"Let Bastian, Elinor, and Connor go after the eggs," Tressa said. “I will go with Fi.
"How long will it take to heal Tressa?" Bastian asked Fi.
"It will take us less than a day to fly there." Fi counted on her fingers. "Perhaps another day or two to diagnose and heal Tressa. Then we could fly back here. Four days at the most."
Bastian ran his fingers through his hair. "I’m not sure I like this."
"We will be back as quickly as we can to help you find the eggs, Bastian. If Tressa’s illness accelerates, then what hope do we have? She must be healed first. If Elinor's friends in the Healer's Guild cannot find a solution, what other choice do we have?" Fi asked.
"Do it." Bastian stood. "We will all prepare now for what lies ahead. Elinor, Connor, come with me. We need to discuss a plan of action."
Tressa marveled at Bastian's leadership. When they were younger, he'd always been content to hang back, letting her and Connor take the reins. She wasn't the only one who'd changed since leaving Hutton's Bridge behind.
She started when Jarrett laid a hand on her arm. "Let's get you back to your chambers. Fi and I will pack a few essentials and then we'll be on our way."
Tressa nodded. She didn't have much of a choice. She had to seek out greater healing. At the moment she wasn't sure she'd live to see a new moon without it.
Chapter Three
After Jarrett helped Tressa back into bed, she fell asleep quickly. He waited, wondering if her eyes would pop open and he'd see it again. The strange eye. Red, like a dragon’s, with a slash down the center of the iris. He hadn't seen it since the night they came back from Malum. Maybe he'd imagined it.
Jarrett left the room and locked the door behind him. It wasn't to keep Tressa in. It was to keep others out. He didn't know anyone in Ashoom, except his former mates in the Black Guard and he knew he couldn't trust them.
There was only one person he could begin to trust.
Jarrett made his way down the dark hall to a room not far away. He knocked once and then entered.
"Fi?" he asked, closing the door softly behind him.
"I'm here. Just packing." Her voice floated from the next room.
Jarrett laughed. "What could you be packing? You didn't bring anything."
"I have a little. Didn't you see the pack tied to my ankle while we were flying?"
He hadn't. He'd been too focused on Tressa as she passed in and out of consciousness.
"Just a few pieces of clothing. Not much more." She crumpled up a dress exactly like the one she wore and tossed it into her leather pack. "You did a good job in there."
"So did you." He sat on a chair covered in blue cotton. Everything in this castle was blue, just as much of it had been gold back in Risos. The dragons were fond of decorating in their native color. He was intrigued to see how they decorated the underground caverns in the Charred Barrens. "Did you mean what you said about coming not just to rescue us from Malum, but also to bring Tressa to the Charred Barrens?"
Fi nodded. "We knew she was in danger. Grave danger."
"But what is wrong with her, exactly?" Jarrett wrung his hands.
"I don't know." Fi tossed in one final, identical dress and cinched up the bag. "But we need to get Tressa to the caverns. She can be healed there."
"Is she a dragon?" Jarrett asked, afraid of the answer.
"Yes." Fi’s response was simple, yet the meaning behind it was anything but. She sat on the bed, her hands on her knees. "We can help her in the Ruins of Ebon. With our help, she will know herself better."
"And without it?" Jarrett asked.
"She will continue to deteriorate until she learns how to control what is inside her. Or she will die.”
Jarrett punched the arm of the chair. "She only had one drop of the blood Fenn offered her. I killed him before she could drink much more. It shouldn't have affected her."
"And yet it has," Fi said. "Tressa must have already had dragon blood within her."
"Impossible." Jarrett folded his arms tightly across his chest. If he didn’t, he would destroy the room with his bare hands. Not Tressa. Not this. She'd had enough to deal with since she left Hutton’s Bridge.
Fi straightened her dress. "We will know more when we arrive at my home. Let's not waste any more time."
Jarrett nodded. "Come with me to my chambers. I'll pack, and you can keep Tressa company if she wakes."
Fi hefted her bag over a shoulder and followed Jarrett out of her chambers.
He stopped abruptly and turned around. "But please..."
Fi crossed her finger over her heart. "I will say nothing. We will let the healers examine her and then they can tell her what they find."