Dalia put her hands to her lips and let out a low Fire Swallowtail call. From her perch in the shadows of an out-of-place Bulrock tree, she had an excellent view of the entire plaza while the colossal floppy leaves provided the perfect cover. Governor Gusteau had planted several Bulrock trees from the Dark Woods and the Swamp of Sudura into the central squares of the Villages in an attempt to blend the civilized cities of the Wanderers with the terrorizing wilds of untamed nature. His efforts had lost some lives, but for the most part, he succeeded in beating back the creatures into submission. Today Gusteau would officially declare and unite the Wilds and the Villages.

Dalia scanned the crowd, searching for her fellow Outcasts. Expertly mingled with the crowd, Artemis glanced up at the call. She nonchalantly took a small pin from her hair, as if fixing her hair. Collin passed by, pressing up against her on his way to the far side. Artemis slipped her pin in his satchel upon contact.

Dalia breathed a sigh of relief. Sam was in. She fingered her hair anxiously. Relax, she told herself. Kayla would not have placed you in charge of this mission if she didn’t feel you were ready. But her pep talk did little to shake off the impending feeling of dread.

Since the Asynier had conquered the Skull and vanished from sight of the Wanderers into the Challenges below, the Lawmakers had stirred the crowds against the Outcasts. The eleven of them that remained were forced into hiding, living under new names with new jobs and spreading the news of freedom. All eleven of them had successfully infiltrated the Wanderer’s rapidly growing infrastructure. Dalia forced off the memories. Well, most of us.

A Water Dove coo answered from the other side of the plaza. Her husband Travis. Call meant the sentries around the square were all accounted for and unaware of their presence. Her heart flooded with relief at her husband’s confirmation signal. Back when they were literally following the Asynier, Travis and Dalia were close anyway, but Dalia always remembered what really strengthened their bond. What they heatedly disputed for days after they last saw Ezra.

Her heart beat faster as the Jewel of Laridal pulsated throughout her body, whispering to her the King’s words straight to her mind. She spotted Esther standing stiffly at the gate to the Governor’s palace. She knew Esther knew where Dalia was, but Esther refused to look her way. She seemed immersed in quiet conversation with another agent. As she chattered, she gestured out with her hand, three fingers held out. Next gesture, two.

“Okay,” Dalia nodded. 3, 2. What exactly did she say that meant again? Her mind trailed back to the last conversation with Esther.

Esther had reached out in secret to Travis and Dalia a few nights before the ceremony.

“Any update?” Travis asked.

“Something’s going on,” Esther said. “There’s been whispered rumors among us agents about waking up the dragon.”

“The dragon?” Dalia asked, paling. “You mean, the mythical one?”

“The one in the prophecy,” Esther said. “The one who’s destined to destroy Rarogan and all Wanderers with it.”

“Does Kayla know?” Travis asked.

“We need to tell her,” Dalia said. “She needs to know the urgency needs to be amped up.”

“Ask her when Ezra’s coming back,” Esther said. “We need him. And I’m ready to go.”

“She won’t know,” Travis said glumly. “Everytime we ask her, she says the same thing. Soon. I’m convinced even she doesn’t know.”

“How could she not know?!” Esther groaned in frustration. “Why would he not tell his betrothed when he’s coming back for her?”

“Why didn’t he take us with him?” Travis shrugged. “These are questions for Kayla. Just listen to the Jewel, Esther. Take a moment and listen to his voice.” He waited as Esther closed her eyes to focus on the King’s voice in her. He glanced at Dalia, and both of them could hear what the King was saying to them. “What is he saying to you?”

Bugles announced the Governor’s arrival, jolting Dalia back to her present assignment. She nocked an arrow to her bow and held it loosely at her side, eyes scrutinizing the enormous crowd. People from all one hundred and forty Villages gathered here in the town square, waiting for their “peacemaker” Governor Gusteau to take the stage and declare world peace. She could feel the Jewel of Laridal pumping through her, and she smiled with grim determination.

“Show me the battle,” she whispered. The Jewel granted her request, and as if on cue, hundreds of Onkrons appeared in the plaza. Some clinging to people, evil talons sinking into their skulls. Some wandering about. A horde of them guarded the platform. After Ezra left, the Onkrons decided to take more tactical in their warfare, cloaking themselves invisible to the naked eye and unnoticeable to any Wanderer alone. However, they could not hide from the piercing light of the Jewel of Laridal.

One Onkron near the stage peered up at her, seeing straight through the leaves into her hiding spot. “Remember who you were, sorceress. You practiced the ways of the Hermit. You are one of his now for all eternity.”

Dalia’s lip quivered as the Onkron continued to insert old memories into her mind. Those of the Hermit remain with the Hermit and nothing is powerful enough to remove them.

Squeezing her hands onto her ears, she recited some of Ezra’s last words to her. I didn’t remove your Onkrons and shame because I loved you only. I did it also because I am the Prince of this galaxy and they must bow to me. Don’t ever forget you are free. Free indeed.

The Onkron’s deceit began to lose its power, and Dalia smiled. She raised her bow, asking the Jewel to change her weapon. It shifted in her hands from a physical bow to an invisible bow of light, unseen and unfelt except by the archer. The Onkron barely had time to react before the shaft impaled its skull, and it vanished in a puff of smoke.

“Welcome, Villagers, to the capital of my kingdom!!” Governor Gusteau announced. The crowd went wild.