright, optimistic personality was a gift to behold.
Eira hadn’t been with us long, but she was incredibly skilled as a warrior, and it was a pleasure to have her with us.
My team had grown so large in such a short amount of time, but I wouldn’t trade any of them for all the jewels in all the nine realms.
The girls all stared into the fire as they sipped their mead slowly, and the dragons were all curled up in one big pile in front of the flames. Blar laid on his back and snored softly while Inger rested her head on his chest, and Uffe curled up by his feet.
Then Svass made herself incredibly comfortable as she climbed up onto Blar’s belly, sprawled out across it, and snored lightly just as he did.
I shook my head at the adorable little dragons but then frowned at how sad the girls all looked. I could sense they were upset about the notes we found from the Elf King, but there was nothing we could do about that right then, and we had plenty of other victories to celebrate.
“Hey,” I chuckled, and all the girls looked up at me. “We saved several dozen eggs from the hands of the Elf King today.”
“You’re right.” Asta smiled. “I’m happy we were able to save them. The Elf King isn’t going to be happy, though.”
“I’m sure he won’t be.” I nodded. “And that will only give us an advantage when it comes to defeating him.”
“Right,” Eira said, and she looked at me with green eyes that sparkled in the firelight. “We’re going to get this bastard if it’s the last thing I do.”
“I’ve been thinking about the notes we found, and all the terrible things the King is planning, but you’re right, we’re going to get him.” The sorceress grinned at me. “And we did save those eggs today.”
“And we’ve saved plenty of other dragons, too,” I reminded her.
“We have.” She nodded. “Each time we free a dragon, it’s one small blow against the entire dragon trade.”
“We’ll dismantle it brick by brick if we have to,” I assured her. “But it will come crumbling down.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Eira grinned.
“I think we should all drink to that,” I said as I held my pint of mead up to the sky.
“Hear, hear,” Asta said, and she held her cup up.
“Hear, hear,” Kas, Eira, and I laughed, and we all took large swigs from our glasses.
“There is one other thing we have to celebrate,” Eira said, and she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You.” The redhead smiled softly.
“Me?” I chuckled. “I’m--”
“The entire reason we’re able to be a part of this,” Eira finished. “And I’m sure I speak for Kas and Asta, too, when I say thank you for letting us be on this journey with you. This is by far the most important thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
“Yes,” Kas agreed softly. “I’m grateful to be part of dismantling this terrible dragon trade. I hope to one day tell my children how we freed all the dragons from their slavery.”
“I am grateful to be here as well.” Asta smiled at me with bright yellow eyes, and she nearly looked like she was about to cry. “I would like to see my homeland return to how it
