All The Skills

Arthur was unsurprised to see a purple courier dragon with a golden sash waiting for him right on the other side.

Well, they hadn’t come in quietly. Hive leadership would have been alerted by the portal and the missing dragons spilling out.

“What do you want?” Brixaby demanded of the purple.

The officious dragon puffed himself up. “Leader Whitaker demands to see you at once.”

Brixaby snorted and shouldered past the purple, instead heading for Valentina’s cave.

Elissa was drowsing on her ledge. In the full sunlight, she looked washed out. Her ribs were visible, and her joints looked a touch swollen. Arthur was certain she wasn’t being neglected. She was just . . . old. Her body was failing her.

The dragon didn’t crack an eyelid at them, and neither wanted to interrupt her rest. Brixaby landed as quietly as he could, Arthur dismounted, and they both walked by. Though she was asleep, Brixaby dipped his head to her in a brief nod.

Inside the cave, Arthur was unsurprised to see Valentina was bedridden.

Unlike her dragon, the old rider was awake. Propped up against pillows with her feet under blankets, her long white hair was out of its usual severe style and fell to her shoulders. She looked like she had just woken, though it was the middle of the day.

“So, you’ve returned. I was starting to doubt you would,” she grumped.

“I have.” Arthur stepped to her bedside and, glancing around, removed the Subtle Influence mind card from his card anchor. “I wanted to return this to you.”

Valentina looked at it. Though Arthur knew her heart must be aching for the card to be replaced in her deck, she tore her gaze away and met his eyes directly.

“Whitaker has reported your conduct to the king. From the way he tells it, you single-handedly fed misinformation to leadership in order to lead our hive’s dragons into a trap. Then, once there, you undermined his authority. He was forced to retreat.” She flicked a hand. “Or that’s how he tells it today. I’m afraid his grievances grow with every retelling.”contemporary romance

Anger flashed through Arthur. Brixaby snarled at his side. But he had been expecting something like this. He forced himself to not snap something back at Valentina. This wasn’t her fault.

His voice came out calmer than he expected. Almost amused.

“Has the king requested me, at my soonest convenience?”

“Not yet,” Valentina said. “He does know what Whitaker is like, even if he does need to be reminded at times. But it’s coming.”

Arthur took a chance and told the truth. “He won’t find me.”

She snorted as if she was unsurprised by that. “You’d better hope not. Tell me, are you still loyal to the kingdom? Or have you joined those fluff-headed crafters in the free hives?”

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“I’m loyal, and I haven’t joined any free hive,” Arthur said. “But my eyes have been opened. The world is bigger than I ever thought it could be. I want to see more of it.”

He wasn’t sure what her reaction would be. Mostly, he expected anger.

Instead, Valentina seemed to slump. She looked very fragile.

“Well, it will be interesting to see what Whitaker does—or doesn’t do—when the fate of the entire hive is on his shoulders. I worry for the hive, Arthur. I truly do.”

“Don’t,” Arthur said.

“My whole life has been dedicated to Wolf Moon Hive. I don’t want it to fail.”

“It won’t,” Arthur insisted. “At worst, another Legendary from one of the other hives will step in to help. Wolf Moon won’t fail. And I will return. Valentina,” he continued, hoping she would understand, “the scourge-eruptions are increasing, and no one knows why. It’s more than just a cycle. All we have left in the world are safe patches, but even those are in danger. We have fewer Mythic-level dragons than ever before. If we’re not careful, the balance will shift toward the scourgelings.”

“And you know how to fix it, do you? Oh, to be young and naive . . .”

“I don’t, but I know how to start.”

“How?”

Arthur nodded to Brixaby. The dragon projected his newest card for them to see.

Call of the Heart

Legendary

Seeker

This card seeks out the person or object who most closely can fulfill the wielder’s want or desire. There is no limit on distance. Once the target is located, the wielder is shown the way through a map on the wielder’s card dashboard. This map is fully transferable from the wielder into another’s card dashboard but may not be transmitted further. This map does not automatically update, and the card must be reused to update the target’s location. The same target may be refreshed once every twelve hours.

This card is part of the Call set. Search out other cards in this set to add to your power.

“I asked Brixaby to search for something that will help our fight with the scourgelings and help Wolf Moon directly,” Arthur said.

“What is it?” Valentina asked. Her voice quivered.

“I don’t know. It just shows a location.”

Brixaby spoke up. “The map grows finer in detail the closer I become. We will find it, and we will return victorious.”

“Also,” Arthur added wryly, “I’m certain you’re aware of my friend’s pink meta-dragon powers? I have an outstanding quest to help an ally. It hasn’t gone off through all the free hives I’ve visited. There’s someone out there. Someone who can help.”

Valentina leaned back against her pillows. She didn’t look happy, exactly. But she was accepting. Reaching out, she patted Arthur’s hand. “Go, before Whitaker finds you. He’s an idiot, but he’s a strong idiot, and he’s been in a rage for three days.”

Arthur had made another enemy. It seemed he collected more of those than cards. He didn’t think he’d be welcomed back by the Mesa Free Hive Council, either.

“And Arthur,” she added. “Take the damn mind card. I won’t need it . . . whatever happens.”

Reluctantly, Arthur slipped it back into his card anchor. “Thank you, Valentina.”

“You can thank me by getting this whatever it is and coming back strong.” Her eyes glittered. “You must be strong to face the king again.”

He nodded and then exchanged a knowing glance with his dragon.

Arthur stuck the Subtle Influence mind card in his heart deck, at the same time deactivating the Nullify card that kept his Return to Start in check.

He and Brixaby spoke at the same time.

“Brix, you should give your cards to hive orphans.”

“Arthur, go purchase a human-wing body-enhancement card.”

Both sentences had weight to them, as they were both using the power of the Subtle Influence card.

It was only a Common, but as they were unwelcome suggestions, Return to Start counted them as an attack.

In a moment, Arthur and Brixaby were both transported away.

done.co