Dylan’s Treasure was filled with people once again, and the halls of the castle rang out in celebration late into the night. The kitchen staff, who had labored in boredom for months, found themselves preparing a feast unlike one they had seen in years. The Great Hall, formerly empty and dark, was alight with candles and torches. The hum of conversation punctuated with laughter echoed through the halls. Wine and ale poured out as freely as spring rains. Asha was thrilled to ha

Once the celebration began to wane, Siannon took the opportunity to speak to Asha alone. It was not unusual for the people of Macnylleth to see her outside the castle; the presence of dragons in Llanfyllin ceased to be a secret years ago. “Ben tells me that you were the catalyst for my adventure,” Siannon said. “Yes,” Asha said. “Dragons are not capable of deception; our nature is to be honest. I needed their help to distract you from our purpose.” “You needed to distract me

The Rabbi led Siannon to a door, which he opened and motioned for Siannon to walk through. When she did, she found herself in the courtyard outside of her castle. What had been empty and lifeless for so long was now filled with people—all four of her children and their families, Mohammad and several other friends from the Treasury in Alexandria, Clyde and Gwen and the rest of the castle’s inhabitants, Ming Xia and her dragon, Rubin, and of course, Asha. Her children ran to he

“Ben?” Siannon said. “Hello, Siannon,” the Rabbi said. “This was your doing?” “Don’t forget your amulet, dear,” he said. “The magic is exhausted, but the sapphire is still real.” She took the amulet from the pedestal and replaced it around her neck as she joined him at the top of the chamber. “Well?” “Asha was the first to be concerned for your safety,” the Rabbi said. “That happens when you share your mind with a dragon. She told your children, and Malcolm came to me for hel

“I’m confused,” Siannon said. “Asha said you had crossed over and couldn’t return. If that’s true, why are you here?” He smiled and kissed her, and then he said, “My soul crossed over because I had no unfinished business. This is the part of me that will always be with you. Our life together, our love, our family, it’s all bound up in your memories, and it’s as real as the image of me you see right now.” “Remembering you is not the same as having you with me,” she said. “I kn

All her uncertainty and fear turned to curiosity as she approached the pedestal at the bottom of the chamber. Her amulet began to glow, and with each step, she felt the amulet pull itself closer to the pedestal. At the top of the pedestal was a recessed shape that matched the amulet. She unclasped it and placed it upon the marble. The glow from the sapphire turned into a column of blue light that expanded and enveloped the entire chamber. Siannon closed her eyes against the i

The Celestial Palace of Elven Masters existed in a parallel dimension where faeries still lived and thrived. The Elves had built this palace eons before, and even though it had been abandoned for thousands of years, it still inspired awe and wonder. The complex architecture remained intact, as if the structure itself waited for the Elves’ return. The palace was an enchanted temple of dimensional portals, most of which lay dormant, but some of them were still functional to hum

“Can’t you take me home?” Siannon asked. “Yes, but we have to find the passage to our dimension,” Asha said. “I passed through ancient portals that only dragons can traverse to find you. I cannot fly back the way I came. I was following the calling of your mind; no such beacon calls us from Macnylleth.” “If this world draws upon my memories,” Siannon said, “then we are stuck in my own past, correct?” “That is the magic that I sense,” Asha said. “So, to get back to our future,

“What do you mean?” Siannon asked. “We arrived in Llanfyllin yesterday.” “I haven’t seen you since our last flight in Macnylleth,” Asha said. “You disappeared the next day. When you didn’t return, and no one else had seen you, I set out to find you.” “This appears to be another enigma to unravel,” Siannon said. “I awoke alone in the castle. I couldn't find you or anyone else in the city. A ship brought me to Ireland, and I found you in Killashandra, but you didn’t remember me

In dreams, Siannon either couldn’t run because her feet were as heavy as stone blocks, or she ran unhindered, experiencing no other sensation than speed. This was different; she felt the cold of the snow seep through her boots, the wind stung her face, and her breath grew ragged and painful as she pushed herself harder. But if it wasn’t a dream, why was she running away from a dead army led by a man she decapitated on the wall of Ellesmere Keep? She was tired of running but e

The cheers from the crowd became the roar of the wind, and the tournament grounds shifted before her eyes into an endless plain of snow. The group of festival knights became a horde of Norse warriors. Siannon’s blood turned as cold as the sudden winter as she saw her old nemesis, Jarl Thorsten, alive again, still wearing the wolf’s head helmet, still determined to capture and torture Siannon. Llanfyllin had disappeared; she was back in the canyon that served as the secret pas

Siannon’s realization that her grief had caused her to shut out her children from sharing their own sadness with her distressed her. She wanted to walk through the castle and reflect upon this epiphany, but when she exited the bedroom, she found herself inside a large enclosure with armored knights running around like madmen. She was back in the melee, the first event in the warrior’s tournament of the annual Festival of Weylin, which she won at eighteen and at which she met

King Malcolm extended his hand to help Dylan and Kane up from the floor. He directed them next to Quinn, who positioned himself on the bed so his brothers would have to sit on either side of him. Quinn was already Kim Wrexham and living in his own castle, but he had grown up as an unwilling referee between his brothers’ constant fighting. “Nothing could have prepared us for this terrible day,” Malcolm said. “We all die, but none of us imagined your mother would leave us so yo

Siannon thought if she really were a ghost, then haunting castles was the most boring existence imaginable. She couldn’t talk to anyone, couldn’t sample the delicious food from the castle’s chef, and most of all, couldn’t talk to Dylan, even though it would have been the most confusing conversation they ever had. All she could do was watch, and like most wakes and funerals, it was boredom interrupted with sadness and joy as the life of the departed was remembered with tears a

Siannon recognized the adolescent versions of the men she knew not only from their faces but also from their countenance and conduct. Quinn was tall and serious; Kane looked broody and resentful, and Dylan’s face showed the kindness she had loved so much. She was curious why so many people had gathered in the Great Hall. The king and his sons wore dark-hued clothing, and as the crowd parted, Siannon saw the cause of the occasion—a coffin embossed with ornate carvings sat upon

They decided to start in Llanfyllin. The capital was where Siannon first encountered the Ellesmeres and where Asha had saved the kingdom from the Norse. Siannon was joyful to fly with Asha again, the heat within her skin counteracting the frigid air. Ellesmere Keep was as majestic as ever, no signs of abandonment or ruin like Macnylleth. She landed Asha on the edge of the woods south of the castle and walked the rest of the way. She encountered people, but no one took note of

Asha extended her wings and released her claws, sending her swooping down upon Siannon in a few seconds. Her pupils were narrow slits, and Siannon could feel the heat generating inside the dragon. Asha’s reaction wasn’t unexpected, given what had occurred, so Siannon knelt on the cave floor, bowed her head, and said, “Baraxia Perditrix Meticulosa, I am Siannon Ellesmere, your friend.” She looked up and saw Asha had relaxed from her defensive stance but still showed no signs o

The trip to Killashandra took three days. She had no gold to hire a horse, and though she lacked the physical stamina she had when she first made this journey, the weather was beautiful, in contrast to the ice storm she and her friends endured the first time they found Asha.                 Siannon had promised to give the dragon her life in return for Asha’s help in defeating the Norse who lay siege to the king’s castle at Llanfyllin. Siannon fulfilled that promise in helpin

“Daddy!” Siannon said without thinking. Her father didn’t hear her over the cacophony of his hammer striking the horseshoe on the anvil. He stopped his work and said, “I beg your pardon?” “I said, ‘You must be her daddy,’” Siannon said. “You have the same dark hair and green eyes.” “She’s my little knight-in-training,” he said. “You’re new around here.” “Not exactly,” Siannon said. “I used to live here a long time ago. I’m just passing through today.” “Welcome back, then,” he

Siannon exited the captain’s quarters to find the ship docked and the skeletons disappeared. The gloomy overcast of Macnylleth had given...